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First published online October 16, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 3542-3552 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
doi: 10.1242/jeb.033423
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Acoustical properties of the swimbladder in the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau

Michael L. Fine1, Charles B. King1 and Timothy M. Cameron2

1 Department of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284-2012, USA
2 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kettering University, Flint, MI 48504-4898, USA

Author for correspondence (mlfine{at}vcu.ed)

Accepted 5 August 2009

Both the swimbladder and sonic muscles of the oyster toadfish Opsanus tau (Linnaeus) increase in size with fish growth making it difficult to distinguish their relative contributions to sound production. We examined acoustics of the swimbladder independent of the sonic muscles by striking it with a piezoelectric impact hammer. Amplitude and timing characteristics of bladder sound and displacement were compared for strikes of different amplitudes. Most of the first cycle of sound occurred during swimbladder compression, indicating that the bladder rapidly contracted and expanded as force increased during the strike. Harder hits were shorter in duration and generated a 30 dB increase in amplitude for a 5-fold or 14 dB range in displacement. For an equivalent strike dominant frequency, damping, bladder displacement and sound amplitude did not change with fish size, i.e. equal input generated equal output. The frequency spectrum was broad, and dominant frequency was driven by the strike and not the natural frequency of the bladder. Bladder displacement decayed rapidly ({zeta} averaged 0.33, equivalent to an automobile shock absorber), and the bladder had a low Q (sharpness of tuning), averaging 1.8. Sound output of an acoustic source is determined by volume velocity (surface area x velocity), and bladder surface area, muscle dimensions and contraction amplitude increase with fish size. Therefore, larger fish will be capable of producing more intense sound. Because the bladder is a low Q resonator, its output will follow muscle contraction rates independent of its size and natural frequency.

Key words: acoustics, communication, sound production, courtship, swimbladder, resonance


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2009