Can Fish Sing?
Yes, they can, and many are as vocal as songbirds. If dolphins use this information to decide what to eat, why can't humans?
-- a conversation with Andy Read
(Ann Kellan)
Can fish sing? You bet they can, and many are as vocal as songbirds. New scientific research into fish songs could change how we manage fisheries around the world.
(Croaker)
(Andy Read)
Croakers are called croakers, because when you take them out of the water they croak, and that sounds quite different underwater.
(Ann Kellan)
Marine Conservation Biologist Andy Read holds class in estuaries near the Marine Lab for Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, where students with underwater microphones record an aquatic top-of-the-pops.
(Spotted Sea Trout & Silver Perch)
(Ann Kellan)
That was a Silver Perch and Spotted Sea Trout duet. Here's a Silver Perch solo.
(Silver Perch)
(Andy Read)
Some of it is for reproductive display - males singing to females. There are a whole bunch of different sounds some species make, so you can discriminate among species, but there's a huge amount we don't understand at all.
(Ann Kellan)
Here's a sound most fish would rather not hear.
(Dolphin)
(Ann Kellan)
That's the signature whistle Dolphins use to identify themselves when they meet. Dr. Read says one way Dolphins select their next meal is to listen for the songs of fish they like to eat.
(Andy Read)
Big fish tend to produce lower frequency sound than small fish. So a dolphin just listening would be able to detect what species it is that it hears and how big it is.
(Ann Kellan)
Humans can learn a lot from dolphins, says Read. If they can key into fish songs to find the best catch, why can't we?
(Andy Read)
It could be an interesting tool for fisheries.
(Ann Kellan)
For more on how science may change the way humans catch fish, and for a free music download of your favorite fish tune, put Earth File dot O-R-G in your web browser. I'm Ann Kellan, and that's another one for the Earth File.
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