Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhynchus
I have been recording sturgeon sounds in the Kennebec River, Maine for several years. So far I have recorded two types of sounds: jumps and snaps.
Two Atlantic sturgeon jumping in Augusta Maine on the Kennebec River, 1 July 2014
Spectrogram of Acipenser oxyrhynchus jump sound.
Listen
Spectrogram of snap sounds attributed to Acipenser oxyrhynchus (95% confidence).
Listen
Spectrogram close up of two other snaps.
Listen
Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengusI have made many recordings of alewife sounds made after the fish gulps air at the surface
Video of alewife sound production recorded 2 May 2014 at the Marston Mills herring run on Cape Cod, MA.
Alewife sound figure
At top is a spectrogram of a complete series of sounds produced by an alewife as shown in the video.
Lables are: “Surface” = air gulping surface event, “B” =bubble sound, “C” = cough fish sound, “O” = other fish sound, “M” = mouth bubble sound.
Panels B (waveform) and D (spectrogram) are zoomed into an example of a cough in the sequence.
Panels C (waveform) and E (spectrogram) is an example of another frequent sound recorded by alewife, but which does not appear in the example sequence.
Listen to the sound
Yellow bullhead, Ameiurus natalis
Specimen auditioned at Port Henry, NY on Lake Champlain at 20h on 3 October 2010.
So far all of the specimens of this species I've examined have been silent.
Brown bullhead, Ameiurus nebulosus.
Three 24-23 cm SL (9-11 in) Brown bullhead catfish, were auditioned by Katie Burchard 30 June 2004 at 9:49 pm at Tivoli Bay on the Hudson River
Spectrogram of Ameiurus sounds
Freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens.
A freshwater drum auditioned about 1630 h on 15 July 2010 at South Bay Fishing Pier, on Lake Champlain, Whitehall, NY.
Spectrograms of Aplodinotus grunniens spectrograms sounds from three locations:
Listen to each:
A) Dale Hollow Reservoir, TN recorded 1 September 2009.
B) Fort Edwards, NY recorded 16 July 2010 in Champlan Canal Lock C7.
C) Tivoli Bay, NY recorded by Katie Burchard 9 September 2003.
Listen to a chorus recorded 1 August 2013 in the Seneca Canal, Seneca Falls, NY.
Hardhead catfish, Ariopsis felis An approximately 10 inch specimen auditioned
at approximately 2330 h on 30 April 2019 on the Tolomato River, Vilano Beach, Florida.
See "Sounds of Florida" for more information.
Spectrogram
Gafftopsail catfish, Bagre marinus An approximately 10 inch specimen auditioned
at approximately 2315 h on 30 April 2019 on the Tolomato River, Vilano Beach, Florida.
See "Sounds of Florida" for more information.
Spectrogram
Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus
Specimen auditioned 9 Sept 2013 at the Cotuit, MA town dock. No audible sounds detected.
Cusk, Brosme brosme silent individual recorded on Stellwagen Bank October 2002.
Cusk, Brosme brosme video and sounds were recorded on Stellwagen Bank at pproximately 1200 h on 22 October 2001.
Filtered Spectrogram of cusk sound example
Filtered Spectrogram zoomed into two knocks.
Blue runner, Caranx crysosSpecimen auditioned 9 Oct 2013 at the Cotuit, MA town dock. This is a very vocal species and it grunted prior to auditioning. Unfortunately, they were silent by the time I was able to audition them, probably due to the cold temperatures.
White sucker, Catastomus commersonii White sucker image from video taken 7 May 2014
at the Stony Brook herring run.
White sucker Figure
At the top is a spectrogram of a complete series of sounds produced by a white sucker recorded 29 April 2014 at the Stony Brook herring run. Lables are: “Surface” = air gulping surface event, “S” = snort, “Gull” = herring gull sound underwater. Panels B (waveform) and D (spectrogram) are zoomed into an example of a snort in the sequence. Panels C (waveform) and E (spectrogram) is an example of another frequent sound recorded by the species, but which does not appear in the example sequence. Listen to the sound
Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua Cod caught on Stellwagen Bank October 2001 (see Stellwagen project).
Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua Cod grunt sounds were recording on the fishing grounds in the Gulf of Maine
(N43 34.002, W69 58.579) on 24 June 2003. Loud sounds in the background are instrument noise. The faint sound like rushing wind is the call of a
harbor seal. It can be seen in the spectrogram as the faint dark blue color that gradually becomes stronger and visible as the light blue blotches.
Listen to: three cod grunts overlaying a much longer seal call
Spectrogram zoomed into a single cod grunt.
Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.
A 25 cm (10 in) SL Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, was auditioned by Katie Burchard on 7 August 2004 at Tivoli Bay, on the Hudson River, NY.
Spectrogram of Ictalurus punctatus sounds
Spectrogram zoomed into two grunts.
Haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus.
Haddock captured October 2001 as part of the Stellwagen Bank survey
Haddock, Melanogrammus aeglefinus.
Haddock captured spring 2007 as part of Katie's haddock spawning study in the Gulf of Maine
Spectrogram of Haddock sounds recorded in the Gulf of Maine fishing grounds
on 9 May 2003
Listen haddock example 1 Note the double
pulse cycle pattern of each knock in the waveform.
Spectrogram of Haddock sounds recorded in the Gulf of Maine fishing grounds
on 29 June 2003
Spectrogram of Haddock sounds characteristic of spawning recorded in the Gulf of Maine fishing grounds
on 29 June 2003
Smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis
Numerous specimens auditioned on Cape Cod and in North Carolina. All silent.
Grubby, Myoxocephalus aenaeusNumerous specimens auditioned in tide pools on Cape Cod, MA on various dates. All have been silent so far.
Grubby, Myoxocephalus aenaeus being audition in situ on 15 October 2014 in Sandwich, MA.
Rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss image from video taken 6 October 2016 at Bluestream trout
hatcher, Cape Cod, Ma.
Rainbow Trout Figure
At the top is a spectrogram of a complete series of sounds produced by a rainbow trout recorded 5 December 2014 at the Bluestream Trout Hatcher, Cape Cod, MA. “Surface” = air gulping surface event (here a jump), Gurgles were the most commonly observed sound type. Panels B (waveform) and D (spectrogram) are zoomed into an example of a gurgle in the sequence. Panels C (waveform) and E (spectrogram) is an example of another frequent sound recorded by the species termed the "VFRT" or "very fast repetative tick", which we believe is related to the FRT sounds produced by herring. Listen to the sound
Striped cusk-eel, Ophidion marginatum.
This was the first species I ever recorded as part of a side project while completing my dissertation at Rutgers University. For more information
see
the Cusk-eel page
Spectrogram of Ophidion marginatum sounds recorded in the laboratory by myself and Jennette Bowers-Altman in August 1989. Sounds were heard in air with
a tape recorder as we observed spawning behavior.
Listen to the striped cusk-eel recorded in the laborary.
Spectrogram of Ophidion marginatum sounds recorded in Provincetown harbor, MA on 23 August 2001
Spectrogram of Ophidion marginatum chorous sound recorded recorded on 16 June 2001 in Cotuit harbor, MA.
Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta.
This species is found in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Florida and looks nearly identical to the oyster toadfish found along the east coast of the USA. I recorded its sounds while on vacation in the Florida Keys in April 2001, one of my early attempts to record fish sounds in the field. Sounds are attributed to the species based on its well described sound characteristics.
Spectrogram of Opsanus beta sounds
This is an individual "boatwhistle" or "foghorn" call of the Gulf toadfish and is made by a male advertising for a mate. Note the multiple "boops" and compare with the call of the oyster toadfish below. The number and pattern of boops is a distinguishing trait of species in the toadfish family.
Spectrogram of Opsanus beta chorus sounds
This is what a chorus of many gulf toadfish sounds like
Oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau.
An Oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, auditioned at approximately 0200 h on 20 September 2013 at the Cotuit Town Pier, Cotuit, MA. The oyster toadfish, like other toadfishes, makes at least two very differnt types of call.
Spectrogram of the aggression/disturbance call of an oyster toadfish Opsanus tau from an audition at the Cotuit Town Pier
on 20 September 2013
Same sound zoomed into a single grunt
Spectrogram of a typical oyster toadfish boatwhistle call, recorded at the Cotuit Town Pier 20 June 2001
Listen to the sound Compare with the Gulf toadfish boatwhistle
Chorus Spectrogram. An example of a typical oyster toadfish chorus recorded 15 June 2001 on the dock at Woods Hole, MA
Same sound zoomed into a single boatwhistle
Chorus Spectrogram. Another example of a typical oyster toadfish chorus recorded about 2207 h on the same date, but showing the effect of
an approaching boat.
Listen to toadfish chorus and boat sounds For more examples of the effect of boat noise on toadfish see Florida Sounds
Yellow perch, Perca flavescens
Five juvenile yellow perch were auditioned on 9 September 2013 in Santuit Pond, Mashpee, MA. These and other fish auditioned and observed were all silent.
Bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrixSpecimen auditioned 9 September 2013 on the Cotuit town docks. This specimen and all others examined to date have been silent. However, they are all juveniles and I have sometimes felt weak thumps. See see Carolina Fishes for other examples.
Striped searobin, Prionotus evolans.
A 14 cm (5.5 in) SL striped searobin at about 0300 h on 20 September 2013 at the Cotuit Town Pier, Cotuit, MA.
Spectrogram of Prionotus evolans sounds
Same sound zoomed to four rapid grunts
in situ sounds of striped searobins are often much longer than the sounds recorded during auditioning.
This is a spectrogram of the first 40 s of a particularly long striped searobin sound series recorded off the Cotuit Town Pier on 1 August 2001.
Spectrogram of the same sound zoomed to the first 4 s.
Land locked subspecies of the Altantic salmon, Salmo salar sebago
Atlantic Salmon Figure (attributed with 90% confidence)
At the top is a spectrogram of a complete series of sounds recorded after sunset on 29 May 2014 in the Presumpscot River just below Sebago Lake in Maine. The sounds are tentativley attributed to Atlantic salmon with high confidence. The series starts with a surface event where a salmon jumps to gulp air, followed by a series of bubble like sounds, a moan, and gurgle sounds. Panels B (waveform) and D (spectrogram) are zoomed into an example of a gurgle type sound similar to gurgles observed in rainbow trout. Panels C (waveform) and E (spectrogram) is an example of a "moan" like sound often produced by salmon species and very unusual for a fish sound.
Brown trout, Salmo trutta image from video taken 25 October 2016 at Bluestream trout
hatchery, Cape Cod, Ma.
Video of brown trout sound production recorded 25 October 2016 at the Bluestream Trout Hatchery on Cape Cod, MA.
Brown Trout Figure
At the top is a spectrogram of a complete series of sounds produced by the brown trout as shown in the video and recorded 25 October 2015 at the Bluestream Trout Hatcher, Cape Cod, MA. “Surface” = air gulping surface event, followed by "Gill bubble FRTs which are a rapid stream of bubbles coming out of the left hand gill cover as seen in the video. Some seconds later a VFRT (very fast repetative ticks)can be heard at the end, but is not visible in the video. Panels B (waveform) and D (spectrogram) are zoomed in to the VFRT sound. Panels C (waveform) and E (spectrogram) is an example of another frequent sound recorded by the species termed a "chirp". Listen to the sound recorded in the video
Brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis image from video taken 5 December 2014 at Bluestream trout
hatcher, Cape Cod, Ma.
Brook trout were the least vocal of the salmonids I've examined,
producing an occasion VFRT or related "snitch" sounds.
Brook Trout Figure
At the top is a spectrogram of a complete series of sounds produced by a brook trout recorded 5 December 2014 at the Bluestream Trout Hatcher, Cape Cod, MA. “Surface” = air gulping surface event followed by a VFRT. Panels B (waveform) and D (spectrogram) are zoomed into the VFRT. Panels C (waveform) and E (spectrogram) is an example of another type sound recorded by the species termed the "snitch", which is likely related to the VFRT. Listen to the sound series
Tautog, Tautoga Onitis sketch
Spectrogram of Tautoga onitis sounds recorded at the Cotuit Town Pier on 9 September 2013. Sounds were validated to the species by comparing video
with sounds localized with a six hydrophone array.
Spectrogram zoomed into a double grunt.
Rough scad, Trachurus lathami
Spectrogram of Rough scad, Trachurus lathami sounds recorded at the Cotuit Town Pier on 9 September 2013.
Unfortunately the specimen was lost during the auditioning so I did not get its size measurement. However, it was
was approximately 12 cm SL. Although many member of the Carangidae family (Jacks) are known to be soniferous, this
is the first recording of the species to date.
Spectrogram zoomed to a single grunt.