Reexamining the frequency range of hearing in silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (H. nobilis) carp

Abstract

Silver (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead (H. nobilis) carp (collectively bigheaded carp) are invasive fish that threaten aquatic ecosystems in the upper Midwest United States and the Laurentian Great Lakes. Controlling bigheaded carp is a priority of fisheries managers and one area of focus involves developing acoustic deterrents to prevent upstream migration. For an acoustic deterrent to be effective however, the hearing ability of bigheaded carp must be characterized. A previous study showed that bigheaded carp detected sound up to 3 kHz but this range is narrower than what has been reported for other ostariophysans. Therefore, silver and bighead carp frequency detection was evaluated in response to 100 Hz to 9 kHz using auditory evoked potentials (AEPs). AEPs were recorded from 100 Hz to 5 kHz. The lowest thresholds were at 500 Hz for both species (silver carp threshold: 80.6 ± 3.29 dB re 1 μPa SPLrms, bighead carp threshold: 90.5 ± 5.75 dB re 1 μPa SPLrms; mean ± SD). These results provide fisheries managers with better insight on effective acoustic stimuli for deterrent systems, however, to fully determine bigheaded carp hearing abilities, these results need to be compared with behavioral assessments.

Lagenar potentials of the vocal plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus

“…2 in both Sisneros (2007) and in Bhandiwad et al (2017)]. The greatest evoked potential occurring at the second harmonic of the acoustic stimulus (i.e., twice the stimulus frequency) has also been reported in a number of other teleost hearing studies using the auditory-evoked potential (AEP) technique (e.g., Mann et al 2001; Higgs et al 2001; Egner and Mann 2005; Casper and Mann 2006; Maruska et al 2007; Vetter et al 2018). With the reference frequency of the lock-in amplifier set to the second harmonic of the stimulus frequency, noise or other signals evoked at frequencies other than the second harmonic reference frequency were rejected by the lock-in amplifier and did not affect the lagenar potential measurement.…”

Common Carp Are Initially Repelled by a Broadband Outboard Motor Sound in a Lock Chamber but Habituate Rapidly

“…A custom Matlab graphical user interface used by Zielinski and Sorensen (2017) was employed to analyze pressure waveforms. Three types of sound pressure levels were calculated: (1) root mean square sound pressure level (SPL RMS ) between 100 and 2,000 Hz as this frequency range included the most sensitive range of Common Carp hearing (Vetter et al 2018), (2) maximum SPL RMS , and (3) peak sound pressure level measured at the maximum instantaneous pressure observed in each 5‐s recording. Sound levels were spot checked three times (once at the start of the experiment, at the halfway point, and at the end of the experiment) to confirm that the system set‐up was stable and that the two speakers' sounds were similar (within ±5 dB).…”

“…Although many types of sensory cues are being considered as deterrents to impede invasive fish movement through riverine locks and dams (Noatch and Suski 2012), sound is widely considered to have special promise. Bigheaded carps and Common Carp, like other ostariophysians, have a well-developed sense of hearing, which includes sensitivity to frequencies above 1,000 Hz because they possess Weberian ossicles (Ladich and Fay 2013;Vetter et al 2018;Putland and Mensinger 2019), with Silver Carp showing slightly greater physiological sensitivity (Vetter et al 2018). Further, several laboratory studies have shown that both bigheaded carps and Common Carp avoid various types of broadband (i.e., sounds which include low and high frequencies) and complex sounds (i.e., sounds which contain multiple frequencies).…”

The effect of light stimuli on dark‐adapted visual sensitivity in invasive silver carpHypophthalmichthys molitrixand bighead carpH. nobilis

“…Currently, fisheries managers are working to develop effective methods for controlling the range expansion of H. molitrix and H. nobilis and a variety of non‐physical barriers are being examined, however the sensory physiology of the target species remains largely unexplored. Recent studies have shown that both H. molitrix and H. nobilis can hear higher frequency sound than has been previously reported (Vetter et al ., ) which is important for the design of acoustical deterrents. Jumping in H. molitrix is probably mediated both by sound and water turbulence, suggesting differential input to the lateral line and inner ear stimulates this behaviour (Vetter & Mensinger, ; Vetter et al ., ,b).…”