Conspicuous sonic click sounds were recorded in the presence of cod (Gadus morhua), together with either harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus), hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) or a human diver in a pool. Similar sounds were never recorded in the presence of salmon (Salmo salar) together with either seal species, or from either seal or fish species when kept separately in the pool. It is concluded that cod was the source of these sounds and that the clicks were produced only when cod were approached by a swimming predatorlike body. The analyzed click sounds had the following characteristics (overall averages peak peak-to-peak sound pressure level re 1 μPa at 1 m. At present the mechanism and purpose of these clicks is not known. However, the circumstances under which they were recorded and some observations on the behavior of the seals both suggest that the clicks could have a predator startling function.
REFERENCES
1.
Astrup
, J.
, and Møhl
, B.
(1993
). “Detection of intense ultrasound by the cod Gadus morhua
,” J. Exp. Biol.
182
, 71
–80
.2.
Blix
, A. S.
, Iversen
, J.
, and Paasche
, A.
(1973
). “On the feeding of young hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) and harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) in captivity
,” Norw. J. Zool.
21
, 55
–58
.3.
Brawn
, V. M.
(1961
). “Sound production by the cod (Gadus morhua L.)
,” Behaviour
18
, 239
–255
.4.
Caldwell
, D. K.
, and Caldwell
, M. C.
(1967
). “Underwater sounds associated with aggressive behaviour in defence of territory by the pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides
,” Bull. South. Calif. Acad. Sci.
66
, 69
–75
.5.
Chapman
, C. J.
, and Hawkins
, A. D.
(1973
). “A field study of hearing in the cod, Gadus morhua
,” J. Comp. Physiol.
85
, 147
–167
.6.
Connaughton
, M. A.
, Fine
, M. L.
, and Taylor
, M. H.
(2002
). “Weakfish sonic muscle: influence of size, temperature and season
,” J. Exp. Biol.
205
, 2183
–2188
.7.
Crawford
, J. D.
, Jacob
, P.
, and Bénech
, V.
(1997
). “Sound production and reproductive ecology of strongly acoustic fish in Africa: Pollimyrus isidori, Mormyridae
,” Behaviour
134
, 677
–725
.8.
Davis
, R. W.
, Fuiman
, L. A.
, Williams
, T. M.
, Collier
, S. O.
, Hagey
, W. P.
, Kanatous
, S. B.
, Kohin
, S.
, and Horning
, M.
(1999
). “Hunting behavior of a marine mammal beneath the Antarctic fast ice
,” Science
283
, 993
–996
.9.
Gray
, J. A. B.
, and Denton
, E. J.
(1991
). “Fast pressure pulses and communication between fish
,” J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. (U.K.)
71
, 83
–106
.10.
Hawkins, A. D. (1993). “Underwater sound and fish behaviour,” in Behaviour of Teleost Fishes, 2nd ed., edited by T. J. Pitcher (Chapman and Hall, Dordrecht), pp. 129–169.
11.
Hawkins
, A. D.
, and Rasmussen
, K. J.
(1978
). “The calls of gadoid fish
,” J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. (U.K.)
58
, 891
–911
.12.
Kaatz
, I. M.
(2002
). “Multiple sound-producing mechanisms in teleost fishes and hypotheses regarding their behavioural significance
,” Bioacoustics
12
, 230
–233
.13.
Ladich
, F.
(1990
). “Vocalisation during agonistic behaviour in Cottus gobio (Cottidae): An acoustic threat display
,” Ethology
84
, 193
–201
.14.
Ladich
, F.
(1991
). “Fische schweigen nicht—Lautbildung, Hoeren and akustische Kommunikation bei Fischen,” (“Fish are not silent—sound production, hearing and acoustic communication in fishes”
), Naturwiss. Rundsch.
10
, 379
–384
.15.
Ladich
, F.
, Brittinger
, W.
, and Kratochvil
, H.
(1992
). “Significance of agonistic vocalisation in the croaking gourami (Trichopsis vittatus, Teleostei)
,” Ethology
90
, 307
–314
.16.
Ladich
, F.
(1997
). “Agonistic behaviour and significance of sound in vocalizing fish
,” Mar. Fresh. Behav. Physiol.
29
, 1285
–1288
.17.
Lobel
, P. S.
(1992
). “Sound production by spawning fishes
,” Environ. Biol. Fish.
33
, 351
–358
.18.
Mahajan
, C. L.
(1963
). “Sound producing apparatus in an Indian catfish Sisor rhabdophorus Hamilton
,” J. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool.
44
, 721
–724
.19.
Mann
, D. A.
, and Lobel
, P. S.
(1998
). “Acoustic behavior of the damselfish Dascyllus albisella: behavioral and geographic variation
,” Environ. Biol. Fish.
51
, 421
–428
.20.
21.
Midling
, K.
, Soldal
, A. V.
, Fosseidengen
, J. E.
, and O/vredal
, J. T.
(2002
). “Calls of the Atlantic cod: Does captivity restrict their vocal repertoire?
,” Bioacoustics
12
, 233
–235
.22.
Miller
, L. A.
, and Surlykke
, A.
(2001
). “How some insects detect and avoid being eaten by bats: Tactics and countertactics of prey and predator
,” BioScience
51
, 570
–581
.23.
Myberg, Jr., A. A. (1981). “Sound communication and interception in fishes,” in Hearing and Sound Communication in Fishes, edited by W. N. Tavolga, A. N. Popper, and R. R. Fay (Springer, New York), pp. 395–426.
24.
Myrberg
, Jr., A. A.
, Ha
, S. J.
, and Shamblott
, M. J.
(1993
). “The sound of bicolor damselfish (Pomacentrus partitus): predictors of body size and spectral basis for individual recognition and assessment
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
94
, 3067
–3070
.25.
Møhl
, B.
, and Miller
, L. A.
(1976
). “Ultrasonic clicks produced by the peacock butterfly: A possible bat-repellent mechanism
,” J. Exp. Biol.
64
, 639
–644
.26.
Nilssen, K. T. (1995). “Seasonal distribution, condition and feeding habits of Barents Sea harp seals (Phoca groenlandica),” in Whales, Seals, Fish and Man, edited by A. S. Blix, L. Walløe, and O/. Ulltang (Elsevier, Amsterdam), pp. 241–254.
27.
Nordeide
, J. T.
, and Kjellsby
, E.
(1999
). “Sound from spawning cod at their spawning grounds
,” ICES J. Mar. Sci.
56
, 326
–332
.28.
Pfeiffer
, W.
, and Eisenberg
, J. F.
(1965
). “Die Lauterzeugung der Dornwelse (Doradidae) und der Fiederbartwelse (Mochokidae),” [“Sound production of thorny catfishes (Doradidae) and squeakers (Mochokidae)”]
, Z. Morphol. Oekol. Tiere
54
, 669
–679
.29.
Richardson, W. J., Greene, Jr., C. R., Malme, C. I., and Thomson, D. H. (1996). Marine Mammals and Noise (Academic, San Diego).
30.
Schneider, H. (1967). “Morphology and physiology of sound-producing mechanisms in teleost fishes,” in Marine Bio-acoustics, edited by W. N. Tavolga (Pergamon, Oxford, England), Vol. 2, pp. 135–158.
31.
Soldal, A. V., and Totland, B. (2002). “Biologisk lyd brukt til selektivt fiske,” (“Biological sounds used for selective fishing”), Audio recordings on compact disc. Marine Research Institute, Bergen, Norway.
32.
Terhune
, J. M.
, and Ronald
, K.
(1972
). “The harp seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus (Erxleben, 1777). III. The underwater audiogram
,” Can. J. Zool.
50
, 565
–569
.33.
Valinsky
, W.
, and Rigley
, L.
(1981
). “Function of sound production by the skunk loach Botia horae (Pisces, Cobitidae)
,” Z. Tierpsychol.
55
, 161
–172
.34.
Vester, H. I. (2003). “Do Arctic seals use echolocation?,” M.S. thesis, Department of Arctic Biology, University of Tromsø, Norway.
35.
Vester, H. I., Folkow, L. P., and Blix, A. S. (2001). “Click sounds produced by cod (Gadus morhua)—a possible anti-predator behaviour?,” 17th International Congress on Acoustics, Rome, September 2–7, 2001. Rivista Italiana di Acustica (Special Issue), 25 (1), Abstract 4P.42
This content is only available via PDF.
© 2004 Acoustical Society of America.
2004
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.
