Birds sing, wolves howl, and fish…? A collaborative team of educators, scientists, and students set out to uncover the hidden, and often noisy, lives of Hudson River fish.
The Hudson River is highly turbid, which can make it difficult to see and study fish in the water. So, the Hudson Ecological Acoustics Research (HEAR) team decided to use underwater microphones to listen to what was happening beneath the river’s surface. A central goal of the project was to better understand the behavior and spatial distribution of fish species in the Hudson River, including Atlantic and Shortnose Sturgeon, American Shad, Striped Bass, and Freshwater Drum.
The team deployed passive acoustic recorders at multiple monitoring locations, including sites within the Hudson River Reserve where weather and water quality data from the Reserve’s System-Wide Monitoring Program could provide a more complete picture of site conditions. The bioacoustics devices captured the breadth of the Hudson’s soundscape ranging from wildlife sounds to human-made boat traffic.
Reserve Science Educator Maija Niemisto and science communicator Liz LoGiudice created an interactive story map that allows users to “dive into” the Hudson, listen to these underwater soundscapes, and surface again to see the surrounding landscape. Users can interact with photos, sound clips, videos, and quizzes along the way.
Bioacoustics surveys allow scientists to observe wildlife without capturing them, making this research method especially useful when studying endangered species such as Atlantic sturgeon. The research project offered new insights into fish behavior with implications for recreational fishers, managers, and fisheries scientists.
The project team collaborated with partners at United States Military Academy West Point, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, while also drawing on fisheries data from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Special credit goes to Rebecca Cohen, whose leadership and vision were central to making the research and outreach efforts a success.
This multi-year research project at the Hudson River Reserve was recently highlighted by the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA). This project was funded by the NERRS Science Collaborative and the New York State Water Resources Institute at Cornell University.