Abstract
No information on the inheritance of the ability to produce sounds exists for fishes. In birds, which usually provide extensive post-hatching parental care, acoustic signals are learned in some species but are innate in others. Almost no fishes provide extensive post-hatching parental care and, consequently, the offspring have little opportunity to hear and learn sounds produced by the parents (usually the male in fishes); they may, however, be exposed to acoustic signals of conspecifics in the same habitat. We used a cyprinid, Codoma ornata, to test whether sound production is learned from the parents or whether it is innate. Fertilized eggs of this species were raised in isolation from adults. Upon maturity, these fish were tested for sound production in aggressive and reproductive contexts. Fish which had no contact with adults, and therefore no opportunity to hear the acoustic signals of their species, produced sounds that were similar to those produced by their parents, and they produced these in the same contexts. Significant differences were observed in dominant frequency for one context, with the smaller F1 fish having signals of higher frequency than parental fish. Since no opportunity for learning existed, this provided evidence that the ability to produce sounds is innate in this minnow species.
References
Amorim MC, Hawkins AD (2005) Ontogeny of acoustic and feeding behaviour in the grey gurnard, Eutrigla gurnardus. Ethology 111:255–269
Delco EA (1960) Sound discrimination by males of two cyprinid fishes. Texas J Sci 12:48–54
Fine ML (1978) Seasonal and geographical variation of the mating call of the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau L. Oecologia 36:45–57
Gerhardt HC, Huber F (2002) Acoustic communication in insects and anurans: common problems and diverse solutions. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Johnson, DL (2001) Acoustic behavior and geographic variation in longear sunfish. PhD thesis, University of Texas, Austin
Johnston CE, Johnson DL (2000) Sound production in Pimephales notatus (Rafinesque) (Cyprinidae). Copeia 2000:567–571
Johnston CE, Vives SP (2003) Sound production in Codoma ornata (Girard) (Cyprinidae). Environ Biol Fishes 68:81–85
Myrberg AA, Ha SJ, Shamlbott MJ (1993) The sounds of bicolor damselfish (Pomacentrus partitus): predictors of body size and a spectral basis for individual recognition and assessment. J Acoust Soc Am 94:3067–3070
Payne RB, Payne LL, Woods JL (1998) Song learning in brood-parasitic indigobirds Vidua chalybeta: song mimicry of the host species. Anim Behav 55:1537–1554
Slater PJB, Lachlan RF, Riebel K (2000) The significance of learning in signal development: the curious case of the Chaffinch. In: Espmark Y, Amundsen T, Rosenqvist G (eds) Signalling and signal design in animal communication. Tapir Academic Press, Trodheim, Norway, pp 341–352
Winn HE, Stout JT (1960) Sound production by the satinfin shiner, Notropis analostanus and related fishes. Science 132:222–223
Acknowledgements
Thanks to M. Castro, A. R. Henderson, R. A. Kennon, and C. T. Phillips for help with animal care. We would also like to thank S. P. Vives for broodstock from Georgia Southern University.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johnston, C.E., Buchanan, H.M. Learned or innate production of acoustic signals in fishes: a test using a cyprinid. Environ Biol Fish 78, 183–187 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9087-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9087-3