The Challenge

Marine ecosystems are changing rapidly, but monitoring them at the scales needed for effective management remains incredibly challenging.

The ESONS Project

Building on a decade+ of proven marine acoustic monitoring

Dr. Eric Montie's lab at USC Beaufort has been monitoring marine soundscapes across South Carolina estuaries for over a decade through the Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS).

Their proven manual detection protocol has revealed rich patterns of fish calling behavior, seasonal cycles, and ecosystem health indicators throughout the region.

ESONS Protocol

2-minute recordings every 2 hours
Expert manual analysis and species identification
0-3 scale calling intensity documentation

The Scaling Challenge

Manual detection works beautifully but is resource-intensive

Current Reality

Resource Intensive: Each 2-minute recording requires intensive expert analysis regardless of biological content
Undifferentiated Effort: Current approach analyzes all recordings equally, even those with minimal biological activity
Scalability Gap: Expanding to ecosystem-wide monitoring requires exponentially more expert hours

What's Needed

Continuous Monitoring: Detect patterns across full temporal scales
Efficient Screening: Focus expert time where it's most valuable
Broader Applications: Enable monitoring across diverse marine environments

MBON's Mission

A global collaborative initiative for effective marine biodiversity management

The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) is a growing global initiative composed of regional networks of scientists, resource managers, and end-users working to integrate data from existing long-term programs.

This project demonstrates how innovative approaches can improve our understanding of changes and connections between marine biodiversity and ecosystem functions—directly supporting MBON's core mission.

Key Goals

  • • Data Integration: Connect existing long-term monitoring programs
  • • Global Networks: Foster collaboration across regional networks
  • • Biodiversity-Function Links: Understand ecosystem connections
  • • Management Support: Provide actionable information for conservation

Can we maintain the quality of expert detection while scaling to broader monitoring efforts?

This proof-of-concept explores whether acoustic indices—automated measurements of underwater sound characteristics—can serve as screening tools to identify periods likely to contain fish community activity.

Discover Our Approach