Research carried out in Curaçao suggests that coral larvae use sound to find suitable habitats in which to establish coral colonies (which grow to become coral reefs):
Dr Steve Simpson, Senior Researcher in the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences discovered several years ago that baby reef fish use sound as a cue to find coral reefs, but was amazed when his Dutch collaborators in Curaçao started finding that coral larvae — which must quickly find a safe place to land and establish a colony or they will die — can do the same thing.
The team designed a ‘choice chamber’ (a device that offers small invertebrates two or more contrasting conditions and allows them to move freely towards the one they prefer), put coral larvae into it and played them recordings of a coral reef. The results clearly showed that the flea-sized larvae were strongly attracted to the noise as they seek a suitable habitat.
One of the implications on this research is that marine noise pollution could be inhibiting coral reef development:
Since corals, like fish, respond to reef sounds then the masking effects of human noise pollution in coral environments is of extra concern. “Anthropogenic noise has increased dramatically in recent years, with small boats, shipping, drilling, pile driving and seismic testing now sometimes drowning out the natural sounds of fish and snapping shrimps,” Dr Simpson said.
Read more at Science Daily. The complete article reporting the research findings is available for download from PLoS One.
[Photo: Spencer Thomas]
