2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
5/22/2018 | 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM | ECOACOUSTIC MONITORING OF LAKE STURGEON (Acipenser fulvescens) SPAWNING AND ITS RELATION TO ANTHROPOGENIC NOISE IN THE DETROIT RIVER. | 310 A
ECOACOUSTIC MONITORING OF LAKE STURGEON (Acipenser fulvescens) SPAWNING AND ITS RELATION TO ANTHROPOGENIC NOISE IN THE DETROIT RIVER.
Lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) are threatened in parts of the Laurentian Great Lakes with increasing binational efforts to establish spawning grounds for this important species. While SCUBA surveys can document spawning activity, these are labour-intensive and may disrupt spawning. My lab is using acoustic recordings to quantify spawning sounds of Lake sturgeon as a first step to developing remote sensing of sturgeon spawning grounds. We deployed hydrophones near a spawning bed in the Detroit River during a documented spawning event. Acipenser sp. are known to make a variety of sounds and one sound, drumming, has been documented in A. fulvescens during spawning. We recorded 5 different sounds and used drumming as a marker for spawning activity. Drums were low frequency with a flat frequency response up to 150 Hz, and a rapid dropoff thereafter, and an average duration of 0.7 s. Call production was most active from 0500-1400h but showed no effect of boat traffic on sound production, suggesting that anthropogenic noise was not disturbing sturgeon communication. These recordings represent a promising approach to map sturgeon spawning activity and to examine the potential importance of human activity on sturgeon spawning.
- Fish
- Great Lakes
- Habitat
Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Dennis Higgs
(), University of Windsor, dhiggs@uwindsor.ca;
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -