Monczak A, McKinney B, Souiedan J, Marian AD, Seder A, May E, Morgenstern T, Roumillat W, Montie EW

Sciaenid courtship sounds correlate with juvenile appearance and abundance in the May River, South Carolina, USA

Our study took a multidisciplinary approach to investigate long-term patterns in fish courtship sounds and their relationship to young-of-the-year (YOY) appearance and abundance in an estuary of the southeastern USA. Using passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), we identified temperature-based shifts in seasonal sound production from one year to the next; in years with warmer springs, fish began chorusing earlier and had longer chorusing seasons compared to cooler years. Using a combination of PAM and traditional sampling methods (i.e. seins), we found a positive relationship between duration of fish chorusing seasons and YOY abundance. These patterns provide evidence that PAM can aid in monitoring reproductive timelines and success of soniferous fish in an estuary.

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