Fish and invertebrate sounds of the Pacific Northwest
A place to think collectively about the potential sources of biological sounds heard on the Salish Sea hydrophone network.
Soniferous Fish of the Pacific Northwest
Let's try to build a list by cross-referencing web and peer-reviewed literature with lists of species that are common to the Salish Sea and vicinity. Some of the mystery sounds and suspected-fish sounds are archived (and playable via Flash) in the Salish Sea sound tutor.
Then we can rank it by potential soniferous-ness (most-likely to be heard on the hydrophone network is first on page):
Midshipman
Some males emit sound to attract gravid females. The hum is centered on 100Hz. Also known as California singing fish or canary bird fish.
- Story re Cornell research in WA (including a study site in Hood Canal) | sound samples (hum, beat, grunt train, growl)
Garibaldi
I've read somewhere that folks hear them munching on stuff (coral?).
Helpful links
- Rodney Rountree's fishecology.org sound pages: sound samples | soniferous fish background | his bookmarks (lots more links)
- East Carolina U collection: intro and literature | sound gallery (with photos of species)
- Historic Naval recordings: Sound in the Sea archive (drum fish, croaker, snapping shrimp, garibaldi)
Relevant literature
Fish and Mowbray (1970) list 208 species of soniferous fishes common to the Northwestern Atlantic, including groupers, cods, catfish, snappers, jacks, drums, grunts, porgies, damselfishes, parrotfishes, mackerels, tunas, searobins, eels, and mullets.
Is there a comparable reference for the Northeast Pacific?
