{"id":17185,"date":"2022-12-09T08:54:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T13:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=17185"},"modified":"2024-09-20T09:28:16","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T13:28:16","slug":"sound-of-the-drum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/sound-of-the-drum\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound of the Drum: Can Courting Fish Calls Predict the Number of New Offspring?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

As the calendar turned to fall, it was time for red drum \u2014 North Carolina\u2019s state saltwater fish \u2014 to aggregate, spawn, and produce its next generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The family Sciaenidae<\/em> includes red drum, black drum, silver perch, and spotted seatrout, among other fish. A defining characteristic of the drum family is the ability to create throbbing or croaking sounds by using special muscles to vibrate against the swim bladder. Each species makes a slightly different sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve long known that these fish produce sounds that are associated with courtship behavior and spawning. In recordings, scientists can determine whether there are many fish \u201cchorusing\u201d \u2014 singing together \u2014 or individual fish \u201ccalling,\u201d where one or more fish may be signaling to potential mates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve ever caught and handled a fish from this family \u2014 including its other species like spots and croakers, for example \u2014 you have likely heard and felt the constant throbbing and drumming sounds and vibrations while holding them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By listening to recordings of the different species\u2019 calls and choruses, scientists have been able to identify approximately when and where specific spawning aggregations occur. But scientists have a poor understanding of whether fish mating sounds can predict the location, timing, and numbers of their offspring later in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the simplest terms, do louder and longer fish courtship sounds result in more spawning activity and thus more offspring? And importantly, how do environmental factors affect this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listen, Catch, and Compare<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From February 2013 to December 2018, scientists used passive acoustic recorders to record fisheries soundscapes of red drum, black drum, silver perch, and spotted seatrout in the May River on coastal South Carolina. In addition to sound recordings, scientists also collected a host of environmental data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lab, the research team used the sound files to identify species, group them by sound intensity, and determine the timing and intensity of spawning activity for each species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the last three years of the study, the team used hand-operated nets (\u201chaul seines\u201d) to collect fish once per month at multiple locations near the sound recording stations.<\/p>\n\n\n

Listen<\/h2>

HEAR THE CALL OF SILVER PERCH<\/h3>View transcript<\/a><\/div><\/div>