Discussion

Kayla Johnston
Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science
Abstract
Shore shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.) are small decapods found in estuarine habitats.
Sand shrimp (Crangon septemspinosa) are different in appearance to shore shrimp,
and prefer to live in sandy flats of salt marshes. Both are excellent swimmers with
well-developed sensory organs that play a large role in estuarine ecosystems as
detritus and phytoplankton feeders, and serve as a major food source. Arthropods
such as shrimp possess chordontal organs that can sense vibration in water, which
are thought to be associated with sound. Sound produced by predator animals can be
transmitted through the substrate in which these crustaceans live and are detected by
chordontal organs. Just how well developed are these sensory organs? Is it possible
sounds from sources such as predatory fish can trigger a behavioral change in shore
and sand shrimp? To test this, 37 shore shrimp were kept in a test tank where the
sound recordings of three predatory fish of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, U.S.A. were
played underwater. The shrimp were then observed for any behavioral responses to
the sounds. The observations suggested that there were behavioral responses
corresponding with the sounds as well as preference of specific sounds. This
research is important in understanding how shore shrimp rely on sound for predatory
protection. As human interaction along estuaries increase, there are more sounds
such as motorboats, bubblers, etc., which could have an effect not only on shrimp, but
other estuarine species.

Behavioral Responses of Shore

Shrimp Due to Predatory Fish Sounds
Objective: To determine if shore shrimp respond to predatory fish
sounds.
Results

Sound

Table 1: This table shows the frequency of each different behavior exhibited by the shore shrimp per
each sound.

Flee

Approach

Free
Swimming

Stirring

Attack
Sound
Source

Fighting
Between
Shrimp

Overall, the flee-response was favored over the approach-response, most likely
due to the fact that shrimp recognize these sounds as a predator. The result of the
ANOVA test suggests that the flee-response to the oyster toadfish and weakfish
sounds were significant (P=0.0347). These results suggest that fish with stronger
sound intensities, such as the oyster toadfish and weakfish, receive greater
amounts of responses compared to fish with moderate or weak intensities such as
the northern puffer fish (Rountree, 2005). The oyster toadfish received the greatest
amount of responses, which could be due to the fact that the oyster toadfish shares
the closest habitat with the shore shrimp. Both live in epibenthic areas of estuaries,
hiding in rocks and vegetation (Chesapeake Bay, 2012). As for the puffer fish, not
only do they produce only a moderate vocal intensity, but they also live in estuarine
sandy flats, unlike shore shrimp, which prefer lentic flowing areas (Chesapeake
Bay, 2013). The shore shrimps dependence on sound for predator protection as
stated in the introduction supports the overall higher frequency of flee-responses in
this study, and thus supports the hypothesis. Further studies could be conducted on
how different shrimp species interact with different soniferous fish sounds that
share a similar habitat, and do not share a similar habitat. These results could be
used to determine where shrimp populations choose to live, based on high predator
populations. This is important considering the fact that shrimp are an important food
source to a variety of estuarine species (Barnegat Bay Shellfish, 2012). Also, there
may be frequencies of sound caused by anthropogenic effects that may mask the
predatory sounds, thus lessen the predatory response of shore shrimp.

Dart-like
Movements

Conclusion
Weakfish
(Cynoscion
regalis)

15

22

Northern
Pufferfish
(Sphaeroides
maculatus)

Oyster Toadfish 6
(Opsanus tau)

40

15

The study suggests that there was a significant relationship between the
behavior of the shore shrimp and predatory fish sounds, thus supporting the
hypothesis. The flee-response was favored by the shrimp over the approachresponse due to the fact that shrimp utilize sound as a predator detection device.
Based on the fact that the oyster toadfish received the greatest response frequency
out of the three fish species, it can be hypothesized that shore shrimp provide a
greater response to species that share a similar habitat. Shore shrimp serve as
food to a large variety of species, thus they are important to ecosystems. It is also
possible that sounds caused by human interaction with estuaries could mask
predator sounds, leaving the shrimp more vulnerable to predators. Not only could
this be an issue with shrimp, but it is also possible that this could cause problems in
other estuarine species who rely on sound for predator protection, communication,
etc.

Figure 1: A shore shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), (Fish

Research List, 2011)
60

50

Introduction
Shrimp rely on sound, and certain fish species make sound, but what exact
behaviors would be exhibited in response to these sounds? Shore shrimp
(Palaemonetes sp.), pictured in Figure 1, and other related species possess welldeveloped sense organs (Barnegat Bay Shellfish, 2012). Like other arthropods, they
have chordotonal organs that are mechanoreceptors, meaning they sense pressure,
displacement, and vibrations. Many invertebrates rely on sound vibrations for mating
and protection, and are relied on heavily for the survival of shrimp and lobsters
against predators (DOSITS, 2011). Since sound travels at far greater distances
underwater than through air, it can be detected at farther distances, giving the
decapods more time to escape a predatory attack (NOAA, 2010). Certain species of
fish are capable of producing sounds, thus are classified as soniferous fish. Different
species produce different sounds at different frequencies as well as intensities.
Sounds fish make out of fright, mating, etc. are called stridulations. These sounds
can range from a low, to a strong intensity. Sounds of three fish species with different
intensities were used in this experiment, weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) (Figure 2),
northern puffer fish (Sphaeroides maculatus) (Figure 3), and oyster toadfish
(Opsanus tau) (Figure 4). The weakfish and oyster toadfish both had strong
intensities, while the northern puffer fish had a moderate intensity (Rountree, 2005).

Flee vs. Approach Response in Shrimp

40
Flee Response
Approach
Response

30

20

10

Figure 6: A graph featuring oyster toadfish calls throughout the day

(Seagrant.mit.edu)

Acknowledgements

Fig. 5: This graph shows the flee responses vs. the approach responses of the shore
shrimp. The x-axis represents the different fish sounds, and the y-axis represents the
frequency of shrimp that reacted (+ 5% SE). *Denotes significance in terms of flee
response (ANOVA, P=0.0347).

Methods and Materials

Two ten-gallon tanks were filled with shore shrimp (Palaemonetes sp.), one for
testing, and one for control
Both tanks were allowed to acclimate for a two-week period , Both tanks were fed
frozen brine shrimp every two days, aerated daily using an aquarium aerator
Audio recordings of three different predatory soniferous fish were played for the
shrimp.The three species chosen included the weakfish (Cynoscion regalis),
northern puffer fish (Sphaeroides maculatus), and oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau)
Once a day for two weeks, each fish sound was played underwater by inserting
headphones into a plastic bag, submerging them in the test tank, and playing the
sounds for the shrimp
The three different sounds were played at different time intervals, allowing an hour
in between each sound
Each time a shrimp responded to a sound, it was tallied, and the response was
described
An ANOVA was used to determine significance amongst sound treatments in terms
of approach and flee response

There are several people this project could not have been completed
without. I would like to thank Dr. John Wnek for serving as a mentor for
this study, as well as proofreading my report. I would also like to thank
Mr. Jason Kelsey for assistance in forming my original idea for this study,
as well as serving as a mentor. My final acknowledgement goes to Dr.
Rodney Rountree for providing the fish sound clips and additional advice
for this study.

Literature Cited
"How Do Animals Hear Underwater?" Discovery of Sounds in the Sea. University
of Rhode Island, 2011. Web. 13 Mar. 2013.
Rountree, Rodney, Ph.D. "Studies on Soniferous Fish." Fish Ecology (Ichthyology),
Marine Ecology, and Marine Biology Research Activities of Dr. Rountree. 21 Feb.
2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2013.

Fig. 2: A weakfish (Cynoscion regalis),

(DECNY, 2013)

Fig. 3: A northern puffer fish (Sphaeroides

maculatus), (Chesapeake Bay Program,
2012)

"Shellfish Information- Shrimp." Barnegat Bay Shellfish. Insle Horizons, LLC, 2012.
Web. 23 Oct. 2012.
Fig. 4: An oyster toadfish (Opsanus
tau), (NJ Scuba, 2008)

"Understanding Ocean Acoustics." NOAA Ocean Explorer Podcast RSS. United

States Department of Commerce, 9 June 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2012.