The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour

The effect of sound on the behaviour of sharks has not been investigated since the 1970s. Sound is, however, an important sensory stimulus underwater, as it can spread in all directions quickly and propagate further than any other sensory cue. We used a baited underwater camera rig to record the beh...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Chapuis, L., Collin, S.P., Yopak, K.E., McCauley, Robert, Kempster, R.M., Ryan, L.A., Schmidt, C., Kerr, C.C., Gennari, E., Egeberg, C.A., Hart, N.S.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP 2019
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80234
_version_ 1848764184524750848
author Chapuis, L.
Collin, S.P.
Yopak, K.E.
McCauley, Robert
Kempster, R.M.
Ryan, L.A.
Schmidt, C.
Kerr, C.C.
Gennari, E.
Egeberg, C.A.
Hart, N.S.
author_facet Chapuis, L.
Collin, S.P.
Yopak, K.E.
McCauley, Robert
Kempster, R.M.
Ryan, L.A.
Schmidt, C.
Kerr, C.C.
Gennari, E.
Egeberg, C.A.
Hart, N.S.
author_sort Chapuis, L.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description The effect of sound on the behaviour of sharks has not been investigated since the 1970s. Sound is, however, an important sensory stimulus underwater, as it can spread in all directions quickly and propagate further than any other sensory cue. We used a baited underwater camera rig to record the behavioural responses of eight species of sharks (seven reef and coastal shark species and the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias) to the playback of two distinct sound stimuli in the wild: an orca call sequence and an artificially generated sound. When sounds were playing, reef and coastal sharks were less numerous in the area, were responsible for fewer interactions with the baited test rigs, and displayed less ‘inquisitive’ behaviour, compared to during silent control trials. White sharks spent less time around the baited camera rig when the artificial sound was presented, but showed no significant difference in behaviour in response to orca calls. The use of the presented acoustic stimuli alone is not an effective deterrent for C. carcharias. The behavioural response of reef sharks to sound raises concern about the effects of anthropogenic noise on these taxa.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T11:15:19Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-80234
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:15:19Z
publishDate 2019
publisher NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-802342021-01-05T08:07:07Z The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour Chapuis, L. Collin, S.P. Yopak, K.E. McCauley, Robert Kempster, R.M. Ryan, L.A. Schmidt, C. Kerr, C.C. Gennari, E. Egeberg, C.A. Hart, N.S. Science & Technology Multidisciplinary Sciences Science & Technology - Other Topics WHALES ORCINUS-ORCA YOUNG LEMON SHARKS KILLER WHALE NEGAPRION-BREVIROSTRIS HEARING MEASUREMENTS ACOUSTIC STIMULI SILVER CARP FISH RESPONSES NOISE The effect of sound on the behaviour of sharks has not been investigated since the 1970s. Sound is, however, an important sensory stimulus underwater, as it can spread in all directions quickly and propagate further than any other sensory cue. We used a baited underwater camera rig to record the behavioural responses of eight species of sharks (seven reef and coastal shark species and the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias) to the playback of two distinct sound stimuli in the wild: an orca call sequence and an artificially generated sound. When sounds were playing, reef and coastal sharks were less numerous in the area, were responsible for fewer interactions with the baited test rigs, and displayed less ‘inquisitive’ behaviour, compared to during silent control trials. White sharks spent less time around the baited camera rig when the artificial sound was presented, but showed no significant difference in behaviour in response to orca calls. The use of the presented acoustic stimuli alone is not an effective deterrent for C. carcharias. The behavioural response of reef sharks to sound raises concern about the effects of anthropogenic noise on these taxa. 2019 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80234 10.1038/s41598-019-43078-w English http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
WHALES ORCINUS-ORCA
YOUNG LEMON SHARKS
KILLER WHALE
NEGAPRION-BREVIROSTRIS
HEARING MEASUREMENTS
ACOUSTIC STIMULI
SILVER CARP
FISH
RESPONSES
NOISE
Chapuis, L.
Collin, S.P.
Yopak, K.E.
McCauley, Robert
Kempster, R.M.
Ryan, L.A.
Schmidt, C.
Kerr, C.C.
Gennari, E.
Egeberg, C.A.
Hart, N.S.
The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
title The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
title_full The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
title_fullStr The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
title_full_unstemmed The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
title_short The effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
title_sort effect of underwater sounds on shark behaviour
topic Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
WHALES ORCINUS-ORCA
YOUNG LEMON SHARKS
KILLER WHALE
NEGAPRION-BREVIROSTRIS
HEARING MEASUREMENTS
ACOUSTIC STIMULI
SILVER CARP
FISH
RESPONSES
NOISE
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/80234