Sound production and associated behaviours of benthic invertebrates from a coastal habitat in the north ‑ east Atlantic

• Published in: Marine Biology
• Main Authors: Coquereau, Laura, Grall, Jacques, Chauvaud, Laurent, Gervaise, Cedric, Clavier, Jacques, Jolivet, Aurélie, Di Iorio, Lucia
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), GIPSA - Signal Images Physique (GIPSA-SIGMAPHY), Département Images et Signal (GIPSA-DIS), Grenoble Images Parole Signal Automatique (GIPSA-lab ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 )-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 )-Grenoble Images Parole Signal Automatique (GIPSA-lab ), Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 )-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 ), Chaire CHORUS - Fondation Grenoble-INP, Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology, TBM environnement, ANR-12-ASTR-0021,MER CALME,Caractérisation Acoustique de Littoraux Marins et de leurs Ecosystèmes(2012)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: MAERL; AEQUIPECTEN-OPERCULARIS; AMBIENT NOISE; PATTERNS; SEA; WATERS; ENVIRONMENT; ECOSYSTEMS; ACOUSTICS; IMPACTS; ACL; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; North East Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01447557; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-2902-2

International audience Maerl beds are among the most endangered habitats in coastal temperate waters and a priority for conservation. Passive acoustics is a potential non-intrusive approach for surveying this fragile ecosystem with minor disturbances. Invertebrate sounds can be major contributors to natural coastal soundscapes but are not well studied. We conducted controlled tank-based experiments to identify sound-producing invertebrates inhabiting north-east Atlantic maerl beds and to characterise their sounds in terms of frequency features and source levels. We also determined which sound types are able to be detected above natural maerl ambient noise and suitable for in situ monitoring. Tank recording sessions of 20 abundant and potentially soniferous invertebrates from maerl beds revealed eight soniferous species and 15 different sound types. Two new sound-producing families were identified, Calyptraeidae and Majidae. Six sound types had properties consistent with detectability and identification for in situ acoustic studies: the feeding sound of sea urchins Echinus esculentus, Paracentrotus lividus and Psammechinus miliaris, snapping sound of the snapping shrimp Athanas nitescens, and feeding and other sounds of the spider crab Maja brachydactyla. Estimated detection distances ranged from a few metres for sea urchin feeding sounds up to about 40 m for A. nitescens snaps and spider crab feeding sounds. These invertebrates, particularly A. nitescens, probably make a substantial contribution to the maerl ambient noise. This invertebrate sound library sets a basis for in situ acoustic studies.