Gray’s Reef explores sounds of the ocean with virtual learning

NOAA Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is working to continue to provide virtual learning opportunities while working from home. An ongoing collaboration between Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries hosted an hour-long webinar, Exploring the Sounds of Gray’s Reef, with Gray’s Reef scientists.

Alison Soss and Kris Howard study the sounds of Gray’s Reef to track fish movements and species diversity. Monitoring sounds and movements of commercially important species like black sea bass helps guide management decisions in the region’s waters.

Kris Howard, Alison Soss, and Ben Prueitt provided an overview of the NOAA Sanctuary System and Gray’s Reef, including a virtual live aboard experience on the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster. Webinar participants could also hear audio from hydrophones listening for fish noises and acoustic receivers to track movement of black sea bass. The webinar concluded with a question and answer session from the at-home audience of students, teachers and the general public. The full webinar can be found at the YouTube channel for Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants