Effects of noise on acoustic and visual signalling in the Croaking Gourami: Differences in adaptation strategies in fish.

Isabelle Maiditsch, Friedrich Ladich

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Numerous fishes produce sounds and their transmission and detection may be hindered by increasing levels of anthropogenic noise. We investigated acoustic communication during dyadic contests between male croaking gouramis (Trichopsis vittata, Osphronemidae) in the presence and absence of white noise. We hypothesised that fish modify acoustic signalling in the presence of noise in order to maintain intraspecific communication. Under controlled laboratory settings we compared agonistic behaviour, visual and acoustic signalling between noise and no-noise conditions. Trichopsis vittata produced sounds that were significantly lower in level and higher in dominant frequency under noise treatments. No difference was found in visual signalling or temporal sound characteristics. This study indicates that noise does not affect the amount of signalling during agonistic behaviour in a highly vocal fish. No increase in sound level was observed in croaking gouramis, indicating that a Lombard effect is not present in all vocalis-ing fish. The lack of a Lombard effect shows that sound communica-tion is potentially hindered by (human-made) noise in fish, which may affect territory maintenance and reproduction.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)181-198
Number of pages18
JournalBioacoustics : the international journal of animal sound and its recording
Volume32
Issue number2
Early online date14 Jun 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 106054 Zoology

Keywords

  • Agonistic interactions
  • behaviour response
  • Lombard effect
  • sound generation
  • vocalising fish
  • white noise

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