Diel periodicity of fish sound production in Charlotte Harbor, Florida

Diel periodicity in sound production of estuarine fishes was documented in Charlotte Harbor, Florida, from 7 May to 10 June 2003. A long-term acoustic recording system was used to record 10 s of sound every 10 min within the frequency range of 0-1.250 Hz. Diet patterns in fish sound production were well defined throughout the study period. Chorusing events dominated by sand seatrout Cynoscion arenarius reached a mean daily (24-h period) maximum sound pressure level of H 7 dB relative to a reference effective pressure of 1 mu Pa. Mean daily chorus start and end times were 1726 and 0210 hours Eastern Standard Time, respectively, and chorus events lasted an average of 8.7 h. Other species recorded on most nights included the Gulf toadfish Opsanus beta, spotted seatrout C. nebulosus, and silver perch Bairdiella chrysoura. The results from this study demonstrate how this technology can be scaled to examine spawning soniferous fishes across large spatial and temporal scales.