Diel cycle of two recurrent fish sounds from mesophotic coral reefs

Abstract

Mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) are the deepest part of tropical coral reefs, ranging from depths of 30 to over 170 m. Despite their significance, MCEs remain largely unexplored due to the challenges associated with accessing these depths. However, the application of passive acoustic monitoring methods (PAM) is a suitable approach for studying fish communities within these unique habitats. In French Polynesia, recent PAM studies have unveiled a higher occurrence of frequency-modulated fish sounds in MCEs than in shallower reef environments. This study aims to further enhance our understanding of fish sounds in MCEs by examining their diel patterns, focusing specifically on the two most abundant frequency-modulated fish sounds that were recorded at depths of 60 and 120 m at six Polynesian islands. Both sound types occurred predominantly during the beginning and the end of nocturnal periods. The presence and abundance of these sounds exhibited variation between the islands, highlighting potential regional disparities in vocal activity or the bathymetric distribution of the sound-producing species. By characterizing the diel cycles and bathymetric differences in relation to their geographical distribution, this study offers preliminary insights into identifying the potential sound-producing species.