Autonomous sea gliders record sounds of fish emptying buoyancy bladders
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 08:03
in Earth & Climate
(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers attempting to map the various types of fish living in the eastern Gulf of Mexico have been using an automated sea glider, which is a small autonomous submarine outfitted with a hydrophone. The sea glider zigs and zags its way around underwater at different depths recording noises from nearby fish. Recently the team came across some noises on the recordings that it wasn’t able to identify right away. Resembling a cricket chirp, the team now believes, as they write in their paper published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, it’s due to certain types of fish voiding their buoyancy bladders as they change depth.