Temporal and Spatial Comparisons of Underwater Sound Signatures of Different Reef Habitats in Moorea Island, French Polynesia

Author(s)Bertucci, Frédéric
Author(s)Parmentier, Eric
Author(s)Berten, Laëtitia
Author(s)Brooker, Rohan M.
Author(s)Lecchini, David
Ordered AuthorFrédéric Bertucci, Eric Parmentier, Laëtitia Berten, Rohan M. Brooker, David Lecchini
UD AuthorBrooker, Rohan M.en_US
Date Accessioned2016-04-11T15:43:07Z
Date Available2016-04-11T15:43:07Z
Copyright DateCopyright © 2015 Bertucci et al.en_US
Publication Date2015-09-09
DescriptionPublisher's PDF.en_US
AbstractAs environmental sounds are used by larval fish and crustaceans to locate and orientate towards habitat during settlement, variations in the acoustic signature produced by habitats could provide valuable information about habitat quality, helping larvae to differentiate between potential settlement sites. However, very little is known about how acoustic signatures differ between proximate habitats. This study described within- and between-site differences in the sound spectra of five contiguous habitats at Moorea Island, French Polynesia: the inner reef crest, the barrier reef, the fringing reef, a pass and a coastal mangrove forest. Habitats with coral (inner, barrier and fringing reefs) were characterized by a similar sound spectrum with average intensities ranging from 70 to 78 dB re 1μPa.Hz-1. The mangrove forest had a lower sound intensity of 70 dB re 1μPa.Hz-1 while the pass was characterized by a higher sound level with an average intensity of 91 dB re 1μPa.Hz-1. Habitats showed significantly different intensities for most frequencies, and a decreasing intensity gradient was observed from the reef to the shore. While habitats close to the shore showed no significant diel variation in sound intensities, sound levels increased at the pass during the night and barrier reef during the day. These two habitats also appeared to be louder in the North than in the West. These findings suggest that daily variations in sound intensity and across-reef sound gradients could be a valuable source of information for settling larvae. They also provide further evidence that closely related habitats, separated by less than 1 km, can differ significantly in their spectral composition and that these signatures might be typical and conserved along the coast of Moorea.en_US
DepartmentUniversity of Delaware. School of Marine Science and Policy.en_US
CitationBertucci F, Parmentier E, Berten L, Brooker RM, Lecchini D (2015) Temporal and Spatial Comparisons of Underwater Sound Signatures of Different Reef Habitats in Moorea Island, French Polynesia. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0135733. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0135733en_US
DOI10.1371/ journal.pone.0135733en_US
ISSN1932-6203en_US
URLhttp://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/17607
Languageen_USen_US
PublisherPLOS (Public Library of Science)en_US
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0en_US
dc.sourcePLOS Oneen_US
dc.source.urihttp://journals.plos.org/plosone/en_US
TitleTemporal and Spatial Comparisons of Underwater Sound Signatures of Different Reef Habitats in Moorea Island, French Polynesiaen_US
TypeArticleen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Temporal and Spatial Comparisons of Underwater Sound Signatures of Different Reef Habitats in Moorea Island, French Polynesia_1450452699T6894.pdf
Size:
1.19 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.22 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: