SeaXplore

Dive Report
SeaXplore
Dive Report

Ardeodoris sp.
 SeaXplore
Dive Report

Adorned Wrasse Juv – Photo Umar

SeaXplore
Dive Report

Wedged Tailed Wrasse

 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels
approximately four times
faster in water than air
• The denser the medium,
the faster sound travels
• so sound travels a bit
faster in salt water than
fresh
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels
approximately four times
faster in water than air
• The denser the medium,
the faster sound travels
• so sound travels a bit
faster in salt water than
fresh
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels
approximately four times
faster in water than air
• The denser the medium,
the faster sound travels
• so sound travels a bit
faster in salt water than
fresh
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels
approximately four times
faster in water than air
• The denser the medium,
the faster sound travels
• so sound travels a bit
faster in salt water than
fresh water
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• The faster rate of sound
travel has several effects on
the diver
• The brain uses time
differential between ears to
determine sound direction
• Sound delay is ¼ that of
land, so sound is perceived
as being all around the diver
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• The faster rate of sound
travel has several effects on
the diver
• The brain uses time
differential between ears to
determine sound direction
• Sound delay is ¼ that of
land, so sound is perceived
as being all around the diver
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• The faster rate of sound
travel has several effects on
the diver
• The brain uses time
differential between ears to
determine sound direction
• Sound delay is ¼ that of
land, so sound is perceived
as being all around the diver
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels over greater
distances in the water
• To a diver, a boat engine may
sound as if it is overhead.
Once on the surface, the diver
may find that the boat is far
away
• Changes in water density can
interfere with the transmission
of sound underwater
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels over greater
distances in the water
• To a diver, a boat engine may
sound as if it is overhead.
Once on the surface, the diver
may find that the boat is far
away
• Changes in water density can
interfere with the transmission
of sound underwater
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Sound travels over greater
distances in the water
• To a diver, a boat engine may
sound as if it is overhead.
Once on the surface, the diver
may find that the boat is far
away
• Changes in water density can
interfere with the transmission
of sound underwater
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Density variations are most
commonly caused by
differences in salinity
(haloclines) and
temperature (thermoclines)
• These act as barriers to the
travel of sound and either
will reduce it or diminish it
to the point that the diver
can’t hear it at all
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
U/W Sound Physics
• Density variations are most
commonly caused by
differences in salinity
(haloclines) and
temperature (thermoclines)
• These act as barriers to the
travel of sound and either
will reduce it or diminish it
to the point that the diver
can’t hear it at all
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
What is the crackling noise
one hears when scuba
diving?
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
What is the crackling noise
one hears when scuba
diving?
• One common organism
living in the reef is the
snapping shrimp
• They basically flick their
claw extremely fast which
creates a small air bubble
which subsequently makes
a snapping sound
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
What is the crackling noise
one hears when scuba
diving?
• One common organism
living in the reef is the
snapping shrimp
• They basically flick their
claw extremely fast which
creates a small air bubble
which subsequently makes
a snapping sound
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
What is the crackling noise
one hears when scuba
diving?
• Interesting enough, that
tiny cavitation bubble
reaches an internal
temperature of around
5,000k - nearly the same
temperature of the
surface of the sun
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
What is the crackling noise
one hears when scuba
diving?
• When you have hundreds or
even thousands of these
guys snapping away
underwater, it sounds like
snap, crackle and pop
• As peaceful as they appear
visually, healthy reefs are
noisy places!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
What is the crackling noise
one hears when scuba
diving?
• When you have hundreds or
even thousands of these
guys snapping away
underwater, it sounds like
snap, crackle and pop
• As peaceful as they appear
visually, healthy reefs are
noisy places!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How load is a snapping
shrimp?
• The snap of its claw
releases a sound that can
reach 218 decibels
• louder than a gunshot
• This species sometimes
also live in colonies that
can number over 300
members!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How load is a snapping
shrimp?
• The snap of its claw
releases a sound that can
reach 218 decibels
• louder than a gunshot
• This species sometimes
also live in colonies that
can number over 300
members!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How load is a snapping
shrimp?
• The snap of its claw
releases a sound that can
reach 218 decibels
• louder than a gunshot
• This species sometimes
also live in colonies that
can number over 300
members!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How load is a snapping
shrimp?
• The snap of its claw
releases a sound that can
reach 218 decibels
• louder than a gunshot
• This species sometimes
also live in colonies that
can number over 300
members!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Fish have long been
known to communicate
by several silent
mechanisms
• More recently
researchers have found
evidence that some
species also use sound!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Fish have long been
known to communicate
by several silent
mechanisms
• More recently
researchers have found
evidence that some
species also use sound!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Fish have long been
known to communicate
by several silent
mechanisms
• More recently
researchers have found
evidence that some
species also use sound!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• It is well known that fish
communicate by gesture
and motion, as in the highly
synchronized swimming of
schools of fish
• Some species use electrical
pulses as signals, and some
use bioluminescence
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• It is well known that fish
communicate by gesture
and motion, as in the highly
synchronized swimming of
schools of fish
• Some species use electrical
pulses as signals, and some
use bioluminescence
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Some kinds of fish also
release chemicals that can
be sensed by smell or taste
• In 2011, a scientist in New
Zealand suggested that
what might be called fish
vocalization has a role, at
least in some ocean fish
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Some kinds of fish also
release chemicals that can
be sensed by smell or taste
• In 2011, a scientist in New
Zealand suggested that
what might be called fish
vocalization has a role, at
least in some ocean fish
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In the widely publicized work,
done for his doctoral thesis at the
University of Auckland,
Shahriman Ghazali recorded reef
fish in the wild and in captivity,
and found two dominant
vocalizations
• The croak and the purr
• Choruses that lasted up to three
hours, as well as a previously
undescribed popping sound
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In the widely publicized work,
done for his doctoral thesis at the
University of Auckland,
Shahriman Ghazali recorded reef
fish in the wild and in captivity,
and found two dominant
vocalizations
• The croak and the purr
• Choruses that lasted up to three
hours, as well as a previously
undescribed popping sound
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In the widely publicized work,
done for his doctoral thesis at the
University of Auckland,
Shahriman Ghazali recorded reef
fish in the wild and in captivity,
and found two dominant
vocalizations
• The croak and the purr
• Choruses that lasted up to three
hours, as well as a previously
undescribed popping sound
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• “Vocalization” is a bit of
a misnomer, as the
sounds these fish make
are produced by
contracting and vibrating
the swim bladder, not by
using the mouth.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• 1-liver
• 2-stomach
• 3-intestine
• 4-heart
• 5-swim bladder
• 6- kidney
• 7-reproductive organ
• 8- ureter
• 9-efferent duct
• 10-urinary bladder
• 11-gills 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• 1-liver
• 2-stomach
• 3-intestine
• 4-heart
• 5-swim bladder
• 6- kidney
• 7-reproductive organ
• 8- ureter
• 9-efferent duct
• 10-urinary bladder
• 11-gills 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• 1-liver
• 2-stomach
• 3-intestine
• 4-heart
• 5-swim bladder
• 6- kidney
• 7-reproductive organ
• 8- ureter
• 9-efferent duct
• 10-urinary bladder
• 11-gills 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Inside the abdominal cavity
of most types of fish is a gas-
filled sac called a swim
bladder
• A fish uses the sac to control
its buoyancy
• When gas is added to the
swim bladder, the fish is
more buoyant and can swim
higher in the water
• When gas is removed, the
fish sinks in the water 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Inside the abdominal cavity
of most types of fish is a gas-
filled sac called a swim
bladder
• A fish uses the sac to control
its buoyancy
• When gas is added to the
swim bladder, the fish is
more buoyant and can swim
higher in the water
• When gas is removed, the
fish sinks in the water 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Inside the abdominal cavity
of most types of fish is a gas-
filled sac called a swim
bladder
• A fish uses the sac to control
its buoyancy
• When gas is added to the
swim bladder, the fish is
more buoyant and can swim
higher in the water
• When gas is removed, the
fish sinks in the water 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Inside the abdominal cavity
of most types of fish is a gas-
filled sac called a swim
bladder
• A fish uses the sac to control
its buoyancy
• When gas is added to the
swim bladder, the fish is
more buoyant and can swim
higher in the water
• When gas is removed, the
fish sinks in the water 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• The swim bladder is
filled in one of two ways
• Some fish gulp air from
the water surface
• The air then passes
through a duct
connecting the
oesophagus to the swim
bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• The swim bladder is
filled in one of two ways
• Some fish gulp air from
the water surface
• The air then passes
through a duct
connecting the
oesophagus to the swim
bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• The swim bladder is
filled in one of two ways
• Some fish gulp air from
the water surface
• The air then passes
through a duct
connecting the
oesophagus to the swim
bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• The oesophagus is the
passageway that
connects the mouth to
the stomach
• Other fish have a gas
gland
• This extracts gas from
the blood and sends it
into the swim bladder 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• The oesophagus is the
passageway that
connects the mouth to
the stomach
• Other fish have a gas
gland
• This extracts gas from
the blood and sends it
into the swim bladder 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• The oesophagus is the
passageway that
connects the mouth to
the stomach
• Other fish have a gas
gland
• This extracts gas from
the blood and sends it
into the swim bladder 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In some fish, the swim bladder
is used as a sound-producing
organ
• A muscle attached to the swim
bladder (the sonic muscle)
contracts and relaxes in a rapid
sequence
• This action causes the swim
bladder to vibrate and produce
a low-pitched drumming sound
• The sonic muscle of the oyster
toadfish is able to contract at a
rate of 200 times a second 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In some fish, the swim bladder
is used as a sound-producing
organ
• A muscle attached to the swim
bladder (the sonic muscle)
contracts and relaxes in a rapid
sequence
• This action causes the swim
bladder to vibrate and produce
a low-pitched drumming sound
• The sonic muscle of the oyster
toadfish is able to contract at a
rate of 200 times a second 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In some fish, the swim bladder
is used as a sound-producing
organ
• A muscle attached to the swim
bladder (the sonic muscle)
contracts and relaxes in a rapid
sequence
• This action causes the swim
bladder to vibrate and produce
a low-pitched drumming sound
• The sonic muscle of the oyster
toadfish is able to contract at a
rate of 200 times a second 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• In some fish, the swim bladder
is used as a sound-producing
organ
• A muscle attached to the swim
bladder (the sonic muscle)
contracts and relaxes in a rapid
sequence
• This action causes the swim
bladder to vibrate and produce
a low-pitched drumming sound
• The sonic muscle of the oyster
toadfish is able to contract at a
rate of 200 times a second 
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Another way in which fish
may produce sounds is by
stridulation
• a process in which hard
body parts like teeth or
bones hit each other
• Body movements that
create water currents or
splashes are also used to
create sounds for
communication
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Another way in which fish
may produce sounds is by
stridulation
• a process in which hard
body parts like teeth or
bones hit each other
• Body movements that
create water currents or
splashes are also used to
create sounds for
communication
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Another way in which fish
may produce sounds is by
stridulation
• a process in which hard
body parts like teeth or
bones hit each other
• Body movements that
create water currents or
splashes are also used to
create sounds for
communication
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Herring communicate with
each other by forcibly
expelling gas from the anal
area, producing bubbles
and a high-pitched sound
• The researchers call this
sound production an FRT
(Fast Repetitive Tick)
• They did have another
word in mind when they
created the term
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Herring communicate with
each other by forcibly
expelling gas from the anal
area, producing bubbles
and a high-pitched sound
• The researchers call this
sound production an FRT
(Fast Repetitive Tick)
• They did have another
word in mind when they
created the term
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Herring communicate with
each other by forcibly
expelling gas from the anal
area, producing bubbles
and a high-pitched sound
• The researchers call this
sound production an FRT
(Fast Repetitive Tick)
• They did have another
word in mind when they
created the term
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Both the Atlantic and
the Pacific herring
produce FRTs
• The fish gulp air from
the water surface and
then store it in the
swim bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Both the Atlantic and
the Pacific herring
produce FRTs
• The fish gulp air from
the water surface and
then store it in the
swim bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• During the night and when
surrounded by other
herring, air is released from
the anal duct and out of the
body through the anus
• The gas that is emitted isn't
made from the digestion of
food, since captive herring
produce the sounds
whether or not they have
been fed
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• During the night and when
surrounded by other
herring, air is released from
the anal duct and out of the
body through the anus
• The gas that is emitted isn't
made from the digestion of
food, since captive herring
produce the sounds
whether or not they have
been fed
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Herring have a good
sense of hearing
• The purpose of the
FRT sounds may be to
ensure that the fish
stay close together in
their schools, or large
groups
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Herring have a good
sense of hearing
• The purpose of the
FRT sounds may be to
ensure that the fish
stay close together in
their schools, or large
groups
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Both ocean and freshwater
fish produce sounds
• Seahorses produce clicking
sounds by rubbing two
parts of their skull together
• The weakfish—a type of
drum—produces a purr
with its sonic muscle and
swim bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Both ocean and freshwater
fish produce sounds
• Seahorses produce clicking
sounds by rubbing two
parts of their skull together
• The weakfish—a type of
drum—produces a purr
with its sonic muscle and
swim bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate, Even
Using Noise
• Both ocean and freshwater
fish produce sounds
• Seahorses produce clicking
sounds by rubbing two
parts of their skull together
• The weakfish—a type of
drum—produces a purr
with its sonic muscle and
swim bladder
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Squeaker catfish rub the
spines located in their
pectoral fins into grooves
on their shoulders
• Talking catfish can
produce sound in two
ways—by vibrating their
swim bladder or by
vibrating their pectoral
fin spines in their sockets
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Squeaker catfish rub the
spines located in their
pectoral fins into grooves
on their shoulders
• Talking catfish can
produce sound in two
ways—by vibrating their
swim bladder or by
vibrating their pectoral
fin spines in their sockets
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Research of sound
production in fish is still
in its infancy
• As scientists continue
their investigations,
they are likely to find
even more fish species
that make sound and
even more methods of
fish vocalizations
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
How Fish Communicate,
Even Using Noise
• Research of sound
production in fish is still
in its infancy
• As scientists continue
their investigations,
they are likely to find
even more fish species
that make sound and
even more methods of
fish vocalizations
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
The reasons fish make noises are:
• Fish make sounds when they are
attracting a partner for mating
• This voice is easily recognized by
the opposite sex
• Fish also make noises when they
are in danger
• They give a threat to the
predators using these voices
• Fish make various noises to stop
invaders from invading their
territory
• Fish want to maintain social
cohesion, and that’s another
reason why they make sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• Whales make noise to
communicate
• locate food
• and find each other
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• Whales make noise to
communicate
• locate food
• and find each other
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• Whales make noise to
communicate
• locate food
• and find each other
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• Whales make noise to
communicate
• locate food
• and find each other
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Whales are very social
creatures that travel in
groups called “pods.”
• They use a variety of noises
to communicate and
socialize with each other
• The three main types of
sounds made by whales are
clicks, whistles, and pulsed
calls
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Whales are very social
creatures that travel in
groups called “pods.”
• They use a variety of noises
to communicate and
socialize with each other
• The three main types of
sounds made by whales are
clicks, whistles, and pulsed
calls
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Whales are very social
creatures that travel in
groups called “pods.”
• They use a variety of noises
to communicate and
socialize with each other
• The three main types of
sounds made by whales are
clicks, whistles, and pulsed
calls
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Clicks are believed to be for
navigation and identifying
physical surroundings
• When the sound waves
bounce off of an object,
they return to the whale,
allowing the whale to
identify the shape of the
object
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Clicks are believed to be for
navigation and identifying
physical surroundings
• When the sound waves
bounce off of an object,
they return to the whale,
allowing the whale to
identify the shape of the
object
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• Whistles and pulsed calls
are used during social
activities
• Pulsed calls are more
frequent and sound like
squeaks, screams, and
squawks to the human
ear
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• Whistles and pulsed calls
are used during social
activities
• Pulsed calls are more
frequent and sound like
squeaks, screams, and
squawks to the human
ear
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Differing vocal “dialects”
have been found to exist
between different pods
within the same whale
population
• This is most likely so that
whales can differentiate
between whales within
their pods and strangers
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Differing vocal “dialects”
have been found to exist
between different pods
within the same whale
population
• This is most likely so that
whales can differentiate
between whales within
their pods and strangers
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Whales also use their tails and
fins to make loud slapping
noises on the surface of the
water to communicate
nonverbally
• The sound can be heard for
hundreds of meters below the
surface and may be a warning
sign of aggression or a tool to
scare schools of fish together,
making them an easier meal
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make sounds?
• Whales also use their tails and
fins to make loud slapping
noises on the surface of the
water to communicate
nonverbally
• The sound can be heard for
hundreds of meters below the
surface and may be a warning
sign of aggression or a tool to
scare schools of fish together,
making them an easier meal
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do whales make
sounds?
• https://www.youtube.co
m/embed/7Xr9BYhlceA
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• The sounds that a dolphin makes
underwater serve to help them
navigate, locate food, glean
information about the
environment, and to
communicate with
other dolphins
• These sounds are generated
inside the dolphin's head, under
the blowhole, and, generally,
without air escaping from the
dolphin's blowhole.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• The sounds that a dolphin makes
underwater serve to help them
navigate, locate food, glean
information about the
environment, and to
communicate with
other dolphins
• These sounds are generated
inside the dolphin's head, under
the blowhole, and, generally,
without air escaping from the
dolphin's blowhole.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• A mother dolphin may
whistle to her calf almost
continuously for several days
after giving birth
• This acoustic imprinting helps
the calf learn to identify its
mother
• A dolphin develops its
signature whistle as young as
one month old
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• A mother dolphin may
whistle to her calf almost
continuously for several days
after giving birth
• This acoustic imprinting helps
the calf learn to identify its
mother
• A dolphin develops its
signature whistle as young as
one month old
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• A mother dolphin may
whistle to her calf almost
continuously for several days
after giving birth
• This acoustic imprinting helps
the calf learn to identify its
mother
• A dolphin develops its
signature whistle as young as
one month old
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make
sounds?
• As well as having extremely
good eyesight that allows
them to see both above
and below the water,
toothed whales (including
dolphins) use a sense
called echolocation to
navigate and hunt
underwater
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• They emit sound waves and then
detect and interpret the echoes that
bounce back off of other creatures
and objects in the water around
them, allowing them to build up a
picture of their surroundings
• Dolphins hunt using their highly-
developed echolocation, which
means they can find food no matter
how murky the water might be
• They can even use it to identify any
prey that might be hiding, such as
under the sand!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• They emit sound waves and then
detect and interpret the echoes that
bounce back off of other creatures
and objects in the water around
them, allowing them to build up a
picture of their surroundings
• Dolphins hunt using their highly-
developed echolocation, which
means they can find food no matter
how murky the water might be
• They can even use it to identify any
prey that might be hiding, such as
under the sand!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make sounds?
• They emit sound waves and then
detect and interpret the echoes that
bounce back off of other creatures
and objects in the water around
them, allowing them to build up a
picture of their surroundings
• Dolphins hunt using their highly-
developed echolocation, which
means they can find food no matter
how murky the water might be
• They can even use it to identify any
prey that might be hiding, such as
under the sand!
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Why do dolphins make
sounds?
• Dolphin sounds
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• “Eerie Thumps Haunt
Some Cape Residents,” a
headline in The News-
Press of Cape Coral,
Florida., said. “Noise
May Cost City Big Bucks.”
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• It was the end of January
2005, during the spawning
season for a fish
appropriately called the
black drum
• Nightly mating calls were at
an increase
• But no one living in the area
seemed to realize the noise
was of aquatic origin
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• It was the end of January
2005, during the spawning
season for a fish
appropriately called the
black drum
• Nightly mating calls were at
an increase
• But no one living in the area
seemed to realize the noise
was of aquatic origin
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• It was the end of January
2005, during the spawning
season for a fish
appropriately called the
black drum
• Nightly mating calls were at
an increase
• But no one living in the area
seemed to realize the noise
was of aquatic origin
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• The retirees who had come to
spend their winters relaxing on
the gentle estuaries and canals
of the Gulf Coast in Florida
blamed the municipal utility
system
• They were pushing the City
Council to pay an engineering
firm more than $47,000 to
eliminate the noise
reverberating through their
homes
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• The retirees who had come to
spend their winters relaxing on
the gentle estuaries and canals
of the Gulf Coast in Florida
blamed the municipal utility
system
• They were pushing the City
Council to pay an engineering
firm more than $47,000 to
eliminate the noise
reverberating through their
homes
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• Then James Locascio, a
doctoral student in marine
science at the University of
South Florida, rescued the
city from financial folly
• After reading the newspaper
article, Mr. Locascio called a
Council member just hours
before a vote to appropriate
the money
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• Then James Locascio, a
doctoral student in marine
science at the University of
South Florida, rescued the
city from financial folly
• After reading the newspaper
article, Mr. Locascio called a
Council member just hours
before a vote to appropriate
the money
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• He explained that at 100 to
500 hertz, black drum
mating calls travel at a low
enough frequency and long
enough wavelength to carry
through sea walls, into the
ground and through the
construction of waterfront
homes like the throbbing
beat in a passing car
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• At first residents
wouldn’t buy it
• The most vocal and
persistent complainers
said that there was no
way a fish could produce
a sound that could be
heard inside a house
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• At first residents
wouldn’t buy it
• The most vocal and
persistent complainers
said that there was no
way a fish could produce
a sound that could be
heard inside a house
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• Mr. Locascio and David Mann, a
marine biologist at the
University of South Florida who
is a bioacoustics expert,
recruited these naysayers into a
study by asking them to score
noise levels and times in
notebooks
• They took the naysayers data
and plotted them with the fish
sounds they had recorded with
hydrophones under the water
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• Mr. Locascio and David Mann, a
marine biologist at the
University of South Florida who
is a bioacoustics expert,
recruited these naysayers into a
study by asking them to score
noise levels and times in
notebooks
• They took the naysayers data
and plotted them with the fish
sounds they had recorded with
hydrophones under the water
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• It all fit in perfectly!!!!
• “Eerie Thumps Haunt
Some Cape Residents”
was solved
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• It all fit in perfectly!!!!
• “Eerie Thumps Haunt
Some Cape Residents”
was solved
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Only in America!!!!
• Black drum is part of
Sciaenidae family
• Croakers and Drums
• Kobs
• Baardman
• Slender Baardman
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• The award winning BBC nature
documentary  Blue Planet II
(2017) reveals breathtaking
stories of the underwater
world
• Amongst other new recording
techniques, some specially
developed for the series,
Ambient’s underwater
surround system helped them
to unlock a not so silent world
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• The award winning BBC nature
documentary  Blue Planet II
(2017) reveals breathtaking
stories of the underwater
world
• Amongst other new recording
techniques, some specially
developed for the series,
Ambient’s underwater
surround system helped them
to unlock a not so silent world
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• Unlike the physics of airborne
acoustics, sound waves in
water travel 4 times faster than
they do in the air
• That also leads to an equivalent
greater wavelength and allows
blue whales to communicate
over thousands of kilometres
• But the language of marine
animals still seems to be a
mystery
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• Unlike the physics of airborne
acoustics, sound waves in
water travel 4 times faster than
they do in the air
• That also leads to an equivalent
greater wavelength and allows
blue whales to communicate
over thousands of kilometres
• But the language of marine
animals still seems to be a
mystery
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• Unlike the physics of airborne
acoustics, sound waves in
water travel 4 times faster than
they do in the air
• That also leads to an equivalent
greater wavelength and allows
blue whales to communicate
over thousands of kilometres
• But the language of marine
animals still seems to be a
mystery
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• Dr. Steve Simpson is
marine biologist and
expert on fish
bioacoustics from the
University of Exceter, and
was supervising the BBC
crew on its expeditions
• He knows how important
sound is for marine life
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• Dr. Steve Simpson is
marine biologist and
expert on fish
bioacoustics from the
University of Exceter, and
was supervising the BBC
crew on its expeditions
• He knows how important
sound is for marine life
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
“I have been working on
coral reef acoustics for
about 17 years now. We
are finding fish and many
other invertebrates listen
to their habitat to select
where they live. That sound
is generally biological.”
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
“More recently, we are trying to
understand why animals are making
all this sound and we realised the
complexity of communication. We
have been trying to unlock the
language of fish in context of
reproduction, competition and
predation, interspecific
communication as well as within
species. So there is a growing
understanding of the importance of
the underwater acoustic world for
animals that live in it.”
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• Although most people are
aware of the well known
click detection of dolphins
or the vocal sound of a
whale, there is still a huge
lack of knowledge in public
about species using acoustic
communication and in
particular the importance of
it for marine life.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• For the “coral reef”
episode, a small, rather
inconspicuous fish attracts
the attention of the Blue
Planet II  crew:
• the clownfish. By emitting a
buzzing sound, the
dominant female will warn
off potential attackers and
predators from their nest.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
BBC – Blue Planet 2
• For the “coral reef”
episode, a small, rather
inconspicuous fish attracts
the attention of the Blue
Planet II  crew:
• the clownfish. By emitting a
buzzing sound, the
dominant female will warn
off potential attackers and
predators from their nest.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• But by recording these
underwater sounds, Steve and
the crew were not only trying to
put focus on biological sound
sources
• Noisy boats, seismic air guns
used for oil exploration, sonar
systems… just to short list some
of the noise polluters around the
sea
• The damage to specific
ecosystems is immense.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• But by recording these
underwater sounds, Steve and
the crew were not only trying to
put focus on biological sound
sources
• Noisy boats, seismic air guns
used for oil exploration, sonar
systems… just to short list some
of the noise polluters around the
sea
• The damage to specific
ecosystems is immense.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• But by recording these
underwater sounds, Steve and
the crew were not only trying to
put focus on biological sound
sources
• Noisy boats, seismic air guns
used for oil exploration, sonar
systems… just to short list some
of the noise polluters around the
sea
• The damage to specific
ecosystems is immense.
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• Globally there is a growing
concern of the impact of
human noises in the ocean
• Noises, which we know
cause stress, affect
distraction and can affect
prey-predator dynamics as
well as just masking
communication
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• Globally there is a growing
concern of the impact of
human noises in the ocean
• Noises, which we know
cause stress, affect
distraction and can affect
prey-predator dynamics as
well as just masking
communication
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• It is important to develop
better ways either of us
making the noise or
technology that produces less
noise
• We can choose where and
when we make noise, we can
temporarily manage sound
output and we can innovate
new technology to reduce
human noise
 OceanCARE
Underwater Sounds
Human Impact
• It is important to develop
better ways either of us
making the noise or
technology that produces less
noise
• We can choose where and
when we make noise, we can
temporarily manage sound
output and we can innovate
new technology to reduce
human noise