Daytime boat sound does not affect the behavior of wild thorny oysters (Spondylus americanus): A field-based study.

This article focuses on a field-based study assessing the behavioral effects of recreational boat sound on Atlantic thorny oysters (Spondylus americanus) in coral reef habitats within the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park. Despite significant daytime increases in particle acceleration levels (PALrms) due to boat traffic at the treatment site, oysters exhibited consistent diurnal valve opening cycles—opening wider at night and partially closing during the day—without significant behavioral changes in response to boat sound compared to a control site with minimal boat noise. The findings suggest that low-frequency, continuous boat sound typical of recreational vessels does not elicit short-term behavioral disturbances in these oysters, contrasting with prior laboratory studies that reported sound-induced responses in bivalves. The study highlights the importance of realistic field experiments for understanding anthropogenic sound impacts on marine invertebrates and raises hypotheses including low auditory sensitivity, habituation, or non-detection of boat sound by oysters as possible explanations for the observed resilience.