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Sounds Produced by the Striped Cusk-Eel Ophidion marginatum (Ophidiidae) during Courtship and Spawning
... Table 1(below). Partial list of species known to be capable of sound production based on field and/or laboratory studies, and which occur at least seasonally in New England (Long Island to Maine) estuarine and shelf waters (Fish et al. 1952, Fish and Mowbray 1970, Hawkins and Rasmussen 1978, Tavolga 1980, Mann et al. 1997. *Sound production capability assumed based on the presence of anatomical structures usually associated with vocalization. ...
... Jersey (Mann et al. 1997), and more recent sounds recorded in the field and attributed to stripe cuskeels in Narragansett Bay (Perkins 2002) and Figure 2. This call is considerably longer (31 pulses, 1,715 msec) than those in Figure 1, but is still well within the range characteristic of the species (Mann et al. 1997, Sprague andLuczkovich 2001). ...
... Captive cusk-eels have been observed to chorus after sunset as part of courtship and spawning behavior (Mann et al. 1997, Rountree andBowers-Altman 2002). We believe that our observations suggest widespread spawning of striped cusk-eels within estuaries of both the north and south ...
Since the seminal work of Fish and Mowbray (1970), little advancement has been made towards the study of soniferous fishes from the marine waters of the Northeastern United States. A review of the literature suggests at least 51 fishes are vocal in New England waters (Table 1), although many of these species are uncommon stragglers to these waters. Spontaneous sound production is known from only about half of these species. However, laboratory studies are often hampered by the difficulty of maintaining healthy specimens, and the difficulty of inducing natural behaviors such as spawning under confinement. This is further complicated by the fact that many fish are primarily vocal during the spawning season, and may not vocalize until maturity, and because vocal behavior is usually limited to males (e.g., haddock and weakfish).The objectives of this study were to conduct a pilot field survey of soniferous fishes in Massachusetts’s waters to determine what species are vocal and examine temporal patterns in vocal behavior. However, because of the unexpected finding of widespread calls of the striped cusk-eel on Cape Cod, this paper will focus on this enigmatic species.
... Striped cusk eels (Ophidion marginatum) inhabit coastal waters on the US East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida (Nielsen et al. 1999). These demersal fish typically remain burrowed in the substrate during the day, and emerge at night to spawn (Mann et al. 1997;Rountree and Bowers-Altman 2002). They produce 'chattering' calls directly synchronized with spawning. ...
... Audio files were inspected in Raven 1.4 (Bioacoustics Research Program 2011) by listening while viewing the waveform and spectrogram representations of the sound file (Hanning window, 512 point window, 50% overlap). Fish calls were identified by comparing characteristics (peak frequency, fundamental frequency, pulse period, number of pulses) of potential fish call signals to values reported in the literature (Mann et al. 1997;Barimo and Fine 1998;Mooney et al. 2016;Ricci et al. 2017). All further analyses were conducted in R (R Core Team 2017), using the following packages: seewave, audio, tuneR, signal, bspec. ...
... For cusk eel calls, the peak frequency of each call was measured using the peak frequency tool in Raven. We also measured the number of pulses in each call, and the pulse period (the time between the first and last pulse in the train divided by the number of pulses in the train minus one) (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001;Mooney et al. 2016). ...
Passive acoustic recordings were made at two sites over a four-month period in eelgrass beds in a shallow estuary (Shinnecock Bay, New York, USA). Recordings were dominated by mating calls of striped cusk eels (Ophidion marginatum) at one site, and oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) mating calls at the other. Cusk eel call characteristics (frequency and pulse period) varied significantly with time and water temperature. Fundamental frequency of toadfish calls decreased over the recording period and was not correlated with water temperature. We developed and tested automated detection algorithms to identify choruses using band-limited sound pressure levels. Distinct diel peaks in sound production were observed, with cusk eels producing morning and evening choruses, and toadfish calling mostly during daytime. Several physical and environmental variables were significantly correlated with the presence of cusk eel and toadfish choruses such as water temperature, tide state, and moon phase. The temporal variation in sound production and call characteristics differed from other studies, suggesting geographical variations in the acoustic behaviour of both species. Passive acoustic techniques can identify the location and timing of reproductive events for cryptic species that live in shallow water (<2 m) habitats, which are critical information for identification of their habitat.
... Among potential callers in deep environments, Ophidiiform species are good candidates for several reasons. Sound-producing mechanisms 1) are found in all but one species examined to date (Howes, 1992;Marshall, 1967), 2) are quite complex with up to 6 sonic muscles (3 pairs) in some species and deep modifications of the swimbladder, rostral vertebral bodies and associated epineurals (Parmentier et al., 2010(Parmentier et al., , 2008a(Parmentier et al., , 2006aRose, 1961), 3) are able to produce different sounds (Mann et al., 1997;Parmentier et al., 2016aParmentier et al., , 2016bParmentier et al., , 2018bParmentier et al., , 2008bSprague and Luczkovich, 2001) and have sexually dimorphic sonic systems (Ali et al., 2016;Casadevall et al., 1996;Kéver et al., 2014aKéver et al., , 2014cNguyen et al., 2008;Rose, 1961). These features clearly support the importance of sonic communication in the Ophidiiformes (Fine et al., 2018(Fine et al., , 2007Nguyen et al., 2008). ...
... Both species produce sounds that are probably involved with courtship behavior since egg masses were found floating in the tanks. Moreover, the sonic behavior is similar to that of Ophidiiforms living in shallow water including Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al., 1997;Mann and Grothues, 2009;Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002), Ophidion rochei (Parmentier et al., 2010) and Onuxodon fowleri (Kéver et al., 2016(Kéver et al., , 2014c. Similar to these shallow species, sound production starts approximately 1 h after dusk, peaks 1-3 h after sunset and can last for the whole night. ...
... In O. rochei, the dominant frequency is between 226 and 410 Hz and thus does not correspond to the pulse period that varies from 84 to 111 ms (Parmentier et al., 2010). In O. marginatum, sounds are broad-frequency pulses of 1-2 kHz and again does not correspond to the mean pulse period of 43.5 ms (Mann et al., 1997). It is worth mentioning males of both species possess unique morphological characteristics with a rocker bone in O. rochei (Parmentier et al., 2010) and a cartilage cap in front of the swimbladder in O. marginatum (Courtenay, 1971). ...
Cusk-eels (Ophidiidae) are known sound producers, but many species live in deep water where sounds are difficult to record. For these species sonic ability has been inferred from inner anatomy. Genypterus (subfamily Ophidiinae) are demersal fishes inhabiting the continental shelf and slope at depths between 50 and 800 m. Males and females G. maculatus have been maintained together in a tank and 9 unsexed specimens of G. chilensis in a second tank, providing a valuable opportunity to record the sounds of living species usually found at great depths. Genypterus chilensis and G. maculatus respectively produced one and two sound types mainly between 7 and 10 pm. Sound 1 in Genypterus maculatus consists of trains of pulses that vary in amplitude and pulse period; call 2 sounded like a growl that results from the rapid emission of pulses that define sound 1. Genypterus chilensis produced a growl having an unusual feature since the first peak of the second pulse has always greater amplitude than all other peaks. These sounds are probably related to courtship behavior since floating eggs are found after night calls. The anatomical structures of the sound-producing organ in both species present an important panel of highly derived characters including three pairs of sonic muscles, a neural arch that pivots on the first vertebral body and a thick swimbladder with unusual features. Sonic structures are similar between species and between sexes. Therefore both biological sexes are capable of sound production although precedent from shallow ophidiids and sonic fishes in general suggests that males are more likely to produce courtship calls. This study reports two main types of information. It demonstrates that two deep-living species are capable of sound production, which is a pioneer step in the acoustic study of deep-sea fauna. Recorded sounds should also help to locate fish in open sea. As these species are currently used to diversify the aquaculture industry in Chile, deeper studies on their acoustic behavior should also help to target spawning period and to identify mature specimens.
... The sound production season of male O. rochei fits very well with its spawning season, which suggests an important function related to reproductive behavior. Observations made by Mann et al. (1997) on Ophidion marginatum corroborate this hypothesis, as they showed that this species produces long multiple-pulsed sounds before and during spawning. In their study, males started to call at dusk while they were buried in the sand or swimming over the females, and sound production ceased approximately 15 min after eggs were released by the females. ...
... In their study, males started to call at dusk while they were buried in the sand or swimming over the females, and sound production ceased approximately 15 min after eggs were released by the females. As O. rochei and O. marginatum share many biological characteristics such as similar diets, external phenotypes, burrowing behaviors, sexual dimorphism in sonic apparatuses, and long, pulsed calls (see Courtenay 1971;Mann et al. 1997;Nielsen et al. 1999;K ever et al. 2012), it can be reason- ably inferred that male calls of both of these species are emitted in similar behavioral contexts. ...
... Mann & Grothues (2009) observed a very similar pattern for O. marginatum. Peaks in sound production at dusk or after sunset are very common in sciaenid species (Fish & Cummings 1972;Saucier & Baltz 1993;Mann et al. 1997;Mann & Grothues 2009) and have also been described in other families such as Serranidae (Lobel 1992;Sch€ arer et al. 2012), Chaetodontidae (Boyle & Tricas 2010), Gadidae (Brawn 1961) and Pomacentridae (Parmentier et al. 2010a). In every case, sound production was mainly related to reproductive behaviors (Fish & Cummings 1972;Holt et al. 1985;Lobel 1992;Saucier & Baltz 1993;Mann et al. 1997;Boyle & Tricas 2010). ...
Passive acoustic recording (PAR) systems are non-invasive and allow researchers to collect data on large spatial and temporal scales. Since fish sounds are species-specific and repetitive, PAR can provide a large amount of data about spatio-temporal variation in fish distribution and behaviors. Ophidion rochei is a sand-dwelling species from Mediterranean and Black Sea meaning the behavior of this discreet nocturnal fish cannot be observed in the field. Fortunately, male O. rochei produce long multiple-pulsed calls that are easy to identify. The aim of this study was to determine that male calls are linked to reproduction behaviors. If so, PAR would allow a fine description of the seasonal and daily cycles in O. rochei reproduction. A hydrophone was deployed from 18 July 2011 to 21 June 2012 and from 7 June 2013 to 2 July 2013 on a sandy area (42.5801° N, 8.7285° E) in front of the STARESO research station (NW Corsica). Male sounds were obtained only at night from late spring to early fall. The annual sound production period corresponds to the reproductive season of O. rochei. Sound production followed diel cycles: it was sustained for the entire night at the beginning of the sound production season but limited to shorter periods in the evening during the second half of the season. These differences in daily and seasonal sound production tempo can be used in future recordings to make inter-annual comparisons and estimate the physiological state of the fish.
... eight genera and about 40 species, and the more speciose Neobythitinae has 38 genera and about 160 species (Nielsen et al., 1999). Sounds have been recorded from only two shallow-water species, both in the Ophidiinae: the striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al., 1997;Sprague et al., 2001;Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002;Mooney et al., 2016) and Ophidion rochei (Kéver et al., 2014a(Kéver et al., , 2014b. Before the discovery of rebound following slow muscle contraction, the mechanism for generating courtship calls of the striped cusk-eel O. marginatum was unclear because their peak frequency is above 1 kHz (Mann et al., 1997;Sprague et al., 2001), too high to be produced by individual rapid muscle contractions. ...
... Sounds have been recorded from only two shallow-water species, both in the Ophidiinae: the striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al., 1997;Sprague et al., 2001;Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002;Mooney et al., 2016) and Ophidion rochei (Kéver et al., 2014a(Kéver et al., , 2014b. Before the discovery of rebound following slow muscle contraction, the mechanism for generating courtship calls of the striped cusk-eel O. marginatum was unclear because their peak frequency is above 1 kHz (Mann et al., 1997;Sprague et al., 2001), too high to be produced by individual rapid muscle contractions. In slow systems muscle contraction determines the number of pulses but not the frequency in the pulse (Parmentier et al., 2010(Parmentier et al., , 2016Mok et al., 2011). ...
... Coupled with findings in cusk-eels in the subfamily Ophidiinae (Mann et al., 1997;Parmentier et al., 2010;Rountree et al., 2012;Kéver et al., 2012Kéver et al., , 2014bMooney et al., 2016) larger medial muscles in males suggest that the three neobythines fishes produce male advertisement calls that attract females for mating and could function in male-male interactions. Also, males can likely produce more intense sounds than females. ...
The anatomy of sound production in continental-slope fishes has been ignored since the work of NB Marshall in the 1960s. Due to food scarcity at great depths, we hypothesize that sonic muscles will be reduced in deep-water neobythitine cusk-eels (family Ophidiidae). Here we describe and quantify dimensions of the swimbladder and sonic muscles of three species from the upper slope. They have four pairs of well-developed sonic muscles (two medial and two lateral) with origins on the skull and insertions on the medial swimbladder (medial pair) or on modified epineural ribs that attach to the lateral swimbladder (lateral pair). Despite minor differences, relatively similar swimbladder dimensions, muscle length and external morphology suggest a conservative body plan. However, there are major differences in sonic muscle mass: medial muscles are heavier in males and made of relatively small fibers (ca 10 µm in diameter). Lateral muscles are generally larger in females and consist of larger fibers, as in epaxial trunk muscle. Muscle weight varies between species, and we suggest males produce advertisement calls that vary in amplitude and duration in different species. Due to differences in fiber size, we hypothesize that lateral muscles with larger fibers remain contracted during sound production, and medial muscles with smaller fibers will oscillate to drive swimbladder sound production.
... Their sounds, generated by swim-bladderassociated muscles, are produced during courtship and spawning (Courtenay 1971). Both males and females produce sound, although males appear to be more acoustically active (Mann et al. 1997). The signals are highly stereotyped broadband pulses with 2 dominant frequency peaks between 400 and 3000 Hz, and are produced in bouts of 1 to 27 pulses (Mann et al. 1997, Sprague & Luczkovich 2001). ...
... Both males and females produce sound, although males appear to be more acoustically active (Mann et al. 1997). The signals are highly stereotyped broadband pulses with 2 dominant frequency peaks between 400 and 3000 Hz, and are produced in bouts of 1 to 27 pulses (Mann et al. 1997, Sprague & Luczkovich 2001). These sounds have been described in the laboratory but there are few published data from the natural environment (Mann et al. 1997). ...
... The signals are highly stereotyped broadband pulses with 2 dominant frequency peaks between 400 and 3000 Hz, and are produced in bouts of 1 to 27 pulses (Mann et al. 1997, Sprague & Luczkovich 2001). These sounds have been described in the laboratory but there are few published data from the natural environment (Mann et al. 1997). Sound production rates appear to be dependent on some environmental parameters, such as water temperature (Sprague & Luczkovich 2001, Mann & Grothues 2009, Kéver et al. 2015. ...
Many marine organisms produce sound during key life history events. Identifying and tracking these sounds can reveal spatial and temporal patterns of species occurrence and behaviors. We describe the temporal patterns of striped cusk eel Ophidion marginatum calls across approximately 1 yr in Nantucket Sound, MA, USA, the location of a proposed offshore wind energy installation. Stereotyped calls typical of courtship and spawning were detected from April to October with clear diel, monthly, and seasonal patterns. Acoustic energy increased in the evenings and peaked during crepuscular periods, with the dusk call levels typically higher in energy and more rapid in onset than those from near-dawn periods. Increased call energy and substantial overlap of calls during certain periods suggest that many cusk eels were often calling simultaneously. Call energy (measured in energy flux density) peaked in July and patterns followed seasonal changes in sunrise and sunset. Sound levels were high (over 150 dB re 1 µPa2 s) during the summer, indicating that this cusk eel population is a substantial contributor to the local soundscape. The stereotyped cusk eel signals and clear temporal energy patterns potentially provide a bioacoustic signal that can be used to monitor changes to the local environment and its soundscape.
... Further ana ly sis is 183 needed to discern the exact tran sition of habitat range between Gulf toadfish to leopard toadfish with increasing depth. The characteristics of the 100 Hz Pulsing are similar to the pattern of striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum sound production (Mann et al. 1997). It occured largely at night and in the same frequency range (100− 600 Hz) as calls of O. rochei, which contain most of their energy below 500 Hz (Parmentier et al. 2010), but lower than O. marginatum whose calls have a peak frequency of 1200 Hz (Mann et al. 1997). ...
... The characteristics of the 100 Hz Pulsing are similar to the pattern of striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum sound production (Mann et al. 1997). It occured largely at night and in the same frequency range (100− 600 Hz) as calls of O. rochei, which contain most of their energy below 500 Hz (Parmentier et al. 2010), but lower than O. marginatum whose calls have a peak frequency of 1200 Hz (Mann et al. 1997). The similarity in waveforms and frequency range, 184Fig. ...
... 8 Lepophidium jeannae to be common off west-central Florida. Cusk-eel sound production is associated with courtship and spawning, and may be important for communication since spawning occurs at night (Mann et al. 1997, Sprague et al. 2001, Mann & Grothues 2009). Annual peaks in 100 Hz Pulsing sound production indicate that, if the sound is produced by cusk-eels, reproductive activity is potentially highest in the spring and fall. ...
Sounds from toadfish Opsanus sp., and 4 other suspected fish sounds were identified in passive acoustic recordings from fixed recorders and autonomous underwater vehicles in the eastern Gulf of Mexico between 2008 and 2011. Data were collected in depths ranging from 4 to 984 m covering approximately 39000 km(2). The goals of this research were to map the spatial and temporal occurrence of these sounds. Sound production was correlated to environmental para meters (water depth, lunar cycle, and dawn and dusk) to understand the variability in seasonal calling. Toadfish 'boatwhistles' were recorded throughout the diel period, with peaks observed between 15:00 and 04:00 h. Annual peaks coincided with the spawning period in the late spring to early summer. The 4 unknown sounds were termed: '100 Hz Pulsing', '6 kHz Sound', '300 Hz FM Harmonic', and '365 Hz Harmonic'. The 100 Hz Pulsing had the temporal characteristics of a cusk-eel call with frequencies below 500 Hz. Sound production was observed mainly at night with annual peaks in the spring and fall. The 6 kHz Sound was observed exclusively at night between 15 and 50 m bottom depths; occurrence decreased significantly in the winter. The 6 kHz Sound peak frequencies correlated positively to satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) and negatively to chlorophyll concentration. The 300 Hz FM Harmonic was observed largely (89%) at night and appeared offshore (40-200 m depth). The 365 Hz Harmonic was observed 98% of the time at night, inshore (<40 m depth). The fundamental frequency of the 365 Hz Harmonic was positively correlated with SST, reflecting a temperature-driven increase in sonic muscle contraction rate; conversely, call duration was negatively correlated. The ubiquity of these 4 unknown sounds illustrates how little is known about biological communication in the marine environment.
... The characteristics of the 100 Hz Pulsing are strikingly similar to cusk-eel sound production ( Mann et al. 1997), however, it occurs at a much lower frequency range (100- 600 Hz). Cusk-eels use extrinsic sonic muscles to produce rapid pulse trains with a peak frequency of 1,200 Hz ( Mann et al. 1997). ...
... The characteristics of the 100 Hz Pulsing are strikingly similar to cusk-eel sound production ( Mann et al. 1997), however, it occurs at a much lower frequency range (100- 600 Hz). Cusk-eels use extrinsic sonic muscles to produce rapid pulse trains with a peak frequency of 1,200 Hz ( Mann et al. 1997). However, this mechanism is complicated by the use of modified vertebra and a highly modified swimbladder, which contains a rocker bone and vibrating membranes ( Parmentier et al. 2010). ...
... suggests that the source of the 100 Hz Pulsing is likely cusk-eel. Cusk-eel sound production is associated with courtship and spawning, and may be important for communication since spawning occurs at night ( Mann et al. 1997, Sprague et al. 2001, Mann & Grothues 2008 cusk-eel species using a mechanism that produces sound at this lower frequency, the wide depth distribution and largely nocturnal calling suggest L. jeannae is a likely source. The infrequent daytime calling observed suggests Ophidion species may also contribute to the overall sound production. ...
Fish sound production has been associated with courtship and spawning behavior. Acoustic recordings of fish sounds can be used to identify distribution and behavior. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can record large amounts of acoustic data in a specific area for days to years. These data can be collected in remote locations under potentially unsafe seas throughout a 24-hour period providing datasets unattainable using observer-based methods. However, the instruments must withstand the caustic ocean environment and be retrieved to obtain the recorded data. This can prove difficult due to the risk of PAMs being lost, stolen or damaged, especially in highly active areas. In addition, point-source sound recordings are only one aspect of fish biogeography. Passive acoustic platforms that produce low self-generated noise, have high retrieval rates, and are equipped with a suite of environmental sensors are needed to relate patterns in fish sound production to concurrently collected oceanographic conditions on large, synoptic scales. The association of sound with reproduction further invokes the need for such non-invasive, near-real time datasets that can be used to enhance current management methods limited by survey bias, inaccurate fisher reports, and extensive delays between fisheries data collection and population assessment.
Red grouper (Epinephelus morio) exhibit the distinctive behavior of digging holes and producing a unique sound during courtship. These behaviors can be used to identify red grouper distribution and potential spawning habitat over large spatial scales. The goal of this research was to provide a greater understanding of the temporal and spatial distribution of red grouper sound production and holes on the central West Florida Shelf (WFS) using active sonar and passive acoustic recorders. The technology demonstrated here establishes the necessary methods to map shelf-scale fish sound production. The results of this work could aid resource managers in determining critical spawning times and areas.
Over 403,000 acoustic recordings were made across an approximately 39,000 km2 area on the WFS during periods throughout 2008 to 2011 using stationary passive acoustic recorders and hydrophone-integrated gliders. A custom MySQL database with a portal to MATLAB was developed to catalogue and process the large acoustic dataset stored on a server. Analyses of these data determined the daily, seasonal and spatial patterns of red grouper as well as toadfish and several unconfirmed fish species termed: 100 Hz Pulsing, 6 kHz Sound, 300 Hz FM Harmonic, and 365 Hz Harmonic.
Red grouper sound production was correlated to sunrise and sunset, and was primarily recorded in water 15 to 93 m deep, with increased calling within known hard bottom areas and in Steamboat Lumps Marine Reserve. Analyses of high-resolution multibeam bathymetry collected in a portion of the reserve in 2006 and 2009 allowed detailed documentation and characterization of holes excavated by red grouper. Comparisons of the spatially overlapping datasets suggested holes are constructed and maintained over time, and provided evidence towards an increase in spawning habitat usage. High rates of sound production recorded from stationary recorders and a glider deployment were correlated to high hole density in Steamboat Lumps. This research demonstrates the utility of coupling passive acoustic data with high-resolution bathymetric data to verify the occupation of suspected male territory (holes) and to provide a more complete understanding of effective spawning habitat. Annual peaks in calling (July and August, and November and December) did not correspond to spawning peaks (March - May); however, passive acoustic monitoring was established as an effective tool to identify areas of potential spawning activity by recording the presence of red grouper.
Sounds produced by other species of fish were recorded in the passive acoustic dataset. The distribution of toadfish calls suggests two species (Opsanus beta and O. pardus) were recorded; the latter had not been previously described. The call characteristics and spatial distribution of the four unknown fish-related sounds can be used to help confirm the sources. Long-term PAM studies that provide systematic monitoring can be a valuable assessment tool for all soniferous species. Glider technology, due to a high rate of successful retrieval and low self-generated noise, was proven to be a reliable and relatively inexpensive method to collect fisheries acoustic data in the field. The implementation of regular deployments of hydrophone-integrated gliders and fixed location passive acoustic monitoring stations is suggested to enhance fisheries management.
... By 1981, Myrberg [6] had documented sound production in more than 30 families, including: Batrachoididae, Carangidae, Scianidae, Holocentridae, and Serranidae. More recently, sounds were recorded in additional taxa, such as Carapidae [7], Ophidiidae [8,9], Chaetodontidae [10,11], Oplegnathidae [12], and Sebastidae [13] . Communication sounds are now estimated to occur in as many as 109 teleost families [14] . ...
... Ophidiidae [36,37], Carapidae [2] and Bythitidae [38,39] are hypothesized to be soniferous fish based mainly on their morphology. Sounds were, however , recorded in five carapid species [7,40,41] and in two species of Ophidiidae [8,9,22]. Ophidiiformes present an extraordinary variety of highly specialized structures associated with sound pro- duction [2,9,37,42434445. ...
... Behaviors associated with sound production of this fish remain unknown. Since male calls in Ophidion marginatum are related to reproduction [8], we hypothesize that acoustic communication favors the reproductive success of O. rochei. Variations in secondary sexual characters [79] and communication cues [80] are thought to promote speciation and thus it is likely that acoustic communication is involved in the evolutionary success and the important radiation of the family. ...
Background
Many Ophidiidae are active in dark environments and display complex sonic apparatus morphologies. However, sound recordings are scarce and little is known about acoustic communication in this family. This paper focuses on Ophidion rochei which is known to display an important sexual dimorphism in swimbladder and anterior skeleton. The aims of this study were to compare the sound producing morphology, and the resulting sounds in juveniles, females and males of O. rochei.
Results
Males, females, and juveniles possessed different morphotypes. Females and juveniles contrasted with males because they possessed dramatic differences in morphology of their sonic muscles, swimbladder, supraoccipital crest, and first vertebrae and associated ribs. Further, they lacked the ‘rocker bone’ typically found in males. Sounds from each morphotype were highly divergent. Males generally produced non harmonic, multiple-pulsed sounds that lasted for several seconds (3.5 ± 1.3 s) with a pulse period of ca. 100 ms. Juvenile and female sounds were recorded for the first time in ophidiids. Female sounds were harmonic, had shorter pulse period (±3.7 ms), and never exceeded a few dozen milliseconds (18 ± 11 ms). Moreover, unlike male sounds, female sounds did not have alternating long and short pulse periods. Juvenile sounds were weaker but appear to be similar to female sounds.
Conclusions
Although it is not possible to distinguish externally male from female in O. rochei, they show a sonic apparatus and sounds that are dramatically different. This difference is likely due to their nocturnal habits that may have favored the evolution of internal secondary sexual characters that help to distinguish males from females and that could facilitate mate choice by females. Moreover, the comparison of different morphotypes in this study shows that these morphological differences result from a peramorphosis that takes place during the development of the gonads.
... Sound types were examined qualitatively and described based on the waveform of sounds, train like features for sounds that had repeating pulses or other elements, and the spectral qualities of sounds. Several sound types have been described from previous research, including leopard toadfish calls (Wall et al., 2012;Wall et al., 2013), harmonic sounds ('365 Hz Harmonic' sound of Wall et al., 2012;Wall et al., 2013), and cusk-eel sounds (Mann et al., 1997;Kever et al., 2015;Mooney et al., 2016). ...
... Chatter of sounds that appeared similar to cusk-eels (Mann et al., 1997;Kever et al., 2015;Mooney et al., 2016) was evident in the evenings from 01 August 2017 to 15 August 2017, with a strong peak at dusk and continued activity from PSD values of 1200 Hz. We were not successful using TDXC detection algorithms for choruses of this sound type ( Figure 10A). ...
Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) in a variety of marine habitats has revealed distinct spatial and temporal variation of fish sounds that are predicted to vary in association with species composition and abundance, as well as diel and seasonal influences. Reefs in the Alabama Artificial Reef Zone (AARZ) in the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) have an associated fish fauna composed of warm-temperate and tropical reef associated species. AARZ reefs are made of different structures (e.g. bridge rubble, concrete pyramids, etc.) and as a result, their fish species composition is predicted to vary. We used PAM to describe fish sounds on 18 shallow slope (20-33 m) AARZ reefs in 2017 and 2018. We detected calls from unknown sources, as well as sounds from leopard toadfish Opsanus pardus, cocoa damselfish Stegastes variabilis, and cusk-eels (Ophidiidae). We developed semi-automated screening methods to detect specific sound types and described diel and spatial patterns. Sound detection rates varied widely among reefs, but not by reef type. Number of sound types increased with species richness, but detection rates of specific sounds differed on reefs with similar species composition. Our results indicate that many frequently occurring sounds may not be associated with visually conspicuous fishes. Further research is needed to determine source species and associated behavior for common sounds in these habitats. Soundscape variability among nGOM artificial reefs may be a consideration for management, as biological sound can provide an acoustic cue for reef location by some larval and adult fish species.
... Therefore, sounds have been recorded and described in a small number of Ophioidei species (e.g. Mann et al., 1997;Mooney et al., 2016;Parmentier et al., 2016;Parmentier, Bahri, et al., 2018;Parmentier, Vandewalle, & Lagardère, 2003), that is seven Carapidae, two Ophidion (Ophidiidae) and two Genypterus (Ophidiidae). Sound-producing abilities in other species were deduced from their internal anatomy (Ali et al., 2016;Fine et al., 2007;Howes, 1992;Nguyen et al., 2008;. ...
... Lepophidium profundorum (Fine et al., 2007). The difference between male and female sounds remains unknown in O. marginatum (Mann et al., 1997;Mooney et al., 2016;Sprague & Luczkovich, 2001) and, unfortunately, sounds of O. holbrooki and O. barbatum were never recorded in either sex. In the carapid Onuxodon fowleri, both sexes possess a rocker bone, and smaller morphological differences are present between males and females. ...
This study investigates the sounds and the anatomy of the sound‐producing organ in the male and female sand‐dwelling cusk‐eel Parophidion vassali. Although both sexes have similar external phenotype, they can be distinguished by their sonic apparatus and sounds. As in many Ophioidei, Parophidion vassali presents a panel of highly derived characters. Fish possess three pairs of sonic muscles, and males have mineralized swimbladder caps on which inserts the ventral sonic muscle, a neural arch that pivots, a stretchable swimbladder fenestra, an osseous swimbladder plate and a rounded pressure‐release membrane in the caudal swimbladder. Females, however, do not possess anterior swimbladder caps, a swimbladder fenestra and the caudal rounded membrane. Males possess the unusual ability to produce sounds starting with a set of low amplitude pulses followed by a second set with higher amplitudes clearly dividing each sound unit into two parts. Females do not vary their sound amplitude in this way: they produce shorter sounds and pulse periods but with a higher peak frequency. Morphology and sound features support the sound‐producing mechanism is based on a rebound system (i.e. quick backward snap of the anterior swimbladder). Based on features of the sounds from tank recordings, we have putatively identified the sound of male Parophidion vassali at sea. As these species are ecologically cryptic, we hope this work will allow assessment and clarify the distribution of their populations. This study investigates the sounds and the anatomy of the sound‐producing organ in the dwelling cusk‐eel. Males produce sounds starting with a set of low amplitude pulses followed by a second set with higher amplitudes clearly dividing each sound unit into two parts. Females produce shorter sounds and pulse periods but with a higher peak frequency. Differences in sounds correspond to differences in sound‐producing mechanisms.
... Their occurrence is also often noncontinuous or rare (Wall et al. 2014). Identifying what fish species is producing a particular sound in the wild can be difficult and prone to error (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001). Additionally, species may behave differently in the wild than in the lab due to environmental and physiological changes (Holt and Johnston 2014; Rountree and Juanes 2020). ...
... Some species were initially declared silent then proven to produce sound, such as Neolamprologus pulcher (Cichlidae; Spinks et al. 2017). There were also sounds that were misattributed to a particular species, such as a chatter sound that was originally ascribed to sea robins (Prionotus spp., Triglidae; Moulton 1956), then reassigned to weakfish (Cynoscion regalis, Sciaenidae; Fish and Mowbray 1970;Connaughton and Taylor 1995), but was finally substantiated to be produced by the cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum (Ophidiidae) after sounds of the cryptic species were recorded in the laboratory (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001). Such examples demonstrate that even if sound production examination results are reported confidently and accurately to the authors' best knowledge, they can still be contested later. ...
Sound production in fishes is vital to an array of behaviors including territorial defense, reproduction, and competitive feeding. Unfortunately, recent passive acoustic monitoring efforts are revealing the extent to which anthropogenic forces are altering aquatic soundscapes. Despite the importance of fish sounds, extensive endeavors to document them, and the anthropogenic threats they face, the field of fish bioacoustics has been historically constrained by the lack of an easily accessible and comprehensive inventory of known soniferous fishes, as is available for other taxa. To create such an inventory while simultaneously assessing the geographic and taxonomic prevalence of soniferous fish diversity, we extracted information from 834 references from the years 1874–2020 to determine that 989 fish species from 133 families and 33 orders have been shown to produce active (i.e., intentional) sounds. Active fish sound production is geographically and taxonomically widespread—though not homogenous—among fishes, contributing a cacophony of biological sounds to the prevailing soundscape globally. Our inventory supports previous findings on the prevalence of actively soniferous fishes, while allowing novel species-level assessments of their distribution among regions and taxa. Furthermore, we evaluate commercial and management applications with passive acoustic monitoring, highlight the underrepresentation of research on passive (i.e., incidental) fish sounds in the literature, and quantify the limitations of current methodologies employed to examine fishes for sound production. Collectively, our review expands on previous studies while providing the foundation needed to examine the 96% of fish species that still lack published examinations of sound production.
... Cusk eels (Family Ophidiidae), a major and representative component of the benthic fish community of the nGoM are bottom dwelling, living in the surface sediments with a pelagic larval stage. Their larval stages are cod-like and are ranked quite high (#14 over a range of 1-86.5) in both frequency of occurrence and abundance in plankton samples from the upper 100 m of the water column, which makes them an important benthic resource and direct coupling from benthic to the pelagic system (Limouzy- Paris et al., 1994;Mann et al., 1997). They spend the majority of their time near the seafloor or burrowed within the sediment (Mann et al., 1997). ...
... Their larval stages are cod-like and are ranked quite high (#14 over a range of 1-86.5) in both frequency of occurrence and abundance in plankton samples from the upper 100 m of the water column, which makes them an important benthic resource and direct coupling from benthic to the pelagic system (Limouzy- Paris et al., 1994;Mann et al., 1997). They spend the majority of their time near the seafloor or burrowed within the sediment (Mann et al., 1997). While Ophidiidae were included in some megafauna surveys (e.g., Mcclain et al., 2019), their status prior to DWH for the majority of the nGoM and any subsequent impact was understudied. ...
The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill significantly impacted the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) deep benthos (>125 m water depth) at different spatial scales and across all community size and taxa groups including microbes, foraminifera, meiofauna, macrofauna, megafauna, corals, and demersal fishes. The resilience across these communities was heterogeneous, with some requiring years if not decades to fully recover. To synthesize ecosystem impacts and recovery following DWH, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) Core 3 synthesis group subdivided the nGoM into four ecotypes: coastal, continental shelf, open-ocean, and deep benthic. Here we present a synopsis of the deep benthic ecotype status and discuss progress made on five tasks: (1) summarizing pre-and post-oil spill trends in abundance, species composition, and dynamics; (2) identifying missing data/analyses and proposing a strategy to fill in these gaps; (3) constructing a conceptual model of important species interactions and impacting factors; (4) evaluating resiliency and recovery potential of different species; and (5) providing recommendations for future long-term benthic ecosystem research programs. To address these tasks, we assessed time series to detect measures of population trends. Moreover, a benthic conceptual model for the GoM deep benthos was developed and a vulnerability-resilience analysis was performed to enable holistic interpretation of the interrelationships among ecotypes, resources, and stressors. The DWH oil spill underscores the overall need for a system-level benthic management decision support tool based on long-term measurement of ecological quality status (EQS). Production of such a decision support tool requires temporal baselines and time-series data collections. This approach provides EQS for multiple stressors affecting the GoM beyond oil spills. In many cases, the lessons learned from DWH, the gaps identified, and the recommended approaches for future long-term hypothesis-driven research can be utilized to better assess impacts of any ecosystem perturbation of industrial impact, including marine mineral extraction.
... With slow muscles each muscle contraction generates a pulse but not the frequency within a pulse. Within the subfamily Ophidiinae sounds have been recorded from two species: Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001) and Ophidion rochei (Parmentier et al. 2010a;Kéver et al. 2012Kéver et al. , 2014a. Calls from the striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum have peak frequencies above 1 kHz (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001), which should be impossible even with superfast swim bladder muscles because twitches would have to occur in less than 1 ms, faster than any known direct muscle. ...
... Within the subfamily Ophidiinae sounds have been recorded from two species: Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001) and Ophidion rochei (Parmentier et al. 2010a;Kéver et al. 2012Kéver et al. , 2014a. Calls from the striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum have peak frequencies above 1 kHz (Mann et al. 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich 2001), which should be impossible even with superfast swim bladder muscles because twitches would have to occur in less than 1 ms, faster than any known direct muscle. As in Carapus species, calls would result from a release mechanism that utilizes three steps. ...
In addition to briefly reviewing sound-producing mechanisms, this chapter focuses on an under-appreciated evolutionary process, exaptation, which could aid in understanding the independent origins and high diversity of sound-producing mechanisms in fishes. Existing anatomical structures first used in non-voluntary sound production provide advantages that result in further selection and refinement of sophisticated sonic organs. Moreover, comparisons of the relationships between fish size and spectral features in multiple not phylogenetically related species highlight two acoustic patterns. In species using superfast muscles, the slope of the relationship between fish size and sound frequency is weak (1°–5°) so that emitter size is unlikely inferred from call frequency. In other species that stridulate or use bones or tendons to stimulate the swimbladder, the high slopes (25°–80°) indicate major differences in the call frequencies within a species. These signals likely convey important information (size and potential fitness of the emitter) to conspecific receivers.
... The latter two sounds were not reported in Wall et al. [24] but were commonly observed throughout this study. The Cusk eel sound has been verified to be similar to the documented sound production of striped cusk eel Ophidion marginatum [37,38]. Although striped cusk eel are not present in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, it is with high certainty that this sound is produced by a similar species. ...
... The call characteristics for Cusk eel support the potential source to be Lepophidium or Ophidion sp. [37,38,48,49]. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Ophiidiformes are likely to produce sound nocturnally during the spawning season, which occurs in the fall [50,24]. ...
This paper presents the first known research to examine sound production by fishes during harmful algal blooms (HABs). Most fish sound production is species-specific and repetitive, enabling passive acoustic monitoring to identify the distribution and behavior of soniferous species. Autonomous gliders that collect passive acoustic data and environmental data concurrently can be used to establish the oceanographic conditions surrounding sound-producing organisms. Three passive acoustic glider missions were conducted off west-central Florida in October 2011, and September and October 2012. The deployment period for two missions was dictated by the presence of red tide events with the glider path specifically set to encounter toxic Karenia brevis blooms (a.k.a red tides). Oceanographic conditions measured by the glider were significantly correlated to the variation in sounds from six known or suspected species of fish across the three missions with depth consistently being the most significant factor. At the time and space scales of this study, there was no detectable effect of red tide on sound production. Sounds were still recorded within red tide-affected waters from species with overlapping depth ranges. These results suggest that the fishes studied here did not alter their sound production nor migrate out of red tide-affected areas. Although these results are preliminary because of the limited measurements, the data and methods presented here provide a proof of principle and could serve as protocol for future studies on the effects of algal blooms on the behavior of soniferous fishes. To fully capture the effects of episodic events, we suggest that stationary or vertically profiling acoustic recorders and environmental sampling be used as a complement to glider measurements.
... Therefore, the evolution of superfast muscles has been a mystery since there was no clear role for slow muscles, and intermediates were lacking. Recently, slow sonic swimbladder muscles have been discovered in carapids [15] and appear to occur in various ophidiiform fishes1617181920; these muscles tetanize around 10 Hz [15]. The carapid swimbladder contains a thin fenestra near its anterior pole, which stretches during contraction of the slow sonic muscle. ...
... Slow systems however, typically depend on rebound of stretched swimbladdersFigure 4 Oscillogram and sonagram of a series of sound pulses evoked by touching the abdomen of the pearl perch Glaucosoma buergeri. The box in the oscillogram designates the first pulse, and the vertical dashed line separates pulse parts 1 and 2. and tendons151617181920: features include a free anterior region of the swimbladder that is stretched by anterior sonic muscles, a stretchable swimbladder fenestra, a relatively fixed posterior region that is anchored to the backbone, and a tendon or other means of storing strain energy that causes the bladder to snap back rapidly. The fast sonic muscles of the pearl perch produce a weak component of the sound waveform suggesting that acoustic communication at any distance would depend on the second part of the pulse. ...
Little is known about evolution of swimbladder sound production in fishes. Typical fish sound production utilizes fast muscles that drive the swimbladder to produce sound as a forced but rapidly‐damping response; a muscle contraction rate of 200 times/s will generate a sound with a fundamental frequency of 200 Hz. Recently, slow muscles have been demonstrated in a carapid fish. These muscles slowly extend the anterior swimbladder by stretching a swimbladder fenestra until the bladder snaps back exciting sound production. Here we describe sounds produced by a similar but phylogenetically‐unrelated mechanism in a perciform fish. A pair of extrinsic sonic muscles originates on the pterotic bones and inserts on the anterodorsal swimbladder just forward of a stretchable swimbladder fenestra. A fan‐shaped tendon that ends in a smooth muscle attaches to the bladder just forward of the fenestra. The tendon‐smooth muscle pair will be stretched by contraction of the rostral sonic muscles. Strain energy stored in the tendon will cause the anterior bladder to recoil upon musclerelaxation.Sound pulses consist of two parts: a low‐amplitude one followed by a higher frequency higher amplitude part. We suggest that the first part of the call is caused by contraction of the anterior sonic muscle (cocking) and the second (release) is forced by strain energy in the stretched tendon and smooth muscle.
... Calls produced by terapontid fish species, for example, are often similar, but not all species within the family have been reported to produce sound (Parmentier et al., 2016;Looby et al., 2021). Although not definitive, sound production by related species can provide evidence toward soniferous behavior, though caution is warranted as species that appear morphologically similar can be acoustically different, such as Ophidiformes (Mann et al., 1997;Parmentier et al., 2006Parmentier et al., , 2010. ...
Aquatic environments encompass the world’s most extensive habitats, rich with sounds produced by a diversity of animals. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is an increasingly accessible remote sensing technology that uses hydrophones to listen to the underwater world and represents an unprecedented, non-invasive method to monitor underwater environments. This information can assist in the delineation of biologically important areas via detection of sound-producing species or characterization of ecosystem type and condition, inferred from the acoustic properties of the local soundscape. At a time when worldwide biodiversity is in significant decline and underwater soundscapes are being altered as a result of anthropogenic impacts, there is a need to document, quantify, and understand biotic sound sources–potentially before they disappear. A significant step toward these goals is the development of a web-based, open-access platform that provides: (1) a reference library of known and unknown biological sound sources (by integrating and expanding existing libraries around the world); (2) a data repository portal for annotated and unannotated audio recordings of single sources and of soundscapes; (3) a training platform for artificial intelligence algorithms for signal detection and classification; and (4) a citizen science-based application for public users. Although individually, these resources are often met on regional and taxa-specific scales, many are not sustained and, collectively, an enduring global database with an integrated platform has not been realized. We discuss the benefits such a program can provide, previous calls for global data-sharing and reference libraries, and the challenges that need to be overcome to bring together bio- and ecoacousticians, bioinformaticians, propagation experts, web engineers, and signal processing specialists (e.g., artificial intelligence) with the necessary support and funding to build a sustainable and scalable platform that could address the needs of all contributors and stakeholders into the future.
... In the case of one of the aforementioned families (i.e., Ophidiidae), different studies on species living in shallower waters clearly support that acoustic communication is an important aspect of these species biology, which likely mediates reproductive interactions. Sound production has been reported in the striped cusk-eel (Ophidion marginatum, Ophidiidae; Mann, Bowers-Altman, & Rountree, 1997;Rountree & Bowers-Altman, 2002) and in Roche's snake blenny (Ophidion rochei Ophidiidae; Kéver, Lejeune, Michel, & Parmentier, 2016;Parmentier, Bouillac, Dragičević, Dulčić, & Fine, 2010) as well as in two species, the red cusk-eel (Genypterus chilensis, Ophidiidae) and the black cuskeel (Genypterus maculatus, Ophidiidae), which can inhabit depths between 50 and 800 m (Parmentier, Bahri, et al., 2018). Interestingly, species from coastal and deep waters possess the same kind of sound producing mechanism. ...
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.
... Among these, the grenadiers (Macrourinae, Gadiformes) possess large sound-producing muscles on either side of the forepart of their swimbladders (Marshall, 1967(Marshall, , 1973, similarly to several other shallowwaters Gadidae, which sound production has been characterized in details (Hawkins and Picciulin, 2019). Sound producing apparatus are also found in many deep-living cuskeels (i.e., Ophidiiformes; e.g., Fine et al., 2007;Nguyen et al., 2008;Ali et al., 2016;Parmentier et al., 2018), but sounds were recorded in few shallow water species (i.e., Ophidion marginatum, Mann et al., 1997;Bowers-Altman, 2002, andO. rochei, Parmentier et al., 2010;K ever et al., 2012;K ever et al., 2014) Electronic mail: marta.bolgan@gmail.com ...
Although several bioacoustics investigations have shed light on the acoustic communication of Mediterranean fish
species, the occurrence of fish sounds has never been reported below 40 m depth. This study assessed the
occurrence of fish sounds at greater depths by monitoring the soundscape of a Mediterranean submarine canyon
(Calvi, France) thanks to a combination of Static Acoustic Monitoring (three stations, from 125 to 150 m depth,
3 km from coastline) and of hydrophone-integrated gliders (Mobile Acoustic Monitoring; from 60 to 900 m
depth, 3–6 km from coastline). Biological sounds were detected in 38% of the audio files; ten sound types (for a total
of more than 9.000 sounds) with characteristics corresponding to those emitted by vocal species, or known as produced by fish activities, were found. For one of these sound types, emitter identity was inferred at the genus level
(Ophidion sp.). An increase of from 10 to 15 dB re 1 lPa in sea ambient noise was observed during daytime hours
due to boat traffic, potentially implying an important daytime masking effect. This study shows that monitoring the
underwater soundscape of Mediterranean submarine canyons can provide holistic information needed to better
understand the state and the dynamics of these heterogeneous, highly diverse environments.
VC 2020 Acoustical Society of America. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0001101
... Mainly used for studying marine mammals (Mellinger, Stafford, Moore, Dziak, & Matsumoto, 2007), PAM has been more recently applied to fish monitoring (Connaughton & Taylor, 1995;Gannon, 2008;Lobel, Kaatz, & Rice, 2010;Locascio & Mann, 2008;Luczkovich, Pullinger, Johnson, & Sprague, 2008;Mok & Gilmore, 1983;Mok, Yu, Ueng, & Wei, 2009;Nelson, Koenig, Coleman, & Mann, 2011;Saucier & Baltz, 1993), as there are over 800 species of fishes worldwide that emit sounds, thanks to diverse sound-producing mechanisms (Ladich & Fine, 2006). Passive acoustic techniques have been used to identify essential fish habitats (Lobel, 2002;Lobel et al., 2010;Locascio & Mann, 2011;Luczkovich et al., 2008;Luczkovich, Sprague, Johnson, & Pullinger, 1999;Mann & Lobel, 1995), to locate fish concentrations during their vulnerable spawning stage (Casaretto, Picciulin, Olsen, & Hawkins, 2014;Locascio & Mann, 2011;Mann, Bowers-Altman, & Rountree, 1997;Tellechea, Norbis, Olsson, & Fine, 2011), to study spatial and temporal patterns of fish reproduction (Luczkovich et al., 2008), to track fish vertical migrations (D'Spain & Batchelor, 2006), or to census cryptic fish species (Picciulin, Kéver, Parmentier, & Bolgan, 2018). More recently, acoustic diversity evaluated by PAM has been revealed to mirror the taxonomic diversity (Desiderà et al., 2019), and fish sounds have been used as an environmental proxy for habitat monitoring . ...
1. The brown meagre, Sciaena umbra, is a demersal sciaenid fish recognized as indicative of good environmental quality and defined as an umbrella species for the ecological community of rocky coastal habitats. S. umbra is classified as a vulnerable fish species by the IUCN and knowledge on the distribution of its spawning habitats is essential for its conservation.
2. Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) is a suitable tool to monitor the S. umbra distribution due to the high consistency over space and time of its communication sounds emitted during the reproductive period with irregular or regular rhythms or merging into a chorus.
3. During summer 2019, the presence of this species was acoustically investigated at 40 listening points distributed along the tidal inlets that connect the Venice Lagoon to the open sea.
4. Longer sounds comprising a higher number of faster repeated pulses were found during the chorus and used as proxy of spawning activity; similar sound features have been recorded in different captive Sciaenids during spawning.
5. The three inlets were classified as more or less suitable for spawning on the basis of identified vocal rhythms, showing a clear preference following a north-south gradient and indicating a higher spawning activity in the internal faces of the inlets compared to the seaward faces. The chorus occurred in localized areas consistently throughout the breeding season, suggesting that spawning is concentrated in preferred areas.
6. For the first time a relationship between fish sound features and vocal rhythms has been highlighted by an in situ study. This validates the use of the chorus as a reliable natural indicator of S. umbra breeding sites, and in turn suggests a potential non-invasive approach based on PAM for mapping the key reproductive areas of this vulnerable species in the Mediterranean Sea
... The same sounds were later mistakenly attributed to the Weakfish Cynoscion regalis, due to frequent co-occurrence with known Weakfish sounds with similar frequency range and pulse structure (Fish and Mowbray 1970). However, these sounds were in fact produced by the Striped Cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum, for which sounds were first recorded in the laboratory decades later (Mann et al. 1997;Rountree and Bowers-Altman 2002). ...
The ecological importance of the freshwater soundscape is just beginning to be recognized by society. Scientists are beginning to apply Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) methods that are well established in marine systems to freshwater systems to map spatial and temporal patterns of behaviors associated with fish sounds as well as noise impacts on them. Unfortunately, these efforts are greatly hampered by a critical lack of data on the sources of sounds that make up the soundscape of freshwater habitats. A review of the literature finds that only 87 species have been reported to produce sounds in North America and Europe over the last 200 years, accounting for 5% of the known freshwater fish diversity. The problem is exacerbated by the general failure of researchers to report the detailed statistical descriptions of fish sound characteristics that are necessary to develop PAM programs. We suggest that publishers and editors should do more to encourage reporting of statistical properties of fish sounds. In addition, we call for research, academic, and government agencies to develop regional libraries of fish sounds to aid in PAM and anthropogenic noise impact studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Although the biology is poorly known for all species, it seems that species that live in shallow water favour a life in the dark, since they are mostly active at night. This is the case, for example, for certain ophidiid species that hide in the sand during the day (Mann, Bowers-Altman & Rountree, 1997;Parmentier et al., 2010;K ever et al., 2016), for carapid fishes that mostly live inside different invertebrate hosts during the day , or for dinematichthyid species that are cave dwelling, often in reef environments (Wourms & Bayne, 1973;Møller & Schwarzhans, 2008). The second important characteristic is related to way of life. ...
Although males and females of many sound‐producing fish species may show differences at the level of the sonic apparatus, otoliths are usually species specific having intraspecific variation only if exposed to different environmental condition or in relation with the fish size. This study reports sexual dimorphism at the level of both otolith shape and sonic apparatus in the ophidiid Neobythites gilli. As it is the case in other Neobythites species, sound‐producing apparatus is better developed in males. Due to their way of life in darker or deep waters, differences at the level of the sound‐producing apparatus support more constraints related to acoustic communication for sex recognition or mate localization. Otolith modifications concern only Neobythites male specimens, whereas otolith of females are virtually unchanged when compared to sister species without sexual dimorphism, meaning this feature would not be related to sexually induced differences in calling. Differences between the otoliths of males and females could therefore be related to their way of life. Sexual dimorphism of the acoustic apparatus in Neobythities gilli show males are better callers. Unusual sexual dimorphism of the sagitta (otoliths) in Neobythities gilli. Sexual dimorphism in the hearing apparatus seems related to the way of life and not to hearing abilities.
... Species with slow muscles produce a single pulse per contraction, and contraction rate does not determine frequency within a pulse (Fine et al., 2007;Parmentier et al., 2010Parmentier et al., , 2016Mok et al., 2011;Parmentier and Fine 2016). For instance the cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum (subfamily Ophidiinae) produces sounds composed of one to 27 pulses with a peak frequency of about 1200 Hz (Mann et al., 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich, 2001;Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002;Mooney et al., 2016). This peak frequency is too high to be produced by individual contractions of superfast sonic muscles, suggesting a slow-muscle mechanism. ...
Based on morphology, NB Marshall identified cusk-eels (family Ophidiidae) as one of the chief sound-producing groups on the continental slope. Due to food scarcity, we hypothesized that sonic systems will be reduced at great depths despite their potential importance in sexual reproduction. We examined this hypothesis in the cusk-eel subfamily Neobythitinae by comparing sonic morphology in Atlantic species from the upper-mid (Dicrolene intronigra) and deeper continental slope (Porogadus miles and Bathyonus pectoralis) with three Taiwanese species previously described from the upper slope (Hoplobrotula armatus, Neobythites longipes and N. unimaculatus). In all six species, medial muscles are heavier in males than in females. Dicrolene has four pairs of sonic muscles similar to the shallow Pacific species, suggesting neobythitine sonic anatomy is conservative and sufficient food exists to maintain a well-developed system at depths exceeding 1. km. The sonic system in Porogadus and Bathyonus was reduced to a single pair of ventral medial muscles that connects to a smaller and thinner swimbladder via a long tendon. Small muscle fiber diameters, a likely indicator of rapid contraction, were present in males of five of the species. However, in Bathyonus, the deepest species (pale coloration, reduced eye size, shorter sonic muscles and longer tendons), muscle fibers were larger suggesting an adaptation to facilitate rapid bladder movement for sound production while using slower contractions and less metabolic energy. The six species separate into three groups in length-weight regressions: the three upper slope species have the greatest weights per unit length, Dicrolene is lower, and the two deep species are further reduced consistent with the hypothesis that food limitation affects sonic anatomy at great depths.
... A chatter type sound heard both on and off the continental shelf is the sound made by cusk-eels (family Ophidiiformes). The sound made by the striped cusk-eel (Ophidion marginatum) is described as a rapidly pulsed sound with up to 27 pulses in the sequence in the frequency range 500 to 1800 Hz (Mann et al. (1997), Rountree and Bowers-Altman (2001)). The sound from this species was also studied by Mooney et al. (2016) who demonstrated that each pulse had frequency content to beyond 8 kHz. ...
This study investigated a clicking sound which is often heard when deploying a hydrophone in UK shallow waters. This sound has often been described as being produced by snapping shrimp yet very few snapping shrimp have been found in UK waters. This work has identified the sound of snapping shrimp and shown that a similar sound, while present throughout the year, is not the dominant component of the click field during the summer and autumn.
This work has shown that the click sounds are heard in the southern half of the UK only and that click activity has a strong dependence on the annual and diurnal cycles peaking in late summer and during daylight hours. It has also shown that the click activity is dependent on the bottom type with little activity over uniform sand or mud sea beds.
Three principal types of click have been identified although it is believed that a greater number of different species contribute to the click field. Localisation of the click sources using one, two and four hydrophone arrays has shown that the majority of the clicks are produced above but close to the seabed. There is also more click activity in the deeper channel than in the inter-tidal shallows at the main study site in the Fleet, Dorset. It has also demonstrated very little click activity over the nearby sand flats.
The use of cameras to try and capture pictures of an animal producing the clicks both in the wild and in aquaria and in rock pools has not been successful. This may be due to a number of reasons which are discussed in this report.
Although this work has failed to identify the click-producing species it has provided a much better understanding of the characteristics of the clicking sound and recommendations are made for future work that should lead to an identification of the click-producing species.
... In the Adriatic sea, calling activity was present between 18:00 and 08:00 h with a peak between 18:00 and 01:00 h (Picciulin et al., 2013). Increased sound production during the first period of the night is very common in sciaenid species (Fish & Cummings, 1972;Saucier & Baltz, 1993;Mann, Bowers-Altman & Rountree, 1997;Mann & Grothues, 2009). Sounds could be used to locate mates and evening spawning is advantageous for egg dispersal (Holt, Holt & Arnold, 1985;Tellechea, Fine & Norbis, 2017). ...
Many studies stress the usefulness of fish calls as effective indicators of distinct species occurrence. However, most of these studies have been undertaken in a given area and during restricted periods of time. There is a need to show passive acoustic monitoring is a reliable method to study vocal species over space and time. This study aims to use passive acoustic methods to follow the brown meagre Sciaena umbra at relevant temporal and spatial scales. Specimens of S. umbra were recorded in both aquarium and in the field. In situ recordings were made at two regions (Corsica and Sardinia) during four summers (2008–2012–2013–2015). Temporal and frequency parameters of the fish calls were collected by different teams and compared to test the ability to unequivocally identify the fish sound. The comparison between our data and the bibliography highlights the capability to identify S. umbra during a period of 17 years in different Mediterranean regions, clearly supporting the usefulness of acoustic monitoring to discover and protect aggregation sites of this endangered species. The sound producing mechanism in S. umbra consists of high-speed sonic muscles surrounding dorsally the posterior end of the swim bladder, which can explain the low acoustic variability that helps in the species identification. Similar mechanisms are found in other Sciaenidae, suggesting that a similar conclusion can be drawn for many other adult sciaenids that could be used as sentinel species. This study should be of high interest to policymakers and scientists because it shows passive acoustic can be confidently used in resource management.
... The constancy of the average interpulse interval under normal conditions and its sensitivity to aldicarb (prolonged effect) and copper sulfate (shortened effect) exposure suggests that this sound parameter can possibly serve as a valuable endpoint in studies of medaka ecotoxicology for determining changes of environments. The constancy of interpulse interval has been reported for various sonic fishes (Crawford, 1997;Mann et al., 1997;Hawkins and Amorim, 2000;Kozloski and Crawford, 2000). As one of the most important characteristics for acoustic signal discrimination, changes in interpulse interval of sound produced by some sonic fish have been reported to cause variations in playback behavior and the absence of vocalization response in nearby individuals (Winn, 1972;Bass, 1999, 2001). ...
This study is the first to report sound production in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Sound production was affected by exposure to the carbamate insecticide (aldicarb) and heavy-metal compound (copper sulfate). Medaka were exposed at four concentrations (aldicarb: 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg L⁻¹; copper sulfate: 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg L⁻¹), and sound characteristics were monitored for 5 h after exposure. We observed constant average interpulse intervals (approx 0.2 s) in all test groups before exposure, and in the control groups throughout the experiment. The average interpulse interval became significantly longer during the recording periods after 50 min of exposure to aldicarb, and reached a length of more than 0.3 s during the recording periods after 120 min exposure. Most medaka fish stopped to produce sound after 50 min of exposure to copper sulfate at 1 and 2 mg L⁻¹, resulting in significantly declined number of sound pulses and pulse groups. Relative shortened interpulse intervals of sound were occasionally observed in medaka fish exposed to 0.5 mg L⁻¹ copper sulfate. These alternations in sound characteristics due to toxicants exposure suggested that they might impair acoustic communication of medaka fish, which may be important for their reproduction and survival. Our results suggested that using acoustic changes of medaka has potential to monitor precipitate water pollutions, such as intentional poisoning or accidental leakage of industrial waste.
... In this case, the contraction rate of the muscle does not determine the main frequency of the pulse but the pulse period. In the E. Parmentier and others Ophidiiforme Ophidion marginatum, sounds are composed of 1-27 pulses with a peak frequency of 1200·Hz (Mann et al., 1997;Sprague and Luczkovich, 2001), and a contraction-relaxation cycle at this rate would be physiologically impossible. However, the pulse period is about 23·Hz, reinforcing the assumption that, in this group, there is not a correspondence between sonic muscle contraction and main sound frequency, but with the pulse period. ...
Fish sonic swimbladder muscles are the fastest muscles in vertebrates and have fibers with numerous biochemical and structural adaptations for speed. Carapid fishes produce sounds with a complex swimbladder mechanism including skeletal components and extrinsic sonic muscle fibers with an exceptional helical myofibrillar structure. To study this system we stimulated the sonic muscles, described their insertion and action, and generatedsounds by slowly pulling the sonic muscles. We find the sonic muscles contract slowly, pulling the anterior bladder and thereby stretching a thin fenestra. Sound is generated when the tension trips a release system that causes the fenestra to snap back to its resting position. The sound frequency does not correspond to the calculated resonant frequency of the bladder, and we hypothesize that it is determined by the snapping fenestra interacting with an overlying bony swimbladder plate. To our knowledge this tension release mechanism is unique in animal sound generation.
... Several f ish species use their swim bladder to produce sound, including some deep-sea f ishes. For example, males of some ophidiiform f ishes produce sound with sexually dimorphic sets of antagonistic sonic muscles (Mann 1997;Nguyen 2008). Ophidiifrom f ishes are the dominant group of benthic deep-sea f ishes in tropical and subtropical regions (Nielsen 1999) and eight species of ophidiiforms are known from caves; thus this group represents good candidates to examine acoustic communication in cavef ishes. ...
The constant darkness of caves and other subterranean habitats imposes sensory constraints that offer a unique opportunity to examine how sensory modalities evolve. Adaptations to the underground environment represent replicate natural evolutionary experiments to a similar extreme environment, as many species have evolved similar morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations to survive in perpetual darkness and limited resource. Although fish hearing has been studied for over a century and all fish up to date have been shown to be able to hear sounds, hearing in cavefishes has not been well explored. Moreover, despite the diversity of sound-generating mechanisms that have evolved across the Teleostei, acoustic communication was not demonstrated in any cavefish species. Here we review the evidence for hearing in fishes, and particularly in cavefishes. We also discuss our own results in the group Amblyopsids. We chose to study the Amblyopsids because they are a small phylogenetic group with a large portion of its diversity comprised by cavefish, and its phylogeny well understood.
... All species investigated in this taxon show distinctive and complex sonic apparatuses based on extrinsic sonic muscles that insert directly or indirectly on the swimbladder wall (Rose, 1961;Courtenay & McKittrick, 1970;Courtenay, 1971;Parmentier et al., 2003;Fine et al., 2007). Unfortunately, studies describing sound characteristics in Ophidioidei are limited to two ophidiids (Mann et al., 1997;Kéver et al., 2012) and five carapids (Parmentier et al., 2003(Parmentier et al., , 2006 mainly because the majority of species are quite inaccessible. The way environmental factors affect these sounds is even less documented and is limited to three studies. ...
Although the sound production mechanisms of male and female Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae) differ
significantly, temperature affects them in the same manner. In both sexes, temperature correlated negatively
with pulse period and positively with sound frequencies but had no, or weak effects on other
sound characteristics.
... Fishes produce sounds in a number of situations, including agonistic encounters (Ladich 1997), territorial defense (Myrberg 1972, Amorim et al. 2003, courtship (Myrberg et al. 1986, McKibben & Bass 1998 and spawning (Lobel 1992, Mann et al. 1997. Peaks in calling activity have been linked to reproductive behavior in many families, including Pomacentridae (Mann & Lobel 1995), Gobiidae (Malavasi et al. 2009), Batrachoididae (McKibben & Bass 1998), Percidae (Johnston & Johnson 2000), Holocentridae (Winn et al. 1964) and Sciaenidae (Mok & Gilmore 1983, Connaughton & Taylor 1995. ...
Passive acoustic and digital video recordings were used to investigate sonic activity and behavior of red grouper Epinephelus morio on the West Florida Shelf. Red grouper were found to produce a unique series of low-frequency (180 Hz peak) pulses consisting of 1 to 4 brief (0.15 s) broadband pulses and a 0.5 to 2 s growl (short call); occasionally these were followed by a rapid series of 10 to 50 broadband pulses (pulse train). Sound production was ob served throughout the day and night, but most sounds occurred between sunrise and sunset, with a noticeable increase during late afternoon. Behaviors associated with sound production included solitary male activity and courtship interactions, indicating that sound production is likely related to spawning activity. Thus, passive acoustics could be an effective tool in monitoring red grouper reproduction and defining critical habitat of a keystone species.
... Numerous studies have examined the acoustic characteristics, geographical variation and seasonality of foghorn production in the oyster toadfish [22] [23] . The Cusk eels would hide by staying buried under the sand all day and slowly poke their heads out of the sand, produce sounds like a jackhammer during the night [24] . Male Cusk eel use calls as part of their courtship behavior and attract females for spawning.This analysis can give the species distinction by their vocal behavior, spawning grounds, acoustic communications and the impact on local environmental noise. ...
... Two other important deep water families are the cusk-eels (Ophidiidae) and closely related Brotulids (Bythitidae ¼Brotulidae), which Marshall (1954 Marshall ( , 1967) also reported as typically possessing large sonic muscles and swim bladders. To date, sound production has only been reported for two shallow water cusk-eels in the Atlantic, Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al., 1997; Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002; Mann and Grothues, 2008) and in the Mediterranean Ophidion rochei (Parmentier et al., 2010), and one cave dwelling brotulid from Cuba, Lucifuga subterranean (Bridge, 1904; Fish, 1948). Plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus) produce sound (Brantley and Bass, 1994) but are a mainly intertidal species present off British Columbia with migrations to waters up to 360 m deep (Love et al., 2002). ...
Our understanding of the significance of sound production to the ecology of deep-sea fish communities has improved little since anatomical surveys in the 1950s first suggested that sound production is widespread among slope-water fishes. The recent implementation of cabled ocean observatory networks around the world that include passive acoustic recording instruments provides scientists an opportunity to search for evidence of deep-sea fish sounds. We examined deep-sea acoustic recordings made at the NEPTUNE Canada Barkley Canyon Axis Pod (985 m) located off the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Northeast Pacific between June 2010 and May 2011 to determine the presence of fish sounds. A subset of over 300 5-min files was examined by selecting one day each month and analyzing one file for each hour over the 24 h day. Despite the frequent occurrence of marine mammal sounds, no examples of fish sounds were identified. However, we report examples of isolated unknown sounds that might be produced by fish, invertebrates, or more likely marine mammals. This finding is in direct contrast to recent smaller studies in the Atlantic where potential fish sounds appear to be more common. A review of the literature indicates 32 species found off British Columbia that potentially produce sound could occur in depths greater than 700 m but of these only Anoplopoma fimbria and Coryphaenoides spp. have been previously reported at the site. The lack of fish sounds observed here may be directly related to the low diversity and abundance of fishes present at the Barkley Canyon site. Other contributing factors include possible masking of low amplitude biological signals by self-generated noise from the platform instrumentation and ship noise. We suggest that examination of data both from noise-reduced ocean observatories around the world and from dedicated instrument surveys designed to search for deep-sea fish sounds to provide a larger-scale, more conclusive investigation into the role, or potential lack thereof, of sound production.
... Daily fluctuations of light level change signal activity of fishes and cause redistri bution of sensory canals in obtaining biologically sig nificant information. Limitation or total loss of visual reception during the nighttime can involve or enhance other abilities for communication compensating the appearing deficiency of information (Connaughton and Taylor, 1995;Mann et al., 1997;Parzefall, 2001;Poulson, 2001; Thorson and Fine, 2002;Kasumyan, 2004Kasumyan, , 2009. Visual and other forms of sensory depri vation are major and the traditional approaches in experimental investigations of the role of sense sys tems and signal importance of the stimuli of different nature in the life and behavior of fishes. ...
We studied the effects of illumination and alarm pheromone on emition of specialized electric discharges in the broadhead catfish Clarias macrocephalus (Clariidae, Siluriformes) during aggressive-defensive interactions. The discharges were recorded with a special hardware in two adult fish of a similar size placed into an aquarium, during a period of 24 h, under alternating 30-min-long light (700 lx) and dark periods. The electrical activity of the broadhead catfish was found to be higher in the dark than under the light; by the end of the trial, the frequency of electrical discharges gradually decreased. The overall number of discharges recorded in different pairs of the fish was significantly different, which is evidence of individual variability in the electrical activity. Changes in the illumination regime in many cases increased the emition of electrical discharges, which could be a result of a stress-response. However, the stimulation of the fish by alarm pheromone (extract of the skin, 0.5 g/l) caused no pronounced changes in the electrical activity. It is supposed that aggressive motivation caused in the broadhead catfish by the presence of another individual of the same species dominated over the defensive response initiated by the alarm pheromone and, thus, dominated in the development of the electrical response.
... Two other important deep water families are the cusk-eels (Ophidiidae) and closely related Brotulids (Bythitidae ¼Brotulidae), which Marshall (1954Marshall ( , 1967 also reported as typically possessing large sonic muscles and swim bladders. To date, sound production has only been reported for two shallow water cusk-eels in the Atlantic, Ophidion marginatum (Mann et al., 1997;Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002;Mann and Grothues, 2008) and in the Mediterranean Ophidion rochei (Parmentier et al., 2010), and one cave dwelling brotulid from Cuba, Lucifuga subterranean (Bridge, 1904;Fish, 1948). Plainfin midshipman (Porichthys notatus) produce sound (Brantley and Bass, 1994) but are a mainly intertidal species present off British Columbia with migrations to waters up to 360 m deep (Love et al., 2002). ...
Our understanding of the significance of sound production to the ecology of deep-sea fish communities has improved little since anatomical surveys in the 1950’s first suggested that sound production is widespread among slope-water fishes. The recent implementation of cabled ocean observatory networks around the world that include passive acoustic recording instruments provides scientists an opportunity to search for evidence of deep-sea fish sounds. We examined deep-sea acoustic recordings made at the NEPTUNE Canada Barkley Canyon Axis Pod (985 m) located off the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Northeast Pacific between June 2010 and May 2011 looking for the presence of fish sounds. A subset of over 300 5-minute files was examined by randomly selecting one day each month and analyzing one file for each hour over the 24 h day. Despite the frequent occurrence of marine mammal sounds, no examples of fish sounds were identified. However, we report examples of isolated unknown sounds that might be produced by fish, invertebrates, or more likely marine mammals. This finding is in direct contrast to recent smaller studies in the Atlantic where potential fish sounds appear to be more common. A review of the literature indicates 32 species found off British Columbia that potentially produce sound could occur in depths greater than 700 m but of these only Anoplopoma fimbria and Coryphaenoides spp. have been previously reported at the site. The lack of fish sounds observed here may be directly related to the low diversity and abundance of fishes present at the Barkley Canyon site. Other contributing factors include possible masking of low amplitude biological signals by self-generated noise from the platform instrumentation and ship noise. We suggest that examination of data both from ocean observatories around the world and from dedicated instrument surveys designed to search for deep-sea fish sounds are needed in order to address the possibility of sound production among deep-sea fishes.
... Three species of fish, striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum, weakfish Cynoscion regalis, and Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, were the most common sound producers detected at LEO-15 (Fig. 1). Their calls were identified by comparisons to known sounds recorded from each species (Fish & Mowbray 1970, Mann et al. 1997. Weakfish and Atlantic croaker are sciaenids, and their sounds are characterized by chorusing, whereby many individuals call at the same time to produce an overall increase in the background sound levels (Fig. 1). ...
Understanding factors controlling the distribution and reproduction of fishes is crucial for developing ecosystem models of fish populations. Yet, these observations are difficult to make on the same time and space scales as physical forcing events. A hydrophone was used to record fish sound production associated with reproduction at the LEO-1.5 ocean observatory to determine the relationship between variation in fish calling behavior and oceanographic variation. Sound production was dominated by Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus, weakfish Cynoscion regalis, and striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum. Striped cusk-eels called with a crepuscular pattern, with a strong peak at dusk, less sound production during the night, and a lesser peak in sound production at dawn. Sciaenids called mostly at dusk and night. Nine advection events bringing colder waters to the LEO-15 site were correlated with greatly reduced levels of sound production in Atlantic croaker and weakfish on daily time scales. Our results show how ocean observatories with passive acoustics can study tightly coupled physical oceanographic influences on fish behavior on daily time scales.
... Колебания освещённости в течение суток изменяют сигналь ную активность рыб, приводят к перераспределе нию сенсорных каналов в получении биологически значимой информации. Ограничение или потеря зрительной рецепции, вызванные наступлением тёмного времени суток, вовлекают или усиливают иные коммуникационные возможности, компен сирующие возникающий информационный де фицит (Connaughton, Taylor, 1995;Mann et al., 1997;Parzefall, 2001;Poulson, 2001;Thorson, Fine, 2002;Kasumyan, 2004Kasumyan, , 2009. Зрительная и другие формы сенсорной депривации являются основ ными и традиционными методическими приёма ми экспериментального исследования роли орга нов чувств и сигнального значения раздражите лей разной природы в жизни и поведении рыб. ...
Исследовали влияние освещённости и феромона тревоги на генерацию специализированных элек�
трических разрядов клариевым сомом Clarias macrocephalus (Clariidae, Siluriformes) во время агрес�
сивно�оборонительных взаимодействий. Разряды регистрировали с помощью специальной аппара�
туры у находящихся в аквариуме двух близких по размеру половозрелых рыб в течение 24 ч при че�
редовании 30�минутных световых (700 лк) и темновых периодов. Выяснено, что электрическая
активность клариевых сомов в темноте выше, чем на свету; к концу опыта частота генерации элек�
трических разрядов постепенно снижается. Суммарное число разрядов, регистрируемых у разных
пар рыб, многократно отличается, что указывает на наличие у клариевых сомов индивидуальной ва�
риабельности в проявлении электрической активности. Изменение светового режима во многих
случаях вызывает усиление генерации электрических разрядов, что может быть проявлением
стресс�реакции. Однако стимуляция рыб раствором феромона тревоги (экстракт кожи, 0.5 г/л) не
приводит к заметным сдвигам электрической активности. Предполагается, что агрессивная моти�
вация, вызванная у клариевых сомов присутствием особи своего вида, преобладает над оборони�
тельной, развивающейся под действием феромона тревоги, и доминирует в формировании электри�
ческого ответа
... Our species-specific spectral analyses are in agreement with the sound identifications based on captive or in situ recordings of these fishes by other investigators. The species-specific nature of these calls have been previously described via spectrograms in other studies: Fish and Mowbray (1970) described the calls and provided spectrograms of silver perch, weakfish, and red drum recorded in captivity; Guest and Lasswell (1978) showed a spectrogram of red drum recorded in captivity; Mok and Gilmore (1983) characterized the calls of silver perch and spotted seatrout in situ; Connaughton and Taylor (1996) and Connaughton et al. (1997Connaughton et al. ( , 2000 described the pattern and mechanism of sound production by weakfish in captivity; Perkins (2001) described the drumming sound of weakfish in situ and distinguished it from the chattering sounds initially described by Fish and Mowbray (1970) as being produced by weakfish but subsequently confirmed by Mann et al. (1997) and Sprague and Luczkovich (2001) as being produced by striped cusk-eels Ophidion marginatum; Gilmore (2003) described the spectral characteristics of spotted seatrout calls in situ; and Sprague et al. (2000) described the spectrograms, oscillograms, and average power spectra of the sciaenids studied here used the same captive recordings used in this paper, but different in situ recordings). ...
Sounds produced by spawning fishes in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, have been recorded both under captive conditions and in hydrophone and sonobuoy field surveys. These sounds, produced by males, are species specific, are associated with spawning, and are most likely used for advertisement to attract females. Sounds can be discriminated by use of spectral analysis (oscillograms and spectrograms) of recordings, and the peak frequencies produced by each species can be correlated with species and fish size. Sonobuoys were used for passive acoustic surveys, which were “sound truthed” from recordings of captive fishes to determine the timing and location of spawning sites for four species in the family Sciaenidae: Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus, spotted seatrout Cynoscion nebulosus, weakfish C. regalis, and silver perch Bairdiella chrysoura. During May-September 1998, sounds were first detected in the early evening, increased in loudness after sunset, and ended by sunrise. Weakfish and silver perch were heard predominantly at inlet locations in May and June, whereas spotted seatrout (peak drumming in July) and red drum (peak drumming in September) were heard predominantly at lower-salinity river mouth locations in western Pamlico Sound. Passive acoustic surveys can be used to determine critical spawning habitats of sciaenid fishes; such surveys have revealed interesting insights into fish behavior and should be integrated into ocean observing systems.
... Approximately 104 h of sounds were recorded at the River Project site, yielding 44 different types of sound; 60 h were recorded at the Tivoli Bays site, yielding 18 different types of sound (selected sounds are represented in Figures 3, 4). Spectrograms and waveforms of representative fish, biological, nonbiological, and unknown sounds recorded during this study are shown in Figure 2. Two common sounds at the River Project site were categorized as fish sounds and were identified as originating from striped cusk-eels Ophidion marginatum and oyster toadfish Opsanus tau based on our previous experience working with these species (Mann et al. 1997;Rountree and Bowers-Altman 2002;Rountree et al. 2003b). The sounds of two species, the brown bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus and channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, were identified at the Tivoli Bays site through auditions of captured specimens (see below). ...
Although soniferous fishes have been studied in many different parts of the world, very few studies have been conducted in North American freshwater systems. The purpose of this study was to catalog and identify types of underwater sounds in the Hudson River, New York. We recorded underwater sounds with an autonomous underwater listening system consisting of a hydrophone, digital sound recorder, and weatherproof housing. Approximately 164 h of recordings were made from two sites located along the Hudson River during 2003. One site was located near the mouth of the river on Manhattan Island. The second site was located 153 km upriver within Tivoli Bays at the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Additional manned recordings and sound auditioning of captured fishes were conducted in 2004 to identify biological and unknown sounds from Tivoli Bays. In all, we recorded 62 different sounds. Only four sounds could be identified to fish species: Oyster toadfish Opsanus tau, striped cusk-eel Ophidion marginatum, brown bullhead Ameiurus nebulosus, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus. An additional 21 sounds were categorized as biological, 5 as nonbiological, and 32 as unknown. We believe that many of the sounds classified as biological and unknown are in fact produced by fishes but could not be identified due to the scarcity of studies on the sound production of freshwater and estuarine fishes of the Hudson River. Future research focused on the identification of these unknown underwater sounds will provide new insights into the ecology of the Hudson River. The diversity of underwater sounds we recorded in the Hudson River strongly suggests that sound production is an important behavior in aquatic systems and that passive acoustics can be an important new tool for the study of the river's ecology.
... The ophidiid Ophidion rochei Mü ller, 1845 lives in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black seas, primarily on sandy muddy bottoms, from the intertidal zone to 90 m depth (Matallanas, 1979). Like many Ophidion species, this carnivore (Matallanas, 1980) hides in the sand during the day and is active at night (Bacescu et al., 1957), a char- acteristic that could be associated with its soundproducing abilities for finding mates (Mann et al., 1997, Parmentier et al., 2006. A particular morphological characteristic of the eel-like Ophidiinae is the pelvic fins, which are located far forward and supported by an anterior extension of the pectoral girdle (Nielsen et al., 1999). ...
Pelvic fins in Ophidion rochei are reduced to four rod-like structures situated at the ventral jaws. While the fish is swimming, they make continuous sweeping movements on the bottom. This paper examines and describes the anatomy of the pelvic fins to determine the possible functions of these appendages in relation to the mode of life of this fish species. The pelvic fins of O. rochei show strong similarities with barbels because they have identical sensory cell types, (taste buds, solitary chemosensory cells, and goblet cells), innervations and sensory function. Having nocturnal habits, specialization of pelvic fins in O. rochei corresponds to a supporting role to the life in dark environment. J. Morphol., 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Passive acoustics provides a near perfect ocean observatory sensor for biological activity in fishes. For species whose sounds have been documented, we can use passive acoustic recording to learn about their ecology. In this chapter we review the history of the development of passive acoustics research on fishes. Today, fish passive acoustic monitoring is in a rapid stage of development as an additional tool for fisheries research. The latest studies have focused on temporal and spatial patterns of sound production of fishes, including many commercially important species such as groupers and cods. These studies have been conducted with long-term fixed passive acoustic recorders and more recently with gliders and other autonomous platforms. These methods are complementary, as long-term recorders provide excellent temporal coverage and gliders provide excellent spatial coverage. The greatest impediment to further advance is that for most fishes we still do not know what sounds they make. We suggest that miniature acoustic tags may be one way to increase our library of known fish sounds. The main challenges remaining are the development of tools to automatically analyze large datasets, and experimental studies to enable quantification of fish numbers and spawning using passive acoustics.
Fishes have evolved multiple mechanisms for sound production, many
5 of which utilize sonic muscles that vibrate the swimbladder or the rubbing of bony
6 elements. Sonic muscles are among the fastest muscles in vertebrates and typically
7 drive the swimbladder to produce one sound cycle per contraction. These muscles
8 may be extrinsic, typically extending from the head to the swimbladder, or intrinsic,
9 likely a more-derived condition, in which muscles attach exclusively to the bladder
10 wall. Recently discovered in Ophidiiform fishes, slow muscles stretch the swim-
11 bladder and associated tendons, allowing sound production by rebound (cock and
12 release). In glaucosomatids, fast muscles produce a weak sound followed by a
13 louder one, again produced by rebound, which may reflect an intermediate in the
14 evolution of slow to superfast sonic muscles. Historically, the swimbladder has
15 been modeled as an underwater resonant bubble. We provide evidence for an
16 alternative hypothesis, namely that bladder sounds are driven as a forced rather than
17 a resonant response, thus accounting for broad tuning, rapid damping, and direc-
18 tionality of fish sounds. Cases of sounds that damp slowly, an indication of reso-
19 nance, are associated with tendons or bones that continue to vibrate and hence drive
20 multiple cycles of swimbladder sound. Stridulation sounds, best studied in catfishes
21 and damselfishes, are produced, respectively, as a series of quick jerks causing
22 rubbing of a ribbed process against a rough surface or rapid jaw closing mediated
23 by a specialized tendon. A cladogram of sonic fishes suggests that fish sound
24 production has arisen independently multiple times.
We describe the diet composition of Tursiops truncatus (Bottlenose Dolphin) from South Carolina waters. Stomach contents of 136 dolphins stranded dead between 2000 and 2006 were examined. Eighty-two dolphin stomachs contained food items and formed the basis for this study. The emphasis of this study was to compare the stomach contents of dolphins that bore evidence of human interaction but were otherwise healthy with those that appeared to die of natural causes. Forty-two prey species representing 24 families were identified. Dolphins fed predominantly on smaller-sized benthic and demersal fish species. Diets were primarily comprised of members of the family Sciaenidae, with Stellifer lanceolatus (Star Drum) being the most abundant species quantitatively. Lolliguncula brevis (Brief Squid) was the most frequently observed prey item. Overall, dolphins that appeared to have died from natural causes consumed similar species of fish and squid to those that exhibited signs of human interaction. This study represents the first quantitative analysis of prey species comprising the diet of Bottlenose Dolphins found in South Carolina waters.
Juveniles, females, and males of Ophidion rochei share similar external morphology, probably because they are mainly active in the dark, which reduces the role of visual cues. Their internal sonic apparatuses, however, are complex: three pairs of sonic muscles, and highly modified vertebrae and ribs are involved in sound production. The sonic apparatus of males differs from juveniles and females in having larger swimbladder plates (modified ribs associate with the swimbladder wall) and sonic muscles, a modified swimbladder shape and a mineralized structure called the "rocker bone" in front of the swimbladder. All of these male traits appear at the onset of sexual maturation. This article investigates the relationship between morphology and sounds in male O. rochei of different sizes. Despite their small size range total length (133-170 mm TL), the five specimens showed pronounced differences in sound-production apparatus morphology, especially in terms of swimbladder shape and rocker bone development. This observation was reinforced by the positive allometry measured for the rocker bone and the internal tube of the swimbladder. The differences in morphology were related to marked differences in sound characteristics (especially frequency and pulse duration). These results suggest that male calls carry information about the degree of maturity. Deprived of most visual cues, ophidiids probably have invested in other mechanisms to recognize and distinguish among individual conspecifics and between ophidiid species. As a result, their phenotypes are externally similar but internally very different. In these taxa, the great variability of the sound production apparatus means this complex system is a main target of environmental constraints. J. Morphol., 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
We conducted a preliminary study of the reproductive behaviour and soniferous activity of the striped cusk-eel, Ophidion marginatum. Three female (225-263 mm TL) and six male (160-193 mm TL) cusk-eels were held in a flow-through tank under ambient conditions from 22 July - 22 September 1989. Cusk-eels remained burrowed during the day and emerged at sunset at the onset of courtship and spawning behaviour. All spawning was completed within 2-h after sunset. Eggs were encased in a clear gelatinous mass that gradually expanded until breaking up after about 24 hours. Eggs hatched in 36 hours. The male cusk-eels produced croaking sounds before and during courtship and spawning. Calling was often initiated while cusk-eels were still partially or entirely burrowed. Sounds consisted of 1-27 pulses between 500 and 1800 Hz. These sounds have previously been described as "chatter" from field recordings and were mistakenly attributed to the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis. Field recordings of cusk-eel choruses were made during August and September 2000. Calling began just before sunset and subsided within 2-h after sunset in agreement with our laboratory observations.
Also see http://www.fishecology.org/soniferous/ophidion.htm
Many fishes, including groupers, produce sounds associated with mating behavior; recording and analyzing the occurrence of these sounds can provide long time-series records of grouper use of spawning habitat. Red hind Epinephelus guttatus sound production was recorded on spawning aggregation sites off the west coast of Puerto Rico and at Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Audio/video recordings were used to identify a species-specific sound produced by male red hind, most commonly during territorial patrols, and also during interactions with females. This sound is low in frequency (50 to 400 Hz) and consists of a series of pulses repeated at a variable rate. Long-term acoustic recorders were placed off the west coast of Puerto Rico at Abrir La Sierra and at Mona Island to record the timing of red hind sound production from January through March. Red hind sounds were detected at all times of the day, with peaks in sound production just before dusk. Monthly peaks in sound production were evident in each time series, but the monthly peak in sound production at Abrir La Sierra was 6 d later than the peak at Mona Island, suggesting that the timing of spawning of these 2 aggregations, while on a lunar schedule, was not broadly synchronized during this time period. This research lays the groundwork for both long-term monitoring and mapping of red hind spawning sites that will be useful for managing spawning aggregations, especially in remote areas.
An extremely wide variety of fish taxa produce sound. Sound production behavior provides an opportunity to study various aspects of fish biology, such as spawning behavior and habitat selection, in a noninvasive manner. Passive acoustics is an active area of ichthyological research. However, fish bioacousticians have generally not published their research in the fisheries literature. Therefore, fisheries scientists may not be fully aware of progress being made in this field or of potential uses for passive acoustic techniques. In this paper, I discuss the evolutionary, physiological, and behavioral aspects of sound production by fishes; investigate the publication patterns of research on fish sound production; review the literature on the application of passive acoustic methods to fisheries research; and suggest ways of designing passive acoustic surveys to optimize the quantity and quality of information obtained. Passive acoustic methods can be an attractive alternative or supplement to traditional fisheries assessment techniques because they are noninvasive, can be conducted at low cost, and can cover a large study area at high spatial and temporal resolution. However, as in all fisheries surveys, research questions should be defined clearly at the outset and careful planning is necessary to obtain the data required to address those questions.
Most passive acoustics studies focus on daily and seasonal timing and location of choruses of calling fish, particularly sciaenids. Because male toadfish Opsanus spp. are stationary for extended periods, it is possible to extract detailed information about their calls and interactions, making them a powerful model for passive acoustics studies on commercially important species. Toadfishes of both sexes produce a short, pulsatile agonistic grunt, and males produce a “boatwhistle” advertisement call for male-male competition and to attract females. We identify unseen vocal individuals (oyster toadfish O. tau and Gulf toadfish O. beta) near a stationary hydrophone and describe call variability and changes over short- and long-term periods, source levels, call propagation, and directionality. Calls exhibit a directional pattern related to the heart-shaped swim bladder morphology, generating a maximal level behind the fish; grunt frequency spectra allow differentiation of individual callers over multiweek periods. Boatwhistle parameters of oyster toadfish calls change geographically, seasonally, and with temperature, and males call day and night. The Gulf toadfish call rate increases during twilight, when individuals produce shorter and simpler calls. Finally, nearby calling males compete acoustically by increasing their calling rates or producing a grunt (an acoustic tag) during another male's boatwhistle. Toadfishes have been successful models for addressing numerous questions in unseen fish by means of passive acoustics.
Des sons ont été enregistrés sur la côte atlantique française, dans des bassins de terre alimentés en eau de mer. Ils sont caractérisés par des séries continues de sons espacés très régulièrement. Chaque son est composé de un à quatre pulses, chaque pulse ayant une durée de 7,8 ms. Les fréquences principales de ces sons se situent en dessous de 350 Hz. En raison des caractéristiques très particulières de ces sons, de leur modulation temporelle en séries continues, de leur provenance et de leur très grande similitude avec les sons produits par l'anguille américaine (Anguilla rostrata), nous les attribuons à l'anguille européenne (Anguilla anguilla). Pour citer cet article : J.P. Lagardère, B. Ernande, C. R. Biologies 327 (2004).
The sounds were recorded in coastal ponds off the French Atlantic coast. They are characterized by continuous series of regularly spaced sounds, each sound being composed of one to four pulses of 7.8-ms duration. The main frequencies of these sounds are under 350 Hz. Due to the special characteristics of these sounds, their temporal patterning, their coastal pond provenance and their close similarity to sounds made by the American eel (Anguilla rostrata), we attribute them to the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). To cite this article: J.P. Lagardère, B. Ernande, C. R. Biologies 327 (2004).
Male weakfish, Cynoscion regalis, produce drumming sounds with sonic muscles that vibrate the swim bladder, and a second sound dubbed “chatter,” circumstantially linked to weakfish, is likely produced by cusk-eels (family Ophidiidae.) These sounds have been recorded in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island from early June to early September since 1965. At Middlebridge on the Pettaquamscutt River (Narrow River) there are typically 8 to 14 callers (“chattering”) present within a season, based on spectrographic and amplitude signatures. A typical chatter is a train of pulses with durations of up to 2.4 seconds with most energy between 800 Hz to 1800 Hz. Drumming consists of shorter pulse trains of lower pitch. Drumming is present in the spring, and chatter is present in the spring and summer. It was possible to identify individual chatterers throughout a season, and sound data suggest that individual fish are relatively stationary within separate ranges.
Spawning site selection by spotted seatrout and black drum was studied by locating drumming aggregations through the use of a hydrophone. From March 1987 to October 1990, 315 sound observations were made to identify and characterize spawning seasons and environmental requirements of both species in the Barataria, Caminada, and eastern Timbalier Bay systems of Louisiana. The sounds produced by the spawning aggregations were identified and verified against known recordings. Spawning was verified on several occasions by capturing and rearing zygotes (eggs) into identifiable larvae. Spotted seatrout formed drumming aggregations from late May to early October at salinities ranging from 7.0 to 25.8 ppt and temperatures from 24.5 to 33.5 C. Black drum formed drumming aggregations between January and April in salinities from 10.0 to 27.0 ppt and temperatures from 15.0 to 24.0C. Large drumming aggregations of spotted seatrout were located from 1800 to 2400h and from 1800 to 2200h for black drum. Spotted seatrout aggregation size was highly correlated with water temperature and for black drum with dissolved oxygen concentrations. Spawning sites for both species were frequently located in deep moving water between barrier islands as well as in channels in open water where water depth ranged from 3 to 50 m. Spawning site selection depended on a particular range of environmental conditions and spawning locations varied seasonally and yearly depending upon hydrological variation.
The anatomy of otophysic structures associated with the swimbladders of Carapus bermudensis, Onuxodon parvibrachium, and O. margaritiferae is strikingly similar to that of certain ophidiids and indicates common origins and close affinities between carapids and ophidiids. The suggested function of these structures is the production of sound. The apparent inquiline habits, lack of sexual dimorphism in sound-producing mechanisms, and specialized larval structures of carapids support the nominal separation of these families.