Sexual differences in the spawning sounds of the Japanese croaker, Argyrosomus japonicus (Sciaenidae)

Abstract

ences in the calls voluntarily emitted during the spawning season of the Japanese croaker (Argyrosomus japonicus) raised in tanks and ponds in the Penghu Archipelago, Taiwan, are described. Calls are composed of a train of pulses of drumming sounds and were heard primarily after dusk. The spawning-season advertisement calls of the male and female differ; females generated significantly more pulses per call, and their calls had a longer call duration, a shorter pulse period, and a lower dominant frequency than those of males. Both sexes vocalized during the actual spawning, and their activities are described herein. Possible roles of these sounds are discussed. http://zoolstud.sinica.edu.tw/Journals/46.1/103.pdf