Underwater noise from SHRIMPs!

[BEM]

On my first few Caribbean dives, one of the things that amazed me was the amount of noise underwater. I never thought that it would be so noisy - the lakes and St. Lawrence River are pretty quiet.

It sounded like bacon frying in the distance or popcorn popping. I didn't ask anyone in the group I was diving with - I know what kind of answers I would get - "At your age it's probably your veins popping. Just your joints. That was your tank exploding…. etc"

I thought I would be able to see the source and looked closely at the Parrotfish eating coral, but still couldn't figure out the source.

I read an article on ocean noise coming from shrimp using Bernoulli's principle .

Popping Shrimp

Any other noise sources or what noises have you heard?

 

[Epinephelus]

Other critters make noises - Toadfish, for example, make an extremely loud whoooogha, whoooogha (excuse my lame attempt at onomatopoeia); grouper grunt, croaker croak, and there are a raft of others. But the clicks and pops and cracks are almost exclusively shrimp as you suspect.
E. itajara (my sound is "tthhhwwwaaappp!" as my jaw slams shut)

 

[MSilvia]

I once heard a loud "Mmbloul blub lophul oblubp!" and turned to see Spectre with his reg out of his mouth trying to tell me something. I'd say he was narced, but we were only at 30 fsw.

 

[Spectre]

MSilvia once bubbled...
I once heard a loud "Mmbloul blub lophul oblubp!" and turned to see Spectre with his reg out of his mouth trying to tell me something. I'd say he was narced, but we were only at 30 fsw.

I hear a lot of muffled screams. It's usually MSilvia proving Lostering Rule #1: If it scares you, it's legal. I have to take my reg out of my mouth to try and explain to him that he'll be fine and to stop being such a wuss.

Oh... and I've not found the altitude where my narcosis clears up....

 

[MSilvia]

touche'

 

[donacheson]

BEM once bubbled...
On my first few Caribbean dives, one of the things that amazed me was the amount of noise underwater. I never thought that it would be so noisy - the lakes and St. Lawrence River are pretty quiet.

It sounded like bacon frying in the distance or popcorn popping. I didn't ask anyone in the group I was diving with - I know what kind of answers I would get - "At your age it's probably your veins popping. Just your joints. That was your tank exploding…. etc"

I thought I would be able to see the source and looked closely at the Parrotfish eating coral, but still couldn't figure out the source.

I read an article on ocean noise coming from shrimp using Bernoulli's principle .

Popping Shrimp

Any other noise sources or what noises have you heard?

Why else would they be called pistol shrimp?

As I understand it, they make their noise by producing cavitation in seawater, a process of considerable concern to designerd of ship propellors.

 

[Rice]

i've noticed a great deal of noise around schools of baitfish. menhaden and the like make noise with theier gillplates.

I think parrotfish are responsible for some noise, and many kinds of shrimps also.

Pistol shrimp and mantis shrimp have been known to break aquarium glass. they use it to stun prey

Any others?
Rice

 

[Otter]

I heard on Discovery Channel that most of the noise we hear this that 'popping / crackling' type is actually from waves crashing on shore. I don't remember what, but there were going to use that sound to measure the change in something (global warming, ??)

When in Cozumel last year, I kept hearing the 'whoooogha, whoooogha" that Epinephelus mentioned. Niavely I was assuming it was some Captain gunning is boat or something, only to learn it was the Splendind Toadfish. If you want to hear what it sounds like, go to my website. It only works if you use Internet Explorer....sorry, but I haven't figured out how to get it working in Netscape.

Craig