Research
Research projects
Project Title: Assessing and managing anthropogenic impacts on marine acoustic ecology
Supervisors:
Dr Steve Simpson, University of Exeter
Dr Rod Wilson, University of Exeter
Professor Andy Radford, University of Bristol
Dr Nathan Merchant, Cefas
Dr Mark Meekan, Australian Institute of Marine Science
Funding Body:
NERC GW4+ DTP, with additional funding from the Australian Institute of Marine Science
Project Description:
Sound can travel for thousands of miles underwater, and plays a vital role in many marine ecosystems. Fish use sound to communicate, navigate, defend territories, find food, choose a mate and gain information about their surrounding environment. Recently, anthropogenic climate change has dramatically altered the soundscape of marine ecosystems, and noise pollution from shipping, small boats, construction and industry threatens to drown out the natural sounds of the ocean. This jeopardises marine life all over the world. My research addresses the likely impact of these acoustic changes, and how best to manage them.
Publications
2019
Acoustic enrichment can enhance fish community development on degraded coral reef habitat
TAC Gordon, AN Radford, IK Davidson, K Barnes, K McCloskey, SL Nedelec, MG Meekan, MI McCormick, SD Simpson
Nature Communications 10, 5414.
A simple model predicts how warming simplifies food webs
EJ O’Gorman, OL Petchey, KJ Faulkner, B Gallo, TAC Gordon, J Neto-Cerejeira, JS Ólafsson, DE Pichler, MSA Thompson, G Woodward
Nature Climate Change 9, 611-616.
Coral reef monitoring, reef assessment technologies and ecosystem-based management
DO Obura, W Appeltans, N Amornthammarong, G Aeby, NJ Bax, J Bishop, RE Brainard, S Chan, P Fletcher, TAC Gordon, L Gramer, M Gudka, J Halas, J Hendee, G Hodgson, D Huang, M Jankulak, A Jones, T Kimura, J Levy, P Miloslavich, LM Chou, FE Muller-Karger, K Osuka, S Simpson, K Tun, S Wongbusarakum
Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 580
Causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in animal responses to anthropogenic noise
HR Harding, TAC Gordon, E Eastcott, SD Simpson, AN Radford
Behavioral Ecology, arz114
In a noisy world, some animals are more equal than others: a response to comments on Harding et al.
AN Radford, HR Harding, TAC Gordon, SD Simpson
Behavioral Ecology, arz171
2018
Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behavior of coral reef fishes
TAC Gordon, HR Harding, KE Wong, ND Merchant, MG Meekan, MI McCormick, AN Radford, SD Simpson
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, 5193-5198.
Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations
TAC Gordon, HR Harding, FK Clever, IK Davidson, W Davison, DW Montgomery, RC Weatherhead, FM Windsor, JD Armstrong, A Bardonnet, E Bergman, JR Britton, IM Côté, D D'Agostino, LA Greenberg, AR Harborne, KK Kahilainen, NB Metcalfe, SC Mills, NJ Milner, FH Mittermayer, L Montorio, SL Nedelec, JM Prokkola, LA Rutterford, AGV Salvanes, SD Simpson, A Vainikka, JK Pinnegar, EM Santos
Journal of Fish Biology 92, 804-827.
Changes in feeding selectivity of freshwater invertebrates across a natural thermal gradient
TAC Gordon, J Neto-Cerejeira, PC Furey, EJ O’Gorman
Current Zoology 64, 231-242.
Fish in habitats with higher motorboat disturbance show reduced sensitivity to motorboat noise
HR Harding, TAC Gordon, RE Hsuan, ACE Mackaness, AN Radford, SD Simpson
Biology Letters 14, 20180441.
2016
Predation of freshwater gastropods (Viviparus viviparus) by brown rats (Rattus norvegicus)
TAC Gordon, EL Wilding, DC Aldridge
Journal of Molluscan Studies 82, 457-463.
2015
Defended territories of an aggressive damselfish contain lower juvenile coral density than adjacent non-defended areas on Kenyan lagoon patch reefs
TAC Gordon, B Cowburn, RD Sluka
Coral Reefs 34, 13-16.
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.
Gordon TAC, Radford AN, Simpson SD, Meekan MG (2020). Marine restoration projects are undervalued.
Science,
367(6478), 635-636.
Author URL.
Full text.
O’Gorman EJ, Petchey OL, Faulkner KJ, Gallo B, Gordon TAC, Neto-Cerejeira J, Ólafsson JS, Pichler DE, Thompson MSA, Woodward G, et al (2019). A simple model predicts how warming simplifies wild food webs. Nature Climate Change, 9(8), 611-616.
Harding HR, Gordon TAC, Eastcott E, Simpson SD, Radford AN (2019). Causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in animal responses to anthropogenic noise.
Behavioral Ecology,
30(6), 1501-1511.
Abstract:
Causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in animal responses to anthropogenic noise
Abstract
. Anthropogenic noise is a recognized global pollutant, affecting a wide range of nonhuman animals. However, most research considers only whether noise pollution has an impact, ignoring that individuals within a species or population exhibit substantial variation in responses to stress. Here, we first outline how intrinsic characteristics (e.g. body size, condition, sex, and personality) and extrinsic factors (e.g. environmental context, repeated exposure, prior experience, and multiple stressors) can affect responses to environmental stressors. We then present the results of a systematic search of the anthropogenic-noise literature, identifying articles that investigated intraspecific variation in the responses of nonhuman animals to noise. This reveals that fewer than 10% of articles (51 of 589) examining impacts of noise test experimentally for intraspecific variation in responses; of those that do, more than 75% report significant effects. We assess these existing studies to determine the current scope of research and findings to-date, and to provide suggestions for good practice in the design, implementation, and reporting of robust experiments in this field. We close by explaining how understanding intraspecific variation in responses to anthropogenic noise is crucial for improving how we manage captive animals, monitor wild populations, model species responses, and mitigate effects of noise pollution on wildlife. Our aim is to stimulate greater knowledge and more effective management of the harmful consequences of this global pollutant.
Abstract.
Obura DO, Aeby G, Amornthammarong N, Appeltans W, Bax N, Bishop J, Brainard RE, Chan S, Fletcher P, Gordon TAC, et al (2019). Coral reef monitoring, reef assessment technologies, and ecosystem-based management.
Frontiers in Marine Science,
6(SEP).
Abstract:
Coral reef monitoring, reef assessment technologies, and ecosystem-based management
Coral reefs are exceptionally biodiverse and human dependence on their ecosystem services is high. Reefs experience significant direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, and provide a sensitive indicator of coastal ocean health, climate change, and ocean acidification, with associated implications for society. Monitoring coral reef status and trends is essential to better inform science, management and policy, but the projected collapse of reef systems within a few decades makes the provision of accurate and actionable monitoring data urgent. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network has been the foundation for global reporting on coral reefs for two decades, and is entering into a new phase with improved operational and data standards incorporating the Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) (www.goosocean.org/eov) and Framework for Ocean Observing developed by the Global Ocean Observing System. Three EOVs provide a robust description of reef health: hard coral cover and composition, macro-algal canopy cover, and fish diversity and abundance. A data quality model based on comprehensive metadata has been designed to facilitate maximum global coverage of coral reef data, and tangible steps to track capacity building. Improved monitoring of events such as mass bleaching and disease outbreaks, citizen science, and socio-economic monitoring have the potential to greatly improve the relevance of monitoring to managers and stakeholders, and to address the complex and multi-dimensional interactions between reefs and people. A new generation of autonomous vehicles (underwater, surface, and aerial) and satellites are set to revolutionize and vastly expand our understanding of coral reefs. Promising approaches include Structure from Motion image processing, and acoustic techniques. Across all systems, curation of data in linked and open online databases, with an open data culture to maximize benefits from data integration, and empowering users to take action, are priorities. Action in the next decade will be essential to mitigate the impacts on coral reefs from warming temperatures, through local management and informing national and international obligations, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, and the role of coral reefs as a global indicator. Mobilizing data to help drive the needed behavior change is a top priority for coral reef observing systems.
Abstract.
Gordon TAC, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2019). Grieving environmental scientists need support.
Science,
366(6462).
Author URL.
Radford AN, Harding HR, Gordon TAC, Simpson SD (2019). In a noisy world, some animals are more equal than others: a response to comments on Harding et al. Behavioral Ecology, 30(6), 1516-1517.
Gordon TAC, Neto-Cerejeira J, Furey PC, O’Gorman EJ (2018). Changes in feeding selectivity of freshwater invertebrates across a natural thermal gradient. Current Zoology, 64(2), 231-242.
Harding HR, Gordon TAC, Hsuan RE, Mackaness ACE, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2018). Fish in habitats with higher motorboat disturbance show reduced sensitivity to motorboat noise.
Biology Letters,
14(10).
Abstract:
Fish in habitats with higher motorboat disturbance show reduced sensitivity to motorboat noise
Anthropogenic noise can negatively impact many taxa worldwide. It is possible that in noisy, high-disturbance environments, the range and severity of impacts could diminish over time, but the influence of previous disturbance remains untested in natural conditions. This study demonstrates the effects of motorboat noise on the physiology of an endemic cichlid fish in Lake Malawi. Exposure to motorboats (driven 20 - 100 m from fish) and loudspeaker playback of motorboat noise both elevated the oxygen-consumption rate at a single lower-disturbance site, characterized by low historic and current motorboat activity. Repeating this assay at further lower-disturbance sites revealed a consistent effect of elevated oxygen consumption in response to motorboat disturbance. However, when similar trials were repeated at four higher-disturbance sites, no effect of motorboat exposure was detected. These results demonstrate that disturbance history can affect local population responses to noise. Action regarding noise pollution should consider the past, as well as the present, when planning for the future.
Abstract.
Full text.
Gordon TAC, Harding HR, Clever FK, Davidson IK, Davison W, Montgomery DW, Weatherhead RC, Windsor FM, Armstrong JD, Bardonnet A, et al (2018). Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations.
J Fish Biol,
92(3), 804-827.
Abstract:
Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations.
Populations of fishes provide valuable services for billions of people, but face diverse and interacting threats that jeopardize their sustainability. Human population growth and intensifying resource use for food, water, energy and goods are compromising fish populations through a variety of mechanisms, including overfishing, habitat degradation and declines in water quality. The important challenges raised by these issues have been recognized and have led to considerable advances over past decades in managing and mitigating threats to fishes worldwide. In this review, we identify the major threats faced by fish populations alongside recent advances that are helping to address these issues. There are very significant efforts worldwide directed towards ensuring a sustainable future for the world's fishes and fisheries and those who rely on them. Although considerable challenges remain, by drawing attention to successful mitigation of threats to fish and fisheries we hope to provide the encouragement and direction that will allow these challenges to be overcome in the future.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Gordon TAC, Harding HR, Wong KE, Merchant ND, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2018). Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behavior of coral reef fishes.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,
115(20), 5193-5198.
Abstract:
Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behavior of coral reef fishes.
Coral reefs are increasingly degraded by climate-induced bleaching and storm damage. Reef recovery relies on recruitment of young fishes for the replenishment of functionally important taxa. Acoustic cues guide the orientation, habitat selection, and settlement of many fishes, but these processes may be impaired if degradation alters reef soundscapes. Here, we report spatiotemporally matched evidence of soundscapes altered by degradation from recordings taken before and after recent severe damage on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Postdegradation soundscapes were an average of 15 dB re 1 µPa quieter and had significantly reduced acoustic complexity, richness, and rates of invertebrate snaps compared with their predegradation equivalents. We then used these matched recordings in complementary light-trap and patch-reef experiments to assess responses of wild fish larvae under natural conditions. We show that postdegradation soundscapes were 8% less attractive to presettlement larvae and resulted in 40% less settlement of juvenile fishes than predegradation soundscapes; postdegradation soundscapes were no more attractive than open-ocean sound. However, our experimental design does not allow an estimate of how much attraction and settlement to isolated postdegradation soundscapes might change compared with isolated predegradation soundscapes. Reductions in attraction and settlement were qualitatively similar across and within all trophic guilds and taxonomic groups analyzed. These patterns may lead to declines in fish populations, exacerbating degradation. Acoustic changes might therefore trigger a feedback loop that could impair reef resilience. To understand fully the recovery potential of coral reefs, we must learn to listen.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Gordon TAC, Wilding EL, Aldridge DC (2016). Predation of freshwater gastropods (Viviparus viviparus) by brown rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 82(3), 457-463.
Gordon TAC, Cowburn B, Sluka RD (2014). Defended territories of an aggressive damselfish contain lower juvenile coral density than adjacent non-defended areas on Kenyan lagoon patch reefs. Coral Reefs, 34(1), 13-16.
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
Gordon TAC, Radford AN, Simpson SD, Meekan MG (2020). Marine restoration projects are undervalued.
Science,
367(6478), 635-636.
Author URL.
Full text.
Gordon T (2020). The changing song of the sea: soundscapes as indicators and drivers of ecosystem transition on tropical coral reefs.
Abstract:
The changing song of the sea: soundscapes as indicators and drivers of ecosystem transition on tropical coral reefs
Tropical coral reefs are ecosystems of great beauty and value, but are
degrading at unprecedented rates. New approaches are required to monitor and manage reefs worldwide, and to motivate societal changes that reduce the threats facing these vulnerable ecosystems.
Healthy coral reefs are alive with sound, as a wide range of soniferous
organisms create vibrant soundscapes that reflect the composition of the local community. Many fishes and invertebrates develop as larvae away from reefs before using sound to detect and settle to suitable reef habitat as juveniles, replenishing local populations. In this thesis, I present four field studies that develop and demonstrate the value of bioacoustic approaches to understanding and mediating responses of coral reef ecosystems to degradation.
After an introduction to coral reef bioacoustics (Chapter One), I present data showing that soundscapes in the northern Great Barrier Reef have been significantly altered by degradation. Young fishes are less attracted to these post-degradation soundscapes than their pre-degradation equivalents (Chapter Two). Following this, I show that reef recovery can also be measured using acoustic recordings. Previously-damaged reefs restored by rubble stabilisation and coral gardening sound quantifiably similar to nearby healthy reefs and different from nearby degraded reefs (Chapter Three). I then present evidence that loudspeaker playback of healthy reef sound can enhance restoration efforts by increasing fish settlement and retention; fish community development is accelerated by acoustic enrichment of coral-rubble patch reefs compared with unmanipulated controls (Chapter Four). Furthermore, I show that the response of individual species to acoustic enrichment differs in relation to other restoration conditions (Chapter Five). Finally, I discuss the implications of these data for reef monitoring and management, and the use of bioacoustics to inspire public engagement with reef conservation (Chapter Six).
In conclusion, bioacoustics offers novel methods to monitor and manage coral reefs, and can motivate people to adopt environmentally-friendly lifestyles. In a world where reefs are changing at unprecedented rates, much can be achieved by learning to listen.
Abstract.
Full text.
2019
O’Gorman EJ, Petchey OL, Faulkner KJ, Gallo B, Gordon TAC, Neto-Cerejeira J, Ólafsson JS, Pichler DE, Thompson MSA, Woodward G, et al (2019). A simple model predicts how warming simplifies wild food webs. Nature Climate Change, 9(8), 611-616.
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.
Harding HR, Gordon TAC, Eastcott E, Simpson SD, Radford AN (2019). Causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in animal responses to anthropogenic noise.
Behavioral Ecology,
30(6), 1501-1511.
Abstract:
Causes and consequences of intraspecific variation in animal responses to anthropogenic noise
Abstract
. Anthropogenic noise is a recognized global pollutant, affecting a wide range of nonhuman animals. However, most research considers only whether noise pollution has an impact, ignoring that individuals within a species or population exhibit substantial variation in responses to stress. Here, we first outline how intrinsic characteristics (e.g. body size, condition, sex, and personality) and extrinsic factors (e.g. environmental context, repeated exposure, prior experience, and multiple stressors) can affect responses to environmental stressors. We then present the results of a systematic search of the anthropogenic-noise literature, identifying articles that investigated intraspecific variation in the responses of nonhuman animals to noise. This reveals that fewer than 10% of articles (51 of 589) examining impacts of noise test experimentally for intraspecific variation in responses; of those that do, more than 75% report significant effects. We assess these existing studies to determine the current scope of research and findings to-date, and to provide suggestions for good practice in the design, implementation, and reporting of robust experiments in this field. We close by explaining how understanding intraspecific variation in responses to anthropogenic noise is crucial for improving how we manage captive animals, monitor wild populations, model species responses, and mitigate effects of noise pollution on wildlife. Our aim is to stimulate greater knowledge and more effective management of the harmful consequences of this global pollutant.
Abstract.
Obura DO, Aeby G, Amornthammarong N, Appeltans W, Bax N, Bishop J, Brainard RE, Chan S, Fletcher P, Gordon TAC, et al (2019). Coral reef monitoring, reef assessment technologies, and ecosystem-based management.
Frontiers in Marine Science,
6(SEP).
Abstract:
Coral reef monitoring, reef assessment technologies, and ecosystem-based management
Coral reefs are exceptionally biodiverse and human dependence on their ecosystem services is high. Reefs experience significant direct and indirect anthropogenic pressures, and provide a sensitive indicator of coastal ocean health, climate change, and ocean acidification, with associated implications for society. Monitoring coral reef status and trends is essential to better inform science, management and policy, but the projected collapse of reef systems within a few decades makes the provision of accurate and actionable monitoring data urgent. The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network has been the foundation for global reporting on coral reefs for two decades, and is entering into a new phase with improved operational and data standards incorporating the Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) (www.goosocean.org/eov) and Framework for Ocean Observing developed by the Global Ocean Observing System. Three EOVs provide a robust description of reef health: hard coral cover and composition, macro-algal canopy cover, and fish diversity and abundance. A data quality model based on comprehensive metadata has been designed to facilitate maximum global coverage of coral reef data, and tangible steps to track capacity building. Improved monitoring of events such as mass bleaching and disease outbreaks, citizen science, and socio-economic monitoring have the potential to greatly improve the relevance of monitoring to managers and stakeholders, and to address the complex and multi-dimensional interactions between reefs and people. A new generation of autonomous vehicles (underwater, surface, and aerial) and satellites are set to revolutionize and vastly expand our understanding of coral reefs. Promising approaches include Structure from Motion image processing, and acoustic techniques. Across all systems, curation of data in linked and open online databases, with an open data culture to maximize benefits from data integration, and empowering users to take action, are priorities. Action in the next decade will be essential to mitigate the impacts on coral reefs from warming temperatures, through local management and informing national and international obligations, particularly in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action, and the role of coral reefs as a global indicator. Mobilizing data to help drive the needed behavior change is a top priority for coral reef observing systems.
Abstract.
Gordon TAC, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2019). Grieving environmental scientists need support.
Science,
366(6462).
Author URL.
Radford AN, Harding HR, Gordon TAC, Simpson SD (2019). In a noisy world, some animals are more equal than others: a response to comments on Harding et al. Behavioral Ecology, 30(6), 1516-1517.
2018
Gordon TAC, Neto-Cerejeira J, Furey PC, O’Gorman EJ (2018). Changes in feeding selectivity of freshwater invertebrates across a natural thermal gradient. Current Zoology, 64(2), 231-242.
Harding HR, Gordon TAC, Hsuan RE, Mackaness ACE, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2018). Fish in habitats with higher motorboat disturbance show reduced sensitivity to motorboat noise.
Biology Letters,
14(10).
Abstract:
Fish in habitats with higher motorboat disturbance show reduced sensitivity to motorboat noise
Anthropogenic noise can negatively impact many taxa worldwide. It is possible that in noisy, high-disturbance environments, the range and severity of impacts could diminish over time, but the influence of previous disturbance remains untested in natural conditions. This study demonstrates the effects of motorboat noise on the physiology of an endemic cichlid fish in Lake Malawi. Exposure to motorboats (driven 20 - 100 m from fish) and loudspeaker playback of motorboat noise both elevated the oxygen-consumption rate at a single lower-disturbance site, characterized by low historic and current motorboat activity. Repeating this assay at further lower-disturbance sites revealed a consistent effect of elevated oxygen consumption in response to motorboat disturbance. However, when similar trials were repeated at four higher-disturbance sites, no effect of motorboat exposure was detected. These results demonstrate that disturbance history can affect local population responses to noise. Action regarding noise pollution should consider the past, as well as the present, when planning for the future.
Abstract.
Full text.
Gordon TAC, Harding HR, Clever FK, Davidson IK, Davison W, Montgomery DW, Weatherhead RC, Windsor FM, Armstrong JD, Bardonnet A, et al (2018). Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations.
J Fish Biol,
92(3), 804-827.
Abstract:
Fishes in a changing world: learning from the past to promote sustainability of fish populations.
Populations of fishes provide valuable services for billions of people, but face diverse and interacting threats that jeopardize their sustainability. Human population growth and intensifying resource use for food, water, energy and goods are compromising fish populations through a variety of mechanisms, including overfishing, habitat degradation and declines in water quality. The important challenges raised by these issues have been recognized and have led to considerable advances over past decades in managing and mitigating threats to fishes worldwide. In this review, we identify the major threats faced by fish populations alongside recent advances that are helping to address these issues. There are very significant efforts worldwide directed towards ensuring a sustainable future for the world's fishes and fisheries and those who rely on them. Although considerable challenges remain, by drawing attention to successful mitigation of threats to fish and fisheries we hope to provide the encouragement and direction that will allow these challenges to be overcome in the future.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
Gordon TAC, Harding HR, Wong KE, Merchant ND, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Radford AN, Simpson SD (2018). Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behavior of coral reef fishes.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,
115(20), 5193-5198.
Abstract:
Habitat degradation negatively affects auditory settlement behavior of coral reef fishes.
Coral reefs are increasingly degraded by climate-induced bleaching and storm damage. Reef recovery relies on recruitment of young fishes for the replenishment of functionally important taxa. Acoustic cues guide the orientation, habitat selection, and settlement of many fishes, but these processes may be impaired if degradation alters reef soundscapes. Here, we report spatiotemporally matched evidence of soundscapes altered by degradation from recordings taken before and after recent severe damage on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Postdegradation soundscapes were an average of 15 dB re 1 µPa quieter and had significantly reduced acoustic complexity, richness, and rates of invertebrate snaps compared with their predegradation equivalents. We then used these matched recordings in complementary light-trap and patch-reef experiments to assess responses of wild fish larvae under natural conditions. We show that postdegradation soundscapes were 8% less attractive to presettlement larvae and resulted in 40% less settlement of juvenile fishes than predegradation soundscapes; postdegradation soundscapes were no more attractive than open-ocean sound. However, our experimental design does not allow an estimate of how much attraction and settlement to isolated postdegradation soundscapes might change compared with isolated predegradation soundscapes. Reductions in attraction and settlement were qualitatively similar across and within all trophic guilds and taxonomic groups analyzed. These patterns may lead to declines in fish populations, exacerbating degradation. Acoustic changes might therefore trigger a feedback loop that could impair reef resilience. To understand fully the recovery potential of coral reefs, we must learn to listen.
Abstract.
Author URL.
Full text.
2016
Gordon TAC, Wilding EL, Aldridge DC (2016). Predation of freshwater gastropods (Viviparus viviparus) by brown rats (Rattus norvegicus). Journal of Molluscan Studies, 82(3), 457-463.
2014
Gordon TAC, Cowburn B, Sluka RD (2014). Defended territories of an aggressive damselfish contain lower juvenile coral density than adjacent non-defended areas on Kenyan lagoon patch reefs. Coral Reefs, 34(1), 13-16.
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