title: Does Vessel Noise Affect Oyster Toadfish Calling Rates?
abstract: The question we addressed in this study is whether oyster toadfish respond to vessel disturbances by calling less when vessels with lower frequency spectra are present in a sound recording and afterward. Long-term data recorders were deployed at the Neuse (high vessel-noise site) and Pamlico (low vessel-noise site) Rivers. There were many fewer toadfish detections at the high vessel-noise site than the low-noise station. Calling rates were lower in the high-boat traffic area, suggesting that toadfish cannot call over loud vessel noise, reducing the overall calling rate, and may have to call more often when vessels are not present.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Institute for Coastal Science and Policy, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA. luczkovichj@ecu.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Luczkovich
authors.affiliation: Coastal Resources Management Program, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA. krahforstc06@students.ecu.edu.
authors.forename: Cecilia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Krahforst
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA. HOPPEH09@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hoppe
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA. spraguem@ecu.edu.
authors.forename: Mark W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Sprague
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D024541:Batrachoidiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D009622:Noise; D009657:North Carolina; D012767:Ships; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Fish sounds; North Carolina; Pamlico Sound; Soniferous fishes; Soundscapes; Vessel noise