Research

The ocean is alive with sound—grunts, snaps, hums, and groans from its myriad inhabitants. Yet, as underwater soundscapes change because of human activity and climate change, scientists warn we are at risk of losing these vital acoustic signatures forever.

Why We Need to Listen to the Ocean Today

A recent article co-authored by Dr. Aaron Rice and a team of international collaborators, Sounding the Call for a Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds, makes the case for a unified effort to catalog these sounds before many disappear (Parsons et al., 2022). I sat down with Aaron to discuss how this work frames the mission of FishEye Collaborative.

“We have really sophisticated sensors that may be the size of a water bottle that we can toss over the side of a boat or put down when scuba diving on the seafloor. And they’ll record for weeks to months unattended and then we bring it back to the lab. And what we see when we record in oceans, lakes, and rivers around the world is that  the vast majority of biological sounds we’re getting are produced by fish. But we have no idea what species they are.”

A global sound library isn’t just about preserving what we hear—it’s about what we can learn. Every sound represents a piece of the ocean’s puzzle, and without them we are missing crucial insights into marine biodiversity and ecosystem health.

A Global Vision

GLUBS is a truly global effort. The GLUBS publication had 17 authors from 9 countries.  Three years later, the GLUBS team has grown to 47 scientists at 28 institutions worldwide. The community of practice is wide and diverse.

In their article, Rice and his colleagues argue that a global underwater sound repository would be revolutionary for ocean science (something already done for whales and birds). By uniting regional marine and freshwater biological sound libraries into a connected network, researchers worldwide could access and identify sounds with greater accuracy. Applications range from tracking migration patterns to monitoring ecosystem health, providing tools to combat biodiversity loss and habitat degradation (Parsons et al., 2022).

The proposed repository would:

• Act as a key to deciphering underwater sounds.

• Allow the training of advanced AI algorithms to identify unknown species and behaviors.

• Empower citizen scientists to contribute their own recordings.

But while this vision is expansive, it also underscores the challenges of managing vast datasets, ensuring sound quality, and maintaining global accessibility.

“So we have—for about 1,000 of the 36,000 species of fish—we may have some degree of vocal recordings, most of which were captured by using unnatural stimuli in labs.. So for the vast majority of aquatic ecosystems around the world, we know the fish sounds are fish, but we have no idea who’s producing them.”

FishEye Collaborative’s Fish Sound Library

At FishEye Collaborative, our focus aligns with these goals. We’re taking a targeted approach. While a global repository seeks to encompass all underwater life, our library zeroes in on fish sounds—meticulously identifying which species make which noises. This focus allows us to develop specific techniques that lead to unprecedented discoveries. Our goal is to build a database that becomes an invaluable resource for marine conservation efforts.

“The sounds of fish are often overlooked, but they are rich in information. Knowing who’s making what sound is key to understanding coral reef health and even predicting, and protecting, fish spawning events.” (Rice, 2024)

FishEye’s contributions include:

• Cutting-Edge Tools: Using our UPAC-360 System to visually and acoustically pinpoint the sources of fish sounds.

• AI-Ready Data: Building training datasets to improve automated sound recognition.

• Accessible Resources: Our library is designed to support scientists, educators, and even curious students.

Where Global Meets Local

The call for a global library is ambitious. It can only be achieved by lots of different teams working together. FishEye is focused on identifying fish sounds. Right now our library is of Caribbean sounds, but we are branching out. Wherever we go, we will add to the knowledge that GLUBS aims to unify. Many of the GLUBS-affiliated libraries are of soundscapes with many unidentified sounds. We aim to provide the identifications that aid in understanding soundscapes like these. Together, they create a complementary dynamic.

“FishEye’s sound library may not be global in scope yet, but wherever we go we’re contributing a level of detail that helps the larger effort.”

How You Can Get Involved

Interested in learning more about the science of underwater sounds? Explore:

• The Global Vision: Read the full article co-authored by Parsons et al.

• FishEye’s Library: Discover our growing collection of fish sounds, uniquely tied to their species and behaviors. [Fish Sound Library]

• GLUBS homepage: https://www.glubs.org/about

• Get Updates: Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on FishEye’s discoveries.

Together, we can ensure the ocean’s voices are not only heard but understood.