Sound production of red grouper Epinephelus morio on the West Florida Shelf

Abstract

AB Aquatic Biology Contact the journal Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections AB 12:97-108 (2011) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00325 Sound production of red grouper Epinephelus morio on the West Florida Shelf Misty D. Nelson1,*, Christopher C. Koenig2, Felicia C. Coleman2, David A. Mann1 1College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA 2Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, 3618 Coastal Highway, St. Teresa Beach, Florida 32358, USA *Email: [e-mail] ABSTRACT: Passive acoustic and digital video recordings were used to investigate sonic activity and behavior of red grouper Epinephelus morio on the West Florida Shelf. Red grouper were found to produce a unique series of low-frequency (180 Hz peak) pulses consisting of 1 to 4 brief (0.15 s) broadband pulses and a 0.5 to 2 s growl (short call); occasionally these were followed by a rapid series of 10 to 50 broadband pulses (pulse train). Sound production was ob served throughout the day and night, but most sounds occurred between sunrise and sunset, with a noticeable increase during late afternoon. Behaviors asso ciated with sound production included solitary male activity and court - ship interactions, indicating that sound production is likely related to spawning activity. Thus, passive acoustics could be an effective tool in monitoring red grouper reproduction and defining critical habitat of a keystone species. KEY WORDS: Epinephelidae · Acoustics · Video · Fish behavior · In situ observations · Diel periodicity · Gulf of Mexico Full text in pdf format Supplementary material NextCite this article as: Nelson MD, Koenig CC, Coleman FC, Mann DA (2011) Sound production of red grouper Epinephelus morio on the West Florida Shelf. Aquat Biol 12:97-108. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00325Export citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in AB Vol. 12, No. 2. Online publication date: April 28, 2011 Print ISSN: 1864-7782; Online ISSN: 1864-7790 Copyright © 2011 Inter-Research.