Effects of seawater temperature on ambient biological noise in shallow reef settings

This study examines relationships between local seawater temperature and wind speeds with biological ambient noise associated with reef fish and invertebrates in littoral sites. Multi-year passive acoustic data collections from Hawaii and Bermuda are examined alongside local weather databases, particularly wind speed and ocean temperature. A positive relationship is evident between seawater temperature and bioacoustic activity in the six coral reef survey sites considered in Hawaii and Bermuda. This relationship between sound level and temperature is strongest in frequency bands above 2 kHz, which are dominated by invertebrate activity. While relationships between wind speed and ambient noise in the ocean have been well studied, the relationship between biological ambient noise and temperature on long time scales has not previously been described. Long-term passive acoustic data collected at a high sampling rate at sites with concurrent weather data allow an assessment of this relationship across frequency bands in both the Hawaiian Archipelago and the Bermuda Rise littoral ocean environments.