Dr Craig Radford

PhD Auckland (2008)
MSc Canterbury (2003)
BSc Waikato (2000)

Contact details
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 83620
Email: c.radford@auckland.ac.nz

Many reef fish and decapods have a bipartite life cycle, characterised by broadcast or benthic spawning followed by a pelagic larval stage, which can be advected 10’s to 100’s of kilometres offshore. As many of these fish and decapods have a sedentary adult phase, the larval pelagic stage aids in their dispersal, with the processes involved having profound effects on the structure and function of reef communities. Recent work has shown that pre-settlement larvae have remarkable swimming abilities and sensory cues to locate suitable settlement habitat. Compared to other potential cues, such as visual and chemical cues, underwater sound theoretically has good prospects as a directional cue for settling larvae because it is transmitted long distances in water and is capable of carrying information on habitat direction and quality. I am not only interested in how larval fish and decapods utilise sound but also in the larger picture of how they detect and process sensory information. Therefore, my research typically involves a two pronged approach of field and laboratory work.

• Using MRI and microCT to investigate the development of fish hearing structures
• Investigating the acoustic behaviour of snapping shrimp
• Multisensory processing of sensory cues in fish
• Ontogenetic hearing abilities of crustaceans
• Animal acoustic communication – characterising fish sounds and their context
• Effects of anthropogenic noise on masking acoustic signals
• Acoustically characterising “soundscapes”
• Shallow water sound propagation

Current post-graduate projects

• Larval settlement dynamics of snapper, Carina Sim-Smith – PhD
• Hearing thresholds of fish, Paul Caiger - MSc
• Influence of anthropogenic sound on crab behaviour, Matt Pine - MSc

 Past post-graduate projects

• Fish Vocalisation: Understanding its biological role from temporal and spatial characteristics, Shahriman  Ghazali – PhD
• Ambient underwater sound: measuring the importance of spatial variability and its effect on late-stage larval crabs, Jenni Stanley – PhD
• The influence of habitat type on fish recruitment to standard monitoring unitsin northern New Zealand, Philippa Kohn - MSc

• Radford, C.A., Tindle, C.T., Montgomery, J.C., Jeffs, A.G. accepted. Reef effect zone extends the range at which larval fish may detect reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series
• Stanley, J.A., Radford, C.A., Jeffs, A.G. accepted. Behavioural response thresholds in New Zealand crab megalopae to ambient underwater sound. PLoS One.
• Lecchini, D., Mills, S, Parmentier, E., Brie, C., Radford, C., Maurin, R., Banaigs, B. accepted. Effects of alternate reef states on the recruitment potential of coral islands to attract fish and crustacean larvae. Behavioural Ecology & Sociobiology.
• Lecchini, D., Santos, R., Radford, C., Waqalevu, V., Popuin, J., Brie, C., Mills, S., Resionnenet, G., Galzin R. accepted. Temporal variation of crustacean larval supply to coral reefs. Journal of Crustacean Biology.
• Radford, C.A., Stanley, J.A., Simpson, S.D., Jeffs, A.G. 2011. Habitat specific reef sounds influence the nocturnal relocation of juvenile coral reef fish. Coral Reefs 30:295-305.
• Radford, C.A., Jeffs, A.G., Tindle, C.T., Stanley, J.A., Montgomery, J.C. 2010. Localised coastal habitats have distinct underwater sound signatures. Marine Ecology Progress Series 401: 21-29.
• Stanley, J., Radford, C., Jeffs, A. 2010. Induction of settlement in crab megalopae by ambient underwater reef sound. Behavioural Ecology 21: 113-120.
• Radford, C.A., Jeffs, A.G., Tindle, C.T., Montgomery, J.C. 2008. Resonating sea urchin skeletons create coastal chorus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 362: 37-43.
• Radford, C.A., Jeffs, A.G., Tindle, C.T., Montgomery, J.C. 2008. Temporal patterns in underwater noise of biological origin at a shallow temperate reef. Oecologia 156: 921-929.
• Radford, C.A., Marsden, I.D., Jeffs, A.G. 2008. Specific dynamic action as an indicator of carbohydrate digestion in juvenile lobsters, Jasus edwardsii. Marine and Freshwater Research 59: 841-848.
• Radford, C.A., Marsden, I.D., Davison, W., Jeffs, A.G. 2007. Carbohydrate sources in the diet of juvenile New Zealand rock lobsters, Jasus edwardsii. Aquaculture 273: 151- 157.
• Radford, C.A., Jeffs, A.G., Montgomery, J.C. 2007. Directional swimming response of five species of crab postlarvae in response to reef sound. Bulletin of Marine Science 80(2): 369-378.
• Cole, R.G., Davey, N.K., Gust, N., Syms, C., Notman, P., Stewart, R., Radford, C.A., Carbines, G., Carr, M.H. 2007. Does breathing apparatus affect fish counts and observations? A comparison at three New Zealand fished and protected areas. Marine Biology 150: 1379-1395.
• Radford, C.A., Jeffs, A.G., Tindle, C.T., Cole, R.G., Montgomery, J.C. 2005. Bubbled waters: the noise generated by underwater breathing apparatus. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology, 38: 259-267.
• Radford, C.A., Marsden, I.D. 2005. Does time of feeding alter growth rates in cultured juvenile spiny lobsters Jasus edwarsii. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 36(4): 480-488.
• Radford, C.A., Marsden, I.D., Davison, W., Taylor, H.H. 2005. Temporal variation in haemolymph glucose concentrations in juvenile New Zealand rock lobsters, Jasus edwardsii, fed a variety of carbohydrates. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A, 140: 241-249.
• Radford, C.A., Marsden, I.D., Davison, W. 2004. Temporal variation in the specific dynamic action (SDA) of the juvenile New Zealand rock lobster, Jasus edwardsii. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A, 139: 1-9.