# Coral Reefs Improve with Sound

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2020/01/coral-reefs-improve-with-sound/
- Published: 2020-01-08T01:59:59-05:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

According to [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/damaged-coral-reefs-could-be-restored-using-underwater-loudspeakers/),
[coral reefs](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/damaged-coral-reefs-could-be-restored-using-underwater-loudspeakers/)
around the world have long suffered from the effects of climate change and overfishing.
But scientists haven’t given up on saving the natural wonders. So now, a new study
shows loudspeakers could help.

So researchers set up underwater loudspeakers in Australia’s northern [Great Barrier Reef](https://greenlivingguy.com/2019/09/great-barrier-reef-at-risk-of-becoming-dumping-ground/)
in late 2017. All the while blasting recorded sounds of healthy reefs to encourage
young fish. That’s to return to, and settle in, damaged ones. [In a study published Friday](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13186-2)
in the journal Nature, the researchers said this “acoustic enrichment” can help 
revive coral reefs globally.

“Healthy coral [reefs](https://greenlivingguy.com/2018/03/belize-tourism-board-launches-sister-reef-project-to-benefit-world-wildlife-fund/)
are remarkably noisy places – the crackle of snapping shrimp and the whoops and 
grunts of fish combine to form a dazzling biological soundscape. Juvenile fish home
in on these sounds when they’re looking for a place to settle,” senior author and
[professor Steve Simpson](http://biosciences.exeter.ac.uk/staff/profile/index.php?web_id=Stephen_Simpson)
of the University of Exeter said [in a press release Friday](https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/featurednews/title_768084_en.html).

In addition, coral reefs become ghostly quiet when they are degraded, as the shrimps
and fish disappear, but by using loudspeakers to restore this lost soundscape, we
can attract young fish back again,” he said.

#### ![Coral reefs](https://i0.wp.com/greenlivingguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/pexels-photo-920157.jpg?resize=780%2C469&quality=52&ssl=1 "Coral Reefs Improve with Sound - The Green Living Guy")

Furthermore, researchers found that twice as many fish flocked to the “acoustically
enriched reefs”. That’s compared to areas where no sound was played. Its a crucial
factor in kick-starting natural recovery processes. And not only did the six-week
loudspeaker experiment double the total number of fish arriving at the habitats.
It also increased the number of species in the region by 50%.

**Source**: CBS NEWS

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 greenlivingguy

 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is an independent power producer, a green living
expert, and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author,
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