Sound production in the Meagre,Argyrosomus regius(Asso, 1801): intraspecific variability associated with size, sex and context

Abstract

Background Many fish taxa produce sound in voluntary and in disturbance contexts but information on the full acoustic repertoire is lacking for most species. Yet, this knowledge is critical to enable monitoring fish populations in nature through acoustic monitoring. Methods In this study we characterized the sounds emitted during disturbance and voluntary contexts by juvenile and adult meagre, Argyrosomus regius, in laboratory conditions. Breeding sounds produced by captive adults were also compared with meagre sounds registered in the Tagus estuary (Lisbon, Portugal) from unseen fish during the breeding season. Results The present dataset demonstrates for the first time that in this species dominant frequency is inversely related to fish size, and that sounds vary according to sex, context and age. Sounds from captive breeding adults were similar to sounds recorded in the field. Discussion Our findings indicate that A. regius sound features carry information about size, sex, age and motivation. This variability could potentially be used to identify meagre in the field and to infer about ontogenetic phase (i.e., juveniles vs. adults, and variation with size) and motivation (e.g., spawning). Future studies should confirm sex differences and ascertain the influence of water temperature on acoustic features.

Vocal repertoire and consistency of call features in the meagre Argyrosomous regius (Asso, 1801)

“…In accordance with recent studies [41][42][43], it was here demonstrated that the meagre vocal repertoire is wider than previously thought [37]. Furthermore, fine acoustic features of grunts emitted during spawning nights are overall consistent between Portuguese and Mediterranean French populations [55].…”

“…Here we tried to evaluate the validity of sound categories using both classifications (onomatopoeic and context of emission). Our study supports that the vocal repertoire of the meagre is wider than previously thought [37], in accordance with more recent studies [41][42][43]. Lagardère and Mariani [37] reported the presence of short grunts (pulsed sounds ranging from 4 to 6 pulses) and of long grunts (pulsed sounds of more than 30 pulses).…”

“…Although our study cannot conclusively claim a specific number of sound types for this species (as behavioral association was not tested), it has nevertheless proved that the variability of pulsed sounds is extremely wide. Pereira et al [ 42 ] have shown that sound features of meagre advertisement and disturbance calls vary with size, sex and age while Bolgan et al [ 43 ] showed that longer grunts, made of a higher number of faster repeated pulses are emitted during spawning. This implies that important biological information (such as age, sex and behavioral state) might be encoded in sound temporal features, such as number of pulses, pulse repetition rate and sound repetition rates.…”

“…The meagre (Argyrosomus regius, Asso 1801) is an interesting case because recent studies [41][42][43] suggest a wider vocal repertoire than previously described [37]. This species is widely distributed along the Atlantic coast of Europe and of Africa, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea [44] and has a significant commercial value for recreational and small-scale commercial fisheries, as well as aquaculture [45]; this implies that knowledge about meagre sound feature variability and consistency is imperative for populations monitoring over wide geographical and temporal scales.…”

A sciaenid swim bladder with long skinny fingers produces sound with an unusual frequency spectrum

“…However, there are several species including Micropogonias undulatus , Micropogonias furnieri , Argyrosomus japonicus , Larimichthys crocea , and Pogonias cromis 12 , 16 – 19 in which both sexes possess sonic muscles although muscles are larger in male Atlantic croaker 12 . Female sound production in M. furnieri and Pogonias cromis has been evoked by holding or chasing them 18 , 19 , and male and female Japanese croaker Argyrosomus japonicus and meagre Argyrosomus regius produce sounds during the mating season 3 , 20 . Otherwise female sound production has not been studied in the family.…”