Abstract
Most fish cannot hear frequencies above 3 kHz, but a few species belonging to the subfamily Alosinae (family Clupeidae) can detect intense ultrasound. The response of adult specimens of the European allis shad (Alosa alosa) to sinusoidal ultrasonic pulses at 70 and 120 kHz is tested. The fish showed an intensity-graded response to the ultrasonic pulses with a response threshold between 161 and 167 dB re 1 μPa (pp) for both frequencies. These response thresholds are similar to thresholds derived from juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in previous studies, supporting the suggestion that these members of Alosinae have evolved a dedicated ultrasound detector adapted to detect and respond to approaching echolocating toothed whales.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | EL243-EL247 |
| Journal | Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |
| Volume | 124 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors thank N. Jeannot and the rest of the staff and students at the INRA Station de piégeage, Le Moulin des Princes, Pont Scorff, France, for hospitality and logistical support and L. Miller for lending us equipment. M.Wi. was funded by SOAS and NF, University of Aarhus and M.Wa. by the Carlsberg Foundation. This study was conducted under the approval of the Animal Care Committee of France under the official licence of M. L. Bégout (17-010).
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics