Variation in habitat soundscape characteristics influences settlement of a reef-building coral
نویسندگان
چکیده
Coral populations, and the productive reef ecosystems they support, rely on successful recruitment of reef-building species, beginning with settlement of dispersing larvae into habitat favourable to survival. Many substrate cues have been identified as contributors to coral larval habitat selection; however, the potential for ambient acoustic cues to influence coral settlement responses is unknown. Using in situ settlement chambers that excluded other habitat cues, larval settlement of a dominant Caribbean reef-building coral, Orbicella faveolata, was compared in response to three local soundscapes, with differing acoustic and habitat properties. Differences between reef sites in the number of larvae settled in chambers isolating acoustic cues corresponded to differences in sound levels and reef characteristics, with sounds at the loudest reef generating significantly higher settlement during trials compared to the quietest site (a 29.5 % increase). These results suggest that soundscapes could be an important influence on coral settlement patterns and that acoustic cues associated with reef habitat may be related to larval settlement. This study reports an effect of soundscape variation on larval settlement for a key coral species, and adds to the growing evidence that soundscapes affect marine ecosystems by influencing early life history processes of foundational species.
منابع مشابه
Soundscape manipulation enhances larval recruitment of a reef-building mollusk
Marine seafloor ecosystems, and efforts to restore them, depend critically on the influx and settlement of larvae following their pelagic dispersal period. Larval dispersal and settlement patterns are driven by a combination of physical oceanography and behavioral responses of larvae to a suite of sensory cues both in the water column and at settlement sites. There is growing evidence that the ...
متن کاملCharacteristics of Settling Coral Reef Fish Are Related to Recruitment Timing and Success
Many marine populations exhibit high variability in the recruitment of young into the population. While environmental cycles and oceanography explain some patterns of replenishment, the role of other growth-related processes in influencing settlement and recruitment is less clear. Examination of a 65-mo. time series of recruitment of a common coral reef fish, Stegastes partitus, to the reefs of...
متن کاملDifferential responses of coral larvae to the colour of ambient light guide them to suitable settlement microhabitat.
Reef-building corals produce planktonic planula larvae that must select an appropriate habitat to settle and spend the rest of their life, a behaviour that plays a critical role in survival. Here, we report that larvae obtained from a deep-water population of Pseudodiploria strigosa settled more readily under blue light and in the dark, which aligns well with the light field characteristics of ...
متن کاملOyster Larvae Settle in Response to Habitat-Associated Underwater Sounds
Following a planktonic dispersal period of days to months, the larvae of benthic marine organisms must locate suitable seafloor habitat in which to settle and metamorphose. For animals that are sessile or sedentary as adults, settlement onto substrates that are adequate for survival and reproduction is particularly critical, yet represents a challenge since patchily distributed settlement sites...
متن کاملChemical effects of macroalgae on larval settlement of the broadcast spawning coral Acropora millepora
Recovery of degraded reefs is dependent on the settlement of coral larvae into habitats typically dominated by benthic algae, so that benthic algae may play pivotal roles in coral settlement and reef recovery. Here we demonstrate that waterborne influences of macroalgae could affect coral settlement before larvae contact reef substrata and that such effects vary between macroalgae. We tested fo...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره 4 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016