Sound production in the whitemouth croaker and relationship between fish size and disturbance call characteristics

Abstract

The whitemouth croaker produces two different sounds using extrinsic sonic muscles: (1) male advertisement calls during the spawning season and (2) disturbance calls, produced by both sexes. The advertisement call, related to courtship, was recorded in the field and from two marked spawning males of 28 and 30.5 cm L T in the laboratory. It consists of individual pulses with average durations of 19.7 ms and 17.8 ms for the two males respectively, interpulse intervals of 496 ms and 718 ms, and dominant frequencies of 280 Hz and 316 Hz. Pulses are emitted in bouts of one to three min duration. Disturbance calls consist of a burst of pulses produced at short intervals, and the pulse duration, interpulse interval and dominant frequency of the pulses average 19.8 ms, 17.1 ms, and 363 Hz, respectively. Dominant frequency and interpulse interval decrease and pulse duration increases with fish size. Sound characteristics change markedly in young of the year individuals (lower than 25 cm L T ) after which they appear to stabilize. Higher dominant frequency in the advertisement than in the disturbance call and the relationship of dominant frequency to pulse duration suggest that dominant frequency is determined as a forced response to muscle contraction parameters rather than by the natural frequency of the swimbladder.

Distress sounds of thorny catfishes emitted underwater and in air:characteristics and potential significance

“…Larger fish emitted deep and strong grunts whereas smaller fish emitted sounds with a higher frequency. The fundamental frequency also decreases with fish size in the weakfish (Connaughton et al, 2000;Connaughton et al, 2002) and the whitemouth croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) (Tellechea et al, 2010). Fine et al (Fine et al, 2004) suggested therefore that croakers could estimate relative size of the caller equally in aerial and underwater recordings.…”

Unusual sound production mechanism in the triggerfishRhinecanthus aculeatus(Balistidae)

“…More-detailed comparative studies on at least the swimbladder, scutes and pectoral girdles are required to understand these data. In the whitemouth croaker, Micropogonias furnieri, sound characteristics correlated with size in smaller fish, but were independent among larger size classes (Tellechea et al, 2010). The sound production mechanism in whitemouth croaker involves sonic muscles acting directly on the swimbladder and thus the reason for the similar size-ontogeny relationship with sound may be different from that of R. rectangulus.…”

Preliminary Study of the Sonic Muscle of Micropogonias furnieri (Actinopterygii, Sciaenidae): Morfología e Histoquímica

“…Extrinsic sonic muscles of M. furnieri generate disturbance calls produced by both sexes and advertisement or courtship calls produced exclusively by males (Tellechea et al, 2010). These two types of sounds were also reported in intrinsic sonic muscles of the black drum P. cromis (Locascio et al;Tellechea et al, 2011).…”

“…In M. furnieri as well as in other sciaenids, the sonic muscle associated to the bladder is found in both sexes (Ueng et al, 2007;Tellechea et al, 2010;2011), but males and females sounds have different frequencies. Extrinsic sonic muscles of M. furnieri generate disturbance calls produced by both sexes and advertisement or courtship calls produced exclusively by males (Tellechea et al, 2010).…”

“…histochemistry of the digestive tract and gills 2005 and histochemical analysis of the myotomal and pectoral fin muscles (Devincenti et al, 2000;. M. furnieri produces two different sounds using extrinsic sonic muscles: (1) male advertisement calls during the spawning season and (2) disturbance calls, produced by both sexes (Tellechea et al, 2010).…”