Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks

Experiments in marine behavioural ecology rely heavily on observations made in tanks. However, when studying acoustic behaviours of marine animals in confined volumes, the effects of reverberation must be characterized, something that has been overlooked in parts of the marine ecology literature. In...

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Main Authors: Jézéquel, Y, Bonnel, J, Coston-Guarini, J, Guarini, JM, Chauvaud, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Inter-Research 2018-05-01
Series:Aquatic Biology
Online Access:https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v27/p13-23/
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author Jézéquel, Y
Bonnel, J
Coston-Guarini, J
Guarini, JM
Chauvaud, L
author_facet Jézéquel, Y
Bonnel, J
Coston-Guarini, J
Guarini, JM
Chauvaud, L
author_sort Jézéquel, Y
collection DOAJ
description Experiments in marine behavioural ecology rely heavily on observations made in tanks. However, when studying acoustic behaviours of marine animals in confined volumes, the effects of reverberation must be characterized, something that has been overlooked in parts of the marine ecology literature. In this study, we characterized reverberation in tanks using an artificial sound source and examined the implications for bioacoustic studies using sounds emitted by the European lobster Homarus gammarus during feeding and in response to stress. Broadband and transient sounds commonly produced by crustaceans were severely impacted by reverberation such that their spectral characteristics and pulse width durations could not be assessed. In contrast, low-frequency sounds could be characterized in tanks, but not their source level. Based on these observations, we describe a simple methodology to identify which sound characteristics can be measured in tanks. When feeding, the lobsters produced broadband and transient sounds called ‘rattles’, similar to sounds reported for tropical spiny lobsters Palinurus longipes and P. argus. When stressed, H. gammarus vibrated its carapace, producing a low-frequency sound analogous to the ‘buzzing’ sound of the American lobster H. americanus. The potential role of species-specific sound is discussed; however, although our observations represent the first bioacoustic characterization of H. gammarus, additional behavioural studies are necessary to understand their ecological meaning.
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spelling doaj.art-03aff8973ff24869b4743fa5fb57fcde2022-12-21T22:36:16ZengInter-ResearchAquatic Biology1864-77821864-77902018-05-0127132310.3354/ab00692Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanksJézéquel, YBonnel, JCoston-Guarini, JGuarini, JMChauvaud, LExperiments in marine behavioural ecology rely heavily on observations made in tanks. However, when studying acoustic behaviours of marine animals in confined volumes, the effects of reverberation must be characterized, something that has been overlooked in parts of the marine ecology literature. In this study, we characterized reverberation in tanks using an artificial sound source and examined the implications for bioacoustic studies using sounds emitted by the European lobster Homarus gammarus during feeding and in response to stress. Broadband and transient sounds commonly produced by crustaceans were severely impacted by reverberation such that their spectral characteristics and pulse width durations could not be assessed. In contrast, low-frequency sounds could be characterized in tanks, but not their source level. Based on these observations, we describe a simple methodology to identify which sound characteristics can be measured in tanks. When feeding, the lobsters produced broadband and transient sounds called ‘rattles’, similar to sounds reported for tropical spiny lobsters Palinurus longipes and P. argus. When stressed, H. gammarus vibrated its carapace, producing a low-frequency sound analogous to the ‘buzzing’ sound of the American lobster H. americanus. The potential role of species-specific sound is discussed; however, although our observations represent the first bioacoustic characterization of H. gammarus, additional behavioural studies are necessary to understand their ecological meaning.https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v27/p13-23/
spellingShingle Jézéquel, Y
Bonnel, J
Coston-Guarini, J
Guarini, JM
Chauvaud, L
Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks
Aquatic Biology
title Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks
title_full Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks
title_fullStr Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks
title_full_unstemmed Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks
title_short Sound characterization of the European lobster Homarus gammarus in tanks
title_sort sound characterization of the european lobster homarus gammarus in tanks
url https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/ab/v27/p13-23/
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