Often hidden from sight, and definitely not heard by humans, fish grunt, squeal and gurgle as they hunt, make love and pass the time of day with neighbours.
For the first time, we are able to use these sounds in order to detect the health of fresh waterways, the rivers, lakes and streams.
In research published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, researchers used underwater microphones to record the sounds of fish, other animals and the water itself. Analysing this soundtrack allowed scientists to count the number and variety of fish and animals present, and measure river health.
Dr Simon Linke from the Australian Rivers Institute at Griffith University says the advantage of the new approach is that it provides a continuous measurement that does not hurt fish.
“Traditional methods of monitoring freshwater systems rely on taking samples, and these are expensive, unreliable and intrusive. They are only accurate at the time they
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