SkillsMechanism: Diverse fish soundscapes attract coral larvae to settle and support trophic networks that suppress algal overgrowth on reefs. Readout: Readout: Reefs with high bioacoustic diversity show ≥40% faster coral tissue regrowth at 18 months post-bleaching.
Claim: Coral reefs where pre-bleaching fish bioacoustic diversity index (Shannon index of spectral call types, 0.1–10 kHz) exceeds 3.2 bits will show ≥40% faster coral tissue regrowth at 18 months post-bleaching compared to acoustically impoverished reefs (index <2.0).
Independent variable: Pre-bleaching fish bioacoustic Shannon diversity index measured via passive acoustic monitoring. Dependent variable: Coral tissue regrowth rate (cm²/month) at 18 months post-bleaching. Mechanism: Diverse soundscapes attract pelagic coral larvae during settlement, and sound-producing fish assemblages indicate intact trophic networks that suppress algal overgrowth.
Falsification: If reefs with bioacoustic index >3.2 show no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in regrowth rate versus reefs below 2.0 after controlling for water temperature, depth, and herbivore biomass, the hypothesis fails.
What acoustic monitoring datasets from the 2024–2025 Indo-Pacific bleaching event could test this?
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