Healthy reef sounds can boost coral and fish recovery efforts
Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography have found that playing sounds from healthy reefs can encourage coral and fish larvae to settle on degraded reefs. This acoustic enrichment technique is being tested as a nature-based strategy to restore marine ecosystems.
Why it matters
Innovative restoration methods are critical for protecting biodiversity and coastal resilience in the face of climate-driven reef degradation.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add to Preferred Sources Damselfish swim near a separately located artificial reef "Stack" structure which were also used in the acoustic enrichment studies. Credit: Nina Schiettekatte Coral reefs are renowned for their visual beauty, but for the marine life they support, their sounds may be just as enticing. Two new studies led by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveal how underwater acoustic enrichment—the playback of sounds from healthy reefs—can help spur the recovery of degraded coral reefs and their fish communities.
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