DOES BOAT NOISE AFFECT SPAWNING SOUNDPRODUCTION OF SONIFEROUS FISH INSHALLOW ESTUARINE SYSTEMS?

摘要

Soniferous fish in the Sciaenidae family spawn in shallow (<10 m)estuaries and along the coasts worldwide. Low-frequency soundsproduced nocturnally by male red drum Sciaenops ocellatus, weakfishCynoscion regalis, spotted seatrout C. nebulosus, and silver perchBairdiella chrysoura are used to attract females to spawning sites.We monitored sound and egg production simultaneously to documentspawning areas of these fishes in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, usingpassive acoustic methods (Luczkovich & Sprague 2002; Luczkovich et al.1999, 2000). Because sound plays an important role in the reproductivecommunication of these fish, we examined the potential for maskingof fish spawning by vessel noise and determined whether these fishesrespond in any way to the vessel sounds.