Sound communication in the ocean

An international research group on sound of deep-sea fish species recently discovered that eels use several muscle groups to produce sound that plays an important role in male sexual partners.

The team's findings are published online in the September 24 issue of Biology Letters. The findings could help researchers gain a deeper understanding of the sound stage under the seabed as well as the role of sound on fish behavior.

Scientists Michael L. Fine, Kim Nguyen and Hsung Lin (both graduate students at Virginia Commonwealth University) collaborated with Eric Parmentier of Université de Liège University (Belgium). They studied vocal cords in yellow brown eel Lepophidium profundorum - eel species that live in the Atlantic Ocean.

Fine, professor of Biology at Virginia Commonwealth University, said: 'We only know very little about the form of communication under the ocean because it is very difficult to observe fish in the underwater environment. Based on anatomy, eels are one of the main species that emit sounds. They use unusual vocal muscle to become antagonistic pairs, which are usually larger in males'.

Yellow-brown eel.The eel is light brown with white spots on it.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Kim Nguyen / VCU)

Many fish species use bodies called bubbles to produce sound. According to Fine, the golden brown eel uses two pairs of muscles around the tendon, this form is like a wing. The balloon will then be stretched. The pair of antagonists will then restore the bubble back to its original position.

In studies conducted outside the mating season, the researchers found that the small medial muscles grow larger in the eel, which is quite surprising because the eels often sound more than they do. .

The team then investigated eels after the mating season and found that intermediate muscle mass increased 4 times and much heavier in males than females.

Fine said: 'Our findings suggest that mediated muscle seems to play a prominent role in the male's call for mating, perhaps the male sex hormone has caused muscle to produce sound. develope'.

According to him, fish often produce sound for many different reasons. But the two most common types of sounds are often created to spread or to fight.