 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Researchers Study Acoustic Communication In Deep-Sea Fish
Richmond, VA (SPX) Sep 30, 2008 An international research team studying sound production in deep-sea fishes has found that cusk-eels use several sets of muscles to produce sound that plays a prominent role in male mating calls. These findings, published online in the Royal Society journal, Biology Letters, may help researchers gain further insight into acoustic communication in the deep sea and the role of sound in fish behavior. Virginia Commonwealth University Life Sciences biologists Michael L. Fine, Ph.D., Kim Nguyen and Hsung Lin, both graduate students at VCU, together with Eric Parmentier at the Universite de Liege in Belgium, examined the sonic muscles of the fawn cusk-eel, Lepophidium profundorum, a species found in the Atlantic Ocean. "Little is known about acoustic communication in the deep sea because of the difficulties of observing fish in this habitat. Based on anatomy, ophidiid fishes, or cusk-eels, are likely one of the chief sound producers. They have unusual sonic muscles that occur in antagonistic pairs and are typically larger in males," said Fine, a professor in the VCU Department of Biology. Many fish use an organ known as a swim bladder to produce sound. According to Fine, the fawn cusk-eel uses two muscle pairs to pivot a modified rib, 'the wing-like process,' forward. This action stretches the swim bladder. An antagonistic muscle pair then restores the swim bladder to its original position. In previous work outside of the mating season, they found that the tiny intermediate muscle of the fawn cusk-eel was larger in females, which was quite surprising since male fish are usually more vocal than females, said Fine. The research team obtained the fish during the summer mating season and found that intermediate muscle weight increased four fold and had become heavier in males than in females. "Our findings suggest that the intermediate muscle likely assumes a prominent role in sound production of male mating calls and suggest that male sex hormones cause the muscle to grow," he said. According to Fine, fishes make sounds for different reasons, but the two most common types of sounds are made for courtship and agonistic behaviors. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Virginia Commonwealth University Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com
Explorers Find Hundreds of Undescribed Corals On Familiar Australian Reefs
Washington DC (SPX) Sep 25, 2008Hundreds of new kinds of animal species surprised international researchers systematically exploring waters off two islands on the Great Barrier Reef and a reef off northwestern Australia -- waters long familiar to divers. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook