Overview
My research focuses on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on the reproduction and survival of fish in temperate and tropical climates.
Anthropogenic noise has become increasingly pervasive as human populations, and corresponding development, continue to grow. Consequently, international legislation recognises anthropogenic noise, or noise pollution, as a pollutant of global concern. A growing body of research has successfully demonstrated the negative impacts of noise pollution on fish physiology, health and behaviour. However, much of this work utilises laboratories and aquariums where it is difficult to reproduce natural acoustic conditions, thus limiting ecological validity. Furthermore, it is often difficult to extrapolate long-term, population-level fitness consequences from short-term studies. Thus, my research endeavours to address these gaps.
Through in situ oriented research, I intend to investigate the potential biological impacts of anthropogenic noise on the reproduction, embryonic development and larval survival of demersal fish species in temperate and tropical waters. This work will help to understand how anthropogenic noise affects the reproductive success of fish populations. My fieldwork will be conducted in the coastal waters of the UK and the Great Barrier Reef. I hope to use discoveries from this PhD program to help mitigate the negative biological impacts of noise on marine ecosystems, thus improving resilience towards the future threats of climate change, such as warming waters and ocean acidification.
Broad research specialisms:
- Marine biology
- Bioacoustics
- Fish behaviour and reproduction
- Anthropogenic stressors
- Climate change
Qualifications
BSc Biochemistry, minor in Chemistry – Virginia Tech, 2007–2011
MSc Physiology & Biophysics – Georgetown University, 2014–2015
MSc Conservation & Biodiversity – University of Exeter, 2016–2017
Research
Research projects
Project Title: In situ assessment of anthropogenic noise impacts on fish reproduction and survival
Supervisors:
Funding Body:
Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship (University of Exeter)
Natural England
Project Description:
The underwater environment is teeming with natural biotic and abiotic sounds that are essential to survival in marine ecosystems. However, marine noise generated by human activities can interfere with this natural soundscape. Consequently, mounting evidence demonstrates that anthropogenic noise has the potential to negatively affect a wide range of marine taxa. The aim of my PhD project is to assess the impacts for fish of two types of anthropogenic noise (impact pile-driving and motorboats) on key life-history processes (reproduction, embryonic development and larval survival) that have direct fitness and ecological implications. Through research-driven mitigation, the negative impacts of noise on fish can be reduced, thus improving population resilience.
Publications
Key publications | Publications by category | Publications by year
Publications by category
Journal articles
Gordon T, Simpson S, McCloskey K, Nedelec S (In Press). Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral-reef habitat.
Nature Communications Full text.
McCloskey KP, Chapman KE, Chapuis L, McCormick MI, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2020). Assessing and mitigating impacts of motorboat noise on nesting damselfish.
Environmental Pollution,
266Abstract:
Assessing and mitigating impacts of motorboat noise on nesting damselfish
Motorboats are a pervasive, growing source of anthropogenic noise in marine environments, with known impacts on fish physiology and behaviour. However, empirical evidence for the disruption of parental care remains scarce and stems predominantly from playback studies. Additionally, there is a paucity of experimental studies examining noise-mitigation strategies. We conducted two field experiments to investigate the effects of noise from real motorboats on the parental-care behaviours of a common coral-reef fish, the Ambon damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis, which exhibits male-only egg care. When exposed to motorboat noise, we found that males exhibited vigilance behaviour 34% more often and spent 17% more time remaining vigilant, compared to an ambient-sound control. We then investigated nest defence in the presence of an introduced conspecific male intruder, incorporating a third noise treatment of altered motorboat-driving practice that was designed to mitigate noise exposure via speed and distance limitations. The males spent 22% less time interacting with the intruder and 154% more time sheltering during normal motorboat exposure compared to the ambient-sound control, with nest-defence levels in the mitigation treatment equivalent to those in ambient conditions. Our results reveal detrimental impacts of real motorboat noise on some aspects of parental care in fish, and successfully demonstrate the positive effects of an affordable, easily implemented mitigation strategy. We strongly advocate the integration of mitigation strategies into future experiments in this field, and the application of evidence-based policy in our increasingly noisy world.
Abstract.
Full text.
Publications by year
In Press
Gordon T, Simpson S, McCloskey K, Nedelec S (In Press). Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral-reef habitat.
Nature Communications Full text.
2020
McCloskey KP, Chapman KE, Chapuis L, McCormick MI, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2020). Assessing and mitigating impacts of motorboat noise on nesting damselfish.
Environmental Pollution,
266Abstract:
Assessing and mitigating impacts of motorboat noise on nesting damselfish
Motorboats are a pervasive, growing source of anthropogenic noise in marine environments, with known impacts on fish physiology and behaviour. However, empirical evidence for the disruption of parental care remains scarce and stems predominantly from playback studies. Additionally, there is a paucity of experimental studies examining noise-mitigation strategies. We conducted two field experiments to investigate the effects of noise from real motorboats on the parental-care behaviours of a common coral-reef fish, the Ambon damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis, which exhibits male-only egg care. When exposed to motorboat noise, we found that males exhibited vigilance behaviour 34% more often and spent 17% more time remaining vigilant, compared to an ambient-sound control. We then investigated nest defence in the presence of an introduced conspecific male intruder, incorporating a third noise treatment of altered motorboat-driving practice that was designed to mitigate noise exposure via speed and distance limitations. The males spent 22% less time interacting with the intruder and 154% more time sheltering during normal motorboat exposure compared to the ambient-sound control, with nest-defence levels in the mitigation treatment equivalent to those in ambient conditions. Our results reveal detrimental impacts of real motorboat noise on some aspects of parental care in fish, and successfully demonstrate the positive effects of an affordable, easily implemented mitigation strategy. We strongly advocate the integration of mitigation strategies into future experiments in this field, and the application of evidence-based policy in our increasingly noisy world.
Abstract.
Full text.
2019
Gordon T, Simpson S, McCloskey K, Nedelec S (2019). Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitat (dataset).
Abstract:
Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitat (dataset)
Coral reefs worldwide are increasingly damaged by anthropogenic stressors, necessitating novel approaches for their management. Maintaining healthy fish communities counteracts reef degradation, but degraded reefs smell and sound less attractive to settlement-stage fishes than their healthy states. Here, using a six-week field experiment, we demonstrate that playback of healthy reef sound can increase fish settlement and retention to degraded habitat. We compare fish community development on acoustically enriched coral-rubble patch reefs with acoustically unmanipulated controls. Acoustic enrichment enhances fish community development across all major trophic guilds, with a doubling in overall abundance and 50% greater species richness. If combined with active habitat restoration and effective conservation measures, rebuilding fish communities in this manner might accelerate ecosystem recovery at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Acoustic enrichment shows promise as a novel tool for the active management of degraded coral reefs.
Abstract.
Full text.
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