Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 OPEN ACCESS Variation in habitat soundscape characteristics influences settlement of a reef-building coral

ABSTRACT Coral populations, and the productive reef ecosystems they support, rely on successful recruitment of reef-building species, beginning with settlement of dispersing larvae into habitat favourable to survival. Many substrate cues have been identified as contributors to coral larval habitat selection; however, the potential for ambient acoustic cues to influence coral settlement responses is unknown. Using in situ settlement chambers that excluded other habitat cues, larval settlement of a dominant Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata, was compared in response to three local soundscapes, with differing acoustic and habitat properties. Differences between reef sites in the number of larvae settled in chambers isolating acoustic cues corresponded to differences in sound levels and reef characteristics, with sounds at the loudest reef generating significantly higher settlement during trials compared to the quietest site (a 29.5 % increase). These results suggest that soundscapes could be an important influence on coral settlement patterns and that acoustic cues associated with reef habitat may be related to larval settlement. This study reports an effect of soundscape variation on larval settlement for a key coral species, and adds to the growing evidence that soundscapes affect marine ecosystems by influencing early life history processes of foundational species

Soundscape manipulation enhances larval recruitment of a reef-building mollusk

© The Author(s), 2015. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PeerJ 3 (2015): e999, doi:10.7717/peerj.999.Marine seafloor ecosystems, and efforts to restore them, depend critically on the influx and settlement of larvae following their pelagic dispersal period. Larval dispersal and settlement patterns are driven by a combination of physical oceanography and behavioral responses of larvae to a suite of sensory cues both in the water column and at settlement sites. There is growing evidence that the biological and physical sounds associated with adult habitats (i.e., the “soundscape”) influence larval settlement and habitat selection; however, the significance of acoustic cues is rarely tested. Here we show in a field experiment that the free-swimming larvae of an estuarine invertebrate, the eastern oyster, respond to the addition of replayed habitat-related sounds. Oyster larval recruitment was significantly higher on larval collectors exposed to oyster reef sounds compared to no-sound controls. These results provide the first field evidence that soundscape cues may attract the larval settlers of a reef-building estuarine invertebrate.Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation (Grants OCE-1234688 & ISO-1210292). Additional support for experimental materials came from a PADI Foundation Grant (#5145) and a National Shellfisheries Association Melbourne R. Carriker Student Research Grant to AL

Variation in habitat soundscape characteristics influences settlement of a reef-building coral

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in PeerJ 4 (2016): e2557, doi:10.7717/peerj.2557.Coral populations, and the productive reef ecosystems they support, rely on successful recruitment of reef-building species, beginning with settlement of dispersing larvae into habitat favourable to survival. Many substrate cues have been identified as contributors to coral larval habitat selection; however, the potential for ambient acoustic cues to influence coral settlement responses is unknown. Using in situ settlement chambers that excluded other habitat cues, larval settlement of a dominant Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata, was compared in response to three local soundscapes, with differing acoustic and habitat properties. Differences between reef sites in the number of larvae settled in chambers isolating acoustic cues corresponded to differences in sound levels and reef characteristics, with sounds at the loudest reef generating significantly higher settlement during trials compared to the quietest site (a 29.5 % increase). These results suggest that soundscapes could be an important influence on coral settlement patterns and that acoustic cues associated with reef habitat may be related to larval settlement. This study reports an effect of soundscape variation on larval settlement for a key coral species, and adds to the growing evidence that soundscapes affect marine ecosystems by influencing early life history processes of foundational species.Funding for this project was provided by a PADI Foundation Grant (#11304) to AL and US. National Science Foundation Grant OCE-1234688 to DE and DB. Financial support to AL during manuscript preparation was also provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Ocean Life and Coastal Ocean Institutes

Soundscape monitoring acoustic data collected in July of 2017 during an in situ larval coral settlement experiment in St. John, US Virgin Islands

Dataset: Soundscape monitoring acoustic dataMatlab R2016 was used to process acoustic data from raw wave audio files. Mean power spectral densities were estimated (Hamming window, non-overlapping 0.5-sec windows, frequency resolution: 1.47 Hz) within 1-minute samples across the total experiment length (62 hours). For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/742573NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-153678

Soundscapes influence the settlement of the common caribbean coral porites astreoides irrespective of light conditions

Author Posting. © Royal Society, 2018. This article is posted here by permission of Royal Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society Open Science 5(12) (2018): 181358. doi: 10.1098/rsos.181358.The settlement of reef-building corals is critical to the survival and recovery of reefs. Recent evidence indicates that coral larvae orient towards reef sound, yet the components of the acoustic environment that may attract coral larvae and induce settlement are unknown. Here we investigated the effects of ambient soundscapes on settlement of Porites astreoides coral larvae using in situ chambers on reefs differing in habitat quality (coral and fish abundance). Mean larval settlement was twice as high in an acoustic environment with high levels of low-frequency sounds, typical of a high-quality, healthy reef; this result was observed in both natural light and dark treatments. Overall, the enhancement of coral settlement by soundscapes typical of healthy reefs suggests a positive feedback where soundscape properties of reefs with elevated coral and fish abundance may facilitate coral recruitment.This study is funded by NSF Biological Oceanography award 15-36782 which supported all authors

Multiscale spatio-temporal patterns of boat noise on U.S. Virgin Island coral reefs

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2018. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Pollution Bulletin 136 (2018): 282-290, doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.09.009.Sound-sensitive organisms are abundant on coral reefs. Accordingly, experiments suggest that boat noise could elicit adverse effects on coral reef organisms. Yet, there are few data quantifying boat noise prevalence on coral reefs. We use long-term passive acoustic recordings at nine coral reefs and one sandy comparison site in a marine protected area to quantify spatio-temporal variation in boat noise and its effect on the soundscape. Boat noise was most common at reefs with high coral cover and fish density, and temporal patterns reflected patterns of human activity. Boat noise significantly increased low-frequency sound levels at the monitored sites. With boat noise present, the peak frequencies of the natural soundscape shifted from higher frequencies to the lower frequencies frequently used in fish communication. Taken together, the spectral overlap between boat noise and fish communication and the elevated boat detections on reefs with biological densities raises concern for coral reef organisms.This research was funded by the National Science Foundation Biological Oceanography Program (award OCE-1536782) and the WHOI Summer Student Fellowship Program

Lobster postlarval and early juvenile ecology: interacting effects of physical processes and behaviour

Physical and biological processes interact during early life stages to determine the distribution and abundance of larvae of many marine benthic species, including the commercially and ecologically important American lobster, Homarus americanus. Following planktonic development, lobster postlarvae seek benthic habitat to occupy during a juvenile phase. Past studies of lobster settlement and post-settlement behaviour have rarely considered the effects of physical factors. To test whether lobster settlement is affected by flow, I conducted flume experiments. Flow increased settlement by increasing substrate encounter through passive deposition and modification of searching behaviours. To examine shelter fidelity of recently settled juvenile lobster, the behavioural response of 3-month-old lobsters to shelter warming and cooling was tested. Lobsters behaved aversively in response to cooler temperatures, and abandoned their shelter to move to warmer water. These studies of the interactions between physical factors and early lobster behaviour enhance our understanding of spatial and temporal variability in populations and our ability to identify habitats for conservation

Porites astreoides coral settlement counts collected in July of 2017 from an in situ larval coral settlement experiment in St. John, US Virgin Islands

Dataset: Coral settlementBrooding coral Porites astreoides colonies were collected on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands on June 22nd, 2017 and used in an in-situ larval coral settlement experiment. Settlement counts were taken on June 28th, 2017. For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/742565NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-153678

Oyster larvae settle in response to habitat-associated underwater sounds.

Following a planktonic dispersal period of days to months, the larvae of benthic marine organisms must locate suitable seafloor habitat in which to settle and metamorphose. For animals that are sessile or sedentary as adults, settlement onto substrates that are adequate for survival and reproduction is particularly critical, yet represents a challenge since patchily distributed settlement sites may be difficult to find along a coast or within an estuary. Recent studies have demonstrated that the underwater soundscape, the distinct sounds that emanate from habitats and contain information about their biological and physical characteristics, may serve as broad-scale environmental cue for marine larvae to find satisfactory settlement sites. Here, we contrast the acoustic characteristics of oyster reef and off-reef soft bottoms, and investigate the effect of habitat-associated estuarine sound on the settlement patterns of an economically and ecologically important reef-building bivalve, the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Subtidal oyster reefs in coastal North Carolina, USA show distinct acoustic signatures compared to adjacent off-reef soft bottom habitats, characterized by consistently higher levels of sound in the 1.5-20 kHz range. Manipulative laboratory playback experiments found increased settlement in larval oyster cultures exposed to oyster reef sound compared to unstructured soft bottom sound or no sound treatments. In field experiments, ambient reef sound produced higher levels of oyster settlement in larval cultures than did off-reef sound treatments. The results suggest that oyster larvae have the ability to respond to sounds indicative of optimal settlement sites, and this is the first evidence that habitat-related differences in estuarine sounds influence the settlement of a mollusk. Habitat-specific sound characteristics may represent an important settlement and habitat selection cue for estuarine invertebrates and could play a role in driving settlement and recruitment patterns in marine communities