Oyster reefs across Australia—once bustling underwater metropolises and vital pillars of our marine ecosystems—are now ghost towns. In the past 200 years since colonisation, they’ve been pushed to near extinction, with over 99% completely degraded.

But hope isn't lost. Thanks to our University of Adelaide researchers, there's a real opportunity for a comeback story on our coastlines. In an inventive experiment, our ecologists deployed speakers underwater, broadcasting the hustle and bustle of healthy reef sounds to imitate nature.

Their sonic experiment yielded astonishing results. By transforming the ocean floor into a lively underwater symphony, they managed to draw 17,000 extra oysters per square meter. These new recruits are now busy growing, cleaning the water, and creating complex habitats for other marine life to flourish.

Seeing this success, the research team believes underwater soundscapes could be a cost-effective tool to help accelerate oyster habitat restoration. Is this the golden ticket we need to bring our underwater worlds back to life?

Join us to find out.

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