The Sounds of Life Underwater
Dr Anjani Ganase, marine biologist, asks us to use our sense of hearing even when exploring under the sea. The sounds of life are some of the clues that scientists can detect on healthy coral reefs. When we snorkel and dive on coral reefs, the cues are mostly visual. We observe coral, sponges and soft corals of different shapes and sizes, and if we accidentally brush up against a fire coral we are quickly reminded what touch feels like. But have we thought about the sounds we hear from coral reefs? To our untrained ears, the sounds we hear – the cracking and the snapping – are like background radio static. This noisy discord comes from the busy underwater activity from the many reef residents. Reefs are incredibly noisy places and it may be difficult to distinguish particular noises, since some are outside the range of hearing for humans. Coral reefs with higher coral cover tend to be noisier and have more diverse reef sounds. Turks and Caicos Islands. Photo Credit...