Excerpt:
Oyster reef restoration is gaining momentum in Australia and globally as a way to restore healthy ecosystems. Reefs of shellfish filter and clean vast volumes of water as they feed, while their shell piles provide habitat for fish. Oysters are also food for many marine species.
If you’ve snorkeled on a coral or rocky reef, you’ll know healthy reefs are surprisingly noisy. As you float over the reef, you hear a cacophony of sound: crackles and pops from fish as they feed and invertebrates like snapping shrimp.
If this soundscape is present, it tells oyster larvae it’s a healthy habitat. And because sound travels so well, the soundscapes are broadcast a decent distance. That’s why it’s such a useful cue if you’re a baby oyster looking for a rock to settle on and begin growing your shell.
Snypopis:
To test this assumption, the authors of this article recorded sounds from a healthy oyster-filled reef in South Australia which were then played underwater near two large reef restoration sites offshore. On a separate control site, only ambient sound recordings from oyster-free areas were played.
Up to 17,000 more oysters per square meter were attracted to the restoration sites where the healthy reef sounds were played, and over the next five months, close to four times more large oysters grew in their test areas, accelerating habitat growth.
In the areas where only ambient sound from oyster-free areas was played, only a few oysters settled, stunting the habitat…
