Sparsified nightly fish chorusing in the Dry Tortugas during elevated background noise levels due to a tropical storm

Determining how fish respond to naturally occurring noise disturbances can provide insight into the biological mechanisms underlying the response of fish to anthropogenic noise. Data collected from passive acoustic monitoring in the Dry Tortugas, FL, showed that a tropical storm significantly increased levels of low-frequency noise over a four-day period. The nightly fish chorus occurring at this site, likely from Black Drums (Pogonias cromis), was significantly reduced during this storm event, with fewer than 10% of grunts detected during the storm’s peak as compared to pre- and post-storm levels. We applied Soundscape Control Charts, a new method to quantify the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Most commonly used in the industrial sector as alarm systems, control charts identify when a system deviates from its normal state. In this study, Soundscape Control Charts quantified the effects of this tropical storm on the communication of fish. This serendipitous dataset suggests that fish communication is negatively impacted by naturally occurring noise disturbances, and is evidence for the need to preserve marine acoustic habitats in order to facilitate animal communication.