Covering more than 65% of the Earth surface, the deep sea (200–11,000 m depth) is the largest biotope on Earth, yet it remains largely unexplored. The biology of its communities is still poorly understood, and many species are still to be discovered. Despite this, deep‐sea fish are already threatened by our exploitation and their conservation is hampered by a severe scarcity of data. Studies focusing on fish acoustic communication are receiving growing attention in coastal areas as they provide useful information to different fields, ranging from behaviour, ecology, wild population monitoring, biodiversity assessment, fisheries and aquaculture management. Modern non‐invasive techniques such as passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can provide high‐resolution, long‐term and large spatial scale information on populations and ecosystem dynamics in otherwise not accessible environments. Although acoustic communication of deep‐sea fish is still poorly documented, many deep‐sea species are likely to emit sounds as they possess the required anatomical structures. Here we suggest that monitoring deep‐sea fish vocal communication might help to better understand their diversity, ecology and dynamics. Emerging technologies based on PAM have the potential to provide a holistic view of the importance of acoustic communication for deep‐sea fish and, ultimately, to inform us about essential aspects for their management and protection.

中文翻译：

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聆听深海鱼类的未开发潜力

深海（深度200–11,000 m）覆盖地球表面的65％以上，是地球上最大的生物群落，但仍未得到充分开发。人们对其群落的生物学了解仍然很少，还有许多物种仍待发现。尽管如此，深海鱼类已经受到我们开采的威胁，其保存受到严重缺乏数据的阻碍。专注于鱼声传播的研究在沿海地区日益受到关注，因为它们为行为，生态学，野生种群监测，生物多样性评估，渔业和水产养殖管理等不同领域提供了有用的信息。诸如无源声学监测（PAM）之类的现代无创技术可以提供高分辨率，有关在其他情况下无法访问的环境中的种群和生态系统动态的长期和大型空间尺度信息。尽管深海鱼类的声音交流仍然很少文献记载，但由于许多深海鱼类拥有所需的解剖结构，它们可能会发出声音。在这里，我们建议监测深海鱼类的声音交流可能有助于更好地了解其多样性，生态学和动态。基于PAM的新兴技术有可能全面了解声通信对深海鱼类的重要性，并最终向我们提供有关其管理和保护的基本方面的信息。由于拥有所需的解剖结构，许多深海物种可能会发出声音。在这里，我们建议监测深海鱼类的声音交流可能有助于更好地了解其多样性，生态学和动态。基于PAM的新兴技术有可能全面了解声通信对深海鱼类的重要性，并最终向我们提供有关其管理和保护的基本方面的信息。由于拥有所需的解剖结构，许多深海物种可能会发出声音。在这里，我们建议监测深海鱼类的声音交流可能有助于更好地了解其多样性，生态学和动态。基于PAM的新兴技术有可能全面了解声通信对深海鱼类的重要性，并最终向我们提供有关其管理和保护的基本方面的信息。