Passive acoustic recording of Ophidion rochei calling activity in Calvi Bay (France)

Abstract

Passive acoustic recording (PAR) systems are non‐invasive and allow researchers to collect data over large spatial and/or temporal scales. As 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, found in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, is a sand‐dwelling species, meaning that the behavior of this cryptic 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 whether or not male calls are linked to reproduction behaviors. If so, PAR would allow a detailed description of the seasonal and daily rhythms in O. rochei reproduction behavior. 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°34′48′′ N, 8°43′43′′ 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.

‘Posidonia meadows calling’: a ubiquitous fish sound with monitoring potential

“…In addition, PAM allows the investigation of the presence of cryptic species (Kéver et al. ), which is of particular interest in habitats where the visibility is low and/or underwater visual census are arduous to conduct such as in Posidonia meadows. PAM is therefore highly promising for habitat management, but in coastal habitats it also faces the challenge linked to the impact of noise from a variety of human activities.…”

Sexual dimorphism in the sonic system and otolith morphology of Neobythites gilli (Ophidiiformes)

“…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, ; Parmentier et al ., ; Kéver et al ., ), for carapid fishes that mostly live inside different invertebrate hosts during the day (Parmentier & Vandewalle, , ), or for dinematichthyid species that are cave dwelling, often in reef environments (Wourms & Bayne, ; Møller & Schwarzhans, ). The second important characteristic is related to way of life.…”

Sound production and sonic apparatus in deep-living cusk-eels (Genypterus chilensis and Genypterus maculatus)

“…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.…”

“…These features clearly support the importance of sonic communication in the Ophidiiformes (Fine et al, 2018(Fine et al, , 2007Nguyen et al, 2008). Since many species live in deep water (Nielsen et al, 1999) sound recordings have only been made for a few shallow species from the Carapidae (Kéver et al, 2014c;Parmentier et al, 2016aParmentier et al, , 2016bParmentier et al, , 2018bParmentier et al, , 2003 and Ophidiidae (Kéver et al, 2016Mooney et al, 2016;Rountree and Bowers-Altman, 2002).…”