Coral Chorus: The Role of Soundscapes in Coral Reef Larval Recruitment and Biodiversity

珊瑚礁生态系统是地球上单位面积上生物多样性最高的生态系统，也是所有海洋动物的四分之一到三分之一的栖息地。与珊瑚礁有关的动物是数百万人蛋白质的主要来源，珊瑚礁提供海岸线保护，并提供重要的旅游收入来源，特别是在发展中国家。 影响幼鱼、珊瑚和相关动物的供应和定居的因素可能对珊瑚礁生态系统和种群结构产生重大影响，更多地了解这些因素有助于提高对如何维持珊瑚礁所提供的好处的理解。这项研究将导致一个详细的，机械的理解，年轻的幼虫如何使用自然的声音来定向，定位，并选择首选的定居栖息地。该方法将联合收割机结合详细的现场测量和实验，以隔离影响珊瑚礁幼虫的关键声景变量。研究结果将通过开放获取的文章、媒体发布、博客和网站更新广泛分发给科学界和公众。研究生和本科生将直接参与研究和推广的各个方面。该项目将利用一个熟练的通信部门、科德角夏季社区、一个国家公园和海洋保护区的社区外展中心以及公众对珊瑚礁的兴趣，通过以下方式扩大对海洋生态的认识：（a）夏季研讨会系列中的公开演讲，（B）与记者和教师的直接交流和互动，以及（c）当地学前教育学校的教育，小学生和大学生。对于海洋群落，例如珊瑚礁上的海洋群落，影响幼虫供应和定居的因素可能对群落结构和种群补充产生重大影响。现在有一些迹象表明，声音在吸引幼虫到合适的定居栖息地方面起着重要作用。有什么样的声景栖息地信息是提供给幼虫和声音的差异和变化如何影响解决的了解很少。该项目将包括综合实验，环境测量和建模，目的是了解声音在影响幼虫招募和当地生物多样性方面的作用。调查人员将使用传统的幼虫取样方法、系泊声学记录仪和一套环境观测资料，测量海洋保护区内与不同音景和栖息地条件有关的鱼类和珊瑚幼虫的原地定居情况。控制和校准的环境回放实验将隔离声景组件，并确定具体的和基本的声学线索幼虫使用的方向和解决。将建立整个珊瑚礁栖息地的声景线索和组件的空间和时间变异性。最后，该项目将通过直接测量多个珊瑚礁的声场，确定幼鱼可能遇到的声羽的相关范围。

Coral reef ecosystems host some of the highest biodiversity of life per unit area on Earth and harbor about one quarter to one third of all marine animals. Reef-associated animals are a major source of protein for millions of people, and reefs offer shoreline protection and provide a significant source of tourism revenue, especially in developing countries. Factors that influence supply and settlement of young (larval) fish, coral, and associated animals can have large impacts on reef ecosystem and population structure, and learning more about these can help improve understanding of how to maintain the benefits provided by coral reefs. This study will lead to a detailed, mechanistic understanding of how young larvae use natural sounds to orient toward, locate, and select preferred settlement habitat. The approach will combine detailed field measurements and experiments to isolate key soundscape variables that impact coral reef larvae. The results will be broadly distributed to the scientific community and the public through open-access articles, media releases, blogs and website updates. Graduate and undergraduate students will be directly involved in all aspects of the research and outreach. This project will leverage a skilled communications department, the Cape Cod summer community, a community outreach center in a national park and marine protected area, and the public's interest in coral reefs to broaden the awareness of marine ecology through: (a) public presentations in a summer seminar series, (b) direct communication and interaction with journalists and teachers, and (c) education in local schools for preschool, grade-school and college students. For marine communities, such as those on coral reefs, factors influencing larval supply and settlement can have major impacts on community structure and population replenishment. There are now some indications that sound plays an important role in attracting larvae to suitable settlement habitat. There is little understanding of what soundscape habitat information is available to larvae and how differences and variability in sound can influence settlement. This project will include comprehensive experiments, environmental measurements, and modeling with the goal of understanding the role of sound in influencing larval recruitment and local biodiversity. The investigators will measure in situ settlement of larval fish and coral in relation to different soundscapes and habitat conditions in a marine protected area using traditional larval sampling methods, moored acoustic recorders, and a suite of environmental observations. Controlled and calibrated environmental playback experiments will isolate soundscape components and determine specific and fundamental acoustic cues larvae use to orient and settle. The spatial and temporal variability of soundscape cues and components across reef habitats will be established. Finally, the project will determine the relevant ranges of sound plumes that larvae may encounter through direct measurements of the sound fields of multiple reefs.