Swimming Sounds and the Schooling of Fishes

Abstract

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Whale sharks Rhincodon typus aggregate to feed on fish spawn in Belize

“…From greater distances, whale sharks probably rely most heavily on auditory cues, since many fishes create distinctive sounds during courtship and spawning (e.g. Lobel 1992) and hydrodynamic noises while schooling in large numbers or swimming rapidly (Moulton 1960). We have heard loud drumming noises from the cubera snappers when they are disturbed in the aggregation, which are probably created as a warning sound.…”

Potential mechanism of sound production in Oreochromis niloticus(Cichlidae)

“…Furthermore, O. niloticus should not be able to hear sounds resulting from tooth stridulation because they do not seem able to hear sounds above 2000Hz (Smith et al, 2004). A hydrodynamic sound production mechanism would seem plausible, because hydrodynamic sounds are usually produced by axial muscles (Shishkova, 1958;Moulton, 1960), but the fact that O. niloticus sounds are audible in air rules out this hypothesis.…”

Rapidly obtained ecosystem indicators from coral reef soundscapes

“…However, the majority of acoustic energy in temperate and tropical shallow-water regions is created by a wide variety of other organisms including shrimp (Johnson et al 1947, Au & Banks 1998, lobsters (Moulton 1957, Patek et al 2009), sea urchins (Cummings et al 1964, Radford et al 2008, hermit crabs (Freeman et al 2014), as well as many species of soniferous fishes (Tavolga 1964, Rountree 2008. Ecological processes such as spawning (Tavolga 1964), feeding (Amorim et al 2004), schooling and predator avoidance (Moulton 1960) create acoustic emissions that may contain information regarding the number and size of the organisms present, or the rate of resource consumption in that area. Indeed, some sounds play a role in the attraction of pelagic larvae to settlement sites (Simpson et al 2004, Montgomery et al 2006, Radford et al 2007, Vermeij et al 2010, suggesting that the correct interpretation of the information contained in these sounds confers selective advantage.…”

“…As the orientation of organisms, image quality, illumination and occluding material increased uncertainty when identifying organisms to the species level, counts of the photographed organisms were divided into the following, clearly identifiable groups: sea urchins (Echinoida and Cidaroida), crabs (Brachyura), hermit crabs (Paguroidea), brittle stars (Ophiuroidea), starfish (Asteroidea), sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), fish (Osteichthyes), worms (Annelida and Poly chaeta), eels (Muraenidae) and molluscs (Mollusca). These groups were selected based on the ability of the observers to identify organisms in the photographs, frequency of occurrence, and previous work that linked some of these groups to underwater sounds (Moulton 1957, 1960, Cummings et al 1964, Tavolga 1964, Amorim et al 2004, Radford et al 2008, Patek et al 2009, Freeman et al 2014). An example of typical data from a crepuscular period recorded at Kahekili, Maui, is shown in Fig.…”