Meeting Abstract
Acoustic communication is a critical component of many animals’ behavior, and sounds are often produced for reproductive advertisement. For many species of vocalizing fishes, reproductive calls form long-duration choruses and are the dominant biological sound within their habitats. Environmental cues often regulate the timing of behavior and physiology of individuals, but it unclear how this extrapolates to population and community levels. Through long-term acoustic recordings of wild populations, we can link organismal- and population-level processes in the context of reproductive behavior. We used fish sounds to understand how changing climatic conditions may impact the behavior of individuals and the ecology of populations. To address this, we looked at the seasonal chorusing patterns of two species of acoustically active fishes– black drum and oyster toadfish- over a five-year period off the coast of Florida, and we correlated these patterns with water temperature. Fish choruses lasted continuously for weeks to months and are the dominant sounds in this habitat. In a stable pattern across years, black drum began chorusing in early- to mid-spring, followed by toadfish. The calling pattern of co-located species forms a seasonal structure within their acoustic community. However, the onset of chorusing in both species positively correlates with water temperature: as water temperatures increase both faster and higher, species chorus earlier, and chorusing duration increases. Thus, continued increases in ocean temperature through climate change may continue to alter the calling behavior of these and other species, creating new patterns of acoustic interaction. Environmentally mediated changes in acoustic communication may ultimately impact reproductive success of these populations.
