title: Acoustic indices provide information on the status of coral reefs: an example from Moorea Island in the South Pacific.
abstract: Different marine habitats are characterised by different soundscapes. How or which differences may be representative of the habitat characteristics and/or community structure remains however to be explored. A growing project in passive acoustics is to find a way to use soundscapes to have information on the habitat and on its changes. In this study we have successfully tested the potential of two acoustic indices, i.e. the average sound pressure level and the acoustic complexity index based on the frequency spectrum. Inside and outside marine protected areas of Moorea Island (French Polynesia), sound pressure level was positively correlated with the characteristics of the substratum and acoustic complexity was positively correlated with fish diversity. It clearly shows soundscape can be used to evaluate the acoustic features of marine protected areas, which presented a significantly higher ambient sound pressure level and were more acoustically complex than non-protected areas. This study further emphasizes the importance of acoustics as a tool in the monitoring of marine environments and in the elaboration and management of future conservation plans.
authors.affiliation: USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), CRIOBE, Moorea, French Polynesia.|Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bertucci
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Morphologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Parmentier
authors.affiliation: USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), CRIOBE, Moorea, French Polynesia.|Université de Versailles, Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France.|Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", Moorea, French Polynesia.
authors.forename: Gaël
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lecellier
authors.affiliation: Loughine Marine Research, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Hawkins
authors.affiliation: USR 3278 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL), CRIOBE, Moorea, French Polynesia.|Laboratoire d'Excellence "CORAIL", Moorea, French Polynesia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lecchini
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics; D000818:Animals; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes; D062312:Islands; D011114:Polynesia