Tropical cyclones are severe weather systems which can potentially have a large effect on marine ecosystems through direct (e.g., storm surge) or indirect effects (e.g., post-storm runoff). However, given the fact that they can disable much of the local infrastructure, relatively few studies have been able to investigate their ecological impacts. In June 2012, Tropical Storm Debby formed in the Gulf of Mexico and had impacted coastal Florida including Tampa Bay. Acoustic recorders were deployed during the storm at a shallow inshore location inside Tampa Bay (Boca 2) and a location offshore in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf 1). The soundscape before (June 17-21), during (June 22-26) and after (June 27-July 3) Tropical Storm Debby was investigated in two ways: third-octave spectral analysis of root-mean-square sound pressure levels and the identification and quantification of fish sounds in spectrograms.
Results/Conclusions
Single-factor ANOVAs indicated a significant increase in ambient noise analyzed in third-octave bands during the storm at both sites (p < 0.001), and an overall decrease in fish sound production during the storm at both sites (p < 0.001). Several species-specific sound production patterns were also found which correlated with the storm’s passage. The changes in ambient noise and biological vocalization was short-lived and returned back to normal within 48 hours of the storm. This study is one of three studies to examine the effects of tropical cyclone on marine soundscapes, and the only study to identify sound production to the species level. Furthermore, the results from this study provide important information on the effects of tropical storms on marine communities and the fast rate of recovery after these storms.