Full Description

"This paper describes sounds produced by cusk-eels that were recorded during courtship and spawning in the laboratory."

"Sounds were produced at dusk, from 1812 h to 2030 h, while males were buried and also while males were hovering above females. Sound production began 5-88 min (mean = 41 min) before egg release by females and ended 15-20 min afterward. In some instances, male cusk-eels slowed or ceased swimming activity and exhibited a slight vibration of the head and nape area during sound production. An isolated female was observed producing sounds, and another female apparently produced sounds while vibrating her pectoral fins. The frequency char- acteristics and amplitudes of the sounds were variable and suggest that they were produced by mulitple individuals, although we cannot be sure which individuals produced which sounds. Sounds consisted of broad-band pulses and contained between one and 27 pulses (Figs. 1-2). There appeared to be three classes of sounds with different numbers of pulses (1-5 pulses, 6-14 pulses, 16-27 pulses; Fig. 2B). The 1-5 pulse sounds occurred immediately after longer pulsed calls and had longer and more variable pulse periods (mean +- SD = 72.3 +- 17.2 msec) than sounds with more pulses (6-14 pulse sounds mean +- SD = 43.8 +- 1.4 msec; 16-27 pulse sounds mean +- SD = 43.0 +- 1.2; P<0.0001; Mann-Whitney U-test; Fig. 2)."

"Sounds produced by the striped cusk-eel are clearly used during courtship and mating and may be an important means of communication because they spawn at night in very turbid waters."

Observation Environment Quotes

"This paper describes sounds produced by cusk-eels that were recorded during courtship and spawning in the laboratory."

"Cusk-eels were collected at night, on 23 July 1989, by otter trawlin Great Bay, New Jersey, and placed in a tank (1.2 m X 1.2 m X 0.9 m) with 15 cm of sand substrate."

Behaviour Description Quotes

"This paper describes sounds produced by cusk-eels that were recorded during courtship and spawning in the laboratory."

"Sound production began 5-88 min (mean = 41 min) before egg release by females and ended 15-20 min afterward. "

"Sounds produced by the striped cusk-eel are clearly used during courtship and mating and may be an important means of communication because they spawn at night in very turbid waters."

Sound Name Quotes

"Sounds consisted of broad-band pulses and contained between one and 27 pulses (Figs. 1-2)."