Conti Carlotta, Fonseca Paulo J, Picciulin Marta, Amorim M Clara P
MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA Instituto Universitário, 1149-041 Lisboa, Portugal.
Departamento de Biologia Animal, cE3c - Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
J Exp Biol. 2015 Mar;218(Pt 6):893-8. doi: 10.1242/jeb.116673. Epub 2015 Jan 23.
The function of fish sounds in territorial defence, in particular its influence on the intruder's behaviour during territorial invasions, is poorly known. Breeding Lusitanian toadfish males (Halobatrachus didactylus) use sounds (boatwhistles) to defend nests from intruders. Results from a previous study suggest that boatwhistles function as a 'keep-out signal' during territorial defence. To test this hypothesis we performed territorial intrusion experiments with muted Lusitanian toadfish. Males were muted by making a cut and deflating the swimbladder (the sound-producing apparatus) under anaesthesia. Toadfish nest-holder males reacted to intruders mainly by emitting sounds (sham-operated and control groups) and less frequently with escalated bouts of fighting. When the nest-holder produced a boatwhistle, the intruder fled more frequently than expected by chance alone. Muted males experienced a higher number of intrusions than the other groups, probably because of their inability to vocalise. Together, our results show that fish acoustic signals are effective deterrents in nest/territorial intrusions, similar to bird song.
鱼类声音在领地防御中的作用，尤其是其在领地入侵期间对入侵者行为的影响，目前还鲜为人知。繁殖期的葡萄牙海蟾蜍雄鱼（Halobatrachus didactylus）会发出声音（船哨声）来保护巢穴免受入侵者侵扰。先前一项研究的结果表明，船哨声在领地防御中起到“禁止进入信号”的作用。为了验证这一假设，我们对静音的葡萄牙海蟾蜍进行了领地入侵实验。在麻醉状态下，通过切开并放气鱼鳔（发声器官）使雄鱼静音。有巢穴的海蟾蜍雄鱼对入侵者的反应主要是发出声音（假手术组和对照组），较少出现升级的打斗行为。当有巢穴的雄鱼发出船哨声时，入侵者逃跑的频率高于仅靠随机概率的预期。静音雄鱼比其他组遭受的入侵次数更多，这可能是因为它们无法发声。总之，我们的结果表明，鱼类的声学信号在巢穴/领地入侵中是有效的威慑手段，类似于鸟类歌声。
