Endemic fish calling: acoustics and reproductive behaviour of the
Neretva dwarf goby Orsinigobius croaticus
Abstract
The Neretva dwarf goby Orsinigobius croaticus (Gobiiformes,
Gobionellidae) is an endemic fish native to the freshwaters of the
Adriatic Basin in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to its limited
distribution range, specific karst habitat and endangered status,
laboratory studies on reproductive biology are scarce. We investigated
the sound production and acoustic behaviour of this species during
reproductive intersexual laboratory encounters. We performed dissection
and micro-computed tomography (μCT) scanning of the pectoral girdle to
explore the anatomy of its putative sound producing mechanism. To study
interspecific acoustic differences and determine whether acoustic
features can discriminate among species, comparative analysis was
conducted on sounds produced by closely related soniferous sand gobies.
Our results indicate that males of the O. croaticus emit pulsatile
sounds composed of a variable number of short (~ 15 ms)
consecutive pulses when interacting with females, usually during the
pre-spawning phase in the nest, but also during courtship outside the
nest. Pulsatile sounds were low-frequency and short pulse trains
(~ 140 Hz, < 1000 ms), and spectro-temporal
parameters were correlated with physical traits and water temperature.
Male visual behaviour rate was higher when co-occurring with sounds and
females entered the male’s nest significantly more frequently when
sounds were present. Male sound production was accompanied by movements
such as head thrust and fin spreading. μCT scans and dissections suggest
that O. croaticus shares certain anatomical similarities of the pectoral
girdle (osseous elements and arrangement of levator pectoralis muscles)
to previously studied sand gobies. Multivariate comparisons, using
sounds produced by eight soniferous European sand gobies, effectively
distinguished soniferous (and sympatric) species based on acoustic
properties. Discrimination success decreased when temperature-dependent
features (sound duration and pulse repetition rate) were excluded from
analysis. Therefore, we suggest both spectral and temporal features are
important for acoustic differentiation of sand gobies.