(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists at the University of Adelaide have attracted thousands of oyster larvae using speakers placed in the water to play the natural sounds of the sea.
The authors enhanced the natural sounds of the sea, recorded on the Port Noarlung reef in South Australia, using underwater speakers off the coast of Adelaide where they were restoring oyster reefs.
As a result, many thousand more larvae arrived in such regions than in control areas without speakers – up to 17 thousand per square meter.
Over the next five months, the test plots grew almost four times as many large oysters as the control plots.
Oyster larvae sense the movement of water created by sound waves through tiny sensory hairs (statocysts), sensory organs used for balance and orientation.
Scientists believe that the presence of a soundscape tells oyster larvae that they are in a healthy habitat. It has previously been shown that this approach can lure fish to coral reefs that need to be populated.
This trick also works with birds that are attracted to specific nesting sites.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.