N. Tolimieri, O. Haine, A. Jeffs, R. McCauley, J. Montgomery (2004):
Directional orientation of pomacentrid larvae to ambient reef sound.
Coral Reefs, 23(2), 184 - 191
Abstract: The mechanisms by which reef fish larvae locate settlement
habitat at the end of their pelagic phase are unclear. We used an in
situ binary choice chamber and an artificial source of reef sound to
determine whether pomacentrid larvae can use ambient sound to locate
reefs. Larvae were caught in light traps and then placed in a submerged
binary choice chamber with an artificial source of reef sound ~80 m from
one end of the chamber. At night, larvae moved towards the sound source;
during the day, larvae showed no preference. These results suggest that
pomacentrid larvae can detect reef sound and are capable of directional
hearing. While other studies have shown that reef fish larvae respond to
reef sound, and that the adults of some species can localize underwater
sound sources, the localization of underwater sound by fish larvae has
not been demonstrated previously.
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