Abstract
Many marine organisms produce sound during key life history events. Identifying and tracking these sounds can reveal spatial and temporal patterns of species occurrence and behaviors. We describe the temporal patterns of striped cusk eel Ophidion marginatum calls across approximately 1 yr in Nantucket Sound, MA, USA, the location of a proposed offshore wind energy installation. Stereotyped calls typical of courtship and spawning were detected from April to October with clear diel, monthly, and seasonal patterns. Acoustic energy increased in the evenings and peaked during crepuscular periods, with the dusk call levels typically higher in energy and more rapid in onset than those from near-dawn periods. Increased call energy and substantial overlap of calls during certain periods suggest that many cusk eels were often calling simultaneously. Call energy (measured in energy flux density) peaked in July and patterns fol- lowed seasonal changes in sunrise and sunset. Sound levels were high (over 150 dB re 1 µPa 2 s) during the summer, indicating that this cusk eel population is a substantial contributor to the local soundscape. The stereotyped cusk eel signals and clear temporal energy patterns potentially pro- vide a bioacoustic signal that can be used to monitor changes to the local environment and its soundscape.
Highlights
Acoustic signals produced by marine organisms can be effective indicators of species occurrence and biological processes
Offshore wind farm construction and operational noise have raised a variety of concerns in European waters and have been shown to impact some marine mammals (Carstensen et al 2006, Teilmann & Carstensen 2012)
Monitoring the soundscape provides a mechanism to track the patterns of soniferous marine fauna within offshore wind energy areas, and enables efforts to establish whether noise from construction or operation alters acoustic behaviors or habitat use
Summary
Acoustic signals produced by marine organisms can be effective indicators of species occurrence and biological processes. The acoustic behavior of Ophidion marginatum (striped cusk eel; found in the Western North Atlantic) and O. rochei (Roche’s snake blenny; found in the Eastern North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea) are relatively well studied compared to other members of the family (Parmentier et al 2010, Kéver et al 2012, 2015) Their sounds, generated by swim-bladderassociated muscles, are produced during courtship and spawning (Courtenay 1971). There is some indication of daily patterns in their call rates, but these patterns have not been characterized in detail (Sprague & Luczkovich 2001, Mann & Grothues 2009), and monthly or seasonal trends have only been suggested (Perkins 2001) Their stereotyped signals are associated with reproductive behaviors and offer a clear means to identify and track these behaviors in the wild. Results are compared to environmental measures and provide a detailed assessment of the temporal bioacoustic patterns of this soniferous species
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