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

PeerJ

article

Beatriz P. Pereira¹  Manuel Vieira²  Pedro Pousão-Ferreira⁴  AnaCandeias-Mendes⁴  Marisa Barata⁴  Paulo J. Fonseca³  Maria Clara P. Amorim² 

[1] Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologias, Universidade do Algarve;MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA - Instituto Universitário;Departamento de Biologia Animal and cE3c—Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa;Instituto Portugês do Mar e da Atmosfera;Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa

关键词: Vocal fish;    Fish acoustic communication;    Sciaenidae;    Ontogeny of sound production;    Sexual dimorphism;    Aquaculture;    Field studies;    Disturbance sounds;    Breeding sounds;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.8559

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundMany 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.MethodsIn 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.ResultsThe 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.DiscussionOur 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.

【 授权许可】

CC BY