Dissertation Research: Sound Communication and Reproduction in Fishes: The Cost of Underwater Noise to Fish Reproduction, Larval Sensory Development, and Acoustic Sensitivity

船舶噪音是一个世界性的问题，因为众所周知，它会改变海洋动物的行为。虽然鱼类对船舶噪声表现出回避行为，但船舶噪声对鱼类繁殖和幼鱼发育的影响尚需进一步研究。在这项研究中，牡蛎蟾蜍鱼（Opsanus tau）将被用作模式生物，因为雄性会用“船哨”的声音呼唤雌性，并在洞穴中照顾底栖生物，附着在基质上的胚胎。容器的噪音可以掩盖交配的叫声，这可能会降低雌性的巢穴访问率并改变幼虫的发育。如果这项研究证明船舶噪音改变了繁殖和幼虫的生存，那么它可能会鼓励船舶静音技术的发展，为海洋声景监测提供额外的证据，并可能影响限制受保护栖息地（如海洋保护区、海草床、珊瑚和牡蛎礁）声干扰的政策。研究人员将继续通过生物声学领域的展览和演示参与社区外展活动，研究结果将用于本科和研究生课程。这项研究将确定血管噪音是否会改变成虫和幼虫的行为和生存。实验研究了暴露于血管噪声环境下的幼蟾鱼在定居过程中感觉解剖结构、对声音和噪声的敏感性以及偏好的声音频率的变化。成年和幼蟾蜍鱼将暴露于两种类型的船只噪音（舷外发动机和大型船只）和捕虾声音（自然声音，控制）。将每周监测繁殖产出，并收集幼虫进行发声（鳔肌肉组织）神经发育的显微镜检查和声音接收（侧线和内耳）结构的形态计量学检查。在每一种处理中，将测试幼虫对粒子运动的敏感性和对声音频率的偏好，以确定声音印记是否在鱼类发育过程中发生。研究人员假设，血管噪音会降低雄性鸣叫率，降低生殖产量，并导致幼虫在定居期间和/或定居后改变其声音行为，从而潜在地改变生存。

Vessel noise is a worldwide concern because it is known to alter behavior in marine animals. While fishes show avoidance behavior to vessel noise, research is needed to determine how vessel noise impacts fish reproduction and larval development. In this study, the oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) will be used as a model organism because males call to females using "boatwhistle" sounds and care for benthic, substrate-attached embryos at dens. Vessel noises can mask mating calls, which may lower female den visitation rates and alter larval development. If this study demonstrates that vessel noise alters reproduction and larval survival, then it is likely to encourage the development of noise-quieting technology for vessels, provide additional evidence to justify ocean soundscape monitoring and could impact policies that limit acoustic disturbance in protected habitats, e.g., marine protected areas, seagrass beds, and coral and oyster reefs. The investigators will continue to participate in community outreach through exhibitions and demonstrations that address the area of bioacoustics, and the findings will be used in undergraduate and graduate courses.This study will determine if vessel noise alters adult and larval behavior and survival. Larval toadfish exposed to vessel noise experimentally will be examined for changes in sensory anatomy, sensitivity to sounds and noise, and preferred sound frequency of juvenile toadfish during settlement. Adult and larval toadfish will be exposed to two types of vessel noise (outboard motor and large vessel) and snapping shrimp sounds (natural sounds, control). Reproductive output will be monitored weekly and larvae will be collected for microscopic examination of neurological development of sound-producing (swimbladder musculature) and morphometric examination of sound-receiving (lateral line and inner ears) structures. Larvae in each treatment will be tested for sensitivity to particle motion and sound frequency preferences to determine if acoustic imprinting occurs during development in fishes. The researchers hypothesize that vessel noise will reduce male calling rates, lower reproductive output, and cause larvae to change their acoustic behavior during and/or after settlement, potentially altering survival.