Full Description

"The diversity of sounds produced at this spawning aggregation was high, including some produced by coral reef fish that have been recorded previously, including squirrelfish Holocentrus adscensionis (Moulton 1958) and toadfish Sanopus astrifer (Mann et al. 2002), although these were not visible in video images."

Observation Environment Quotes

"The study was conducted at 4 different spawning aggregation sites throughout the Caribbean (Fig. 1) during the Nassau grouper spawning season."

Full Description

"The diversity of sounds produced at this spawning aggregation was high, including some produced by coral reef fish that have been recorded previously, including squirrelfish Holocentrus adscensionis (Moulton 1958) and toadfish Sanopus astrifer (Mann et al. 2002), although these were not visible in video images."

Observation Environment Quotes

"The study was conducted at 4 different spawning aggregation sites throughout the Caribbean (Fig. 1) during the Nassau grouper spawning season."

Behaviour Description Quotes

"Sound production has been associated with reproduction in other marine fishes (Lobel 2002), such as groupers Epinephelus guttatus (Mann et al. 2010), E. morio (Nelson et al. 2011), and Mycteroperca venenosa (Schärer et al. 2012); damselfish Stegastes partitus (Myrberg et al. 1986, 1993), Abudefduf sordidus (Lobel & Kerr 1999), and Dascyllus albisella (Mann & Lobel 1998); toadfish Sanopus astrifer (Mann et al. 2002); black drum Pogonias cromis (Locascio & Mann 1986); and a marine croaker Kathala axillaris (Veerappan et al. 2009)."

Full Description

"The first is a pulse train sound thought to be associated with alarm or warning behavior, while the second is a tonal sound associated with reproductive behaviors, including courtship displays. The average peak frequency of the pulse train was 77.4 ± 30.3 Hz, individual pulse duration was 0.09 ± 0.02 s and the number of pulses varied from 6 to 13. For the tonal sound, the average peak frequency was 99.0 ± 33.6 Hz, and sound duration was 1.6 ± 0.3 s, ranging from 0.9 to 2.3 s. Long-term recordings at the Grammanik Bank, US Virgin Islands (February 2011) revealed variability in the daily patterns of tonal sounds during the residence time at the aggregation. Sound production was highest 7 to 8 d after the full moon between 20:00 and 21:00 h Atlantic Standard Time."

"At BDS, a less common pulse train sound was identified and recorded by a diver on a handheld GoPro video camera. This pulsing sound was heard as divers approached Nassau grouper near the bottom or chased them into crevices."

"The pulse train (Fig. 2a,b) is made up of a varying number of short individual pulses. The second type, the tonal sound (Fig. 2c,d), was heard more often, and coincided with courtship behavior observed in video recordings, hence classified as a courtshipassociated sound (CAS; Lobel & Kerr 1999). The CAS was variable in the number of short pulses that preceded the characteristic and longer tonal portion of the sound."

"The average peak frequency was 77.4 ± 30.3 Hz (minimum: 36.3 Hz, maximum: 169.1 Hz), and the average 3 dB bandwidth was 55.9 ± 29.5 Hz (minimum: 10.2 Hz, maximum: 165.7 Hz). Individual pulse duration was 0.09 ± 0.02 s (minimum: 0.6 s, maximum: 0.11 s). The number of pulses per pulse train varied from 6 to 13. Tonal sounds with high signal-to-noise ratios (n = 95) were recorded at all study sites and were included in the acoustic characterization. The acoustic pattern was visually recognizable, with a short burst or two at the beginning, which was not always present, followed by a tonal segment that was more consistent. The average peak frequency was 99.0 ± 33.6 Hz (minimum: 50.8 Hz, maximum: 206.0 Hz), the average 3 dB bandwidth was 22.4 ± 12.2 Hz (minimum: 4.3 Hz, maximum: 53.7 Hz), and average sound duration was 1.6 ± 0.3 s (range: 0.9 to 2.3 s). The maximum received sound level for the tonal call was 143 dB re 1 µPa."

"The recordings collected in the present study varied in duration by up to a factor of 2, suggesting that the pulse trains are highly variable, while the pulses themselves are very similar (Fig. 2a,b)."

"In the field, the sound of the Nassau grouper could be heard up to 200 m away in areas with little or no structure. However, if background noise is above 100 dB, there may be interference affecting the ability to detect these sounds."

Observation Environment Quotes

"Divers and an autonomous video camera with integrated passive acoustics recorded video of reproductive behaviors at 2 Nassau grouper FSA sites. Long-term passive acoustic data were collected at 2 different FSA sites where Nassau grouper have been reported."

Behaviour Description Quotes

"The first is a pulse train sound thought to be associated with alarm or warning behavior, while the second is a tonal sound associated with reproductive behaviors, including courtship displays. "

"This pulsing sound was reported as a response to specific stimuli, such as divers or other artifacts, such as surface-deployed hydrophones (Moulton 1958), approaching a fish, causing it to flee, or when under duress, including handling and electric stimulation (Hazlett & Winn 1962, Fish & Mowbray 1970)."

Sound Name Quotes

"The first is a pulse train sound thought to be associated with alarm or warning behavior, while the second is a tonal sound associated with reproductive behaviors, including courtship displays. "

" The CAS was variable in the number of short pulses that preceded the characteristic and longer tonal portion of the sound."

" The acoustic pattern was visually recognizable, with a short burst or two at the beginning, which was not always present, followed by a tonal segment that was more consistent."