57
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
J.A. Sisneros (ed.), Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics, Advances in Experimental
Medicine and Biology 877, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21059-9_5
Acoustic Communication in Butterfl yfi shes:
Anatomical Novelties, Physiology, Evolution,
and Behavioral Ecology
Timothy C. Tricas and Jacqueline F. Webb
Abstract Coral reef fi shes live in noisy environments that may challenge their
capacity for acoustic communication. Butterfl yfi shes (Family Chaetodontidae) are
prominent and ecologically diverse members of coral reef communities worldwide.
The discovery of a novel association of anterior swim bladder horns with the lateral
line canal system in the genus Chaetodon (the laterophysic connection) revealed a
putative adaptation for enhancement of sound reception by the lateral line system
and/or the ear. Behavioral studies show that acoustic communication is an important component of butterfl yfi sh social behavior. All bannerfi sh ( Forcipiger ,
Heniochus , and Hemitaurichthys ) and Chaetodon species studied thus far produce
several sound types at frequencies of <1 to >1000 Hz. Ancestral character state
analyses predict the existence of both shared (head bob) and divergent (tail slap)
acoustic behaviors in these two clades. Experimental auditory physiology shows
that butterfl yfi shes are primarily sensitive to stimuli associated with hydrodynamic
particle accelerations of ≤500 Hz. In addition, the gas-fi lled swim bladder horns in
Chaetodon are stimulated by sound pressure, which enhances and extends their
auditory sensitivity to 1700–2000 Hz. The broadband spectrum of ambient noise
present on coral reefs overlaps with the frequency characteristics of their sounds,
thus both the close social affi liations common among butterfl yfi shes and the evolution of the swim bladder horns in Chaetodon facilitate their short-range acoustic
communication. Butterfl yfi shes provide a unique and unexpected opportunity to
carry out studies of fi sh bioacoustics in the lab and the fi eld that integrate the study
of sensory anatomy, physiology, evolution, and behavioral ecology.
Keywords Acoustic behavior • Coral reef fi sh • Communication • Evolution •
Hearing • Lateral line • Laterophysic connection • Soundscape
T. C. Tricas (*)
Department of Biology , Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa ,
2538 The Mall, Edmondson Hall , Honolulu , HI 96822 , USA
e-mail: tricas@hawaii.edu
J. F. Webb
Department of Biological Sciences , University of Rhode Island ,
120 Flagg Road , Kingston , RI 02881 , USA
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
J.A. Sisneros (ed.), Fish Hearing and Bioacoustics, Advances in Experimental
Medicine and Biology 877, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-21059-9_5
Acoustic Communication in Butterfl yfi shes:
Anatomical Novelties, Physiology, Evolution,
and Behavioral Ecology
Timothy C. Tricas and Jacqueline F. Webb
Abstract Coral reef fi shes live in noisy environments that may challenge their
capacity for acoustic communication. Butterfl yfi shes (Family Chaetodontidae) are
prominent and ecologically diverse members of coral reef communities worldwide.
The discovery of a novel association of anterior swim bladder horns with the lateral
line canal system in the genus Chaetodon (the laterophysic connection) revealed a
putative adaptation for enhancement of sound reception by the lateral line system
and/or the ear. Behavioral studies show that acoustic communication is an important component of butterfl yfi sh social behavior. All bannerfi sh ( Forcipiger ,
Heniochus , and Hemitaurichthys ) and Chaetodon species studied thus far produce
several sound types at frequencies of <1 to >1000 Hz. Ancestral character state
analyses predict the existence of both shared (head bob) and divergent (tail slap)
acoustic behaviors in these two clades. Experimental auditory physiology shows
that butterfl yfi shes are primarily sensitive to stimuli associated with hydrodynamic
particle accelerations of ≤500 Hz. In addition, the gas-fi lled swim bladder horns in
Chaetodon are stimulated by sound pressure, which enhances and extends their
auditory sensitivity to 1700–2000 Hz. The broadband spectrum of ambient noise
present on coral reefs overlaps with the frequency characteristics of their sounds,
thus both the close social affi liations common among butterfl yfi shes and the evolution of the swim bladder horns in Chaetodon facilitate their short-range acoustic
communication. Butterfl yfi shes provide a unique and unexpected opportunity to
carry out studies of fi sh bioacoustics in the lab and the fi eld that integrate the study
of sensory anatomy, physiology, evolution, and behavioral ecology.
Keywords Acoustic behavior • Coral reef fi sh • Communication • Evolution •
Hearing • Lateral line • Laterophysic connection • Soundscape
T. C. Tricas (*)
Department of Biology , Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa ,
2538 The Mall, Edmondson Hall , Honolulu , HI 96822 , USA
e-mail: tricas@hawaii.edu
J. F. Webb
Department of Biological Sciences , University of Rhode Island ,
120 Flagg Road , Kingston , RI 02881 , USA