Noisy Reefs Help Young Fish Find Their Home
Young reef fish use the chorus of sounds made by other fish to find and settle in suitable habitat, but damage to reefs from storms and coral bleaching affects these sounds and thus the ability of juvenile fish to find a home.
A reef’s soundscape – the variety of sounds reef-dwelling animals collectively make – reflects the abundance and diversity of the reef’s inhabitants. Healthy reefs have a loud and complex soundscape, which larval and young reef fish use to find and settle in suitable habitat. Like an orchestra missing the horns or string section, reefs degraded by storms and coral bleaching lose both the volume and complexity of their song, making them less inviting to this next generation of reef fish.