2019 journal article

Fish community structure, habitat complexity, and soundscape characteristics of patch reefs in a tropical, back-reef system

MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES, 609, 33–48.

author keywords: Soundscapes; Fish community structure; Habitat complexity; Nursery
Source: Web Of Science
Added: February 4, 2019

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 609:33-48 (2019) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12829 Fish community structure, habitat complexity, and soundscape characteristics of patch reefs in a tropical, back-reef system R. Patrick Lyon1,2,*, David B. Eggleston1,2, DelWayne R. Bohnenstiehl2,3, Craig A. Layman4, Shannon W. Ricci3, Jacob E. Allgeier5 1Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, North Carolina State University, Morehead City, North Carolina 28557, USA 2Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA 3Center for Geospatial Analytics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA 4Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA 5Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA *Corresponding author: rplyon@ncsu.edu ABSTRACT: Marine soundscapes can provide information on the presence of soniferous species and, in some cases, habitat characteristics and biodiversity of certain marine organisms. Tropical back-reefs functioning as nursery areas provide essential fish habitat for juveniles and sub-adults moving to offshore coral reefs as they grow; yet little is known of underwater soundscapes in these habitats. We characterized the soundscapes of 7 artificial patch reefs within a seagrass-dominated, back-reef embayment in The Bahamas. Hydrophones were deployed at each reef and recorded simultaneously for 2 min every 20 min from March to July 2016. Sound pressure levels (SPLs) and acoustic complexity (ACI) were analyzed for low (0.1-1.5 kHz) and high (4-20 kHz) frequency bands to evaluate sounds produced by marine organisms. Low frequency SPLs associated with fish vocalizations peaked twice per day for some reefs, but showed no relationship with habitat complexity or fish community structure. High frequency SPLs and invertebrate snap rates peaked nightly and were positively correlated with structural rugosity of reefs but not fish community structure. ACI values for both high and low frequency bands showed no associations with habitat complexity or fish community structure. These findings suggest that high frequency SPLs and invertebrate snap rates may be more indicative of habitat complexity in back-reef nurseries than low frequency SPLs, and that neither ACI values for low or high frequency bands correlate with fish community structure in areas dominated by juvenile and sub-adult fish. KEY WORDS: Soundscapes · Fish community structure · Habitat complexity · Nursery Full text in pdf format Supplementary material PreviousNextCite this article as: Lyon RP, Eggleston DB, Bohnenstiehl DR, Layman CA, Ricci SW, Allgeier JE (2019) Fish community structure, habitat complexity, and soundscape characteristics of patch reefs in a tropical, back-reef system. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 609:33-48. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12829 Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 609. Online publication date: January 17, 2019 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2019 Inter-Research.