Fish are far more likely to communicate with sound

Sound production by fishes has been recognized for millennia. It is typically regarded as comparatively rare. In a new study, scientists aimed to determine if these were one-offs or if there was a broader pattern for acoustic communication in fishes.

The study by Cornell University studied ray-finned fishes. They found 175 families that contain two-thirds of fish species that do, or are likely to, communicate with sound. What’s more, some fish have been doing this for more than 155 years.

When scientists studied their (fish) family tree, they found that sound was so important it evolved at least 33 separate times over millions of years.

Co-author William E. Bemis ’76, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said, “Thanks to decades of basic research on the evolutionary relationships of fishes, we can now explore many questions about how different functions and behaviors evolved in the approximately 35,000 known species of fishes. We’re getting away from a strictly human-centric way of thinking. What we learn could give us some insight on the drivers of sound communication and how it continues to evolve.”

Audio from a Midshipman.
Credit: Cornell University

Andrew Bass, co-lead author and the Horace White Professor of Neurobiology and Behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said, “Sound communication is often overlooked within fishes, yet they make up more than half of all living vertebrate species. They’ve probably been overlooked because fishes are not easily heard or seen, and the science of underwater acoustic communication has primarily focused on whales and dolphins. But fishes have voices, too.”

But what do they communicate?

Scientists noted that they mostly talk about sex and food.

Lead author Aaron Rice said“The fish are either trying to attract a mate, defend a food source or territory, or let others know where they are. Even some of the common names for fish are based on the sounds they make, such as grunts, croakers, hogfish, squeaking catfish, and trumpeters.”

Audio from a Longspine squirrelfish.
Image: Cornell University

“Fish do everything. They breathe air, they fly, they eat anything and everything – at this point, nothing would surprise me about fishes and the sounds that they can make.”

Journal Reference:

  1. Aaron N. Rice et al. Evolutionary Patterns in Sound Production across Fishes. DOI: 10.1643/i2020172

Note: This article have been indexed to our site. We do not claim legitimacy, ownership or copyright of any of the content above. To see the article at original source Click Here

Related Posts
How to Sideload Apps on Google TV thumbnail

How to Sideload Apps on Google TV

Jordan Gloor / How-To Geek To sideload an Android app on a Google TV, download the app's APK file and send it to your TV with an app like "Send Files to TV." Open the APK file on your Google TV and you'll be prompted to install it.Google TV devices (including the Chromecast with Google
Read More
The timing of fireworks-caused wildfire ignitions during the Fourth of July holiday season thumbnail

The timing of fireworks-caused wildfire ignitions during the Fourth of July holiday season

Map depicting hotspots of fireworks-caused wildfire ignitions and how they correspond to land types. Mapped land types include areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Forest, National Parks, Tribal Land, and Wilderness area. Select land use designations and boundaries were collected from the United States Geologic Survey Protected Areas Database 3.0 [28].
Read More
New AI tool to predict psychotic illnesses thumbnail

New AI tool to predict psychotic illnesses

In collaboration with a team from EPFL, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has used a longitudinal manner an artificial intelligence tool to determine symptoms of a psychotic illness in the child’s future developmental trajectory. This is the first time that the method of longitudinal network analysis has been applied to children to…
Read More
Accident data: Tesla Autopilot is safer than a year ago thumbnail

Accident data: Tesla Autopilot is safer than a year ago

© REUTERS / Alexandria Sage Digital Life 17.01.2022 Laut dem Autobauer Tesla habe die jeweilige Jahreszeit einen Einfluss auf die Unfall-Quote. Der Tesla-Autopilot ist sicherer geworden. Im vierten Quartal 2021 ist es alle 4,31 Millionen Meilen (rund 6,9 Millionen Kilometer) bei aktiviertem Autopiloten zu einem Unfall gekommen. Das geht aus dem aktuellen Safety Report des Unternehmens hervor,…
Read More
Index Of News
Total
0
Share