QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online April 8, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 1643-1654 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.00928

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Connaughton, M. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Connaughton, M. A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Sound generation in the searobin (Prionotus carolinus), a fish with alternate sonic muscle contraction

Martin A. Connaughton

Washington College, Department of Biology, 300 Washington Ave, Chestertown, MD 21620, USA

e-mail: mconnaughton2{at}washcoll.edu

Accepted 6 February 2004

The Northern searobin (Prionotus carolinus) contracts its paired sonic muscles alternately rather than simultaneously during sound production. This study describes this phenomenon and examines its effect on sound production by recording sound and EMGs during voluntary and electrically stimulated calls. Sounds produced by a single twitch resulted in a two-part sound representing contraction and relaxation sounds. The relaxation sound of one twitch coincides with the contraction sound of the next twitch of that muscle. Maximum amplitude of evoked sounds occurs between 100 Hz and 140 Hz, approximately half the fundamental frequency of a voluntarily calling fish. The muscle is capable of following electrical stimulation at frequencies of up to 360 Hz. Rapid damping and response over a wide frequency range indicate that the swimbladder is a highly damped, broadly tuned resonator. A consequence of alternate contraction is a 3.3 dB loss in acoustic pressure due to the contraction of a single sonic muscle at a time. This decrease in amplitude is offset by a doubling of fundamental frequency and a constructive interaction between the sides of the bladder, resulting in increased amplitude of each unilaterally produced sound. The alternate contraction of the bilateral sonic muscles represents a novel solution to the inherent trade-off between speed and force of contraction in rapidly contracting sonic muscles.

Key words: sound production, sonic muscle, alternate contraction, swimbladder, fundamental frequency, constructive interference, sound amplitude, Prionotus carolinus

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JEB:

PUMPING UP A WHISPER

Kathryn Phillips
JEB 2004 207: i. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. F. Gillooly and A. G. Ophir The energetic basis of acoustic communication Proc R Soc B, January 6, 2010; (2010) rspb.2009.2134v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Parmentier, J.-P. Lagardere, J.-B. Braquegnier, P. Vandewalle, and M. L. Fine Sound production mechanism in carapid fish: first example with a slow sonic muscle J. Exp. Biol., August 1, 2006; 209(15): 2952 - 2960. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. P. Henninger and W. H. Watson III Mechanisms underlying the production of carapace vibrations and associated waterborne sounds in the American lobster, Homarus americanus J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2005; 208(17): 3421 - 3429. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Phillips PUMPING UP A WHISPER J. Exp. Biol., April 15, 2004; 207(10): i - i. [Full Text] [PDF]