Fish sounds near Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok in Canada’s Western Arctic

• Published in: Polar biology 2020-09, Vol.43 (9), p.1207-1216
• Main Authors: Pine, Matthew K., Halliday, William D., Insley, Stephen J., Juanes, Francis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic mapping; Acoustics; Analysis; Auditory communication; Biological noise; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Boreogadus saida; Climate change; Climatic changes; Cod; Diurnal; Ecology; Fish; Fishes; Harbors; Harbours; Life Sciences; Marine fish; Microbiology; Oceanography; Original Paper; Plant Sciences; Predators; Prey; Reproductive cycle; Spawning; Spawning seasons; Species; Temporal variations; Vocalization behavior; Zoology
• ISSN: 0722-4060; 1432-2056
• DOI: 10.1007/s00300-020-02701-7

The sounds of Arctic marine fishes recorded in situ have been largely ignored in the literature, despite the successful application of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) for mapping the presence of fishes at lower latitudes. Polar cod, Boreogadus saida , is a known soniferous species that holds keystone status in the Arctic and for which PAM could be a useful tool for understanding their distributions-particularly during their spawning seasons during the Arctic winter. PAM recordings from Sachs Harbour and Ulukhaktok (covering 1.5 years between them) were analysed for fish sounds. A total of 44 grunts and 3 knocks were recorded, the majority of which were recorded at Ulukhaktok during January. A difference in the number of fish calls was also seen between months with the highest number occurring during January. No diurnal patterns in the number of fish calls were observed. K-means cluster analyses based on the 90% bandwidth, duration, peak and centre frequencies showed three clusters. Type 1 occurred during October through April, Type 2 from October through February and Type 3 during October. Type 2 calls were only noted near Ulukhaktok and Type 1 calls resembled those from polar cod. These results either suggest different species or the vocal repertoire of a single species. Based on the spectral and temporal characteristics, all fish sounds resembled those from gadids. The detection of fish calls and the apparent spatio-temporal variation following the expected spawning season of polar cod illustrate the potential usefulness of PAM for Arctic fishes—particularly at a time when climate change is forcing Arctic nations to better prepare for ecological shifts and changing predator/prey relationships.