Listen To The Sounds Of The Reef
An Ecological Acoustic Recorder (EAR) can record a wide variety of sounds. Whales, dolphins, snapping shrimp, and fish are often recorded. Some of the most common fish sounds that we have identified are the Domino damselfish Dascyllus albisella (purr sound), the soldierfish Myripristis sp. (drum sound), and the butterfly fish Chaetodon sp.. This page presents some of the sounds recorded by EARs. Clicking on a square below to will toggle it's sound on and off.
One of the most exciting findings EARs have provided is the discovery of Humpback whales using the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) as a winter habitat, just as they do in the main Hawaiian Islands. It was commonly thought that Humpbacks only transited through the NWHI. EARs in the NWHI have recorded Humpback whale songs, indicating the use of the area as a breeding site [ more (0.7 MB PDF) ].
*Click here to view a transcript of these recordings.
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