An Ear in the Ocean

WHOI research engineer Rod Catanach wires a sound recorder on a coral reef off St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. MIT-WHOI Joint Program student Justin Suca used the instrument to record reef soundscapes as part of a study to investigate whether larval fish use auditory cues to navigate from the open ocean where they hatch, to the coral reefs where they settle as adults. WHOI biologists Aran Mooney and Joel Llopiz say understanding what attracts fish to healthy coral reefs could help provide the insight needed restoring sick reefs. (Photo by Laura Weber, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)