Gulf toadfish calls outperform acoustic indices as indicators of ecological stress in Florida Bay

Over the past century, hydrological modifications to the Everglades for agriculture, flood control, and urban expansion have caused widespread ecological disturbances, including mass seagrass die-offs. This study evaluates whether Gulf toadfish calling behavior and acoustic indices can serve as indicators of ecological stress in Florida Bay’s seagrass ecosystems. While seagrass may regrow, this does not guarantee recovery of associated animal communities or signal ecological restoration. Animal behavior often provides early, quantifiable indicators of ecosystem change. Passive acoustic monitoring allows long-term, continuous detection of sound producing behaviors, but extracting ecological insight from sound remains challenging. Using 2018 data from one recovered and one degraded site, we compared Gulf toadfish boatwhistle call rates with some commonly used acoustic indices. We also examined how both call rates and acoustic indices correlate with bottom temperature and salinity, which are known drivers of fish reproduction and seagrass condition. Preliminary results demonstrate that toadfish call rates correlate more strongly with environmental drivers than acoustic indices, suggesting they are more reliable indicators of ecological conditions. A real-time detection tool based on toadfish call recognition is being developed to support behavior-based monitoring of seagrass recovery and guide timely restoration and management efforts.