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Response delay is function of sound frequency from 10–300 Hz A, The response delay was systematically shorter from 10–80 Hz and the variability smaller from 10–80 Hz, with an exception at 60 Hz, illustrating a particular sensitivity to the lowest frequencies, N = 16 oysters. B1 and B2 represent the measured sound pressure levels, SPL, and shell accelerations for frequencies from 10–300 Hz.
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There is an increasing concern that anthropogenic noise could have a significant impact on the marine environment, but there is still insufficient data for most invertebrates. What do they perceive? We investigated this question in oysters Magallana gigas (Crassostrea gigas) using pure tone exposures, accelerometer fixed on the oyster shell and hyd...
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To clarify the taxonomic assignment of oysters bred at the nursery of the Kovalevsky Institute ofMarine Biological Research, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMBR RAS), and to determine the genetic vari-ability parameters, the sequence variation of oyster mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA gene fragments wasanalyzed. Comparison with other species of the ge...
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... Turbulence within the water column stimulates active downward propulsion of C. virginica larvae, increasing the likelihood of settlement [36]. Statocysts detect sound for different mollusks such as cephalopods [38], and have been hypothesized to be the primary mechanism for sound detection in adult oysters [39]. Because the statocyst can sense fluid particle motion and therefore particle accelerations caused by sound waves, it is also believed to help larvae detect elements of the aquatic soundscape [40], allowing larvae to orient themselves according to auditory cues when navigating towards a potential settlement site [41]. ...
... The turbulent soundscape of intertidal oyster reefs The organ used by many molluscan species to detect sound is the statocyst [38], which consists of a mineralized mass within a ciliated sac [60]. Not only are oyster larvae believed to use these organs to detect turbulence [59], but adult oysters likely use them to respond to low frequency sounds in the range of turbulent pressure fluctuations (10-80 Hz) [39]. It is therefore possible that larval settlement induced by sound and turbulence do not result from differing responses to separate stimuli, but rather are both equivalent statocyst-driven responses to turbulent pressure fluctuations "heard" by the larvae. ...
Turbulence and sound are important cues for oyster reef larval recruitment. Numerous studies have found a relationship between turbulence intensity and swimming behaviors of marine larvae, while others have documented the importance of sounds in enhancing larval recruitment to oyster reefs. However, the relationship between turbulence and the reef soundscape is not well understood. In this study we made side-by-side acoustic Doppler velocimeter turbulence measurements and hydrophone soundscape recordings over 2 intertidal oyster reefs (1 natural and 1 restored) and 1 adjacent bare mudflat as a reference. Sound pressure levels (SPL) were similar across all three sites, although SPL > 2000 Hz was highest at the restored reef, likely due to its larger area that contained a greater number of sound-producing organisms. Flow noise (FN), defined as the mean of pressure fluctuations recorded by the hydrophone at f < 100 Hz, was significantly related to mean flow speed, turbulent kinetic energy, and turbulence dissipation rate (ε), agreeing with theoretical calculations for turbulence. Our results also show a similar relationship between ε and FN to what has been previously reported for ε vs. downward larval swimming velocity (wb), with both FN and wb demonstrating rapid growth at ε > 0.1 cm² s⁻³. These results suggest that reef turbulence and sounds may attract oyster larvae in complementary and synergistic ways.
... The former was modelled on recent biological studies of molluscan hearing. The data produced through lab experimentation in a study of the hearing of the bivalve mollusc Magallana Gigas (Charifi et al. 2017) was used to emulate the intensity and delay of the oyster's capacity to be affected by a spectrum of acoustic vibrations through a patchwork of digital filters and delays. The processed sound is then quantised, normalised and used as the input for machine learning. ...
This article critiques the anthropocentric tendencies in machine listening practices and narratives, developing alternative concepts and methods to explore the more-than-human potential of these technologies through the framework of sonic fiction. Situating machine listening within the contemporary soundscape of dataveillance, the research examines post-anthropocentric threads that emerge at the intersection of datafication, subjectivation and animalisation. Theory and practice interweave in the composition of a music piece, The Spiral , enabling generative feedback between concept, sensation and technique. Specifically, the research investigates the figure of a mollusc bio-sensor between science fact and fable, as the (im)possible locus of musicality. This emergent methodology also offers new insights for other sound art and music practices aiming to pluralise what listening might be.
... Relative power spectral density (left panels) and box plots of the sound pressure level (right panels) of the ambient noise treatment (control, blue) and the boat noise treatment (red) at the location of the mussels in the rearing aquaria (A), the starvation aquaria (B) and the filtration aquaria (C); solid lines are the average values of all boat sounds while shaded areas delimit the minimum and maximum values. The framed area indicates the frequency range of bivalve sensitivity (seeCharifi et al., 2017 for the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas and Duarte et al., 2021 for an overview). ...
... Solid lines are the average values of all boat sounds for each treatment while shaded areas delimit the min and max values. The framed area indicates the frequency range of bivalves' sensitivity (seeCharifi et al., 2017 for the Pacific oyster Magallana gigas and Duarte et al., 2021 for an overview).Supplementary ...
The response of invasive species to noise and how it can modulate their behavior and ecological impact have received scant attention. We conducted a two-phase laboratory experiment to investigate the effect of motorboat noise on the quagga mussel, Dreissena rostriformis bugensis. We first measured aggregation during a prolonged rearing phase under laboratory background noise supplemented or not with motorboat sounds. We then monitored valve gaping and estimated the filtration rate of mussels in the presence or absence of motorboat noise. Prolonged noise exposure increased aggregation and valve gaping. The relationship between valve gaping and filtration was significantly positive for control mussels and not significant for the mussels that experienced motorboat noise. Further research is needed to understand the physiological origins of the response to noise and the consequences on life-history traits and mussel-based ecosystem processes such as phytoplanktonic primary production, benthification and biofouling.
... Bivalve lineages that lack this specific sense organ possess structurally similar organs, possibly also to detect sound (Haszprunar 1983). Hair cells and statocysts have also been suggested to be involved in sound detection (Charifi et al. 2017;Roberts et al. 2015;Zhadan 2005). However, despite the reports on impact of noise pollution on bivalves and their widespread sensitivity to sound, insights into effects from continuous or repeated sound exposures are scarce. ...
... Oysters exhibit high inter-individual variability, which may be due to the generally low number of monitored individuals or failure to account for interactive effects. Valve closures of bivalves have been linked to tidal cycles (Nelson 1922;Sow et al. 2011), algal concentration (Higgins 1980), algal toxins (Nagai et al. 2006;Tran et al. 2010;Lavaud et al. 2021), chemical compounds (Kramer and Foekema 2001;Hartmann et al., 2016), acidification (Clements et al. 2018;Lassoued et al. 2021), dissolved oxygen concentration (DO; Porter and Breitburg 2016;Coffin et al. 2021), parasitic infections (Chambon et al. 2007), and sound (Charifi et al. 2017;Hubert et al. 2023). Most studies carried out in the field have related valve opening to a single factor. ...
... Each of the four environmental variables examined and their rate of change influenced oyster VOB separately, but several significant two-way interactions between variables were found to influence the direction or the magnitude of these relationships. This highlights the complexity of the response of oysters to environmental factors, particularly as scientists in past decades have focused on relating VOB to single environmental conditions (Clements et al. 2018;Lassoued et al. 2021;Tran et al. 2010;Lavaud et al. 2021;Kramer and Foekema 2001;Hartmann et al., 2016;Chambon et al. 2007;Charifi et al. 2017;Hubert et al., 2023). Our study encompassed close to two months of continuous recording, corresponding to 4,608 data points for environmental factors and more than 4 million gape angle values for each oyster (averaged each 15 min to match the resolution model to account for the impact of salinity on the energy budget of oysters in the region (Lavaud et al. 2017). ...
High-frequency recordings of valve opening behavior (VOB) in bivalves are often used to detect changes in environmental conditions. However, generally a single variable such as temperature or the presence of toxicants in the water is the focus. A description of routine VOB under non-stressful conditions is also important for interpreting responses to environmental changes. Here we present the first detailed quantitative investigation of the in-situ VOB of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to environmental variables typically not considered stressful. The VOB of eight individuals was monitored for seven weeks in a Louisiana estuary. We examined the relationships between VOB metrics (variance in mean % max opening among oysters, the probability of an oyster being closed, and the rate of valve closure), and temperature, salinity, chlorophyll-a (chl-a) concentration, the rate of change in those environmental variables, and the rate of change in water depth. Relationships were analyzed through statistical models including rates of change over 0, 0.25, 1-, 6-, 12-, and 24-hours. All the responses were best explained by the 12-hour time step model. The interaction effect between salinity and the rate of change of salinity had the greatest impact on variance in oysters’ behavior. Oysters closed faster at higher salinities and were more likely to be closed at lower chl-a concentrations. Significant interactions were found between many environmental variables, indicating a high level of complexity of oyster behavior in the natural environment. This study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of environmental conditions on oyster behavior and can help inform predictive tools for restoration initiatives and fisheries practices.
... Based on the results of this present study and associated literature, a reasonable hypothesized could be made that both of these sound qualities (loudness and spectro-temporal patterns) are perceptible to M.gigas larvae, and the preferences for each may be highly species-specific and could be based on the preferred habit qualities. In comparison to M.gigas adults, who have previously been studied for their sense of hearing 35 , there is still not enough evidence to specify the range of acoustic frequencies detectable to larvae. Future research should therefore not only collect species specific data on acoustic feature detection, but also from different life stages. ...
Settlement is a critical period in the life cycle of marine invertebrates with a planktonic larval stage. For reef-building invertebrates such as oysters and corals, settlement rates are predictive for long-term reef survival. Increasing evidence suggests that marine invertebrates use information from ocean soundscapes to inform settlement decisions. Sessile marine invertebrates with a planktonic stage are particularly reliant on environmental cues to direct them to ideal habitats. As gregarious settlers, oysters prefer to settle amongst members of the same species. It has been hypothesized that oyster larvae from species Crassostrea virginica and Ostrea angasi use distinct conspecific oyster reef sounds to navigate to ideal habitats. In controlled laboratory experiments we exposed Pacific Oyster Magallana gigas larvae to anthropogenic sounds from conspecific oyster reefs, vessels, combined reef-vessel sounds as well as off-reef and no speaker controls. Our findings show that sounds recorded at conspecific reefs induced higher percentages of settlement by about 1.44 and 1.64 times compared to off-reef and no speaker controls, respectively. In contrast, the settlement increase compared to the no speaker control was non-significant for vessel sounds (1.21 fold), combined reef-vessel sounds (1.30 fold), and off-reef sounds (1.18 fold). This study serves as a foundational stepping stone for exploring larval sound feature preferences within this species.
... Corbicula japonica ; Moroishi et al. , 2009 ), sound (e.g. Magallana gigas ; Charifi et al. , 2017 ), crude oil (e.g. Mytilus edulis ; Redmond et al. , 2017 ) and microplastics (e.g. ...
Over the past decades, valvometric techniques have been commonly used to record valve opening activities of bivalves. Various relationships with environmental variations have been elucidated through different types of metrics extracted from valvometric signals (e.g. valve opening, cyclicity, specific behaviours). Although automated data processing methods exist, many specific behaviours are still annotated manually. This study proposes an algorithm to detect and classify the behaviours performed by the great scallop (Pecten maximus) in two categories: jump-like (JL) behaviours and other behaviours (OBs). These two categories differ in the shape of their valvometric signal, JL being movements of high amplitudes associated with ‘displacement movements’ (rotation, swimming, jumping, flipping) and OB grouping all other movements of lower amplitudes (‘common movements’), such as partial closures, which are produced routinely. This algorithm has been developed and tested on 10 scallop valve opening time series recorded using fully autonomous valvometers based on the Hall effect principle. The algorithm detected 93.65% ± 5.5 of manually annotated behaviours produced by scallops, with a false detection rate of less than 6.3% ± 5.5. Classification performances vary according to the type of behaviour. JL behaviours and OBs were well classified at 83.72% ± 23.09 and 98.92% ± 1.80, respectively. Analysis of the algorithm's outputs, highlighting potential daily trends in the production of certain behaviours, shows their relevance for acquiring information on the biology of scallops. By providing an efficient and flexible detection and classification method, this study is a first step towards the automation of bivalve behaviour detection. This study also highlights the importance of simultaneously using Hall sensors and accelerometers to accurately classify the complex behaviours of mobile bivalves such as P. maximus.
... P. maximus also demonstrated a heightened frequency of closure events in response to elevated concentrations of suspended particles (Szostek et al., 2013). Recent studies highlighted the reactions of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas (Charifi et al., 2017), and the blue mussel, M. edulis (Hubert et al., 2022) to low-frequency sound emissions, resulting in partial valve closure. ...
... For instance, Lombardi et al. [53] noted that oysters tended to keep their valves closed when exposed to unfavorable salinity levels. Various factors contribute to the modulation of valve opening and closing behaviors, encompassing hypoxia [54], food availability [55], pollutants [56,57], acoustic disturbances [58], and other environmental influences. In this context, total suspended solids may impact the valve behaviors of C. gasar. ...
Oysters have the potential to be a part of more sustainable farming systems, such as multitrophic systems integrated into biofloc systems, due to their filtration activity, which enables them to act as organic consumers. However, the stress experienced by animals in a system with a high organic load can compromise their productive performance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the biological responses of Crassostrea gasar oysters when exposed to different concentrations of total suspended solids in biofloc systems. The oysters were exposed to four different concentrations of solids for 28 days. Hall effect sensors were installed on the outside of the shells to detect the movement of the oyster valves. Also, biochemical and histological analyses were conducted to assess the biological responses of the oysters to exposure to varying levels of solids. A difference in valve opening detected by the Hall sensors was observed from the second week of culture, indicating a relationship between shell closure and higher concentrations of suspended solids present in the system. In terms of biochemical analysis, a significant increase in lipid damage was observed in treatments with medium and high levels of total suspended solids compared with the control group. Conversely, no changes were observed in the gill structure of the oysters caused by the concentrations of suspended solids in the system when compared with the control. According to the analyses of gill activity and biochemistry, it is suggested that C. gasar should be cultured with total suspended solids at less than 200 mg/L. Oysters cultivated in a biofloc system keep their shells closed when subjected to high concentrations of total suspended solids; concentrations of total suspended solids below 200 mg/L do not induce oxidative stress, changes in behavior or histological alterations in C. gasar oysters cultivated in a biofloc system.
... Benthic organisms such as bivalve mollusks, like all sessile animals, have no or limited locomotion ability and are particularly vulnerable to local anthropogenic noise. Charifi et al., 2017 reported the most extensive analysis of sound perception ability in oysters (Magallana (Crassostrea) gigas). They showed that M. gigas is sensitive to sound in the range of 10 to <1000 Hz, with maximum sensitivity from 10 to 200 Hz. ...
... The most significant difference in sound pressure occurred within the 100-200 Hz frequency range, which aligns with the oysters' optimal auditory sensitivity. (Charifi et al., 2017). in calm conditions. This started from Day 1. ...
The pearl oyster Pinctada radiata is an iconic species in the Arabian Gulf, which is one of the ecosystems most at risk in the world because of the multiple sources of pollution it faces. Alongside chemical pollution, the Gulf is ranked first with regard to noise and light pollution, and pearl oyster populations are at risk. The impact of these latter types of pollution on marine invertebrates is still poorly known. We used the difference in noise and brightness that can exist between a very quiet room without artificial lighting and a standard laboratory room equipped with a standard aquarium as a testbed to explore the possible impact of noise and light pollution on the behavioral and biological traits of Pinctada radiata without added chemical exposure. During an experiment that lasted 2.5 months, we analyzed their grouping behavior, valve activity, biological rhythm, growth rate and spawning activity. In the standard aquarium kept in the laboratory room, the oysters dispersed instead of regrouping as in their natural environment, regrouping which was observed in the quiet room. They stayed closed longer, the opening amplitude of their valves was systematically lower, and in the closed position, they squeezed their valves more tightly when subjected to noise and light pollution. Their daily opening rhythm was strongly structured by switching the electric light on and off, and females showed significantly less egg-laying behavior. In conclusion, seemingly innocuous human activities can lead to very significant alterations in pearl oyster behavior. We propose that it could have significant effects on populations and ecosystems.
