MADE in SC | SC EPSCoR

(August 25, 2017) Dr. Eric Montie, Biology/Natural Sciences at USC Beaufort, was one of our recent REU recipients for his project, “Recording Estuarine Soundscapes to Investigate Phenological Shifts and Changes in Fish Reproduction Associated with Climate Variability.”

(Photo, left) From left to right, Bradshaw McKinney (USCB undergraduate), Ashlee Seder (USCB undergraduate), and Claire Mueller (USCB intern) seine the May River in search of young-of-the-year (YOY) silver perch, spotted seatrout, and red drum. Bradshaw's research is focusing on the appearance of YOY sciaenids (e.g., silver perch, spotted seatrout, and red drum) and how this pattern correlates with the timing of courtship sounds. Ashlee's research is using towed passive acoustic recorders and GIS mapping to create heat maps of biological sound in order determine the exact locations of spotted seatrout spawning aggregations. These data are helping us to understand how climate change may shift the timing of courtship sounds and reproduction of important recreational fisheries like spotted seatrout and red drum (USCB students supported by SC EPSCOR).

(Photo, right) Dr. Montie (left) and Bradshaw McKinney (right) deploy DSG-Ocean acoustic recorders in Charleston Harbor, SC to monitor the impacts of anthropogenic noise on the acoustic communication of snapping shrimp, soniferous fish, and bottlenose dolphins (Funded by South Carolina Aquarium).

Click download PDF of REU Program Focus on Dr. Eric Montie