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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Ocean Observation
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1483661

Spatio-temporal patterns of fish acoustic communities in Western Mediterranean coralligenous reefs: optimizing monitoring through recording duration

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
  • 2 University of Palermo, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    In this study, we explored the fish acoustic community at two coralligenous sites in Sardinia (Tavolara and Santa Teresa, western Mediterranean Sea) during the summer 2023. Our goal was to understand spatial and temporal patterns of fish acoustic activity on different temporal scales to offer insights for optimizing acoustic monitoring of this crucial ecosystem. We identified seventeen distinct sound types, revealing a diverse acoustic community. Tavolara had higher acoustic richness and abundance compared to Santa Teresa, which may be attributed to site-specific factors such as habitat structure, species composition, or levels of protection. Temporal analysis revealed clear diel patterns, with certain sounds associated with nocturnal or diurnal periods, reflecting the daily rhythms of different species. The study also examined how recording duration influenced acoustic richness, finding that longer recordings (15 minutes per hour and 15 minutes per hour at night) provided a more comprehensive detection of acoustic activity. Additionally, the number of recording days required to detect species richness varied depending on the site. While extended recordings improve the likelihood of detecting rare or sporadic sounds, they also present challenges in data management and equipment maintenance. The study underscores the importance of carefully planning sampling strategies to optimize acoustic monitoring and ensure effective and sustainable ecological research in coralligenous ecosystems.

    Keywords: Biodiversity, cryptic species, fish acoustic community, Fish sounds, monitoring strategies, Passive acoustic monitoring

    Received: 20 Aug 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 La Manna, Moro Merella, Vargiu, Morello, Sarà and Ceccherelli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Gabriella La Manna, University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.