Toadfish calling activity decreases with boat traffic
Conference Year
January 2019
Abstract
Toadfish (Batrachoididae) males produce a long-duration tonal advertisement call, the boatwhistle. While these calls do not propagate more than a few meters, they do have a directional nature that can be detected by females. Given the importance of these calls for the reproductive success of the males and the overall health of the population, understanding the impact of increasing noise levels in the oceans is of great urgency. Here I estimate the impact of boat traffic on the daily acoustic activity of toadfish (presence/absence) and syllable emission of toadfish in the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Data was collected using passive acoustic recorders in two sites that are similar in habitat structure but differ in levels of boat activity. The results indicate that vocal activity and syllable emission decreases significantly in the site with high boat presence. In the low boat traffic site, toadfish are acoustically active throughout the day, while in the high boat traffic site high vocal activity is before 6 a.m. and after 6 p.m. This study shows that fish acoustic communication is significantly hindered by boat traffic and that toadfish must shift the time of day when they produce calls in order to accommodate for the vessel noise.
Primary Faculty Mentor Name
Professor Laura May-Collado
Status
Undergraduate
Student College
Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources
Program/Major
Wildlife and Fisheries Biology
Primary Research Category
Food & Environment Studies
Secondary Research Category
Biological Sciences
Toadfish calling activity decreases with boat traffic
Toadfish (Batrachoididae) males produce a long-duration tonal advertisement call, the boatwhistle. While these calls do not propagate more than a few meters, they do have a directional nature that can be detected by females. Given the importance of these calls for the reproductive success of the males and the overall health of the population, understanding the impact of increasing noise levels in the oceans is of great urgency. Here I estimate the impact of boat traffic on the daily acoustic activity of toadfish (presence/absence) and syllable emission of toadfish in the Archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama. Data was collected using passive acoustic recorders in two sites that are similar in habitat structure but differ in levels of boat activity. The results indicate that vocal activity and syllable emission decreases significantly in the site with high boat presence. In the low boat traffic site, toadfish are acoustically active throughout the day, while in the high boat traffic site high vocal activity is before 6 a.m. and after 6 p.m. This study shows that fish acoustic communication is significantly hindered by boat traffic and that toadfish must shift the time of day when they produce calls in order to accommodate for the vessel noise.