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Sounds in the Ocean: Fish and Invertebrates

Listen to exemplar sound clips of marine sounds, taken from passive acoustic recorders. We have compiled these sounds to provide examples of the variety and breadth of fish and invertebrate sounds.

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Introduction

Underwater sounds provide information about the surrounding environment—or soundscape—such as what marine animals are present or what human activities are taking place. Many marine animals rely on sound for survival. They depend on unique adaptations to communicate, locate food, navigate underwater, and/or understand their environment. Sounds are particularly useful for communication because they can be used to convey a great deal of information quickly and over long distances. Changes in rate, pitch, and/or structure of sounds communicate different messages. 

Passive Acoustic recorders can be towed behind a ship, mounted on mobile ocean-going robots, or placed at specific underwater sites and left out for days, months, or even years, capturing that location’s soundscape until the recorder is retrieved. Scientists in the Northeast's Passive Acoustic Research Group and their colleagues have compiled these sounds to provide examples of the variety and breadth of animal sounds.  

Note: You can click on any of the photos and spectrograms on this page to view and/or save the full image. Some sounds (in particular from mysticetes/baleen whales) are very low frequency, and you may need high-quality speakers to hear the recording.

How to Read a Spectrogram

A spectrogram is a visual way to display sound. The frequency of the sound is labeled on the vertical or y-axis. Frequency is most often measured in hertz (Hz) or kilohertz (kHz). Time is shown along the bottom of the graph (the x-axis). Time here is measured in minutes and seconds, in the format mm:ss. The loudness of a sound can be seen by the color scale of the sound in the spectrogram, with lighter colors implying louder sounds. 

Teleosts (Bony Fish)

Summary: Some fish generally make low-frequency sounds (0-2kHz). These sounds are usually made in the context of mating, competing for resources, defending against predators, or as a fright response.

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua

Atlantic cod species profile | Play Atlantic cod audio

Image
Atlantic cod with a light brown and yellow body swimming against a black background.
Image
Spectrogram of grunts produced by an Atlantic cod with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Black Drum

Pogonias promise

Black drum species information | Play black drum audio

Image
Black drum with a shiny silver body and black striping set against a black background.
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Spectrogram of drumming sounds produced by black drum with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Black Grouper

Mycteroperca bonaci

Black grouper species profile | Play black grouper audio

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Black grouper swimming above a rocky seafloor covered in vegetation.
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Spectrogram of pulses produced by black grouper with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Haddock

Melanogrammus aeglefinus

Haddock species profile | Play haddock audio

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Haddock with a shiny gray body swimming along a dark rocky seafloor.
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Spectrogram of knocks produced by haddock with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Red Grouper

Epinephelus morio

Red grouper species profile | Play red grouper audio

Image
Red grouper with a dark red and white spotted body swimming into a crevice between two rocky outcroppings on the seafloor.
Image
Spectrogram of pulses produced by red grouper with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Silver Perch

Bairdiella chrysoura

Silver perch species information. | Play silver perch audio

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Silver perch with silver and brown scales swimming against light blue background.
Image
Spectrogram of knocks produced by silver perch with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Toadfish

Opsanus spp.

Toadfish species information | Play toadfish audio

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Toadfish with a brown and black mottled body placed on a white lab desk with a label and Sharpie pen approximately half its length for size comparison.
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Spectrogram of tonal sounds produced by toadfish with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Invertebrates

Summary: Some invertebrate organisms make sounds using their appendages. These sounds are usually made in the context of reproductive displays or defending against predators.

Snapping shrimp

Alpheus spp.

Snapping shrimp species information unavailable | Play snapping shrimp audio

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Snapping shrimp with a white and light brown body and two claws, one of which is larger than the other.
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Spectrogram of snapping sounds produced by snapping shrimp with time on the x-axis and frequency on the y-axis.

Citation Examples

How to Credit a File From This Page

Sound File Citation:

  1. (Government Agency)
  2. (Group/Organization)
  3. (Collection/Publication Date)
  4. (Title of Sound File)
  5. (Website URL)

Example:

NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]. Passive Acoustics Group. 2021.  Stfr_Multisound_NOAA_PAGroup_01.  https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/science-data/sounds-ocean

Image/Spectrogram Citation:

  1. (Government Agency)
  2. (Group/Organization)
  3. (Lower Levels of Credit, if known)
  4. (Collection/Publication Date)
  5. (Title of Sound File)
  6. (Website URL)

Example:

NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]. Passive Acoustics Group. 2021. Dele_NOAA_04. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/science-data/sounds-ocean

More Information

More Information

Last updated by Northeast Fisheries Science Center on 06/23/2023

Acoustics