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Sounds of the Reef

November 2, 2018

Engineer Rod Catanach sets up a four-channel acoustic recorder to measure coral reef soundscapes—a combination of biological and non-biological sounds produced by everything from fish to waves—during field work in the Virgin Islands National Park in St. John. Once deployed, the instrument will measure sound pressure and particle motion, which are directly relevant to how marine organisms sense sound in their environment. The research, led by biologist Aran Mooney, helps shed light on the abundance of marine animals on the reef and how they use sound in the ocean to communicate, navigate, find prey, and listen for or avoid predators. (Photo by Aran Mooney, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)