Article

Potential for use of passive acoustic monitoring of piranhas in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in Peru

September 2018
Freshwater Biology 65(1)

DOI:10.1111/fwb.13185

Authors:

Rodney A. Rountree

The Fish Listener

Francis Juanes

University of Victoria

• Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can be an effective tool in the identification of fishes and mapping of their temporal and spatial distribution patterns and thereby aids in ecosystem management in remote locations. However, to date measurements of the acoustic properties of piranha have been primarily made in aquaria on captive specimens obtained through the aquarium trade. Data on the sound production of wild piranha taken under natural field conditions would enhance PAM applications. • Piranha captured as part of routine annual monitoring by Operation Wallacea within the Pacaya–Samiria National Reserve in Peru were auditioned for sound production prior to release. Auditioning was done by gently holding a fish underwater in the river near a suspended hydrophone, thus recordings included the piranha sound as well as natural ambient sound. • Seventy‐nine per cent of the 129 auditioned piranha, including Pygocentrus nattereri, Serrasalmus maculatus, Serrasalmus cf. sanchezi and an unidentified Serrasalmus spp. complex, produced sounds consisting of 2 to 23 barks in a sequential series. Sound production by S. maculatus and S. cf. sanchezi are reported for the first time. Bark characteristics exhibited high variation within bark series of individual fish. Piranha could not be distinguished by single variables but did exhibit significant multivariate differences. The relationship of several variables to fish size also differed significantly among species. Measurements of within‐fish variation and bark series pattern attributes were found to be useful for discrimination of sounds among piranha species. • We demonstrate that closely related species of piranha can be distinguished by their sounds under natural acoustic conditions based on multivariate analyses, suggesting that passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can be an effective tool for ecosystem management in the Amazon. More broadly, our study also suggests (a) the need to report more detailed statistical descriptions of fish sounds, including measures of within‐fish variation, (b) the importance of describing characteristics of sound series produced by fishes in addition to those of individual sound types and (c) the need to deposit museum voucher specimens to anchor specific sounds to specific individuals.

Hunting, Fighting, or Playing with Bubbles: Possible Usage and Acoustic Characteristics of Bubble Burst Sounds Produced by the Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)

Article

Jul 2022

Acoustic characteristics of bubble production by an odontocete were documented for the first time. Bubble sounds produced by the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) were recorded incidentally as part of a survey of fish sounds in the Pacaya–Samiria National Reserve of Peru on six dates between 4 and 24 July 2012. Dolphins were observed to periodically produce large clouds of bubbles underneath or near the survey boat (averaging 7/survey or 8/h) as it drifted through areas of actively foraging dolphins. The bubble production was classified as bubble bursts due to their similarity to bubble bursts produced by other cetaceans. Bubble burst sounds had a mean peak frequency of 402 Hz and duration of 8.9 s (n = 51). Bubble bursts were temporally clustered with an average interval of 169 s (0.1 to 1,187 s) between bursts. Bubble bursts were disproportionately more likely to be present when fish sounds were also present, but it is not known if the association was due to predation or other factors. A review of the literature finds similar bubble production has been reported in at least 14 other species of cetaceans (4 mysticetes and 10 odontocetes). Most are commonly associated with play, surprise, agonistic, and foraging behaviors. We discuss each of these possibilities and conclude that Amazon river dolphin bubble burst behavior is most likely related to foraging or aggressive behavior because the behavior occurred in feeding areas and appeared to be directed at the drifting boat. We further propose a novel hypothesis that the bubble bursts are a hunting strategy used to disperse prey associated with floating vegetation mats and other forms of drifting materials used by fishes for shelter. Future research is needed to better understand the behavior associated with bubble production by the Amazon river dolphin.

Freshwater Ecoacoustics – A New Addition to the Limnologists' Methods Toolkit

Article

Apr 2022

Monitoring freshwater systems can prove difficult. Sampling regimes can influence outcomes by attracting or scaring target taxa and in extreme circumstances can injure the species. Ecoacoustics—an emerging discipline focusing on the ecological investigation of environmental sound—can overcome these difficulties and provide a continuous data stream which can facilitate detection of environmental change. Freshwater systems can be surprisingly noisy environments, with an estimated 10–20% of fish taxa being able to produce sounds. In addition, a large number of aquatic beetle and hemiptera taxa are soniferous (meaning they produce sound), as are a subset of caddisflies and dragonflies. Sound can also give an indication of sediment transport and flow, including changes in channel geomorphology. Gas exchange could also be detected using underwater microphones, termed hydrophones. Finally, noise can be monitored, both as a proxy for other threats, but also as a direct driver of ecosystem stress. In this chapter, we introduce the main sources of sounds in inland waters and a history of the research behind these. We discuss the concept of ecoacoustics—which relates to bioacoustics just like ecology relates to biology—and introduce analysis methods. We highlight current frontiers in ecoacoustic research, such as using AI to automatically classify and count sound events, analysis methods that detect change in entire soundscapes, and highlight theoretical concepts that can link sound to ecological conditions. Ecoacoustic research, especially in freshwater environments, has some key theoretical and technical knowledge gaps. These relate to spatial heterogeneity in underwater sounds, but also to large data volumes that are created by any soundscape applications. We close the chapter by discussing the use of and engagement with ecoacoustics in an art-science context.

Acoustic homogeneity in the piranha Serrasalmus maculatus

Article

Dec 2020

Different studies suggest some social calls could be used in fish identification if their specificity is unambiguously assessed. Sounds of different populations of piranhas Serrasalmus maculatus Kner, 1858 were recorded to determine their homogeneity between rivers inside a single basin (Araguari and Grande River, upper Paraná River basin) and between separated basins (Amazon and Paraná basins). All fish from the different populations produced sounds with similar acoustic features. Consequently, the populations were not discernible based on individual sound characteristics. This high homogeneity between sounds from different populations indicates their usefulness for conservation projects using passive acoustic monitoring in piranhas. Moreover, it supports acoustic features could be used as complementary key characteristics in taxonomic studies. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Six steps towards operationalising freshwater ecoacoustic monitoring

Article

Jan 2020

• Applications in bioacoustics and its sister discipline ecoacoustics have increased exponentially over the last decade. However, despite knowledge about aquatic bioacoustics dating back to the times of Aristotle and a vast amount of background literature to draw upon, freshwater applications of ecoacoustics have been lagging to date. • In this special issue, we present nine studies that deal with underwater acoustics, plus three acoustic studies on water‐dependent birds and frogs. Topics include automatic detection of freshwater organisms by their calls, quantifying habitat change by analysing entire soundscapes, and detecting change in behaviour when organisms are exposed to noise. • We identify six major challenges and review progress through this special issue. Challenges include characterisation of sounds, accessibility of archived sounds as well as improving automated analysis methods. Study design considerations include characterisation analysis challenges of spatial and temporal variation. The final key challenge is the so far largely understudied link between ecological condition and underwater sound. • We hope that this special issue will raise awareness about underwater soundscapes as a survey tool. With a diverse array of field and analysis tools, this issue can act as a manual for future monitoring applications that will hopefully foster further advances in the field.

Fish Sound Production Research: Historical Practices and Ongoing Challenges

Conference Paper

Jun 2023

Even with widespread evidence of the ecological importance of fish sounds for signaling and communication, and an increasing awareness of the negative impacts of anthropogenic sound, research into fish sound production still faces ongoing challenges limiting growth. To acquire quantitative data on research into fish sounds and assess topics related to their study, a systematized review was conducted to survey over 3000 references for published examinations of sound production by fish species. Additional information was further extracted on the study of marine, subtropical species from a subset of the assembled references. The review findings showed that the rate of soniferous fish species discovery remains inefficient for understanding even a sizeable portion of the behaviors of the 34900 extant fish species known to exist. In the literature surveyed, there was also no standardized sound nomenclature, fish species were not frequently tested in multiple environments, and sound visualizations were inconsistently provided. Advancements in these areas would improve the ability to document, describe, and synthesize fish sounds, which would in turn increase understanding of their global scope and the anthropogenic threats that they face.

Soundscape Maps of Soniferous Fishes Observed From a Mobile Glider

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2022

Most passive acoustic studies of the soundscape rely on fixed recorders, which provide good temporal resolution of variation in the soundscape, but poor spatial coverage. In contrast, a mobile recording device can show variation in the soundscape over large spatial areas. We used a Liquid Robotics SV2 wave glider fitted with a tow body with a passive acoustic recorder and hydrophone, to survey and record the soundscape of the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina (United States). Recordings were analyzed using power spectral band (PSB) sums in frequencies associated with soniferous fish species in the families Sciaenidae (drums and croakers), Ophidiidae (cusk-eels), Batrachoididae (toadfish), Triglidae (sea robins), and Serranidae (groupers). PSB sums were plotted as the wave glider moved offshore and along the coast, came back inshore, and circled artificial and natural reefs. The soundscape in water <20 m was dominated by nocturnal fish choruses with PSB sums > 120 dB re 1 μPa ² : a Sciaenidae mixed-species chorus, an unknown “grunt” chorus, an unknown “buzz” chorus, and an Ophidiidae chorus. The Ophidiidae and unknown “buzz” fish choruses dominated in the range of 1600–3200 Hz and were similar in sound pressure level (SPL) to the US Navy recordings made at Cape Lookout (136 dB in 2017 vs. 131 dB in 1943). In deeper water (27–30 m), we recorded Triglidae “honks,” oyster toadfish “boat whistles,” Sciaenidae “booms” and “clucks,” and grouper “growls.” We recorded a nocturnal 5600–Hz signal while the glider was passing near known live bottom reefs and artificial reefs. Vessel noise (100–200 Hz) was part of the soundscape in shipping lanes as large cargo vessels passed by the glider. Rainfall and thunder were also part of the soundscape. The maximum SPL observed (148 dB re 1 μPa) occurred during a mixed-species Sciaenidae fish chorus near Cape Lookout that was dominated by unknown “grunt” calls. Passive acoustic monitoring from mobile platforms can be used to discover and map the locations of fish choruses, identify areas of their habitat use, and locate previously unknown locations of reefs and fish spawning areas during ocean surveys.

Collective behaviour of the European minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) is influenced by signals of differing acoustic complexity

Article

May 2021
BEHAV PROCESS

Collective behaviour, such as shoaling in fish, benefits individuals through a variety of activities such as social information exchange and anti-predator defence. Human driven disturbance (e.g. anthropogenic noise) is known to affect the behaviour and physiology of individual animals, but the disruption of social aggregations of fish remains poorly understood. Anthropogenic noise originates from a variety of activities and differs in acoustic structure, dominant frequencies, and spectral complexity. The response of groups of fish may differ greatly, depending on the type of noise, and how it is perceived (e.g. threatening or attractive). In a controlled laboratory study, high resolution video tracking in combination with fine scale acoustic mapping was used to investigate the response of groups of European minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) to signals of differing acoustic complexity (sinewave tones vs octave band noise) under low (150 Hz) and high (2200 Hz) frequencies. Fish startled and decreased their mean group swimming speed under all four treatments, with low frequency sinewave tones having the greatest influence on group behaviour. The shoals exhibited spatial avoidance during both low frequency treatments, with more time spent in areas of lower acoustic intensity than expected. This study illustrates how noise can influence the spatial distribution and social dynamics within groups of fish, and due to the high potential for freshwater aquatic environments to be influenced by anthropogenic activity, wider consequences for populations should be further investigated.

Origin and evolution of sound production in Serrasalmidae

Article

Jul 2019

Among piranhas, sound production is known in carnivorous species, whereas herbivorous species were thought to be mute. Given that these carnivorous sonic species have a complex sonic apparatus, we hypothesize that intermediate forms could be found in other serrasalmid species. The results highlight the evolutionary transition from a simple sound-producing mechanism without specialized sonic structures to a sonic mechanism involving large, fast-contracting sonic muscles. Hypaxial muscles in basal herbivores primarily serve locomotion, but some fibres cause sound production during swimming accelerations, meaning that these muscles have gained a dual function. Sound production therefore seems to have been acquired through exaptation, i.e. the development of a new function (sound production) in existing structures initially shaped for a different purpose (locomotion). In more derived species (Catoprion and Pygopristis), some fibres are distinguishable from typical hypaxial muscles and insert directly on the swimbladder. At this stage, the primary function (locomotion) is lost in favour of the secondary function (sound production). In the last stage, the muscles and insertion sites are larger and the innervation involves more spinal nerves, improving calling abilities. In serrasalmids, the evolution of acoustic communication is characterized initially by exaptation followed by adaptive evolution.

Use of bioacoustics in species identification: Piranhas from genus Pygocentrus (Teleostei: Serrasalmidae) as a case study

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2020
PLOS ONE

The genus Pygocentrus contains three valid piranha species (P. cariba, P. nattereri and P. piraya) that are allopatric in tropical and subtropical freshwater environments of South America. This study uses acoustic features to differentiate the three species. Sounds were recorded in P. cariba, two populations of P. nattereri (red-and yellow-bellied) and P. piraya; providing sound description for the first time in P. cariba and P. piraya. Calls of P. cariba were distinct from all the other studied populations. Red-and yellow-bellied P. nattereri calls were different from each other but yellow-bellied P. nattereri calls were similar to those of P. piraya. These observations can be explained by considering that the studied specimens of yellow-bellied P. nattereri have been wrongly identified and are actually a sub-population of P. piraya. Morphological examinations and recent fish field recordings in the Araguari River strongly support our hypothesis. This study shows for the first time that sounds can be used to discover identification errors in the teleost taxa.

Influence of acoustics on the collective behaviour of a shoaling freshwater fish

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2020

1. Understanding how collective behaviour of animals is influenced by anthropogenic activity is important for their conservation in an increasingly urbanised world. River infrastructure, e.g. for transport and electricity generation, and associated construction and operation, produce sound that can disrupt ecological processes. 2. Adopting a reductionist manipulative experimental approach using Eurasian minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) as a model shoaling species, we compared the response of individuals and groups of five fish to a broadband acoustic stimulus in a tank containing still water. 3. Four metrics were calculated 10 min immediately before (control – sound stimulus absent) and during the acoustic treatment: (1) swimming speed, (2) persistence of swim paths, (3) cohesion of the group, and (4) orientation of group members. 4. On presentation of the stimulus, groups exhibited a consistent escape response compared to individuals for which behaviour was more variable. Thereafter, individuals swam faster and their swim paths were less persistent than during the control; no difference was observed for groups. Conversely, group integrity became more cohesive and members were more likely to orient in a common direction during the treatment compared to the control. 5. This study provides insight into the importance of collective behaviour of fish in relation to antipredator-like response to anthropogenic noise. Short-term shifts in behaviour are context specific, and depend on whether fish are members of a shoal or solitary. The results indicate the potential for negative impacts of unnatural sound on the ecology of shoaling species that inhabit engineered freshwater environments.

Yellow-eyed piranhas produce louder sounds than red-eyed piranhas in an invasive population of Serrasalmus marginatus

Article

Sep 2020
J FISH BIOL

Serrasalmus marginatus is a piranha species native from the lower Paraná River basin and invasive in the upper Paraná River basin since the 1980s. In piranhas, sounds of different species have different features. The aim of this study was to investigate if the sounds produced by this species could be used to distinguish two morphotypes: red and yellow-eyes S. marginatus from the Araguari River (upper Paraná River basin). All the temporal and frequency features of the sounds were equivalent in both groups of eye colour; it corresponds to the species-specific signature described for S marginatus. However, the amplitude features were all statistically different between red and yellow eyes piranhas. Yellow-eyes specimens produced louder sounds. In different fish species, colour change in eyes can be due to the absence or the presence of a dominant allele. It can also be involved in social rank or during reproduction. Different hormones and neuropeptides can modulate vocal features. We hypothesize that a mutation or different hormonal concentrations could explain both sound amplitude and eye colour playing a role in animal communication in S. marginatus.

Singing streams: Describing freshwater soundscapes with the help of acoustic indices

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2020

• Understanding soundscapes, that is, the totality of sounds within a location, helps to assess nature in a more holistic way, providing a novel approach to investigating ecosystems. To date, very few studies have investigated freshwater soundscapes in their entirety and none across a broad spatial scale. • In this study, we recorded 12 freshwater streams in South East Queensland continuously for three days and calculated three acoustic indices for each minute in each stream. We then used principal component analysis of summary statistics for all three acoustic indices to investigate acoustic properties of each stream and spatial variation in their soundscapes. • All streams had a unique soundscape with most exhibiting diurnal variation in acoustic patterns. Across these sites, we identified five distinct groups with similar acoustic characteristics. We found that we could use summary statistics of AIs to describe daytimes across streams as well. Most difference in stream soundscapes was observed during the daytime with significant variation in soundscapes both between hours and among sites. • Synthesis and Application. We demonstrate how to characterize stream soundscapes by using simple summary statistics of complex acoustic indices. This technique allows simple and rapid investigation of streams with similar acoustic properties and the capacity to characterize them in a holistic and universal way. While we developed this technique for freshwater streams, it is also applicable to terrestrial and marine soundscapes.

Origin and evolution of sound production in Serrasalmidae

Article

Jul 2019

Developing Two Non-invasive Survey Methods for Freshwater Ecosystems: Environmental DNA and Ecoacoustics

Thesis

Full-text available

Jan 2023

Jack Greenhalgh

Globally, freshwater biodiversity has declined by 81% in the last 45 years. Furthermore, wetlands are disappearing three times faster than rainforests. In the UK, 75% of ponds have been lost due to land-use change in the last century. It is therefore imperative to act quickly to conserve freshwater biodiversity. Central to the effort to conserve biodiversity is the effort to monitor biodiversity. Many conventional survey methods have been developed to quantify trends in biodiversity, however, they are often labour-intensive and invasive. Two novel non-invasive survey methods, environmental DNA (eDNA) and ecoacoustics, have been shown to exploit an aquatic medium to effectively survey marine biodiversity due to the wide transport of free floating DNA and the propagation of sound waves underwater. In this thesis, I explore the use of eDNA and ecoacoustics for surveying freshwater biodiversity. I report the use of eDNA-based methods to detect the invasion fronts of an advancing signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) population in Yorkshire, UK. In addition, I use eDNA-based methods to map the distributions of invasive and endangered crayfish in Norfolk, UK, and evaluate the trade-off between reactive and proactive strategies to inform crayfish conservation. I conduct a systematic review of the freshwater bioacoustics literature and identify promising areas for future research. In addition, I co-develop the first standardised survey protocol for the collection of acoustic data from small waterbodies, and establish an open-access online repository for freshwater soundscape data. Next, I explore the diel acoustic activity cycles of temperate ponds, relate acoustic complexity to macroinvertebrate composition, and suggest guidelines for survey design. Finally, I explore the use of field recordings as a powerful tool for public engagement and science communication.

FishSounds Version 1.0: A website for the compilation of fish sound production information and recordings

Article

Dec 2022
ECOL INFORM

A quantitative inventory of global soniferous fish diversity

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022
REV FISH BIOL FISHER

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.

Sounding the Call for a Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2022

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.

Grand Challenges in Acoustic Remote Sensing: Discoveries to Support a Better Understanding of Our Changing Planet

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2022

Pond Acoustic Sampling Scheme: A draft protocol for rapid acoustic data collection in small waterbodies

Article

Full-text available

May 2021

• Freshwater conservation is vital to the maintenance of global biodiversity. Ponds are a critical, yet often under-recognized, part of this, contributing to overall ecosystem functioning and diversity. They provide habitats for a range of aquatic, terrestrial, and amphibious life, often including rare and declining species. • Effective, rapid, and accessible survey methods are needed to enable evidence-based conservation action, but freshwater taxa are often viewed as “difficult”—and few specialist surveyors are available. Datasets on ponds are therefore limited in their spatiotemporal coverage. • With the advent of new recording technologies, acoustic survey methods are becoming increasingly available to researchers, citizen scientists, and conservation practitioners. They can be an effective and noninvasive approach for gathering data on target species, assemblages, and environmental variables. However, freshwater applications are lagging behind those in terrestrial and marine spheres, and as an emergent method, research studies have employed a multitude of different sampling protocols. • We propose the Pond Acoustic Sampling Scheme (PASS), a simple protocol to allow a standardized minimal sample to be collected rapidly from small waterbodies, alongside environmental and methodological metadata. This sampling scheme can be incorporated into a variety of survey designs and is intended to allow access to a wide range of participants, without requiring complicated or prohibitively expensive equipment. • Adoption of this sampling protocol would enable consistent sound recordings to be gathered by researchers and conservation organizations, and allow the development of landscape-scale surveys, data sharing, and collaboration within an expanding freshwater ecoacoustic community—rather than individual approaches that produce incompatible datasets. The compilation of standardized data would improve the prospects for effective research into the soundscapes of small waterbodies and aid freshwater conservation efforts.

Interdisciplinary approaches to freshwater ecoacoustics

Article

Full-text available

May 2020

Freshwater ecoacoustics is an emerging field that involves underwater audio recordings to detect the presence, location, and density of species in noninvasive and unbiased ways. Conducted long-term, ecoacoustics provides information on biophysical changes and environmental patterns that can advance freshwater conservation. River Listening is an interdisciplinary research project exploring the possibilities of freshwater ecoacoustics in the conservation and management of global river systems. The project works at the intersection of art and science by investigating the cultural and biological diversity of freshwater ecosystems through real-time listening and underwater recording used for biodiversity monitoring and public engagement. We use noninvasive recording techniques with accessible hydrophone kits and participatory workshops to engage local communities in the process and outcomes. The resulting database of hydrophone recordings is used for ongoing scientific research and diverse creative projects disseminated worldwide. The artistic outcomes from River Listening are central to our public engagement efforts, which include mobile phone applications with soundscapes triggered by GPS along rivers as well as live-streaming hydrophone arrays. These artistic projects have assisted in the advancement of scientific recording techniques and ecoacoustic methods. In this article, we introduce the foundations of River Listening and acknowledge a series of artists who have pioneered the use of hydrophone recording for both scientific and artistic purposes. The integration of art and science is further explored through a case study of our workshops and sound walks that have become the core public engagement tool for River Listening. We argue that interdisciplinary approaches are critical to the emerging field of freshwater ecoacoustics and call for further collaborations between artists, scientists, and communities to record and share the soundscapes of freshwater ecosystems.

The role of freshwater bioacoustics in ecological research

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2020

Conventional methodologies used to estimate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems can be nonselective and invasive, sometimes leading to capture and potential injury of vulnerable species. Therefore, interest in noninvasive surveying techniques is growing among freshwater ecologists. Passive acoustic monitoring, the noninvasive recording of environmental sounds, has been shown to effectively survey biota in terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, knowledge of the sounds produced by freshwater species is relatively scarce. Furthermore, little is known about the representation of different freshwater taxonomic groups and habitat types within the literature. Here we present results of a systematic review of research literature on freshwater bioacoustics and identify promising areas of future research. The review showed that fish are the focal taxonomic group in 44% of published studies and were studied primarily in laboratory aquaria and lotic habitats. By contrast, lentic habitats and other taxonomic groups have received relatively little research interest. It is particularly striking that arthropods are only represented by 26% of studies, despite their significant contributions to freshwater soundscapes. This indicates a mismatch between the representation of taxonomic groups within the freshwater bioacoustic literature and their relative acoustic contribution to natural freshwater soundscapes. In addition, the review indicates an ongoing shift from behavioral studies, often with focus on a single taxonomic group, towards field‐based studies using ecoacoustic approaches. On the basis of this review we suggest that future freshwater bioacoustics research should focus on passive acoustic monitoring and arthropod sound, which would likely yield novel insights into freshwater ecosystem function and condition. This article is categorized under: Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems Water and Life > Conservation, Management, and Awareness Water and Life > Methods

Disturbance calls of five migratory Characiformes species and advertisement choruses in Amazon spawning sites

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2019

Species‐specific disturbance calls of five commercially‐important characiform species are described, the Curimatidae commonly called branquinhas: Potamorhina latior, Potamorhina altamazonica and Psectrogaster amazonica; Prochilodontidae: jaraquí Semaprochilodus insignis and curimatã Prochilodus nigricans. All species have a two‐chambered swimbladder and the sonic mechanism, present exclusively in males, utilises hypertrophied red muscles between ribs that adhere to the anterior chamber. The number of muscles is unusually plastic across species and varies from 1 to 4 pairs suggesting considerable evolution in an otherwise conservative system. Advertisement calls are produced in river confluences in the Madeira Basin during the high‐water mating season (January–February). Disturbance calls and sampling allowed recognition of underwater advertisement choruses from P. latior, S. insignis and P. nigricans. The advertisement calls of the first two species have largely similar characteristics and they mate in partially overlapping areas in the Guaporé River. However, P. latior sounds have a lower dominant frequency and it prefers to call from river confluences whereas S. insignis shoals occur mostly in the main river channel adjacent to the confluence. These results help identify and differentiate underwater sounds and evaluate breeding areas during the courtship of commercially important characids likely to be affected by two hydroelectric dams. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

How Can We Understand Freshwater Soundscapes Without Fish Sound Descriptions?

Article

Oct 2018

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.

Hearing capacities and morphology of the auditory system in Serrasalmidae (Teleostei: Otophysi)

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2018

Like all otophysan fishes, serrasalmids (piranhas and relatives) possess a Weberian apparatus that improves their hearing capacities. We compared the hearing abilities among eight species of serrasalmids having different life-history traits: herbivorous vs. carnivorous and vocal vs. mute species. We also made 3D reconstructions of the auditory system to detect potential morphological variations associated with hearing ability. The hearing structures were similar in overall shape and position. All the species hear in the same frequency range and only slight differences were found in hearing thresholds. The eight species have their range of best hearing in the lower frequencies (50-900 Hz). In vocal serrasalmids, the range of best hearing covers the frequency spectrum of their sounds. However, the broad overlap in hearing thresholds among species having different life-history traits (herbivorous vs. carnivorous and vocal vs. non-vocal species) suggests that hearing ability is likely not related to the capacity to emit acoustic signals or to the diet, i.e. the ability to detect sounds is not associated with a given kind of food. The inner ear appears to be highly conservative in this group suggesting that it is shaped by phylogenetic history or by other kinds of constraints such as predator avoidance.

Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas

Book

Full-text available

Dec 2017

The Amazon and Orinoco basins in northern South America are home to the highest concentration of freshwater fish species on earth, with more than 3,000 species allotted to 564 genera. Amazonian fishes include piranhas, electric eels, freshwater stingrays, a myriad of beautiful small-bodied tetras and catfishes, and the largest scaled freshwater fish in the world, the pirarucu. Field Guide to the Fishes of the Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas provides descriptions and identification keys for all the known genera of fishes that inhabit Greater Amazonia, a vast and still mostly remote region of tropical rainforests, seasonally flooded savannas, and meandering lowland rivers. The guide’s contributors include more than fifty expert scientists. They summarize the current state of knowledge on the taxonomy, species richness, and ecology of these fish groups, and provide references to relevant literature for species-level identifications. This richly illustrated guide contains 700 detailed drawings, 190 color photos, and 570 distribution maps, which cover all genera. An extensive and illustrated glossary helps readers with the identification keys.

Interspecific variation of warning calls in piranhas: A comparative analysis

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2016

Fish sounds are known to be species-specific, possessing unique temporal and spectral features. We have recorded and compared sounds in eight piranha species to evaluate the potential role of acoustic communication as a driving force in clade diversification. All piranha species showed the same kind of sound-producing mechanism: sonic muscles originate on vertebrae and attach to a tendon surrounding the bladder ventrally. Contractions of the sound-producing muscles force swimbladder vibration and dictate the fundamental frequency. It results the calling features of the eight piranha species logically share many common characteristics. In all the species, the calls are harmonic sounds composed of multiple continuous cycles. However, the sounds of Serrasalmus elongatus (higher number of cycles and high fundamental frequency) and S. manueli (long cycle periods and low fundamental frequency) are clearly distinguishable from the other species. The sonic mechanism being largely conserved throughout piranha evolution, acoustic communication can hardly be considered as the main driving force in the diversification process. However, sounds of some species are clearly distinguishable despite the short space for variations supporting the need for specific communication. Behavioural studies are needed to clearly understand the eventual role of the calls during spawning events.

Sound production and associated behaviors in Blacktail Shiner (Cyprinella venusta): a comparison between field and lab

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2013

Acoustic signals and associated behaviours of a number of fishes in the genus Cyprinella have been investigated and described in detail, but due to logistics, these studies have been done in the laboratory. We used C. venusta as a model for evaluating potential differ-ences in acoustic signals in field versus laboratory set-tings. In addition to this analysis, a detailed description of acoustic signals and associated behaviours was pro-duced. We found that males were the only sex to vocal-ize and did so during reproductively associated behav-iours such as courtship, aggression, and spawning. Sounds were similar in gross structure to most other species of Cyprinella in that they were composed of bursts and knocks, but differed in a number of signal parameters including acoustic frequency, pulse duration, pulse period, and pulse rate. One of the more striking findings was that the acoustic frequency distributions of both growls and knocks in C. venusta were bi-modal, a characteristic not mentioned for any other species in the genus Cyprinella. Sounds recorded in the laboratory were also found to be significantly different from those recorded in the field.

Development of the ultrastructure of sonic muscles: A kind of neoteny?

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2014
BMC EVOL BIOL

Drumming muscles of some sound-producing fish are 'champions' of contraction speed, their rate setting the fundamental frequency. In the piranha, contraction of these muscles at 150 Hz drives a sound at the same frequency. Drumming muscles of different not closely related species show evolutionary convergences. Interestingly, some characters of sonic muscles can also be found in the trunk muscles of newly hatched larvae that are able to maintain tail beat frequencies up to 100 Hz. The aim of this work was to study the development of sound production and sonic and epaxial muscles simultaneously in the red bellied piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri) to seek for possible common characteristics. Call, pulse and period durations increased significantly with the fish size, but the call dominant frequencies decreased, and the number of pulses and the call amplitude formed a bell curve. In epaxial muscles, the fibre diameters of younger fish are first positioned in the graphical slope corresponding to sonic muscles, before diverging. The fibre diameter of older fish trunk muscles was bigger, and the area of the myofibrils was larger than in sonic muscles. Moreover, in two of the biggest fish, the sonic muscles were invaded by fat cells and the sonic muscle ultrastructure was similar to the epaxial one. These two fish were also unable to produce any sound, meaning they lost their ability to contract quickly. The volume occupied by myofibrils determines the force of contraction, the volume of sarcoplasmic reticulum sets the contraction frequency, and the volume of mitochondria sets the level of sustained performance. The functional outcomes in muscles are all attributable to shifts in the proportions of those structures. A single delay in the development restricts the quantity of myofibrils, maintains a high proportion of space in the sarcoplasm and develops sarcoplasmic reticulum. High-speed sonic muscles could thus be skeletal muscles with delayed development. This hypothesis has the advantage that it could easily explain why high-speed sonic muscles have evolved so many times in different lineages.

Economy of sound production in Piranhas (Serrasalminae, Characidae): II. Functional properties of sound emitter.

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1981

Gerald Kastberger

Economy of sound production in piranhas (Serrasalminae, Characidae): I. Functional properties of sonic muscles

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1981

Gerald Kastberger

Listening to Fish Passive Acoustic Applications in Marine Fisheries

Book

Full-text available

Jan 2003

Passive acoustic technologies are those technologies that enable us to listen to and record ambient underwater sounds. Such technologies have existed for decades; however, a major initiative to develop and promote their use in fisheries applications and as an important new tool for the census and exploration of marine life is now needed. Given the significant advancement in underwater tech- nologies, passive acoustic research promises to be an important new field in fisheries and related areas/disciplines. The ability to listen to fish and other marine life allows scientists to identify, record and study underwater animals, even in the absence of visual information. Coupling passive acoustics with conventional visual monitoring and sampling techniques provides a powerful new approach to undersea research. The Sea Grant College Program has recognized the great potential of passive acoustics for fisheries and related fields, and has taken a leadership role in supporting the development of innovative new research programs using this approach. (note, glossy print copies available from the authors or MIT SeaGrant)

Phylogeny of the Serrasalmidae (Characiformes) based on mitochondrial DNA sequence

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2008

Previous studies based on DNA sequences of mitochondrial (mt) rRNA genes showed three main groups within the subfamily Serrasalminae: (1) a "pacu" clade of herbivores (Colossoma, Mylossoma, Piaractus); (2) the "Myleus" clade (Myleus, Mylesinus, Tometes, Ossubtus); and (3) the "piranha" clade (Serrasalmus, Pygocentrus, Pygopristis, Pristobrycon, Catoprion, Metynnis). The genus Acnodon was placed as the sister taxon of clade (2+3). However, poor resolution within each clade was obtained due to low levels of variation among rRNA gene sequences. Com- plete sequences of the hypervariable mtDNA control region for a total of 45 taxa, and additional sequences of 12S and 16S rRNA from a total of 74 taxa representing all genera in the family are now presented to address intragroup relationships. Control region sequences of several serrasalmid species exhibit tandem repeats of short motifs (12 to 33 bp) in the 3' end of this region, accounting for substantial length variation. Bayesian inference and maximum par- simony analyses of these sequences identify the same groupings as before and provide further evidence to support the following observations: (a) Serrasalmus gouldingi and species of Pristobrycon (non-striolatus) form a mono- phyletic group that is the sister group to other species of Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus; (b) Catoprion, Pygopristis, and Pristobrycon striolatus form a well supported clade, sister to the group described above; (c) some taxa assigned to the genus Myloplus (M. asterias, M tiete, M ternetzi, and M rubripinnis) form a well supported group whereas other Myloplus species remain with uncertain affinities (d) Mylesinus, Tometes and Myleus setiger form a monophyletic

Listening to Fish

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2006

Passive acoustics is a rapidly emerging field of marine biology that until recently has received little attention from fisheries scientists and managers. In its simplest form, it is the act of listening to the sounds made by fishes and using that information as an aid in locating fish so that their habitat requirements and behaviors can be studied. We believe that with the advent of new acoustic technologies, passive acoustics will become one of the most important and exciting areas of fisheries research in the next decade. However, a widespread lack of familiarity with the technology, methodologies, and potential of passive acoustics has hampered the growth of the field and limited funding opportunities. Herein, we provide an overview of important new developments in passive acoustics together with a summary of research, hardware, and software needs to advance the field.

Freshwater fishes and aquatic habitats in Peru: Current knowledge and conservation

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2008
AQUAT ECOSYST HEALTH

Peruvian freshwater fishes and their habitats were investigated by the Natural History Museum of San Marcos University (MHNSM) as part of a long-term project. Fishes were inventoried by sampling in main drainage basins, including coastal rivers, highland rivers, and Peru's Amazonian waters. To date, the MHNSM fish collection has approximately 300,000 specimens comprising 1000 valid species in 168 families and 8 orders. The greatest diversity lies within the Ostariophysi (80% of all species) with the dominant orders being Characiformes and Siluriformes. Characidae is the most diverse family with 22.5% of all species. Protected areas (i.e. Parks, Reserved Zones or National Reserves) have been sampled intensively providing a reasonable estimates of their fish diversity. However, our knowledge is still poor for less accessible areas. More fieldwork is needed in all of the large river basins before we can have a fuller understanding of total fish diversity. As an example of ongoing efforts, we discuss specific fish inventories in both Peruvian coastal rivers and highlands and in river systems shared with neighboring countries. In addition to Peruvian fish diversity; we discuss the state of aquatic resources and habitats in Peru's principal river basins, and current problems facing such aquatic systems (e.g. inland fisheries and extractive activities such as deforestation and gold mining). Near large cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa, fishing effort has increased considerably in the last decade, whereas catch per unit effort appears to have decreased considerably indicating that over-fishing has become locally problematic. An overview is presented of main conservation problems, including exotic species that confront aquatic ecosystems in Peru. Finally, an environmental education program is recommended to inform the general public about the value of freshwater fishes and aquatic ecosystems and the main problems such resources are facing.

Soniferous Fishes in the Hudson River

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2008

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.

Pitch Extraction and Fundamental Frequency: History and Current Techniques

Book

Full-text available

Dec 2003

David Gerhard

Pitch extraction (also called fundamental frequency estimation) has been a popular topic in many fields of research since the age of computers. Yet in the course of some 50 years of study, current techniques are still not to a desired level of accuracy and robustness. When presented with a single clean pitched signal, most techniques do well, but when the signal is noisy, or when there are multiple pitch streams, many current pitch algorithms still fail to perform well. This report presents a discussion of the history of pitch detection techniques, as well as a survey of the current state of the art in pitch detection technology.

Bioacoustic variation of swimbladder disturbance sounds in Neotropical doradoid catfishes (Siluriformes: Doradidae, Auchenipteridae): Potential morphological correlates

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2012

Swimbladder disturbance sounds of doradoid catfishes (Doradidae and Auchenipteridae) demonstrated striking waveform and spectrographic variation. We surveyed sounds of 25 doradoid species in 20 genera comparing these to sounds of four vocal outgroup catfish families. Sounds were either continuous waveforms (lacking interpulses) or pulsed (groups of pulses repeated at fixed temporal intervals). This is the first evidence for swimbladder calls with fixed interpulse patterns in catfishes. Vocal mechanism components that were similar between doradids and auchenipterids included: swimbladder shape, swimbladder dimensions and sonic muscle-somatic index. Morphological traits that showed variation among taxa and were evaluated for po-tential correlates of call diversity are: 1) diverticula (marginal outpocketings of the swimbladder with no connection to inner ear) and 2) elastic spring apparatus Müllerian rami (ESA-Mr). Within the doradid subfamilies and within the Auchenipteridae most species differed significantly in dominant frequency with frequency ranges overlapping to some extent for most. Doradid swim-bladder diverticula did not explain dominant frequency variation within the doradoid superfamily. Some doradids with conical ESA-Mr had the highest dominant frequency sounds. Auchenipterids included both relatively lower and higher dominant fre-quency sound producers but lacked diverticula and had discoidal ESA-Mr. Comparing a phylogeny of doradoid genera with out-group taxa, we infer that complex diverticula and conical ESA-Mr are derived characters within the Doradidae. Species repre-senting outgroup families produced either continuous lower dominant frequency sounds (aspredinids, mochokids and pseu-dopimelodids) or pulsed higher dominant frequency sounds (pimelodids) [Current Zoology 58 (1): 171–188, 2012].

Use of water hyacinths as shelter, foraging place and transport by young piranhas, Serrasalmus spilopleura

Article

Full-text available

Feb 1985

The water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, plays an important role in the early life of the piranha, Serrasalmus spilopleura in southeastern Brazil. Larvae and early juveniles are found by both day and night among the roots of this free floating waterweed, thus gaining shelter, a rich foraging place, and potential rafting dispersal. Piranha larvae up to 19 mm SL feed mainly on small aquatic arthropods, slowly searched for inside the root tangle; larger juveniles tend to leave the plants and patrol more open areas. At 24 mm SL young piranhas begin to clip out pieces from fins of other fishes and seek shelter in water hyacinths only at night. About 30% of the rafting clumps of water hyacinths may harbour one to three piranha larvae, providing dispersal during floods.

Sound production in red-bellied piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri, Kner): An acoustical, behavioural and morphofunctional study

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2011
J EXP BIOL

Piranhas are known to be sound-producing animals. Nevertheless, the biological significance of piranha calls remains unclear because sounds have been recorded only when specimens were held by hand or trapped in a gill net. These sounds are generated by rapid contractions of sonic muscles that insert on a broad tendon surrounding ventrally the cranial sac of the swimbladder. The piranha swimbladder is thought to play an important role in sound production as an impedance-matching device and as a resonator. However, the vibratory capacities of the cranial and caudal sacs and the exact role of both sacs in sound production remain poorly understood. In this study, three sounds were each associated to a specific behaviour. The first sound (type 1) was produced during frontal display; it had numerous pulses and lasted 140!±17 ms, with a fundamental frequency of 120±4 Hz. It corresponded to the sound made by hand-held fishes. The second sound (type 2) was produced during circling and fighting behaviour; it was a single pulse lasting 36±8 ms, with a fundamental frequency of 43±10 Hz. The third sound (type 3) corresponded to chasing behaviour and comprised three to four pulses, each lasting 3±1 ms, with a fundamental frequency of 1739±18 Hz. Using a laser vibrometer to study the swimbladder displacement when stimulated at different frequencies, it was demonstrated that the first two sounds corresponded to the swimbladder mechanism. By contrast, the third sound was associated with the jaw mechanism. The vibrometer indicated that the swimbladder is a highly damping structure, simply copying the sonic muscle contraction rate. This study provides two interesting insights. First, it shows the relationships between three kinds of piranha sound and three specific behaviours. Second, using muscle stimulation at different rates, it shows which simultaneous conditions are required for production of sound in this species. Swimbladder calls were produced by a muscle contraction rate of approximately 100 Hz because this periodicity allowed the swimbladder to vibrate. At this frequency range, the contraction-relaxation cycles of the swimbladder muscles engendered wall displacements that had short amplitudes and with only a small variability between them.

Phylogeography of the piranha genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus: Implications for the diversification of the Neotropical ichthyofauna

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2007

The phylogenetic relationships within the piranhas were assessed using mitochondrial sequences with the aim of testing several hypotheses proposed to explain the origin of Neotropical diversity (palaeogeography, hydrogeology and museum hypotheses). Sequences of the ribosomal 16S gene (510 bp) and control region (980 bp) were obtained from 15 localities throughout the main South American rivers for 21 of the 28 extant piranha species. The results indicate that the genus Serrasalmus is monophyletic and comprises three major clades. The phylogeographical analyses of these clades allowed the identification of five vicariant events, extensive dispersal and four lineage duplications suggesting the occurrence of sympatric speciation. Biogeographical patterns are consistent with the prediction made by the museum hypothesis that lineages from the Precambrian shields are older than those from the lowlands of the Amazon. The vicariant events inferred here match the distribution of the palaeoarches and several postdispersal speciation events are identified, thereby matching the predictions of the palaeogeography and hydrogeology hypotheses, respectively. Molecular clock calibration of the control region sequences indicates that the main lineages differentiated from their most recent common ancestor at 9 million years ago in the proto Amazon-Orinoco and the present rate of diversification is the highest reported to date for large carnivorous Characiformes. The present results emphasize that an interaction among geology, sea-level changes, and hydrography created opportunities for cladogenesis in the piranhas at different temporal and geographical scales.

SAS System for Statistical Graphics

Article

Feb 1993
TECHNOMETRICS

The interpretation of ecological data. A premier on classifications and ordination

Article

Jan 1984

E.C. Pielou

Acoustic Communication In Insects and Anurans – Common Problems and Diverse Solutions

Book

Jan 2002

Annotated Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of Peru

Article

Jan 1986

Hernán Ortega

Principles of Animal Communication Sunderland

Book

Jan 1998

Poissons characoïdes de l'Amazonie péruvienne 1

Article

Nov 1964

J. Gery

Descripción de 64 especies de peces cypriniformes recolectadas por Dr. K. H. Lüling en el curso de su expedición al Río Ucayali bajo y a la región de Iquitos (Amazonia peruana) en 1959/1960.Las formas nuevas para la ciencia (casi el 10 porciento de las especies recolectadas) comprenden un genero nuevo Oxybrycon, al parecer relacionado con Leptobrycon y Macropsobrycon, una especie del genero Hemigrammus, dos del genero Hyphessobrycon, un Cheirodon (como primera especie de este genero encontrada en la Amazonia peruana) y un Serrasalmus. Además 10 especies aparentemente nuevas para la región y 2 otras formas nuevas descritas en notas anteriores (vease referencias).Algunas claves de determinación se presentan en el curso de este trabajo en particular para los generos amazónicos Triportheus y Schizodon como para un grupo del genero Curimatus. Una lista de los Characoides conocidos del R. Ucayali bajo se agrega al fin del trabajo. Summary Description of 64 species of fresh‐water Fishes of the suborder Characoidei (Cypriniformes), collected by Dr. K. H. Lüling during his 1959/60 Expedition in lower Ucayali and Iquitos regions. New forms for science (about 10 per cent of the collected species) are: a new genus, Oxybrycon, which seems to be close to Leptobrycon and Macropsobrycon; a Hemigrammus‐species and 2 Hyphessobrycon‐species; a Cheirodon (the genus was not signaled from Peruvian Amazon); and a Serrasalmus. Besides, 10 species seem to be new for the concerned territory, whereas 2 other forms have been described in former papers (see References). Some identification‐Keys are given, concerning Amazonian Triportheus and Schizodon, as well as concerning one Curimatus‐group of species. Finally a list of the characoid Fishes, known to occur in the Iquitos surroundings and in the lower Ucayali, is given.

Evolution of the Neotropical Ichthyofauna. Molecular and evolutionary perspectives about the origin of fish communities in the Amazon

Book

Jan 2010

Rivers and lakes of South America host 4000 fish species representing 30% of the world freshwater fish diversity. Together with a large panel of life history traits, this diversity has thus far fascinated biologists. The biogeography of the Amazonian fishes remain poorly explored, however, by contrast with the great amount of information available for South American terrestrial biotas for which several hypothesis of diversification have been developed. Yet, recent molecular studies pointed to the importance of the orogenic activity of the Andes, the marine highstand of the late Miocene, the climatic fluctuations of the Pleistocene or headwater capture events for the dynamic of the Amazonian biodiversity. The contribution of these factors in promoting biodiversity in freshwater fishes, however, is still debated. In the present contribution, the potential impact of such events during the history of the Amazon has been addressed through a combined used of biogeographic, phylogenetic and phylogeographic approaches at both regional and local scales. Present results suggest that geographic isolation as a consequence of past habitat fragmentation during major climatic and geologic changes significantly increased the diversity of Neotropical fishes.

Schallerzeugung bei Piranhas (Serrasalminae, Characidae)

Article

Jan 1971

Hubert Markl

1. Piranhas (Serrasalmus nattereri Kner, S. rhombeus Linne, S. hollandi Eigenmann, S. striolatus Steindachner, S. elongatus Kner) produce sound by means of a swimbladder-mechanism with paired extrinsic drumming-muscles. Sound production can be released by holding the fish. 2. The biological significance of sound production could only be negatively circumscribed, not finally decided. It is not used in communal prey-attack, not for communicating alarm, not to hinder piranhas from attacking each other, not to hold congregations together and almost certainly not to communicate dominance or submission in intraspecific aggression. A rôle in reproductive behaviour seems possible. 3. Hand-held S. nattereri produce a series of 2 to 5 pulses repeatedly with a 124∓13 msec puls-duration and a puls-repetition rate of 1,25/sec. The intensityspectrum reaches from less than 100 Hz to ca. 3000 Hz, with a maximum between 100 and 300 Hz. The fundamental frequency of approximately 110 Hz is produced by the synchronous contraction of the paired muscle in either the same frequency or its half. It is the dominant frequency of resonance of the swimbladder-system. 4. The drumming-muscles have “fast” contractive properties: a directly evoked complete twitch lasts 13–18 msec. 100–125 stimuli/sec delivered in trains of 100–200 msec duration and with a train-repetition-rate of 1/sec release separate twitches with no or little mechanical summation; at 175 to 200 stimuli/sec fusion is complete. These characteristics are unchanged after removal of the swimbladder. 5. The muscular mechanisms of sound-production involving swimbladdersystems in fishes are compared and discussed with respect to the physical properties of a sound-radiating gas-bladder in water.

A Primer of Multivariate Statistics

Article

Jun 1975

Richard Jerome Harris

The interpretation of ecological data: a primer on classification and ordination

Article

Jan 1984

E.C. Pielou

Serrasalmus compressus, une espèce nouvelle du Rio Madeira, Amazonie (Pisces : Serralmidae)

Article

Jan 1991

#Serrasalmus compressus$, espèce nouvelle, est décrit du bassin du Rio Madeira en Bolivie et au Brésil. #Serrasalmus compressus$ présente, en commun avec #S. geryi$ et #S. altuvei$, le corps haut et comprimé, la tête et l'espace intermédiaire étroits, le museau allongé et pointu et des dents ectoptérigoidiennes caduques. #Serrasalmus geryi$ se différencie de #S. compressus$ et #S. altuvei$ par la présence d'une large bande noire frontale alors que les taches sont ovales à grand axe vertical chez #S. altuvei$. #Serrasalmus compressus$ est très proche de #S. geryi$ et #S. altuvei$, mais une analyse globale des caractères morphologiques permet de différencier ces trois espèces. (Résumé d'auteur)

Fine structure of the drum Muscles of the Piranha (Serrasalminae, Characidae)

Article

Jan 1978

Helga Eichelberg

The anterior and the posterior drum muscles of the piranha resemble each other in all essential fine structural aspects: myofibrils are slender; sarcomeres are short compared with those of other drum muscles; mitochondria, located in the periphery of the fibers, are numerous and show an irregular internal structure; and the sarcoplasmic reticulum is abundant. Triads appear at the level of the Z lines. The drum muscles have many motor endplates, which, however, lack the characteristic junctional-fold apparatus. No lipid substances could be demonstrated in these muscles. In the posterior drum muscle the fibers depart from their orderly longitudinal arrangement at irregular intervals.

Local degenerative changes in the drum muscles of piranhas (Serrasalminae, Characidae)

Article

Apr 1978

Helga Eichelberg

In the posterior drum muscle of the piranha structural alterations are frequently observed. Electron microscopic studies revealed a disordering of the myofibrils in these regions, accompanied by conspicuous changes in the mitochondria. As the degree of disorder increases, the mitochondrial cristae initially swell to form vesicles. Eventually the mitochondria become filled with myelin-like lamellar structures, which in many cases coalesce to form a dense outer wall. A striking concentration of lysosomes into localized masses was also characteristic of these regions.

Mise au point à propos de Serrasalmus spilopleura Kner, 1858 et réhabilitation de S. maculatus Kner, 1858 (Characidae: Serrasalminae)

Jan 2001
119

Jégu M.

Jégu, M., & dos Santos, G. M. (2001). Mise au point à propos de Serrasalmus spilopleura Kner, 1858 et réhabilitation de S. maculatus Kner, 1858 (Characidae: Serrasalminae). Cybium, 25(2), 119-143.

Additions and corrections to the list of freshwater fishes of Peru

Jan 1995
1-11

F Chang
H Ortega

Chang, F., & Ortega, H. (1995). Additions and corrections to the list of freshwater fishes of Peru. Publicaciones del Museo Historia Natural. UNMSM, pp. 1-11.

Los peces caribes de Venezuela: una aproximación a su estudio taxonómico

A Machado-Allison

Machado-Allison, A. (2002). Los peces caribes de Venezuela: una aproximación a su estudio taxonómico. Bol. Acad. C. Fís., Mat. y Nat. Vol. LXII No. 1 Marzo:35-88.

Von den stimmen der fische im Amazonas

Jan 1957
67

Meschkat A.

Raven Pro 1.4 user's manual

Jan 2010

R A Charif
L M Strickman
A M Waack

Charif, R. A., Strickman, L. M., & Waack, A. M. (2010). Raven Pro 1.4 user's manual. Ithaca, NY: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

The lima declaration on biodiversity and climate change: Contributions from science to policy for sustainable development

Jan 2017
81-90

R Bodmer
T Fang
M Antunez
P Puertas
K Chota
M Pittet
P Mayor

Bodmer, R., Fang, T., Antunez, M., Puertas, P., Chota, K., Pittet, M., … Mayor, P. (2017). Impact of recent climate fluctuations on biodiversity and people in flooded forests of the Peruvian Amazon. In L. Rodríguez, & I. Anderson (Eds.), The lima declaration on biodiversity and climate change: Contributions from science to policy for sustainable development. Technical Series No. 89 (pp. 81-90). Montreal, Canada: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Checklist of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America

M. Jégu

Raven pro: Interactive sound analysis software (Version 1.5) [Computer software

Jan 2014

Bioacoustics Research Program (2014). Raven pro: Interactive sound analysis software (Version 1.5) [Computer software]. Ithaca, NY: The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/ raven.

Serrasalminae (Pacus and piranhas)

Jan 2003
182-196

M Jégu

Jégu, M. (2003). Serrasalminae (Pacus and piranhas). In R. E. Reis, S. O. Kullander, & C. J. Ferraris Jr (Eds.), Checklist of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America (pp. 182-196). Porto Alegre, Brasil: EDIPUCRS.

Serrasalmus compressus

Jan 1991
97-108

M Jégu
E L M Leão
G M Santos

Jégu, M., Leão, E. L. M., & dos Santos, G. M. (1991). Serrasalmus compressus, une espece nouvelle du Rio Madeira, Amazonie (Pisces: Serrasalmidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 2(2), 97-108.

SAS/STAT ® 12.1 user's guide

Jan 2012

Sas Institute Inc

SAS Institute Inc (2012). SAS/STAT ® 12.1 user's guide. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc.

Field guide to the fishes of the amazon

Jan 2017

P Van Der Sleen
Albert

van der Sleen, P., & Albert, J. S., eds. (2017). Field guide to the fishes of the amazon. Orinoco and Guianas: Princeton University Press.

Potential for use of passive acoustic monitoring of piranhas in the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve in Peru

Abstract

No full-text available

Recommendations

Sounds from the Amazon: Piranha and prey