Date: October 6, 2016
Source: University of Exeter
Fish may have regional accents
and communicate differently in different parts of the world, according to fish
expert Steve Simpson, Associate Professor of Marine Biology and global change.
Professor Simpson, who has
listened to the vocalisations of fish using sophisticated underwater listening
equipment, has identified variations in the "voices" of cod from
America and Europe.
Different 'dialects' have been
found in many animals, from songbirds to sperm whales. Simpson is now exploring
whether vocal fish, including cod and haddock, living in different areas around
Britain could have localised accents because they gather in the same spawning
grounds generation after generation.
Prof. Simpson's research into
bioacoustics and the "soundscape" of Britain's seas has so far focused
on the impact of maritime noise pollution on fish. His group has shown that
fish become stressed by noise, make bad decisions when feeding and faced with
predators, and that early development is impacted by noisy conditions. He fears
noise pollution from maritime construction, speed boats and ships could affect
their ability to attract mates, where their vocal behaviour is key to
reproductive success.
"Seawater is hundreds of
times denser than air, so underwater sounds travel much faster and further. We
have found that fish on coral reefs are susceptible to noise pollution, but we
are yet to study the effects in our own waters, which are some of the busiest
shipping areas in the world.
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