Enhancing how we hear the health of coral reefs
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Enhancing how we hear the health of coral reefs
Scientists use underwater microphones, or hydrophones, to record reef sounds. AIMS researchers and partners have found that coral reef soundscapes vary significantly across reef habitats. Researchers used data from three sites: Lizard Island in the Great Barrier Reef, Coral Bay at Ningaloo World Heritage Marine Park and Guanacaste Conservation area in Costa Rica. Scientists used a tool called the Soundscape Code to help them understand the characteristics of the reef soundscape. This helped them to detect different soundscape within the same coral reef, at monitoring stations just 30 meters apart. The team also found the placement and orientation of hydrophones affect soundscape recordings, which is essential to account for when designing monitoring systems. The research contributes to the advance of underwater acoustics as a tool for ecological monitoring, ground-testing commonly used and novel methods, scientists say.
Source: Phys.org | Read full article
How machine learning helps save coral reefs — by listening
Coral reefs are critical ecosystems on the brink of extinction. Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advancements in machine learning have enabled experts to identify, monitor and predict coral health. How do they achieve this? They listen. The coral reef soundscape is loud and chaotic and an indication of reef health. A reef thrives when fish and other marine species make a lot of noise. Conversely, it’s more concerning when a reef goes silent — a sign of degradation.Sound analysis using machine learning plays a critical role in tracking coral colony recovery. Experts can use several recordings of healthy and dying reefs to train a computer algorithm to recognize the differences. A 2022 study found a 91.7% success rate in identifying healthy reefs, allowing the team to examine progress or deterioration. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean has 79 thousand tons of microastics floating within 1 square kilometers. Unfortunately, this litter can damage fragile coral reef ecosystems in the Hawaii and California Oceans. Future insights could include satellite imagery, attaching machines and measuring ocean measurements.
Source: Datasciencecentral.com | Read full article
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Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-05-health-coral-reefs.html