Healthy coral reefs echo with a chorus of grunts and purrs from fish feeding, looking for mates, or defending their territories, underscored by the persistent crackling of snapping shrimp. Larval corals use these sounds as cues to decide where to choose a home. The researchers found that now a second species of coral larvae responded to the sounds of a healthy reef played through a speaker, indicating ‘acoustic enrichment’ encourages coral to settle has the potential to be a widely applicable method among coral species for reef restoration. Golfball coral larvae settled at significantly higher rates when exposed to the sounds of a healthy reef during their first 36 hours in the water. After that window, sound had little effect. Coral reefs support more than a quarter of all marine animals, protect coastlines from strong waves and storms, and provide food and tourism opportunities for millions of people around the world. Researchers estimate that 25% of all coral reefs have been lost in the last 30 years.
