MEPS

Marine Ecology Progress Series

MEPS is a leading hybrid research journal on all aspects of marine, coastal and estuarine ecology. Priority is given to outstanding research that advances our ecological understanding.

Online: ISSN 1616-1599

Print: ISSN 0171-8630

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps

Impact Factor2.1 (JCR 2025 release)

Article Acceptance Rate52.2% (2024)

Average Time in Review216 days (2024)

Total Annual Downloads2.970.569 (2025)

Volume contents
Mar Ecol Prog Ser 681:197-210 (2022)

Machine learning analysis reveals relationship between pomacentrid calls and environmental cues

ABSTRACT: Sound production rates of fishes can be used as an indicator for coral reef health, providing an opportunity to utilize long-term acoustic recordings to assess environmental change. As acoustic datasets become more common, computational techniques need to be developed to facilitate analysis of the massive data files produced by long-term monitoring. Machine learning techniques demonstrate an advantage in the identification of fish sounds over manual sampling approaches. Here we evaluated the ability of convolutional neural networks to identify and monitor call patterns for pomacentrids (damselfishes) in a tropical reef region of the western Pacific. A stationary hydrophone was deployed for 39 mo (2014-2018) in the National Park of American Samoa to continuously record the local marine acoustic environment. A neural network was trained—achieving 94% identification accuracy of pomacentrids—to demonstrate the applicability of machine learning in fish acoustics and ecology. The distribution of sound production was found to vary on diel and interannual timescales. Additionally, the distribution of sound production was correlated with wind speed, water temperature, tidal amplitude, and sound pressure level. This research has broad implications for state-of-the-art acoustic analysis and promises to be an efficient, scalable asset for ecological research, environmental monitoring, and conservation planning.

KEYWORDS

Jill E. Munger (Corresponding Author)

  • Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR 97365, USA
jillemunger@gmail.com

Daniel P. Herrera (Co-author)

  • Portland, OR 97218, USA

Samara M. Haver (Co-author)

  • Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR 97365, USA
  • Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA

Lynn Waterhouse (Co-author)

  • Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL 60605, USA

Megan F. McKenna (Co-author)

  • Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division, National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA

Robert P. Dziak (Co-author)

  • NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Newport, OR 97365, USA

Jason Gedamke (Co-author)

  • Office of Science and Technology, NOAA Fisheries, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA

Scott A. Heppell (Co-author)

  • Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97333, USA

Joseph H. Haxel (Co-author)

  • Cooperative Institute for Marine Ecosystem and Resources Studies, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Oregon State University, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, OR 97365, USA