Abstract
In the field of fish bioacoustics, sounds other than conspecific communication sounds have generally been viewed as background noise interfering with the detection of communication signals. However, many fish species do not vocalize but still possess acute hearing, suggesting that fish hearing may have evolved, in part, to detect and extract information from the “ambient sounds” present in the environment. This chapter highlights some of the major sources of natural ambient sound and discusses how they function as sources of biologically relevant information. Some fishes can extract information about larval settlement sites, spawning events, food sources, and approaching predators from natural ambient sound. Instances where natural ambient sounds function as noise are also discussed. Ambient sound can mask hearing and some vocalizing fishes have been known to either produce louder vocalizations or change vocalization rates to cope with increases in ambient sound levels. Several species living in shallow water habitats vocalize at frequencies that coincide with a dip in acoustic energy in the local ambient sound spectrum. Data on the behavioral and physiological responses of fishes to natural ambient sounds remains scarce. Such information could be important for understanding how anthropogenic sounds affect the survival and reproduction of fishes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amoser S, Ladich F (2005) Are hearing sensitivities of freshwater fish adapted to the ambient noise in their habitats? J Exp Biol 208:3533–3542
Atema J, Kingsford MJ, Gerlach G (2002) Larval reef fish could use odour for detection, retention and orientation to reefs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 241:151–160
Baker ET, German CR (2004) On the global distribution of hydrothermal vent fields. -Ocean Ridges Hydrothermal Interact Lithosphere. Oceans Geophys Monogr Ser 148:245–266
Banner A (1968) Measurements of the particle velocity and pressure of the ambient noise in a Shallow Bay. J Acoust Soc Am 44:1741–1742. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1911328
Bardyshev VI, Kozhelapova NG, Kryshnii VI (1973) Study of underwater noise distributions in inland sea and coastal regions. Akust Zh 19:129–132
Bleckmann H, Breithaupt T, Blickhan R, Tautz J (1991) The time course and frequency content of hydrodynamic events caused by moving fish, frogs, and crustaceans. J Comp Physiol A 168:749–757. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224363
Boyd AD, Gowans S, Mann DA, Simard P (2021) Tropical storm Debby: soundscape and fish sound production in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. PLoS One 16:e0254614. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254614
Bradbury JW, Vehrencamp SL (2011) Principles of animal communication. Sinauer Associate. Inc, Sunderland
Buckingham MJ (1999) 15 acoustic daylight imaging in the ocean. Handb Comput Vis Appl 415
Bui S, Oppedal F, Korsøen ØJ et al (2013) Group behavioural responses of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) to light, infrasound and sound stimuli. PLoS One 8:e63696
Butler R (2006) Observations of polarized seismoacoustic T waves at and beneath the seafloor in the abyssal Pacific Ocean. J Acoust Soc Am 120:3599–3606. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2354066
Caballero MJ, Perez-Torrado FJ, Velázquez-Wallraf A et al (2023) Fish mortality associated to volcanic eruptions in the Canary Islands. Front Mar Sci 9:999816. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.999816
Capranica RR, Moffat AJM (1983) Neurobehavioral correlates of sound communication in anurans. In: Ewert J-P, Capranica RR, Ingle DJ (eds) Advances in vertebrate neuroethology. Springer US, Boston, MA, pp 701–730
Chadwick WW Jr, Cashman KV, Embley RW et al (2008) Direct video and hydrophone observations of submarine explosive eruptions at NW Rota-1 volcano. Mariana arc J Geophys Res Solid Earth 113. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005215
Chapman CJ, Hawkins AD (1973) A field study of hearing in the cod,Gadus morhua L. J Comp Physiol 85:147–167. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00696473
Chuang L-C, Lin Y-S, Liang S-H (2006) Ecomorphological comparison and habitat preference of 2 cyprinid fishes, Varicorhinus barbatulus and Candidia barbatus, in Hapen Creek of Northern Taiwan. Zool Stud 45:114–123
Codarin A, Wysocki LE, Ladich F, Picciulin M (2009) Effects of ambient and boat noise on hearing and communication in three fish species living in a marine protected area (Miramare, Italy). Mar Pollut Bull 58:1880–1887
Coers A, Bouton N, Vincourt D, Slabbekoorn H (2008) Fluctuating noise conditions may limit acoustic communication distance in the rock-pool blenny. Bioacoustics 17:63–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2008.9753765
Crone TJ, Wilcock WSD, Barclay AH, Parsons JD (2006) The sound generated by Mid-Ocean ridge black smoker hydrothermal vents. PLoS One 1:e133. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000133
Davis VA, Holbrook RI, de Perera TB (2021) Fish can use hydrostatic pressure to determine their absolute depth. Commun Biol 4:1–5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02749-z
Duarte CM, Chapuis L, Collin SP et al (2021) The soundscape of the Anthropocene Ocean. Science 371:eaba4658. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba4658
Fay R (2009) Soundscapes and the sense of hearing of fishes. Integr Zool 4:26–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-4877.2008.00132.x
Fletcher LB, Crawford JD (2001) Acoustic detection by sound-producing fishes (Mormyridae): the role of gas-filled tympanic bladders. J Exp Biol 204:175–183
Fox CG, Matsumoto H, Lau T-KA (2001) Monitoring Pacific Ocean seismicity from an autonomous hydrophone array. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 106:4183–4206. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000JB900404
Frisk GV (2012) Noiseonomics: the relationship between ambient noise levels in the sea and global economic trends. Sci Rep 2:1–4
Frohlich C, Buskirk RE (1980) Can fish detect seismic waves? Geophys Res Lett 7:569–572
Halliday WD, Pine MK, Bose AP et al (2018) The plainfin midshipman’s soundscape at two sites around Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 603:189–200
Harris SH (2022) Robert Fulton’s Demologos. Chron Early Am Ind Assoc Inc 75:68–70
Hildebrand JA (2009) Anthropogenic and natural sources of ambient noise in the ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 395:5–20
Holt DE, Johnston CE (2011) Can you hear the dinner bell? Response of cyprinid fishes to environmental acoustic cues. Anim Behav 82:529–534
Holt DE, Johnston CE (2014) Evidence of the Lombard effect in fishes. Behav Ecol 25:819–826
International Organization for Standardization (2017) ISO 18405: 2017. Underwater acoustics–Terminology
Italiano F, Maugeri R, Mastrolia A, Heinicke J (2011) SMM, a new seafloor monitoring module for real-time data transmission: an application to shallow hydrothermal vents. Procedia Earth Planet Sci 4:93–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2011.11.010
Jacobs DW, Tavolga WN (1967) Acoustic intensity limens in the goldfish. Anim Behav 15:324–335. https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-3472(67)90019-X
Jesus SM, Xavier FC, Vio RP et al (2020) Particle motion measurements near a rocky shore off Cabo Frio Island. J Acoust Soc Am 147:4009–4019. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0001392
Kaatz IM, Rice AN, Lobel PS (2017) How fishes use sound: quiet to loud and simple to complex signaling ☆. In: reference module in life sciences. Elsevier, p B9780128096338030000
Katano O (1992a) Cannibalism on eggs by dark chub, Zacco temmincki (Temminck & Schlegel) (Cyprinidae). J Fish Biol 41:655–661. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1992.tb02692.x
Katano O (1992b) Spawning tactics of paired males of the dark chub, Zacco temmincki, reflect potential fitness costs of satellites. Environ Biol Fish 35:343–350
Kennedy EV, Holderied MW, Mair JM et al (2010) Spatial patterns in reef-generated noise relate to habitats and communities: evidence from a Panamanian case study. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 395:85–92
Knudsen FR, Enger PS, Sand O (1992) Awareness reactions and avoidance responses to sound in juvenile Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. J Fish Biol 40:523–534
Kurahashi N, Gratta G (2008) Oceanic ambient noise as a background to acoustic neutrino detection. Phys Rev D 78:092001. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevD.78.092001
Ladich F (2000) Acoustic communication and the evolution of hearing in fishes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci 355:1285–1288. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2000.0685
Ladich F (2013) Effects of noise on sound detection and acoustic communication in fishes. In: Brumm H (ed) Animal communication and noise. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 65–90
Ladich F, Fay RR (2013) Auditory evoked potential audiometry in fish. Rev Fish Biol Fish 23:317–364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-012-9297-z
Lauritzen DV, Hertel F, Gordon MS (2005) A kinematic examination of wild sockeye salmon jumping up natural waterfalls. J Fish Biol 67:1010–1020. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00799.x
Leis JM, Carson-Ewart BM, Hay AC, Cato DH (2003) Coral-reef sounds enable nocturnal navigation by some reef-fish larvae in some places and at some times. J Fish Biol 63:724–737. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1095-8649.2003.00182.x
Lewis TN (1994) Detection of scattered ambient noise by fish: possible passive perception of potential predators and prey from palpable pressure and particle path perturbations. Georgia Institute of Technology, Dissertation
Locascio JV, Mann DA (2005) Effects of Hurricane Charley on fish chorusing. Biol Lett 1:362–365
Looby A, Cox K, Bravo S et al (2022) A quantitative inventory of global soniferous fish diversity. Rev Fish Biol Fish 32:581–595. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09702-1
Luczkovich JJ, Daniel HJ, Hutchinson M et al (2000) Sounds of sex and death in the sea: bottlenose dolphin whistles suppress mating choruses of silver perch. Bioacoustics 10:323–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2000.9753441
Luczkovich JJ, Krahforst CS, Hoppe H, Sprague MW (2016) Does vessel noise affect oyster toadfish calling rates? In: The effects of noise on aquatic life II. Springer, In, pp 647–653
Lugli M (2010) Sounds of shallow water fishes pitch within the quiet window of the habitat ambient noise. J Comp Physiol A 196:439–451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-010-0528-2
Lugli M, Fine ML (2003) Acoustic communication in two freshwater gobies: ambient noise and short-range propagation in shallow streams. J Acoust Soc Am 114:512–521. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1577561
Mann DA, Casper BM, Boyle KS, Tricas TC (2007) On the attraction of larval fishes to reef sounds. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 338:307–310
Martin SB, Popper AN (2016) Short- and long-term monitoring of underwater sound levels in the Hudson River (New York, USA). J Acoust Soc Am 139:1886–1897. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4944876
McWilliam JN, McCauley RD, Erbe C, Parsons MJG (2017) Patterns of biophonic periodicity on coral reefs in the great barrier reef. Sci Rep 7:17459. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-15838-z
Miksis-Olds JL, Stabeno PJ, Napp JM et al (2013) Ecosystem response to a temporary sea ice retreat in the Bering Sea: Winter 2009. Prog Oceanogr 111:38–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2012.10.010
Montgomery JC, Jeffs A, Simpson SD et al (2006) Sound as an orientation Cue for the pelagic larvae of reef fishes and decapod crustaceans. In: Advances in Marine Biology. Elsevier, In, pp 143–196
Montgomery J, Bleckmann H, Coombs S (2013) Sensory ecology and neuroethology of the lateral line. In: Coombs S, Bleckmann H, Fay RR, Popper AN (eds) The lateral line system. Springer New York, New York, NY, pp 121–150
Munger JE, Herrera DP, Haver SM et al (2022) Machine learning analysis reveals relationship between pomacentrid calls and environmental cues. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 681:197–210. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13912
Myrberg AA (1981) Sound communication and interception in fishes. In: Tavolga WN, Popper AN, Fay RR (eds) Hearing and sound communication in fishes. Springer, New York, NY, pp 395–426
Nelson JS, Grande TC, Wilson MV (2016) Fishes of the world. John Wiley & Sons
Parmentier E, Berten L, Rigo P et al (2015) The influence of various reef sounds on coral-fish larvae behaviour. J Fish Biol 86:1507–1518
Picciulin M, Sebastianutto L, Codarin A et al (2012) Brown meagre vocalization rate increases during repetitive boat noise exposures: a possible case of vocal compensation. J Acoust Soc Am 132:3118–3124. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4756928
Plachta DTT, Popper AN (2003) Evasive responses of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) to ultrasonic stimuli. Acoust Res Lett Online 4:25–30. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.1558376
Popper AN, Hawkins AD (2018) The importance of particle motion to fishes and invertebrates. J Acoust Soc Am 143:470–488. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5021594
Popper AN, Hawkins AD (2021) Fish hearing and how it is best determined. ICES J Mar Sci 78:2325–2336. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsab115
Popper AN, Hawkins AD, Sand O, Sisneros JA (2019) Examining the hearing abilities of fishes. J Acoust Soc Am 146:948–955. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5120185
Popper AN, Hawkins AD, Sisneros JA (2022) Fish hearing “specialization” – a re-evaluation1. Hear Res 425:108393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heares.2021.108393
Radford C, Jeffs A, Tindle C, Montgomery J (2008) Resonating Sea urchin skeletons create coastal choruses. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 362:37–43. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07444
Radford CA, Stanley JA, Tindle CT et al (2010) Localised coastal habitats have distinct underwater sound signatures. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 401:21–29. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps08451
Radford CA, Stanley JA, Simpson SD, Jeffs AG (2011) Juvenile coral reef fish use sound to locate habitats. Coral Reefs 30:295–305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-010-0710-6
Remage-Healey L, Nowacek DP, Bass AH (2006) Dolphin foraging sounds suppress calling and elevate stress hormone levels in a prey species, the Gulf toadfish. J Exp Biol 209:4444–4451
Rice AN, Farina SC, Makowski AJ et al (2022) Evolutionary patterns in sound production across fishes. Ichthyol Herpetol 110. https://doi.org/10.1643/i2020172
Richard JD (1968) Fish attraction with pulsed low-frequency sound. J Fish Res Board Can 25:1441–1452. https://doi.org/10.1139/f68-125
Rountree RA, Juanes F, Bolgan M (2020) Temperate freshwater soundscapes: a cacophony of undescribed biological sounds now threatened by anthropogenic noise. PLoS One 15:e0221842. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0221842
Sand O, Karlsen HE (1986) Detection of infrasound by the Atlantic cod. J Exp Biol 125:197–204. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.125.1.197
Sand O, Enger PS, Karlsen HE et al (2000) Avoidance responses to infrasound in downstream migrating European silver eels, Anguilla Anguilla. Environ Biol Fish 57:327–336
Scrimger JA, Evans DJ, McBean GA et al (1987) Underwater noise due to rain, hail, and snow. J Acoust Soc Am 81:79–86. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.394936
Seyfarth RM, Cheney DL (2003) Signalers and receivers in animal communication. Annu Rev Psychol 54:145–173
Short JR (2005) High-frequency ambient noise and its impact on underwater tracking ranges. IEEE J Ocean Eng 30:267–274
Simpson SD, Meekan M, Montgomery J et al (2005) Homeward sound. Science 308:221–221. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107406
Simpson SD, Meekan MG, Jeffs A et al (2008) Settlement-stage coral reef fish prefer the higher-frequency invertebrate-generated audible component of reef noise. Anim Behav 75:1861–1868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.11.004
Sisneros JA, Rogers PH (2016) Directional hearing and sound source localization in fishes. In: Sisneros JA (ed) Fish hearing and bioacoustics. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 121–155
Summers WV, Pisoni DB, Bernacki RH et al (1988) Effects of noise on speech production: acoustic and perceptual analyses. J Acoust Soc Am 84:917–928
Tavolga WN, Wodinsky J (1963) Auditory capacities in fishes : pure tone thresholds in nine species of marine teleosts. Bull AMNH 126:2. Pure tone thresholds in nine species of marine teleosts
Velde K te, Mairo A, Neger R, et al (2022) River soundscapes: Potential and vulnerability of auditory cues to migratory fish Poster AN2022
Tegowski J, Deane GB, Lisimenka A, Blondel P (2011) Detecting and analyzing underwater ambient noise of glaciers on Svalbard as indicator of dynamic processes in the Arctic. In: Proceedings of the 4th UAM conference. Kos, Greece, pp 1149–1154
Tolimieri N, Haine O, Jeffs A et al (2004) Directional orientation of pomacentrid larvae to ambient reef sound. Coral Reefs 23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-004-0383-0
Vasconcelos RO, Amorim MCP, Ladich F (2007) Effects of ship noise on the detectability of communication signals in the Lusitanian toadfish. J Exp Biol 210:2104–2112. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.004317
Vračar MS, Mijić M (2011) Ambient noise in large rivers (L). J Acoust Soc Am 130:1787–1791. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3628666
Wang M, Wang Q, Ni M et al (2021) Can feeding sound attract flower fish (Ptychobarbus kaznakovi)? J Comp Physiol A 207:617–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-021-01501-6
Wang Y-L, Lin C-Y, Huang S-P et al (2022) Chub movement is attracted by the collision sounds associated with spawning activities. Zootaxa 5189:308–317
Wilford DC, Miksis-Olds JL, Martin SB et al (2021) Quantitative soundscape analysis to understand multidimensional features. Front Mar Sci 8:672336. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.672336
Yan HY, Popper AN (1991) An automated positive reward method for measuring acoustic sensitivity in fish. Behav Res Methods Instrum Comput 23:351–356. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03203396
Zeddies DG, Fay RR, Alderks PW et al (2010) Sound source localization by the plainfin midshipman fish, Porichthys notatus. J Acoust Soc Am 127:11
Zimmerman CE, Neal CA, Haeussler PJ (2008) Natural hazards, fish habitat, and fishing communities in Alaska. In: American Fisheries Society Symposium. pp. 000–000
Acknowledgments
We thank the organizers of the International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Berlin, 2022 for providing funding to Sujay Balebail to present this review at the conference. We thank the editor Dr. Arthur Popper for his constructive feedback on the initial version and subsequent revisions of this review, which considerably improved the quality of the final version. We also thank Dr. Ian Jones for an insightful discussion on how the frequency content of sound pressure and particle motion can be different. This review is dedicated to the memory of the late Dr. Richard R. Fay whose thoughts on how fishes may use ambient sounds as “acoustic daylight” inspired us to write this review.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Balebail, S., Sisneros, J.A. (2023). Natural Ambient Sounds as Sources of Biologically Relevant Information and Noise for Fishes. In: Popper, A.N., Sisneros, J., Hawkins, A.D., Thomsen, F. (eds) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10417-6_11-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10417-6_11-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-10417-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-10417-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences