Deciphering Coral Reef Soundscapes

This work created the largest validated library of Caribbean reef fish sounds ever published, offering a powerful new foundation for global reef-monitoring efforts and future machine-learning tools for automated species detection.

Sounds of the reef

In partnership with an international research team, we supported the development and field testing of the UPAC-360, a groundbreaking omnidirectional Underwater Passive Acoustic Camera. This innovative tool combines 360° video with spatial audio to reveal which fish make which sounds in a natural reef environment—something that has long been a challenge for marine science. UPAC-360 deployments were conducted directly off the Curaçao Sea Aquarium reef at depths of 3–45 meters, capturing thousands of fish sounds across multiple species To expand the reach of traditional Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM), the team also deployed bottom-mounted acoustic recorders (SoundTrap ST600) alongside the UPAC-360 system. By matching species-verified sounds from UPAC-360 to long-term PAM recordings, researchers can now identify which species are present from sound alone, unlocking new possibilities for large-scale monitoring of reef health and biodiversity The Curaçao Sea Aquarium played an important logistical role by facilitating reef access and providing support for underwater deployment. The project also explored deeper-water opportunities using the Curasub—our manned research submersible—which can place acoustic devices at depths unreachable by divers, helping expand the spatial range of acoustic monitoring around Curaçao.

Affiliations

Lead authors from Cornell University, the Fisheye Collaborative, Aalto University, and collaborators supported by the Allen Coral Atlas and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

Publication

Published in 2025 in Methods in Ecology and Evolution Full publication here: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.70149