Abstract
Sound production in female fish has only seldom been mentioned, which is in contrast to the vast literature on male sound production. This lack of information is surprising because sound-generating mechanisms are present in females of (almost) all vocal species. Typically, female sonic organs are smaller than those of the males, for example in batrachoidids or callichthyids. Moreover, female sonic muscles do not hypertrophy during the reproductive season, such as they do in male gadids and sciaenids. The sexual dimorphism in sonic organs indicates that males are more active sound producers than females. In most species, males emit advertisement and mating sounds. The exceptions are one osphronemid species in which only females vocalise prior to spawning, and seahorses in which both sexes produce courtship sounds. At the same time, agonistic behaviour and aggressive sounds are rather similar in males and females, indicating that both sexes defend feeding and breeding sites. In numerous cichlids, females are even the more aggressive sex while defending their brood. This resembles the situation in hermaphroditic clownfish, in which females are the larger sex and primarily defend their host sea anemones. Sounds have very rarely been recorded under standardised conditions in both sexes, and sound characteristics have therefore seldom been analysed and compared in detail. Female agonistic sounds may differ in frequency and sound level from male sounds, reflecting differences in body and sonic organ size between sexes. Furthermore, sex-specific differences in pulse length and number of pulses have been described. Differences between female mating and female agonistic sounds have been described in one species. Overall, the assumption is that sex-specific differences in acoustic signalling during agonistic behaviour are minor in vocal species. These differences seem to depend on morphological differences. Furthermore, a more detailed analysis of reproductive behaviour in fish is expected to show more teleost species in which females are vocal during courtship and spawning.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Almada VC, Amorim MCP, Pereira E, Almada F, Matos R, Godinho R (1996) Agonistic behaviour and sound production in Gaidropsarus mediterraneus (Gadidae). J Fish Biol 49:363–366
Amorim MCP (1996) Sound production in the blue-green damselfish, Chromis viridis (Cuvier, 1830) (Pomacentridae). Bioacoustics 6:265–272
Amorim MCP (2006) Diversity in sound production in fish. In: Ladich F, Collin SP, Moller P, Kapoor BG (eds) Communication in fishes. Science Publishers Inc, Enfield, pp 71–105
Amorim MCP, Fonseca PJ, Almada VC (2003) Sound production during courtship and spawning of Oreochromis mossambicus: male-female and male-male interactions. J Fish Biol 62:658–672
Amorim MCP, Hawkins AD (2000) Growling for food: acoustic emissions during competitive feeding of the streaked gurnard. J Fish Biol 57:895–907
Amorim MCP, Knight ME, Stratoudakis Y, Turner GF (2004a) Differences in sounds made by courting males of three closely related Lake Malawi cichlid species. J Fish Biol 65:1358–1371
Amorim MC, Stratoudakis PY, Hawkins AD (2004b) Sound production during competitive feeding in the grey gurnard. J Fish Biol 64:182–194
Anderson PA (2009) The functions of sound production in the lined seahorse Hippocampus erectus, and effects of loud ambient noise on its behavior and physiology in captive environments. Ph.D. thesis, University of Florida
Bass AH (1992) Dimorphic male brains and alternative reproductive tactics in a vocalizing fish. TINS 15(4):139–145
Brantley RK, Bass AH (1994) Alternative male spawning tactics and acoustic signals in the plainfin midshipman fish Porichthys notatus Girard (Teleostei, Batrachoididae). Ethology 96:213–232
Brantley RK, Tseng J, Bass AH (1993) The ontogeny of inter- and intrasexual vocal muscle dimorphisms in a sound-producing fish. Brain Behav Evol 42:336–349
Brawn VM (1961) Sound production by the cod (Gadus callarias L.). Behaviour 18:239–255
Chakraborty B, Saran AK, Sinai Kuncolienker D, Sreepada RA, Haris K, Fernandes W (2014) Characterization of Yellow Seahorse Hippocampus kuda feeding click sound signals in a laboratory environment: an application of probability density function and power spectral density analyses. Bioacoustics 23:1–14
Chen KC, Mok HK (1988) Sound production in the anemonefishes, Amphiprion clarkii and A. frenatus (Pomacentridae), in captivity. Jap J Ichthyol 35(1):90-97
Connaughton MA, Fine ML, Taylor MH (2002) Weakfish sonic muscle: influence of size, temperature and season. J Exp Biol 205:2183–2188
Connaughton MA, Taylor MH (1995) Effects of exogenous testosterone on sonic muscle mass in the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis. Gen Comp Endocrinol 100:238–245
Courtenay WRJ (1971) Sexual dimorphism of the sound producing mechanism of the striped curk-eel, Rissola marginata (Pisces: Ophidiidae). Copeia 1971(2):259–268
Delco EAJ (1960) Sound discrimination by males of two cyprinid fishes. Texas J Sci 12:48–54
Fine ML, Burns NM, Harris TM (1990) Ontogeny and sexual dimorphism of sonic muscle in the oyster toadfish. Can J Zool 68:1374–1381
Fine ML, Ladich F (2003) Sound production, spine locking and related adaptations. In: Kapoor BG, Arratia G, Chardon M, Diogo R (eds) Catfishes. Science Publishers, Inc., Enfield, New Hampshire, pp 249–290
Fish M (1954) The character and significance of sound production among fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Bull Bingham Oceanographic Collection 14:1–109
Fish MP, Mowbray WH (1970) Sounds of western North Atlantic fishes. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore
Gerald JW (1971) Sound production in six species of sunfish (Centrarchidae). Evolution 25:75–87
Gray GA, Winn HE (1961) Reproductive ecology and sound production of the toadfish Opsanus tau. Ecology 42(2):274–282
Groison AL, Kjesbu OS, Suquet M (2011) Sexual dimorphism of drumming muscles in European hake (Merluccius merluccius). Environ Biol Fishes 91:7–13
Hadjiaghai O, Ladich F (2015) Sex-specific differences in agonistic behaviour, sound production and auditory sensitivity in the callichthyid armoured catfish Megalechis thoracata. PLOS ONE (in press)
Hawkins AD (1993) Underwater sound and fish behaviour. In: Pitcher TJ (ed) Behaviour of Teleost Fishes. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 129–169
Hawkins AD, Amorim MCP (2000) Spawning sounds of the male haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus. Environ Biol Fishes 59:29–41
Hawkins AD, Rasmussen KJ (1978) The calls of gadoid fish. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 58:891–911
Hill GL, Fine HL (1967) Musick JA (1987) Ontogeny of the sexually dimorphic sonic muscle in three sciaenid species. Copeia 3:708–713
Kéver L, Boyle KS, Dragičević B, Dulčić J, Casadevall M et al (2012) Sexual dimorphism of sonic apparatus and extreme intersexual variation of sounds in Ophidion rochei (Ophidiidae): first evidence of a tight relationship between morphology and sound characteristics in Ophidiidae. Front Zool 9:34
Kinzer J (1960) Zur Ethologie and Biologie der Gobiiden, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Schwarzgrundel, Gobius jozo L. Zool Beitr 6:207–290
Kratochvil H (1978) Der Bau des Lautapparates vom Knurrenden Gurami (Trichopsis vittatus Cuvier & Valenciennes) (Anabantidae, Belontiidae). Zoomorphologie 91:91–99
Kratochvil H (1985) Beiträge zur Lautbiologie der Anabantoidei – Bau, Funktion und Entwicklung von lauterzeugenden Systemen. Zool Jahrb Physiol 89:203–255
Ladich F (1988) Sound production by the gudgeon, Gobio gobio L., a common European freshwater fish (Cyprinidae, Teleostei). J Fish Biol 32:707–715
Ladich F (1989) Sound production by the river bullhead Cottus gobio L. (Cottidae, Teleostei). J Fish Biol 35:531–538
Ladich F (1990) Vocalization during agonistic behaviour in Cottus gobio L. (Cottidae): an acoustic threat display. Ethology 84:193–201
Ladich F (1997) Comparative analysis of swimbladder (drumming) and pectoral (stridulation) sounds in three families of catfishes. Bioacoustics 8:185–208
Ladich F (1999) Did auditory sensitivity and vocalization evolve independently in otophysan fishes? Brain Behav Evol 53:288–304
Ladich F (2004) Sound production and acoustic communication. In: van der Emde G, Mogdans J, Kapoor BG (eds) The Senses of Fishes. Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi, pp 210–230
Ladich F (2007) Females whisper briefly during sex: context- and sex-specific differences in sounds made by croaking gouramis. Anim Behav 73:379–387
Ladich F (2014) Diversity in hearing in fishes: ecoacoustical acoustical, communicative, and developmental constraints SHAR vol 49. In: Klöppl C, Manley GA, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Insights from Comparative Hearing. Springer Science+Business Media, New York, pp 289–321
Ladich F, Bass AH (2011) Vocal Behavior of Fishes: Anatomy and Physiology. In: Farrell AP (ed) Encyclopedia of Fish Physiology: from genome to environment. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 321–329
Ladich F, Bischof C, Schleinzer G, Fuchs A (1992) Intra- and interspecific differences in agonistic vocalization in croaking gouramis (genus: Trichopsis, Anabantoidei, Teleostei). Bioacoustics 4:131–141
Ladich F, Kratochvil H (1989) Sound production by the marmoreal goby, Proterorhinus marmoratus (Pallas) (Gobiidae, Teleostei). Zool Jahrb Physiol 93:501–504
Ladich F, Myrberg AA (2006) Agonistic behaviour and acoustic communication. In: Ladich F, Collin SP, Moller P, Kapoor BG (eds) Communication in Fishes. Science Publishers, Enfield, New Hampshire, pp 122–148
Lagardere JP, Millot S, Parmentier E (2005) Aspects of sound communication in the pearlfish Carapus boraborensis and Carapus homei (Carapidae). J Exp Zool 303A:1066–1074
Lobel PS (1992) Sounds produced by spawning fishes. Environ Biol Fishes 33:351–358
Lugli M, Torricelli P, Pavan G, Mainardi D (1997) Sound production during courtship and spawning among freshwater gobiids (Pisces, Gobiidae). Mar Freshw Behav Physiol 29:109–126
Mann DA, Lobel PS (1998) Acoustic behaviour of the damselfish Dascyllus albisella: behavioral and geographic variation. Environ Biol Fishes 51:421–428
Marshall JA (1966) The social behavior and role of sound production in Trichopsis vittatus, with a comparison to Trichopsis pumilus. Ph.D. thesis, University of Maryland College Park
Maruska KP, Boyle KS, Dewan LR, Tricas TG (2007) Sound production and spectral hearing sensitivity in the Hawaiian sergeant damselfish, Abudefduf abdominalis. J Exp Biol 210:3990–4000
Maruska KP, Mensinger AF (2009) Acoustic characteristics and variation in grunt vocalization in the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau. Environ Biol Fishes 84:325–337
Maruska KP, Ung US, Fernald RD (2012) The African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni uses acoustic communication for reproduction: sound production, hearing, and behavioral significance. PLoS ONE 7(5):e37612
Miyagawa M, Takemura A (1986) Acoustical behaviour of the scorpaenoid fish Sebastiscus marmoratus. Bull Jap Soc Sci Fisher 52(3):411–415
Moyer JT (1980) Influence of temperate waters on the behavior of the tropical anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii at Miyake-Jima. Jap Bull Mar Sci 30:261–272
Myrberg AA (1972) Ethology of the bicolor damselfish, Eupomacentrus partitus (Pisces: Pomacentridae); a comparative analysis of laboratory and field behaviour. Anim Behav Monogr 5:197–283
Myrberg AA, Kramer E, Heinecke P (1965) Sound production by cichlid fishes. Science 149:555–558
Myrberg AA, Lugli M (2006) Reproductive behavior and acoustical interactions. In: Ladich F, Collin SP, Moller P, Kapoor BG (eds) Communication in fishes. Science Publishers Inc, Enfield, N.H., pp 149–176
Myrberg AA, Mohler M, Catala JD (1986) Sound production by males of a coral reef fish (Pomacentrus partitus): its significance to females. Anim Behav 34:913–923
Myrberg AA, Riggio RJ (1985) Acoustically mediated individual recognition by a coral reef fish (Pomacentrus partitus). Anim Behav 33:411–416
Myrberg AA, Spires JY (1972) Sound discrimination by the bicolor damselfish Eupomacentrus partitus. J Exp Biol 57:727–735
Nelson JS (2006) Fishes of the world, 4th edn. Wiley, Hoboken
Nordeide JT, Solberg C, Willumsen L, Amble SB (2008) Seasonal variation and condition-dependence of the drumming muscle of cod, Gadus morhua L.? An experimental approach. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 363:66–74
Oliveira TPR, Ladich F, Abed-Navandi D, Souto AS, Rosa IL (2014) Sounds produced by the longsnout seahorse: a study of their structure and functions. J Zool 294:114–121
Parmentier E, Vandewalle P (2005) Further insight on carapid—holothuroid relationships. Mar Biol 146:455–465
Pfeiffer W, Eisenberg JF (1965) Die Lauterzeugung der Dornwelse (Doradidae) und der Fiederbartwelse (Mochokidae). Z Morphol Ökol Tiere 54:669–679
Protasov VP, Tzvetkov VT, Rashcheperin VK (1965) Acoustic signals emitted by Neogobius melanostomus Pallas. Zurnal obscej biologii 26:151–160
Pruzsinszky I, Ladich F (1998) Sound production and reproductive behaviour of armoured catfish Corydoras paleatus (Callichthyidae). Environ Biol Fishes 53:183–191
Raffinger E, Ladich F (2008) Acoustic threat displays and agonistic behaviour in the red-finned loach Yasuhikotakia modesta. J Ethology 27:239–247
Rowe S, Hutchings JA (2004) The function of sound production by Atlantic cod as inferred from patterns of variation in drumming muscle mass. Can J Zool 82:1391–1398
Rowe S, Hutchings JA (2006) Sound production by Atlantic cod during spawning. Trans Am Fisher Soc 135:529–538
Schleinzer G (1992) Lautanalysen bei der Gattung Trichopsis (Belontiidae, Teleostei) in Abhängigkeit von Art, Geschlecht und Temperatur. Diploma thesis, University of Vienna, Vienna
Schneider H (1964a) Bioakustische Untersuchungen an Anemonenfischen der Gattung Amphiprion (Pisces). Z Morphol Ökol Tiere 53:453–474
Schneider H (1964b) Physiologische und morphologische Untersuchungen zur Bioakustik der Tigerfische (Pisces, Theraponidae). Z vergl Physiol 47:493–558
Schwarz A (1980) Sound production and associated behavior in a cichlid fish, Cichlasoma centrarchus. II. Breeding pairs. Environ Biol Fishes 5(4):335–342
Simoes JM, Duarte IG, Fonseca PJ, Turner GF, Amorim MC (2008) Courtship and agonistic sounds by the cichlid fish Pseudotropheus zebra. J Acoust Soc Am 124:1332–1338
Sprague MW (2000) The single sonic muscle twitch model for the sound-production mechanism in the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis. J Acoust Soc Am 108:2430–2437
Stout JF (1975) Sound communication during the reproductive behavior of Notropis analostanus (Pisces: Cyprinidae). Amer Midl Natural 94:296–325
Templeman W, Hodder VM (1958) Variation with fish length, sex, stage of sexual maturity, and season in the appearance and volume of the drumming muscle of the swim-bladder in the haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus (L.). J Fish Res Board of Can 15:355–390
Ueng J-P, Huang B-Q, Mok H-K (2007) Sexual differences in the spawning sounds of the Japanese croaker, Argyrosomus japonicus (Sciaenidae). Zool Stud 46:103–110
Valinski W, Rigley L (1981) Function of sound production by the skunk loach Botia horae (Pisces, Cobitidae). Z Tierpsychol 55:161–172
Acknowledgments
The author's research was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF grants 17,263 and 22,319).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer-Verlag Wien
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ladich, F. (2015). Acoustic Signalling in Female Fish. In: Ladich, F. (eds) Sound Communication in Fishes. Animal Signals and Communication, vol 4. Springer, Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1846-7_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1846-7_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Vienna
Print ISBN: 978-3-7091-1845-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-7091-1846-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)