Full Description

"This study aims to investigate whether vocal behavior affects the reproductive success in the Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus) that relies on acoustic communication to attract mates."

"We recorded 56 nest-holding (type I) males during the breeding season and analyzed the calling performance and acoustic features of the mate advertising sounds (boatwhistles) exhibited over circa 2 weeks."

"Recently, Amorim et al. (2010) reported that male vocal activity and fine acoustic features of mating call (boatwhistle) reflect several aspects of male morphological characteristics in another batrachoidid, the Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus)."

"Halobatrachus didactylus exhibits a rich vocal repertoire rare among fishes, which comprises at least 5 different vocalizations (Amorim et al. 2008), including a complex amplitude-modulated advertisement call (Amorim and Vasconcelos 2008)."

"During the reproductive season, from May to July in Portugal, territorial males (‘‘type I’’) build nests under rocks in aggregations in shallow waters and attract females to spawn by emitting long advertisement calls (boatwhistles), forming conspicuous choruses (Amorim et al. 2006; Amorim and Vasconcelos 2008). Besides boatwhistles, Lusitanian toadfish also produces other pulsed sounds, such as grunt trains, long grunt trains, croaks, double croaks, and associations between some of these calls (Amorim et al. 2008). Some of these sounds are known to be used during agonistic interactions, such as territorial defense (e.g., grunt train, Vasconcelos and Ladich 2008; Vasconcelos et al. 2010), but the function of such vocal plasticity remains unclear."

"Most of the nesting toadfish males started to vocalize, predominantly with boatwhistles, within 24 to 48 h of confinement and interacted acoustically in a chorus, similarly to free-swimming toadfish."

Observation Environment Quotes

"Prior to the onset of the breeding season, 60 concrete nests were placed along an intertidal area of the Tagus River estuary (Military Air Force Base, Montijo, Portugal) to create an aggregation of artificial shelters that were easily accessible at low tides during the whole breeding season, from May to July. These hemicylinder-shaped nests (internal dimensions: 50 cm long, 30 cm wide, and 20 cm high) were placed along the shore approximately 1.5 m apart in 2 rows. We used a group of these nests (6 or 7) to confine type I toadfish males that spontaneously occupied these shelters. In total, we recorded 56 males (34–49.5 cm total length [TL]; 627–2097 g eviscerated body mass [ME])."

Behaviour Description Quotes

"This study aims to investigate whether vocal behavior affects the reproductive success in the Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus) that relies on acoustic communication to attract mates. "

"We recorded 56 nest-holding (type I) males during the breeding season and analyzed the calling performance and acoustic features of the mate advertising sounds (boatwhistles) exhibited over circa 2 weeks."

"During the reproductive season, from May to July in Portugal, territorial males (‘‘type I’’) build nests under rocks in aggregations in shallow waters and attract females to spawn by emitting long advertisement calls (boatwhistles), forming conspicuous choruses (Amorim et al. 2006; Amorim and Vasconcelos 2008). Besides boatwhistles, Lusitanian toadfish also produces other pulsed sounds, such as grunt trains, long grunt trains, croaks, double croaks, and associations between some of these calls (Amorim et al. 2008). Some of these sounds are known to be used during agonistic interactions, such as territorial defense (e.g., grunt train, Vasconcelos and Ladich 2008; Vasconcelos et al. 2010), but the function of such vocal plasticity remains unclear."

Sound Name Quotes

"This study aims to investigate whether vocal behavior affects the reproductive success in the Lusitanian toadfish (Halobatrachus didactylus) that relies on acoustic communication to attract mates. "

"We recorded 56 nest-holding (type I) males during the breeding season and analyzed the calling performance and acoustic features of the mate advertising sounds (boatwhistles) exhibited over circa 2 weeks."

"During the reproductive season, from May to July in Portugal, territorial males (‘‘type I’’) build nests under rocks in aggregations in shallow waters and attract females to spawn by emitting long advertisement calls (boatwhistles), forming conspicuous choruses (Amorim et al. 2006; Amorim and Vasconcelos 2008). Besides boatwhistles, Lusitanian toadfish also produces other pulsed sounds, such as grunt trains, long grunt trains, croaks, double croaks, and associations between some of these calls (Amorim et al. 2008). Some of these sounds are known to be used during agonistic interactions, such as territorial defense (e.g., grunt train, Vasconcelos and Ladich 2008; Vasconcelos et al. 2010), but the function of such vocal plasticity remains unclear. "

"Most of the nesting toadfish males started to vocalize, predominantly with boatwhistles, within 24 to 48 h of confinement and interacted acoustically in a chorus, similarly to free-swimming toadfish. "

"Only pulse period was negatively correlated with CRmax (R = 20.55, N = 24, P = 0.006)."