Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Philip Souza

September 22, 2022 • by Nicole Elmer
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Scuba diving to conduct lobster, grouper, and conch surveys in The Bahamas.


blackdrum

Holding a black drum (Pogonias cromis), one of the sound-producing fishes found in Texas estuaries

Does Texas present a unique situation, challenge or benefit for your research?

I work in the Brandl lab at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI) in Port Aransas, TX. UTMSI is stationed next to the Mission-Aransas Estuary, a highly-productive system teaming with vocal marine life (e.g., dolphins and soniferous fishes). Working at UT presents a unique situation as I can study these biological sounds in a dynamic and exciting system. Many of the sound-producing fishes belong to the family Sciaenidae and form the basis of important recreational fisheries. Texans and the people who visit the coastal bend LOVE fishing and care deeply about preserving their natural resources. Thus, I’ve received a lot of support from residents and local wildlife agencies who believe this work can play a critical role in preserving local biodiversity and maintaining healthy fish populations. The support has greatly benefited my work and inspired me throughout my time at UT.

lobster survey

Surveying lobster.

Where do you see your research agenda heading after UT?

A long-term goal of mine is to conduct passive acoustic research back home in New England. As in Texas, some of the most iconic and commercially important fishes in New England are chatty. Atlantic cod and haddock, for example, vocalize during their spawning seasons. I would like to use these sounds to monitor their distributions and spawning activity during the coming decades. It would be incredibly rewarding to play even a small role in the conservation of these species, and it would bring my research journey full circle. More generally, I want to continue to add to the global library of marine sounds by recording and identifying fish vocalizations all over the world. I’m also very interested in using passive acoustics to monitor the ecological condition of target sites through time. The idea is that healthy habitats contain more abundant and diverse communities than degraded habitats. As such, soundscapes at healthy sites should be louder and more complex than those at degraded sites. I’d like to continue adding to the growing body of work on the subject to see if we really can track habitat and community health through time simply by listening in.

Read more about Philip's research in this September 2023 article: Heartbeat of the Estuary

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