Ecologists may have captured the first deep-sea fish sounds, hidden among the sounds of dolphins and humpback, fin and pilot whales, they report in a new study.
More than 50 years ago, researchers hypothesized that sound production in deep-sea fish is common, based on the fact that many of the species have the anatomy needed to produce sound. Most fish make incidental noises as a byproduct of chewing and swimming, but for deep-sea fish, which live in perpetual darkness, communicative noises might be important for survival and reproduction.
"But just because they have the anatomy to make noises, doesn't mean they necessarily do it," said Rodney Rountree, a marine ecologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. "In terms of communicative sounds, we don't know what proportion of the fish do it."
Few studies have ever reported recording possible deep-sea fish sounds, so scientists know little about these sounds, Rountree explained. It's not as simple as putting the fish in a tank and listening in on their conversations.
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