Unique soundscapes reflect the diversity of habitats in a tropical seascape

• Macroalgal soundscapes differ from coral reefs and sand and vary among meadows. • Macroalgal soundscapes may cue larval fish during settlement site selection. • Canopy density and understory cover are key drivers of acoustic variation. • Fish sounds dominate habitat-specific acoustic patterns in macroalgal meadows. • Soundscape metrics offer a scalable tool to assess tropical nursery habitats. Underwater soundscapes can provide sensory cues that influence the habitat-use of aquatic organisms, spanning all life-stages from larval settlement to migration and foraging of adults. While coral reef soundscapes have been the focus of growing research interest in the context of larval fish settlement, the role of soundscapes in other common habitats such as macroalgal meadows remains largely unexplored. We found that Sargassum macroalgal meadows within the Ningaloo World Heritage Area of Western Australia possessed a distinct soundscape from adjacent coral reef and sand habitats. Acoustic recordings from 12 sites revealed discrete soundscapes driven by varying levels of snapping shrimps, urchins, and soniferous fishes, with increased biological activity and sound variability observed during dawn and dusk. Using parallel ecological measurements, we also found that macroalgal habitat quality, particularly canopy density and levels of understory cover, explained variations in soundscape characteristics. By linking soundscape attributes to habitat structure, this research highlights how the unique acoustic properties of macroalgal meadows could serve as important cues for larval fishes to select nursery habitats of varying quality during settlement.