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Underwater Soundscapes

February 15, 2018

WHOI postdoctoral scholar Ashlee Lillis checks on snapping shrimp in a tank at the Institution’s Environmental Systems Laboratory. The shrimp have one oversized claw that they use to make a characteristic snapping sound. One snap can be as loud as 220 decibels—much louder than a gunshot—but it only lasts about one ten-thousandth of a second. Lillis is working with WHOI biologist Aran Mooney to study the factors determining how and when the shrimp snap. Since they live in dense aggregations, their snapping can dominate the underwater soundscape on coral reefs and in other coastal environments. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)