Federation university, Public university in Ballarat, Australia

In order to improve the conditions of the degraded coral reefs in the ocean, researchers are attracting young fishes by playing the sound of healthy reefs.An international team of scientists from the UK's University of Exeter and University of Bristol, and Australia's James Cook University and Australian Institute of Marine Science said this "acoustic enrichment" could be a valuable tool in helping to restore damaged coral reefs.Working on Australia's recently devastated Great Barrier Reef, the scientists placed underwater loudspeakers playing healthy reef recordings in patches of dead coral and found twice as many fish arrived - and stayed - compared to equivalent patches where no sound was played."Fish are crucial for coral reefs to function as healthy ecosystems," said lead author Tim Gordon, of the University of Exeter."Boosting fish populations in this way could help to kick-start natural recovery processes, counteracting the damage we're seeing on many coral reefs around the world," Gordon added.This new technique works by regenerating the sounds that are lost when reefs are quietened by degradation."Healthy coral reefs are remarkably noisy places - the crackle of snapping shrimp and the whoops and grunts of the fish combine to form a dazzling biological soundscape.Juvenile fish home in on these sounds when they're looking for a place to settle," said senior author Professor Steve Simpson, also of the University of Exeter."Reefs become ghostly quiet when they are degraded, as the shrimps and fish disappear, but by using loudspeakers to restore this lost soundscape, we can attract young fish back again," continued Simpson."Of course, attracting fish to a dead reef won't bring it back to life automatically, but recovery is underpinned by fish that clean the reef and create space for corals to regrow," Australian Institute of Marine Science fish biologist Dr Mark Meekan added.The study found that broadcasting healthy reef sound doubled the total number of fish arriving onto experimental patches of reef habitat, as well as increasing the number of species present by 50 per cent.This diversity included species from all sections of the food web - herbivores, detritivores, planktivores and predatory piscivores, reported the study published in - Nature Communications.Different groups of fish provide different functions on coral reefs, meng an abundant and diverse fish population is an important factor in maintaining a healthy ecosystem."Acoustic enrichment is a promising technique for management on a local basis. If combined with habitat restoration and other conservation measures, rebuilding fish communities in this manner might accelerate ecosystem recovery," said Professor Andy Radford, a co-author from the University of Bristol."However, we still need to tackle a host of other threats including climate change, overfishing and water pollution in order to protect these fragile ecosystems," continued Radford.( With inputs from ANI )

Federation UniversityFOLLOW

Federation university, Latest News

Brian Lara was a touch disappointed with Australia captain Tim Paine's decision of declaring their first innings against Pakistan in the Adelaide Test and not allowing David Warner to go past the West Indies batsman' record individual score of 400. ...

Australia on Monday termed the conditions under which Chinese-born Australian writer Yang Hengjun, held in China since January on accusations of espionage, as "unacceptable". ...

Priyam Garg will be leading India in their title defence at next year's ICC U19 World Cup to be held in South Africa from January 17 to February 9. On Monday, the All-India Junior Selection Committee announced the 15-member squad, with Dhruv Chand Ju ...

Pakistan would hope for a miracle if they want to avoid a series whitewash against Australia as the Green Brigade were trailing by 248 runs with seven wickets in hand in their second innings before rain fored an early draw of stumps on Day 3 of the s ...

Australia leg-spinner Kristen Beams has decided to hang her boots from playing career and the ongoing season of the Women's Big Bash League (WBBL) set to be her last. ...

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar on Saturday lambasted the team's bowlers after they failed to create an impact on the second day of the second Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Even as Australia opener David Warner scored his maide ...

Australia skipper Tim Paine's surprising decision to declare their first innings early against Pakistan in the second Test here on Saturday has not gone down well with cricket fans. David Warner was unbeaten on 335 when Paine declared the innings at ...

In order to improve the conditions of the degraded coral reefs in the ocean, researchers are attracting young fishes by playing the sound of healthy reefs. ...