Passive acoustic monitoring of nocturnal fish sounds in Quintana Roo, Mexico

Background. Repetitive species-specific sound enables the identification of the presence and behavior of soniferous species by acoustic means. Passive acoustic monitoring has been widely applied to monitor the spatial and temporal occurrence and behavior of calling species. Methods. Underwater biological sounds in the Pearl River Estuary, China, were collected using passive acoustic monitoring, with special attention paid to fish sounds. A total of 1408 suspected fish calls comprising 18,942 pulses were qualitatively analyzed using a customized acoustic analysis routine. Results. We identified a diversity of 66 types of fish sounds. In addition to single pulse, the sounds tended to have a pulse train structure. The pulses were characterized by an approximate 8 ms duration, with a peak frequency from 500 to 2600 Hz and a majority of the energy below 4000 Hz. The median inter-pulsepeak interval (IPPI) of most call types was 9 or 10 ms. Most call types with median IPPIs of 9 ms and 10 ms were observed at times that were exclusive from each other, suggesting that they might be produced by different species. According to the literature, the two section signal types of 1+1 and 1+N10 might belong to big-snout croaker (Johnius macrorhynus), and 1+N19 might be produced by Belanger's croaker (J. belangerii). Discussion. Categorization of the baseline ambient biological sound is an important first step in mapping the spatial and temporal patterns of soniferous fishes. The next step is the identification of the species producing each sound. The distribution pattern of soniferous fishes will be helpful for the protection and management of local fishery resources and in marine environmental impact assessment. Since the local vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) mainly preys on soniferous fishes, the fine-scale distribution pattern of soniferous fishes can aid in the conservation of this species. Additionally, prey and predator relationships can be observed when a database of species-identified sounds is completed.

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Diversity of fish sound types in the Pearl River Estuary, China

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.3924 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e3924 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Zhi-Tao Wang ◽

Douglas P. Nowacek ◽

Tomonari Akamatsu ◽

Ke-Xiong Wang ◽

Jian-Chang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distribution Pattern ◽

River Estuary ◽

Pearl River Estuary ◽

Acoustic Monitoring ◽

Pearl River ◽

Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽

Fish Sounds ◽

The Pearl River ◽

Passive Acoustic ◽

And Behavior

BackgroundRepetitive species-specific sound enables the identification of the presence and behavior of soniferous species by acoustic means. Passive acoustic monitoring has been widely applied to monitor the spatial and temporal occurrence and behavior of calling species.MethodsUnderwater biological sounds in the Pearl River Estuary, China, were collected using passive acoustic monitoring, with special attention paid to fish sounds. A total of 1,408 suspected fish calls comprising 18,942 pulses were qualitatively analyzed using a customized acoustic analysis routine.ResultsWe identified a diversity of 66 types of fish sounds. In addition to single pulse, the sounds tended to have a pulse train structure. The pulses were characterized by an approximate 8 ms duration, with a peak frequency from 500 to 2,600 Hz and a majority of the energy below 4,000 Hz. The median inter-pulsepeak interval (IPPI) of most call types was 9 or 10 ms. Most call types with median IPPIs of 9 ms and 10 ms were observed at times that were exclusive from each other, suggesting that they might be produced by different species. According to the literature, the two section signal types of 1 + 1 and 1 + N10might belong to big-snout croaker (Johnius macrorhynus), and 1 + N19might be produced by Belanger’s croaker (J. belangerii).DiscussionCategorization of the baseline ambient biological sound is an important first step in mapping the spatial and temporal patterns of soniferous fishes. The next step is the identification of the species producing each sound. The distribution pattern of soniferous fishes will be helpful for the protection and management of local fishery resources and in marine environmental impact assessment. Since the local vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) mainly preys on soniferous fishes, the fine-scale distribution pattern of soniferous fishes can aid in the conservation of this species. Additionally, prey and predator relationships can be observed when a database of species-identified sounds is completed.

Download Full-text

Diversity of fish sound types in the Pearl River Estuary, China

10.7287/peerj.preprints.3301 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Zhi-Tao Wang ◽

Douglas Nowacek ◽

Tomonari Akamatsu ◽

Kexiong Wang ◽

Jian-Chang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distribution Pattern ◽

River Estuary ◽

Pearl River Estuary ◽

Acoustic Monitoring ◽

Pearl River ◽

Passive Acoustic Monitoring ◽

Fish Sounds ◽

The Pearl River ◽

Passive Acoustic ◽

And Behavior

Background. Repetitive species-specific sound enables the identification of the presence and behavior of soniferous species by acoustic means. Passive acoustic monitoring has been widely applied to monitor the spatial and temporal occurrence and behavior of calling species. Methods. Underwater biological sounds in the Pearl River Estuary, China, were collected using passive acoustic monitoring, with special attention paid to fish sounds. A total of 1408 suspected fish calls comprising 18,942 pulses were qualitatively analyzed using a customized acoustic analysis routine. Results. We identified a diversity of 66 types of fish sounds. In addition to single pulse, the sounds tended to have a pulse train structure. The pulses were characterized by an approximate 8 ms duration, with a peak frequency from 500 to 2600 Hz and a majority of the energy below 4000 Hz. The median inter-pulsepeak interval (IPPI) of most call types was 9 or 10 ms. Most call types with median IPPIs of 9 ms and 10 ms were observed at times that were exclusive from each other, suggesting that they might be produced by different species. According to the literature, the two section signal types of 1+1 and 1+N10 might belong to big-snout croaker (Johnius macrorhynus), and 1+N19 might be produced by Belanger's croaker (J. belangerii). Discussion. Categorization of the baseline ambient biological sound is an important first step in mapping the spatial and temporal patterns of soniferous fishes. The next step is the identification of the species producing each sound. The distribution pattern of soniferous fishes will be helpful for the protection and management of local fishery resources and in marine environmental impact assessment. Since the local vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) mainly preys on soniferous fishes, the fine-scale distribution pattern of soniferous fishes can aid in the conservation of this species. Additionally, prey and predator relationships can be observed when a database of species-identified sounds is completed.

Download Full-text