Full Description

"Diel patterns of sound production were similar to those of other sciaenid fishes and demonstrated increased sound levels from the late afternoon to early evening—a period that lasted up to 12 hours during peak season. Peak sound production occurred from January through March when water temperatures were between 18° and 22°C. Seasonal trends in sound production matched patterns of black drum reproductive readiness and spawning reported previously for populations in the Gulf of Mexico."

"In the Gulf of Mexico black drum spawn in bays and estuarine habitats from late fall through early spring (Murphy and Taylor, 1989; Peters and McMichael, 1990) and produce high intensity sounds associated with courtship and spawning (Mok and Gilmore, 1983; Saucier and Baltz, 1993; Tellechea et al., 2010) that may exceed 170 dB re: 1µPa (Locascio, 2010)."

"Black drum sound production was strongly periodic. Calls were occasionally recorded during the mid-morning through early afternoon but increased sharply from late afternoon to early evening, and chorus duration lasted up to 12 hours during peak season (Fig. 2)."

"Chorus start and end times were negatively and in most cases significantly correlated and indicated that later start times generally meant earlier end times, and conversely, that earlier start times were associated with later end times (Fig. 3, Table 2)."

"A distinct seasonal pattern was evident in black drum sound production in all acoustic time series, and sound production patterns were consistent between years for each site (Figs. 4 and 5, Table 4)."

"Monthly mean maximum SPLs were greatest during January and February at the CC sites and during February and March at the PG site (Figs. 4, and 5)."

"Figure 4 Acoustic time-series data of black drum (Pogonias cromis) sound production from all sites and years. Sound pressure level (SPL) was calculated as dB band level of 100 – 200 Hz (re: 1µPa) from 10-second recordings made every 10 minutes. Increased nightly SPLs (evident as peaks in the data) during winter through early spring are consistent with the black drum spawning season and are similar between study areas and years. CC=Cape Coral, FL, and PG=Punta Gorda, FL"

"The higher correlations among the CC sites for chorus timing revealed that acoustic signaling by black drum may occur in the context of a communication network, where the calling behavior initiated by some individuals elicits responses from others and propagates throughout the population."

"In two previous studies, hydrophone recordings were used to investigate black drum spawning behavior. Saucier and Baltz (1993) conducted mobile hydrophone surveys in coastal southeast Louisiana and recorded black drum calls from January through April, in 15.0° to 24.0°C water temperatures, and peak sound production in March and April. The highest SPLs were recorded in 20.8°C (±1.01) and 18.9°C (±1.43) water temperatures for presumed large and moderate-size black drum aggregations, respectively. Mok and Gilmore (1983) also conducted mobile hydrophone surveys and recorded black drum during the winter and early spring in Indian River Lagoon, Florida. They reported maximal sound production during January in 18.0° to 20.0°C water temperatures and no sound production occurred below 15.0°C. Although water temperature did not reach the apparent 15.0°C lower limit for sound production in our study, the temperature range over which black drum were recorded (bottom: 17–24°C, surface: 17.5–26°C) and the range associated with highest levels of sound production (18–22°C) are consistent with these previous studies."

"Calling levels increase rapidly within an hour or two before sunset and reach maximal levels within a few hours after dusk (Breder, 1968; Mok and Gilmore, 1983; Luczkovich et al., 1999; Aalbers, 2008). In the previous hydrophone studies by Saucier and Baltz (1993) and Mok and Gilmore (1983), black drum calling was noted as early as 1300 and 1400 h, respectively, and the majority of sound production occurred between 1800 and 2200 h. The earliest chorus start time in this study occurred at 1510 h on 19 February 2005 at CC2, but individual calls were occasionally recorded throughout the day during peak season."

"Rates of SPL change during chorus events are not available in the literature, although in cases where sufficient diel time series data have been collected authors have observed a relatively rapid onset of calling and substantial increase in SPL over moderately short time periods (Breder, 1968; Connaughton and Taylor 1995; Locascio and Mann, 2008; Mann et al., 2008)"

Observation Environment Quotes

"Long-term acoustic recording systems (LARS) were deployed in estuarine canals at one site in Punta Gorda and at three sites in Cape Coral, Florida, to document patterns of sound production by black drum (Pogonias cromis) during their spawning season. The canals are extensive sea-walled residential systems which allow access to the Gulf of Mexico via Charlotte Harbor (Fig. 1)."

Behaviour Description Quotes

"In the Gulf of Mexico black drum spawn in bays and estuarine habitats from late fall through early spring (Murphy and Taylor, 1989; Peters and McMichael, 1990) and produce high intensity sounds associated with courtship and spawning (Mok and Gilmore, 1983; Saucier and Baltz, 1993; Tellechea et al., 2010) that may exceed 170 dB re: 1µPa (Locascio, 2010)."

Sound Name Quotes

"Black drum sound production was strongly periodic. Calls were occasionally recorded during the mid-morning through early afternoon but increased sharply from late afternoon to early evening, and chorus duration lasted up to 12 hours during peak season (Fig. 2)."

Full Description

"The call of this species has a fundamental frequency of approximately 280Hz (Thorson and Fine, 2002) and therefore did not contribute to the SPL calculated in the 100–200 Hz frequency band used for analysis of black drum acoustic data."

Observation Environment Quotes

"Long-term acoustic recording systems (LARS) were deployed in estuarine canals at one site in Punta Gorda and at three sites in Cape Coral, Florida, to document patterns of sound production by black drum (Pogonias cromis) during their spawning season. The canals are extensive sea-walled residential systems which allow access to the Gulf of Mexico via Charlotte Harbor (Fig. 1)."