Variation in habitat soundscape characteristics influences settlement of a reef-building coral

PeerJ

article

Ashlee Lillis¹  DelWayne Bohnenstiehl²  Jason W. Peters³  David Eggleston² 

[1] Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution;Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University;Artificial Reef Program, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

关键词: Coral;    Larval settlement;    Reef soundscape;    Habitat cue;    Habitat selection;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.2557

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Coral populations, and the productive reef ecosystems they support, rely on successful recruitment of reef-building species, beginning with settlement of dispersing larvae into habitat favourable to survival. Many substrate cues have been identified as contributors to coral larval habitat selection; however, the potential for ambient acoustic cues to influence coral settlement responses is unknown. Using in situ settlement chambers that excluded other habitat cues, larval settlement of a dominant Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata, was compared in response to three local soundscapes, with differing acoustic and habitat properties. Differences between reef sites in the number of larvae settled in chambers isolating acoustic cues corresponded to differences in sound levels and reef characteristics, with sounds at the loudest reef generating significantly higher settlement during trials compared to the quietest site (a 29.5 % increase). These results suggest that soundscapes could be an important influence on coral settlement patterns and that acoustic cues associated with reef habitat may be related to larval settlement. This study reports an effect of soundscape variation on larval settlement for a key coral species, and adds to the growing evidence that soundscapes affect marine ecosystems by influencing early life history processes of foundational species.

【 授权许可】

CC BY