Research at CRIOBE on Moorea, French Polynesia
Ben Williams
University of Exeter
In January 2021 I set off for a three month research trip to the Centre de Recherches Insulaires et Observatoire de l’Environnement (CRIOBE) on Moorea, French Polynesia. With the support of the Challenger Society for Marine Science, I was able to lead two key pieces of research here. These were primarily focused on the passive acoustic monitoring of coral reefs. This new monitoring tool operates around the concept that we can learn about a habitat by studying the full array of natural sounds present within the area, known as the ‘soundscape’.
The first of these projects was centred around an exciting new piece of disruptive recording technology, the AudioMoth. Equipment costs are typically a real barrier to marine soundscape ecologists. However, these new recorders are able to deliver many of the features our research grade hydrophones offer for just a 30th of the cost. Colleagues and I therefore set about working with the developers of these devices, Open Acoustics, to adapt these terrestrial recorders for the marine environment. I am fortunate enough to be trialling prototypes of these for one of the first times in the marine setting whilst I collect recordings on the coral reefs around Moorea. This provided essential data we needed to formally test these recorders against existing technology. With the hard work of colleagues back home including Tim Gordon, Lucille Chapuis and others, we’ve been able to prepare this work for submission for publication. We hope this technology will offer marine practitioners a more accessible means by which to monitor underwater soundscapes.
The second project I’ve been working on has been led by Dr Suzanne Mills and Dr Ricardo Beldade who are investigating the impact of artificial light pollution on tropical reef fish. This has proved an excellent opportunity for me to piggy back on their experiment and once again use these new AudioMoth recorders to look at the impacts of this pollutant on the soundscape. This project has given me the opportunity to further advance my field and bioacoustic expertise. I’ve also been able to learn new skills such as working on a stressor based experiment, in the form of light pollution in our case, and how to cope with being at the constant mercy of fish spawning cycles which decide the timing of our every move!
Looking to the future, I’m excited to see what impact our work, demonstrating the utility of the new AudioMoth recorders, can have on the field of marine passive acoustics. I’ll also be able to carry over much the data I have collected to my PhD which I will be commencing later this year at UCL as a member of the Biome Health Project.
Ben is completing his Masters by Research at the University of Exeter under the supervision of Professor Steve Simpson. Ben’s work primarily focuses on studying coral reef soundscapes with novel recording technology and how we can improve the analysis of this data using machine learning.
Latest News
Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk