Abstract
Recently, several bioacoustic studies have focused on the red eye bass (Micropterus coosae). One of these studies documented sound production, while the other played back sounds produced by prey items in order to determine their attractiveness to M. coosae. Surprisingly, the hearing ability of fishes in the genus Micropterus has received very little attention. The need for audiograms describing hearing in Micropterus is apparent. This study utilized the auditory brainstem response (ABR) approach to determine hearing sensitivity in terms of both sound pressure level (SPL) and particle acceleration in two black bass species, the red eye bass (M. coosae) and the Alabama bass (M. henshalli). Audiograms produced in this study expressed in both SPL and particle acceleration showed a positive relationship between hearing threshold and frequency. Micropterus coosae was most sensitive to frequencies that overlap with the peak frequencies of their vocalizations, and the vocalizations of a prey species, Cyprinella trichroistia. Bass hearing sensitivities at lower frequencies, measured in terms of particle acceleration, were similar to several sciaenid species.
References
Alfons B, Kroese A, Schellart NAM (1992) Velocity-and acceleration-sensitive units in the trunk lateral line of the trout. J Neurophysiol 68:2212–2221
Casper BM, Mann DA (2006) Evoked potential audiograms of the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) and the yellow stingray (Urobatis jamaicensis). Environ Biol Fish 76:101–108
Corwin JT, Bullock TH, Schweitzer J (1982) The auditory brainstem response in five vertebrate classes. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 54:629–641
Higgs DM, Souza MJ, Wilkins HR, Presson JC, Popper AN (2001) Age-and size-related changes in the inner ear and hearing ability of the adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 03:174–184
Holt DH, Johnston CE (2009) Signaling without the risk of illegitimate receivers: do predators respond to the acoustic signals of Cyprinella (Cyprinidae)? Environ Biol Fish 84:347–357
Horodysky AZ, Brill RW, Fine ML, Musick JA, Latour RJ (2008) Acoustic pressure and particle motion thresholds in six sciaenid fishes. J Exp Biol 211:1504–1511
Johnston CE, Bolling MK, Holt DE, Phillips CT (2008) Production of acoustic signals during aggression in Coosa bass, Micropterus coosae. Environ Biol Fish 82:17–20
Jones KA (2005) Knowing bass; the scientific approach to catching more fish. First Lyons, Guilford, p 108
Kenyon TN, Ladich F, Yan HY (1998) A comparative study of hearing ability in fishes: the auditory brainstem response approach. J Comp Physiol A 182:307–318
Kojima T, Ito H, Komata T, Taniuchi T, Akamatsu T (2005) Measurements of auditory sensitivity in common carp Cyprinus carpio by the auditory brainstem response technique and cardiac conditioning method. Fish Sci 71:95–100
Mann DA, Higgs DM, Tavolga WN, Souza MJ, Popper AN (2001) Ultrasound detection by clupeiform fishes. J Acoust Soc Am 109:3048–3054
Münz H (1985) Single unit activity in the peripheral lateral line system of the cichlid fish Sarotherodon niloticus L. J Comp Physiol A 157:555–568
Myrberg AA (1981) Sound communication and interception in fishes. In: Fay RR, Popper AN, Tavolga WN (eds) Hearing and sound communication in fishes. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp 345–425
Popper AN, Fay RR (2010) Rethinking sound detection by fishes. Hear Res. doi:10.1016/j.heares.2009.12.023
Wright KJ, Higgs DM, Belanger AJ, Leis JM (2005) Auditory and olfactory abilities of pre-settlement larvae and post-settlement juveniles of a coral reef damselfish (Pisces: Pomacentridae). Mar Biol 147:1425–1434
Acknowledgments
We thank Dennis Higgs for technical assistance in setting up the ABR system and David Mann for assistance in calculating particle accelerations. We would also like to thank Hong Young Yan for providing M. salmoides audiogram data. Thanks to Patricia Speares, Nicole Kierl, and Sean Holder for help collecting and maintaining specimens.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Holt, D.E., Johnston, C.E. Hearing sensitivity in two black bass species using the auditory brainstem response approach. Environ Biol Fish 91, 121–126 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9756-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-010-9756-0