international symposium - criobe · 2015-10-26 · humans, independent of weather conditions, and...
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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
December 16 – 18, 2015
Aquarium de La Porte Dorée
Paris, France
CONTEXT
Among the most fragile ecosystems on Earth, which include for example the Poles and
primary forests, coral reefs have always been under the spotlight of the society because of their
extremely high biodiversity and the services provided to humans such as food supply, protection of
the coasts and nutrient cycling. Climate change put coral reefs under several concomitant threats, it
is therefore crucial to develop new tools allowing measuring the degradation rate and/or the
resilience of coral reefs. This information may be obtained only by the analysis of long time-series,
i.e. monitoring, and repeated surveys are always encouraged. The ocean has never been a silent
world since sounds are involved in acoustic orientation, intra- and inter-specific communication, to
search for prey or to avoid predators and hazards. Currently, we have very little insight into the link
between coral reef quality (in terms of biodiversity and substratum cover) and soundscape patterns.
Acoustics can offer new visions into the state of biodiversity within marine ecosystems.
Understanding how changes in the acoustic environment over time affect marine animals in their
distribution pattern, migratory behaviour and acoustic communication appears as a mobilizing topic.
OBJECTIVES
The project “Underwater silence world: the end of the dogma” aimed to go beyond the
current state of the art by creating a standardized passive acoustic monitoring in order to evaluate
the environmental status of coral reefs based on fish vocal activity and peculiar soundscapes
features. To reach this objective, Frederic Bertucci was employed one year (in 2015) by Prof. Lecchini
(CRIOBE) and Prof. Parmentier (Liege University). He worked at the Criobe station (www.criobe.pf) at
Moorea from January to August to collect the acoustic and biological data. At present, he is working
at the Criobe in Perpignan and at Liege University to analyze the data.
Objective 1: Listening to the reef orchestra
Provide acoustic maps of coral reefs in order to identify spots with high vocal activity and
most diverse sound sources. This part of the project was based on a description of marine
soundscapes and an identification of sound producing species, the behavioural/social context of
production and the localization of sources at Moorea (on the outer slope of Tiahura site, north coast
of Moorea) in order to provide the finest description of the marine score.
Objective 2: Linking the acoustic features of the reef to biodiversity and climate change
Biotic sounds, and especially sounds from vocalizing animals, have a huge potential as
proxies to quickly capture the diversity of species, the phenology of biological events, and ultimately
the habitat quality and the condition of fish and shellfish stocks. Based on the acoustic signatures and
vocalizing species catalogue obtained in objective 1, this second objective associated classical
monitoring techniques, used for collecting detailed site-specific oceanographic and biological data,
together with passive acoustic data and soundscape analysis. The study was conducted on the outer
slope of 4 marine protected areas and 4 non-marine protected areas at Moorea. This will allow
detecting peculiar features of soundscapes to inquire about biodiversity and account the potential
effects of climate-induced changes in the composition of soundscapes.
Objective 3: Proposing new indices for marine environments
Understanding short-term local effects of environmental fluctuations are important for
marine organisms and ecosystems’ management and conservation efforts. However, current
acoustic-based indices used for biodiversity assessment and landscape investigation originate from
terrestrial ecology studies. They sometimes appear unappropriated when used in the marine
environment. This might be due to different sound characteristics like for instance a more narrow
frequency bandwidth in fishes (50 – 2500 Hz) than in birds (2000 – 5000 Hz) or mammals (20 – 40000
Hz). Likewise, vocalizations in fishes have a lower signal to noise ratio than most sounds produced in
air by birds and mammals. It is therefore important to refine current indices and even develop
specific ones to accurately capture underwater animal diversity and include them in decision making
with long-term conservation perspectives.
EXPECTED RESULTS
- Elaboration of a sound library including fish (some of which have already been collected) but
also crustacean and molluscs in order to account for the marine acoustic diversity of Moorea.
- Apprehend biodiversity by means of the soundscapes features and correlate species richness,
biomass and coral cover to acoustic complexity.
- Provide the practical framework to test acoustic proxies selected for a rapid appraisal of the
evolution of marine biodiversity.
OBJECTIVES of the ACOUSTIC WORKSHOP
- To discuss all together about the last research conducted on fish sound, acoustic monitoring
and/or coral reef biodiversity.
- To discuss all together about the results acquired at Moorea by Frédéric Bertucci on acoustic
monitoring of the biodiversity in order to write a paper in an “excellent journal”.
- To build in 2016 an European project (Life “Nature and Biodiversity” -
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/) on monitoring and interpretation of acoustic
diversity for coral reefs (but also Mediterranean and Atlantic coast) conservation.
- To try to develop a similar study on chemical cues in coral reefs.
PARTICIPANTS
Name Institution Country Research thematic
F. Bertucci CRIOBE
& Univ. Liège French Polynesia &
Belgium Acoustic in coral reefs
D. Lecchini CRIOBE French Polynesia Sensory cues in
coral reef fish larvae
E. Parmentier Univ. Liège Belgium Fish sound in coral reef and
temperate ecosystems
S. Planes CRIOBE French Polynesia Genetic in coral reef fish Director of the CRIOBE
V. Parravicini CRIOBE France Biodiversity in coral reef and
temperate ecosystems
D. Dixson Univ. Delaware USA Anthropogenic impact on
sensory behavior
K. Boyle Museum National
d’Histoires Naturelles France Coral reef fish sounds
J. Sueur Museum National
d’Histoires Naturelles France Bio-acoustic in animals
A. Hawkins Univ. Aberdeen Scotland The Threats to Marine
Soundscapes H. Slabbekoorn Univ. Leiden Netherlands Acoustic in fish
N. Pieretti Univ. Urbino Italy Acoustic indices for the
monitoring of animal communities
L. Di Iorio Fondation Grenoble INP France Marine soundscape ecology
J. Eeckhout University of Liege Belgium Administration R&D. Specialist
of European project
Aquarium de La Porte Dorée (293 Avenue Daumesnil, 75012 Paris, France)
Depuis son ouverture en 1931, l‘Aquarium tropical de la Porte Dorée s’attache à présenter la
faune aquatique des régions tropicales. En plus de 80 ans, les collections présentées dans les
différents aquariums ont pour objet de sensibiliser les visiteurs à la richesse et la diversité du monde
aquatique et l’importance qu’il représente. Bien entendu le message pédagogique évolue
parallèlement à l’accroissement des connaissances scientifiques, techniques et environnementales
sur ce milieu spécifique. La collection, qui compte environ 5 000 animaux et 300 espèces, s’adapte en
permanence pour illustrer les thèmes développés dans l’Aquarium. http://www.aquarium-
portedoree.fr/
Since opening in 1931, the Tropical Aquarium of La Porte Dorée attempts to present the
aquatic fauna of the tropics. In over 80 years, the collections presented in various aquariums aim to
educate visitors about the richness and diversity of the aquatic world and its importance. Of course
the educational message runs parallel to the increase of scientific, technical and environmental
knowledge on this specific environment. The collection, which has about 5000 animals and 300
species, is constantly adapting to illustrate the themes developed in the Aquarium.
http://www.aquarium-portedoree.fr/
PROGRAMM OF SYMPOSIUM
December 16 – 18, 2015
Day 1: December 16, 2015
14h00 Opening talk: Objective of the TOTAL workshop (D. Lecchini)
14h30 Presentation of the CRIOBE (S. Planes or D. Lecchini)
14h45 Research thematic of E. Parmentier: Acoustics in coral reefs
15h15 Research thematic of D. Lecchini: Sensory cues of coral reef fish larvae
15h35 Coffee break
16h00 Preliminary results acquired in Moorea by F. Bertucci: Acoustic monitoring of the
coral reef biodiversity
16h45 Discussions
Day 2: December 17, 2015 [Talk of participants on their research (15 min + 5 min of questions)]
9h00 V. Parravicini: Global ecology and Biogeography of reef fishes
9h20 A. Hawkins: Susceptibility of Marine Soundscapes to Man-made Noise
9h40 K. Boyle : Use of a small, low-cost array to localize coral reef fish sounds and
determine patterns of attenuation and signal degradation over distance
10h00 Coffee break
10h30 H. Slabbekoorn: Sound investigations into the acoustic world of fish
10h50 J. Sueur: Acoustic indices for biodiversity monitoring
11h10 N. Pieretti: From terrestrial to marine soundscapes: the application of a recently
introduced acoustic index in temperate shallow rocky bottoms and perspectives on
coral reefs
11h30 D. Dixson: Larval behavior towards chemical cues may impact the effectiveness of
marine protected areas
11h50 L. Di Iorio: From ocean sounds to ecosystem monitoring
12h10 Lunch
14h Presentation of the European project “Life - Nature and Biodiversity” by D. Lecchini &
J. Eeckhout from Liege University
15h30 Coffee break
16h How can we analyze the acoustic cues in coral reefs: Example of the Bertucci’ results
acquired at Moorea in 2015
Day 3: December 18, 2015
9h Discussion and Perspectives for the European project “Life - Nature and Biodiversity”
10h30 Coffee break
11h Discussion and Perspectives for an European project “Life - Nature and Biodiversity”
12h Lunch
15h Synthesis of this symposium
17h Workshop restitution, questions and discussions (in French) by E. Parmentier, F.
Bertucci and D. Lecchini to official personalities
18h15 Private visit and cocktail in the Museum with invited personalities
Dr. David Lecchini
CRIOBE, USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD
Moorea, French Polynesia [email protected]
Abstract of the talk: As it is unlikely that successful recruitment is solely a matter of chance (i.e. to find a suitable habitat), one of the greatest challenges facing the fish larvae is how to locate the relatively rare patches of coral reef habitat on which they settle and ultimately reside as adults. The answer must lie partly in the sensory modalities of fishes at recruitment. Habitat selection is only possible if fish larvae could detect some environmental cues to select a suitable reef habitat at recruitment. The present talk will provide the later works dealing with information perception in coral reef fish larvae at recruitment. Until two decades ago, it was generally assumed that larval behaviors and sensory abilities at recruitment were considered too feeble to significantly affect dispersal outcomes. Since then, several recent studies showed that recognition of suitable reef habitats by fish larvae at recruitment is based on a combination of visual, chemical and acoustic cues. Thus, larval recruitment of coral reef fish is an excellent example of the complexity of interactions between an organism and its environment as without perceiving environmental cues, fish larva would have very little chance of selecting a suitable reef habitat. Moreover, understanding the relationship between reef state and recruitment potential will allow management planning for the maintenance of coral reefs that are increasingly degraded.
Dr. Eric Parmentier
Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology,
University of Liège, Belgium
Abstract of the talk: Passive acoustics can offer inexpensive, non-invasive and no-destructive means
of assessing temporal and spatial patterns in the distribution of individuals engaging in calling. In
marine environments, passive acoustic recording methods can be used at depths not accessible to
humans, independent of weather conditions, and for a long term. However, these studies have often
restricted their investigations to the monitoring of one or two aquatic species. One reason of this loss
of information is quite easy to explain: most of the sounds can be detected but cannot be identified.
In many families, calling abilities are described in one or two species only although the descriptions
of sound producing mechanisms have highlighted other members should be able to make sounds.
Since 50 years, sounds were for example described in more or less 40 pomacentrid species but all the
392 species should be able to make sounds. This situation can be more complicated since some
species are able to make different kinds of sounds according to the behavioural context. Some call
characteristics can also be modulated according to the size in some species only. It shows an
important amount of work has to be done to be able to understand the reef soundscape and to
develop call recognition software system.
Dr. Frédéric Bertucci
CRIOBE, USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD,
Moorea, French Polynesia.
Laboratory of Functional and Evolutionary Morphology,
University of Liège, Belgium.
Abstract of the talk: Passive acoustics took advantage of sound production in fishes as it offers
natural acoustic tags to identify and follow populations in the field over long periods. However, there
are no studies addressing sound production of fish communities within an entire biotope, on a long
term basis and using this information in a monitoring perspective. Coral reefs are hot spot of
biodiversity but are strongly impacted by climate change. Their monitoring and conservation are
therefore crucial. Soundscape analysis in air has proven very useful for assessing species present in
habitats where other survey methods may be logistically difficult. Yet, our knowledge of underwater
soundscapes is still in its infancy, especially in coral reefs. In this talk, I will present preliminary results
of the study funded by Total Foundation. Long terms acoustic recorders were positioned at 10m
depth on the outer slope of 4 Marine Protected Areas and 4 non-Marine Protected Areas and data
was collected daily at a rate of 5min/hour during 48h. Four replicates were made for each area i.e.
three replicates during the hot season and one replicate during the cold season. First results show
that ambient sound intensity and acoustic diversity differ between sites and that these differences
might be linked to the fish communities and to the type of habitats observed in situ. Overall, our
study offers a framework for the development of new monitoring tools and may pave the way for a
large scale acoustics based monitoring for the preservation of coral reefs.
Dr. Serge Planes
CRIOBE, USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD
Moorea, French Polynesia
Abstract of the talk: Coral reef ecosystems are among the most biologically diverse and complex marine ecosystems worldwide. In addition to their biological and ecological importance, coral reefs support major economic and physical functions (e.g. food production, tourism, biotechnology development and coast protection) that are essential for many countries. This is particularly true in the South Pacific where coral reefs sustain local economy of a great numbers of Pacific Islands and Territories. Unfortunately, the frequency and severity of natural and anthropogenic perturbations on coral reefs have greatly increased worldwide since the last three decades, and, as a consequence, reef communities (fish, coral and benthic invertebrates) have suffered unprecedented levels of mortality. With this current rapid global change arising from intricate climatic and anthropogenic factors and causing abrupt changes in biological communities, ecologists are increasingly aware that they have limited knowledge of the processes affecting communities over time. This is partly due to the difficulty to gather long-term accurate data (i.e. community-wise) with great geographical extent, especially in the marine environment such as coral reefs. So, I will present the different long-term
monitoring conducted by the CRIOBE/IRCP staff at Moorea Island since 1979, in 12 French Polynesia Islands since 1992 and in some South Pacific Islands since 2009. All these monitoring aim to allow scientists, conservationists and, in our case, reef managers concerned with maintaining biodiversity to better understand two main attributes of coral reefs with respect to external drivers: first, resistance, i.e. the amount of external forcing coral reefs can absorb without a qualitative change; and second, resilience, i.e. the tendency of coral reefs to return to its previous state after a perturbation. Overall, all Criobe/IRCP monitoring aims to assess the status of the coral reefs in the South Pacific and make predictions about their future.
Dr. Valeriano Parravicini
CRIOBE, USR3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD
Perpignan, France
Abstract of the talk: I will show the results of a project on the global ecology and biogeography of
reef fishes. The project allowed for the compilation of two extensive global databases, the first on
the geographical distribution of 6,316 reef fishes and the second comprising abundance information
from about 10,000 transects across the world. This information was used to conduct three main
studies which include the quantitative delineation of biogeographical regions for reef fishes at a
global scale, the development of a global predictive model for species richness, and finally the
biogeographical analysis of functional structure and redundancy of species assemblages. Further our
global databases are presently being used for the analysis of global scale assembly rules in reef fish
assemblages. Overall, our results allowed for the definition of several biogeographical units,
consisting in three realms, 6 regions and 11 provinces. Despite large differences among these
biogeographical units in term of richness, mainly related to reef area, the functional diversity of
assemblages is surprisingly stable across the entire tropical world. However, such high functional
diversity does not result in lower vulnerability to species loss as even in highly diverse assemblages,
such as those of the Indo-Australian Archipelago; there may be limited functional redundancy.
Dr. Anthony Hawkins
Univ. Aberdeen
Aberdeen, Scotland
Abstract of the talk: Listening to sounds in the sea can provide valuable information on the presence
and behaviour of individual animals, local biodiversity, the condition of habitats, and the status of
animal populations. Analysis of the sounds recorded poses challenges in terms of recording sounds
without introducing artefacts; visualising and comparing different soundscapes; and detecting,
identifying and locating the sources of particular sounds. But techniques are improving and
monitoring at sea, complemented by studies of acoustical behaviour in the aquarium, is providing
increased knowledge of animal vocalisations and their importance. However, it is also becoming
apparent that marine soundscapes are very vulnerable to the presence of man-made sounds. Noise
from ships, seismic surveys, pile driving, dredging and other activities may travel great distances, and
may interfere with the use and detection of sound by marine animals. It is important to identify
those soundscapes, associated species, and habitats that are most at risk from exposure to man-
made sounds.
Dr. Kelly Boyle
Museum National d’Histoires Naturelles
Paris, France
Abstract of the talk: Many coral reef fishes use sound in communication and there is increased
interest in the acoustical ecology of reef fishes and passive acoustic monitoring of reefs. Yet,
uncertainty exists in the propagation distance of reef fish sounds, which determines the effective
sampling area of passive acoustic recorders. In addition, the high velocity of underwater sound and
long wavelengths of low frequency fish sounds make it difficult to determine the direction and
location of sound sources. To address these areas, we examined the efficacy of an economical and
simple equilateral triangle array for localization of reef fish sounds in the two-dimensional plane over
the reef substrate. We used a small array composed of two stereo recorders that were equipped
with four hydrophones placed among three locations, the vertices of an equilateral triangle with
sides of approximately 10m. Sound localizations were attempted on recordings from Hawaii based
on the time difference of arrival at each hydrophone determined from cross-correlations of the time
domain waveforms. In many cases, fish sounds could be localized in two dimensions with reasonable
precision (<1m). Sounds of reef fishes (e.g. Dascyllus albisella, Myripristis spp., and Sufflamen bursa)
in some instances could be detected at distances over 10m. Observations with the array showed
spatio-temporal patterns of sound production and revealed instances of fish responding to the calls
of other individuals. Cross-correlation coefficients of fish sounds decreased with distance from the
source, but some fish species’ sounds decreased more sharply with distance. This study indicates that
a simple array can be useful for the study of coral reef fish acoustics and for estimation of the
effective sampling area of passive acoustic recorders.
Dr. Hans Slabbekoorn
Institute of Biology
Leiden University, Netherlands
Abstract of the talk: Fish have multi-modal sensory capacities among which sound perception plays a
prominent role. Fish habitats are often dark and murky which limits the use of visual cues to short
ranges, while turbulence and flow often restrict the use of information from chemical gradients.
Sound on the other hand transmits really well in water, independent of light levels. Many fish species
produce sounds themselves in various contexts and they hear these sounds together with the many
other sounds in their environment. The ambient noise can be used to detect predators or prey or to
orientate and navigate. Human activities in and near the water add artificial sounds (anthropogenic
noise) to the acoustic world of fish. Such sounds may affect fish in a variety of ways. It may destroy
(at extreme overexposure), deter, interfere, mask, or distract. However, we lack many fundamental
insights, especially when it comes to the respective roles of sound pressure and particle motion in
triggering responses and to description and interpretation of behavioural changes in acoustically
complex environments. We have therefore embarked on a series of sound exposure experiments in
indoor and outdoor settings on freshwater and marine fish with variable amounts of behavioural
space. We have gained insights into the nature and tendency to respond for a number of species and
into the relative impact of sounds that vary in temporal pattern. Experimental exposure studies in
the field, including adequate acoustic measurements, have high potential to reveal more about the
importance of natural and anthropogenic sounds in the acoustic world of fish.
Dr. Jérôme Sueur
Institut Systématique Evolution et Biodiversité
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, France
Abstract of the talk: Biodiversity assessment mainly relies on two families of indices, the alpha
indices that measure the diversity of a single unit, and the beta indices that estimate how two units
differ. Alpha and beta indices are therefore used to assess within and between-group diversity
respectively, a group being a site, a habitat or a time event. Recent developments at large ecological
scales led to the development of several alpha acoustic indices (e.g. L_{i}, H_{i}, ACI, NDSI) to
estimate the energy, the level of complexity or the composition of an acoustic community or a
landscape. However, few beta indices have been developed when between-group metrics could be
very useful to estimate the spatial and temporal heterogeneities of large scale acoustic units. In this
talk, I will review the acoustic dissimilarity indices developed so far, detail their mathematical
properties, pinpoint their advantages and potential bias, and illustrate their use in the analysis of
temperate and tropical acoustic communities.
Dr. Nadia Pieretti
Department of Basic Sciences and Foundations
University of Urbino, Italy
Abstract of the talk: Quantifying and describing the acoustic production of animals in marine
soundscapes can be sometimes a demanding task to address. Geophonies (sounds from wind, rain
and waves) or anthropophonies (fishing activities, cruise ships and other vessels) are present all year
round and can strongly impede biological sounds assessment if performed with automated
procedures. Indeed, geophonies and anthropophonies have a low frequency range, mostly below 1
kHz, which overlaps with the frequencies used by fishes for communication and other essential
activities. In this talk, I will introduce two recent studies that used the Acoustic Complexity Index
(ACI) as a proxy for biological sounds. Both studies have been conducted in shallow coastal waters
mainly characterized by rocky bottoms. The first study shows results from recordings collected in the
Central Adriatic Sea (Italy) with two days of continuous recordings repeated in July and September.
The second study focuses on one year of recordings taken within the Marine protected Area of
Lampedusa (Italy). The ACI has been previously tested in terrestrial environments, and has resulted
to be a valid tool to highlight the intrinsic variability of biotic sounds, and filter/reduce the more
constant intensity values that characterize many types of geophonies or anthropophonies. By
selecting the proper settings, it is here proven that the ACI can be reliably applied for marine
soundscape’s assessment. Pros and cons of its short and long-term application on marine temperate
soundscapes are here described and perspectives about its use on coral reefs are put forward.
Dr. Danielle Dixson School Marine Science and Policy University of Delaware, Newark, USA [email protected]
Abstract of the talk: Recent studies document coral reef fish larvae recruiting back to home reefs,
despite long pelagic larval durations. This suggests larvae are not acting as passive particles, instead
behavior may influence site selection. Chemical cues from the benthic environment may be useful
in identifying and selecting desirable habitat. We tested the response of 15 species of juvenile reef
fishes and 3 species of reef building corals to waterborne chemical stimuli associated with water
from 3 paired sites in Fiji, each containing a coral-dominated marine protected area (MPA) and
adjacent seaweed-dominated fished location. All fishes and corals strongly preferred MPA to non-
MPA odors. Fish started to avoid MPA odors if additional odors from seaweeds were added;
likewise, previously non-preferred waters became attractive by including odors from corals,
suggesting that fishes are using the presence of specific benthic species to assess habitat
desirability. Field transects assessing recruitment confirmed the disjunction between the locations;
MPAs had significantly more recruitment across all species (fish and coral) despite having more
predators than non-MPA sites. Strong selection for larvae choice of settlement sites is not surprising,
however, if larval organisms innately reject degraded habitats, conservation efforts using MPAs
intended to rescue damaged reefs will be short-circuited.
Dr. Lucia Di Iorio
Research chair CHORUS, Grenoble Institute of Technology Foundation
Grenoble, France
Abstract of the talk: Marine soundscapes are characterized by a variety of sounds representing a
source of unique information on biological, abiotic and anthropogenic phenomena. This sonic
richness can be exploited to describe the structure, study the functioning, the state and dynamics of
an ecosystem facing environmental changes. In the marine realm, soundscape analysis and
interpretation is still in its infancy. Only the development of specific acoustic monitoring setups and
data processing tools allows to describe, decompose and quantify complex underwater soundscapes
and thus to infer ecologically relevant information. Here I will expose some of our approaches to
study soundscapes at different spatial and ecological scales. Based on ongoing work on the detection
and description/classification of different sound sources as well as the establishment of 2D and 3D
acoustic maps, I will show examples ranging from the acoustic activity of a single species on a few
square meters up to acoustic communities along entire coastlines. Among others, our work aims at
developing straightforward monitoring methods for long-term ecosystem surveillance.
Jérôme EECKHOUT Administration Recherche et Développement
University of Liège, Belgium
Abstract of the talk: In European universities, research administrators and/or managers are
organized in various ways to support scientists for administrative, financial and legal issues of their
research projects. At the University of Liege, the "Administration Recherche et Développement"
(R&D department) includes a unit dedicated to the support of all research projects submitted to
external public agencies, at regional, national and European level. Its role is to inform researchers
about the various funding opportunities, to help them with the eligibility criteria, the rules, the
submission and evaluation procedures, and the administrative implementation of project