Influence of Distance Between Boat Noise and Nest Site on the Behavior of Paternal Smallmouth Bass

Water Air Soil Pollut (2020) 231: 151 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04470-9 Going the Distance: Influence of Distance Between Boat Noise and Nest Site on the Behavior of Paternal Smallmouth Bass K. MacLean & T. S. Prystay & M. J. Lawrence & A. J. Zolderdo & L. F. G. Gutowsky & E. Staaterman & A. J. Gallagher & S. J. Cooke Received: 13 November 2019 /Accepted: 13 February 2020 /Published online: 23 March 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 Abstract The effects of anthropogenic noise have gar- sites. The fish were video recorded, and their behaviors nered significant attention in marine ecosystems, but com- were analyzed before, during, and after exposure to the paratively less is known about its impacts on freshwater playback. Residency time was the only behavioral metric ecosystems. For fish that provide parental care, the effects to be adversely affected by noise playbacks but only when of acoustic disturbance could have fitness-level conse- in close proximity to the speaker. Our results suggest that quences if nest tending behavior is altered. This study boat noise may have an impact on bass reproductive fitness explored the effects of motorboat noise on the parental in specific contexts where combustion motors are used behavior of nesting male smallmouth bass (Micropterus near shore during the nesting period. The largely null dolomieu; Lacépède, 1802), an important freshwater game findings may indicate a resilience to boat noise and/or fish in North America that provides sole paternal care to habituation to the noise. In addition, boats displace water offspring. Specifically, we evaluated how boat noise prox- and create waves that represent another form of distur- imity to a bass nest (ranging from 4.5 to 90 m) influenced bance that could be experienced by fish but was not paternal care behaviors. A total of 73 fish were exposed to simulated here. Future research should integrate behavioral a 3-min motorboat playback designed to simulate a boat and physiological responses to boat noise and other aspects sound that typically occurs in areas near littoral nesting of boat disturbance to better understand the fitness impacts of boating activity on freshwater fish. : : * : K. MacLean T.: S. Prystay M. J. Lawrence ( ) Keywords Smallmouth bass . Anthropogenic noise . A. J. Zolderdo S. J. Cooke . Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Nesting behavior Parental care Teleost Stress Boat Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental and noise Interdisciplinary Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada e-mail: [email protected] 1 Introduction M. J. Lawrence Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Noise pollution arising from human activities is a global Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada phenomenon affecting all ecosystems (Kight and L. F. G. Gutowsky Swaddle 2011). Research into the effects of noise pol- Aquatic Resource and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of lution has largely focused on birds (Ortega 2012)and Natural Resources and Forestry, Peterborough, ON K9L 1Z8, mammals (Tyack 2008; Barber et al. 2010), with a more Canada recent effort to understand the effects on fishes, partic- E. Staaterman : A. J. Gallagher ularly in the marine realm (Celi et al. 2016;Herbert- Beneath the Waves, Inc., Herndon, VA, USA Read et al. 2017; Cox et al. 2018; Hasan et al. 2018). Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. 151 Page 2 of 11 Water Air Soil Pollut (2020) 231: 151 Much of the anthropogenic noise contributing to the the need for further study in this area, especially given soundscape in freshwater ecosystems is attributed to the intensification of anthropogenic activities in fresh- recreational boat motors (Mosisch and Arthington water aquatic systems (Nedelec et al. 2017). 1998; Slabbekoorn et al. 2010) with its prevalence likely The objective of this study was to examine the effects to increase with significant rise in recreational boating of noise pollution associated with recreational boating on traffic (Graham and Cooke 2008;NMMA2015). Con- the parental care behavior of smallmouth bass sequently, there is growing need to understand the ef- (Micropterus dolomieu), an important game fish in many fects of noise from boating activities on fish in freshwa- parts of North America (Quinn and Paukert 2009). Spe- ter ecosystems (Graham and Cooke 2008). cifically, we were interested in addressing how the dis- Critical life history periods represent a crucial link tance from noise produced by an outboard motor influ- between behavior and fitness (e.g., Brommer 2000;De enced paternal behavior. We expected that the greatest Block and Stoks 2005). This is quite apparent in the disturbances to nest tending would occur where the sound centrarchid fishes which exhibit strong paternal care pressure level was at its greatest (i.e., sound emission behaviors during their reproductive period (Blumer closest to the nest) and would decline thereafter until it 1979). Briefly, this involves the male of the species reached a point below the animals’ auditory threshold. In constructing and guarding a nest throughout the brood’s testing this, nesting male smallmouth bass were exposed development from egg to fry. The strength of the paren- to a 3-min pre-recorded audio clip of a 2-stroke outboard tal care exhibited by the male varies between species boat motor at varying distances from the nest. Nest and individuals (reviewed in Neff and Knapp 2009). tending behavioral responses were recorded prior to and Consequently, alterations to the nest tending behaviors following audio playbacks. of the male can have serious implications for reproductive success. For example, anthropogenic activities including angling, shoreline development, and simulated 2Methods stressor exposures have been shown to reduce reproductive outputs notably through an increased rate of nest 2.1 Study Site and Study Subjects abandonment (Suski et al. 2003; Wagner et al. 2006; Dey et al. 2010; Zolderdo et al. 2015). While investi- Data were collected on Big Rideau Lake (44.7706° N, gated to a much lesser extent, teleost parental care 76.2152° W), in Portland, Ontario, Canada, in May and behaviors such as nest defense and maintenance can be June 2017. Big Rideau Lake is part of the Rideau Canal adversely affected by acoustic disturbances (Bruintjes system and is a deep, oligo-mesotrophic lake containing and Radford 2013; Nedelec et al. 2017; Maxwell et al. bays with a rocky and sandy bottom (Forrest et al. 2002). 2018). In one of the only published centrarchid studies This location provides ideal nesting habitat for smallmouth of its kind, parental largemouth bass (Micropterus bass populations. During the data collection, the average salmoides) demonstrated hyper vigilance during the daily water temperature was 15.4 °C ± 0.78 °C. Much of egg-sac fry stage of development (Maxwell et al. the boating activity on Big Rideau Lake is recreational, 2018). In a similar work, parental longear sunfish expe- including motorboating and canoeing. rienced longer nest absences following exposure to a Nest-guarding male smallmouth bass (n = 73) were boat motor playback, relative to controls (Mueller identified using snorkeling surveys. Each nest site in- 1980). Interestingly, this contrasts some of the marine cluded recordings of the nest score, egg score, nest work where complete brood loss (~ 32% of all broods depth, and water temperature. All nests used in the study were completely lost) has been seen to occur under such were in the egg developmental brood stage (see conditions (Nedelec et al. 2017). Given that different Ridgway, 1988 for a description of the developmental environments and contexts can have an influence on brood stages). Nest score was assessed as the relative sound propagation and thus may influence behavioral number of eggs present in the nest and given a ranking effects (Rogers and Cox 1988), comparisons in the from 1 to 5 (low to high; Suski et al. 2003; Suski and behavioral responses of marine and freshwater organ- Philipp 2004; Zolderdo et al. 2016). Egg score was isms may not be directly equivalent. Clearly, the lack of assessed as the maturity of the eggs in the egg develop- information regarding the influence of acoustic stimuli mental stage, ranging from 1 to 5 (newly spawned eggs on reproductive success in freshwater species highlights to eggs which would shortly enter the wriggler stage; see Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved. Water Air Soil Pollut (2020) 231: 151 Page 3 of 11 151 Hubbs and Bailey 1938, Ridgway 1988,&Cookeetal. nest characterization, an underwater camera (Hero 3+, 2002a for details). The nest depths ranged from 0.5 to GoPro Inc., USA) was placed 1 m in front of the nest to 3.5 m. A PVC identification tile was placed near the nest record the nesting behaviors. The hydrophone was to mark individual nests upon their identification. placed at variable distances depending on the treatment distance (see above). Upon getting close to the nesting 2.2 Experimental Procedure sites (> 100 m), the outboard motor on the boat was turned off, and we paddled quietly up to the desired A motorboat recording was used in the playback exper- playback distance to avoid any issues associated with iment, designed to emulate the sound of a typical recre- noise or physical disturbance generated from our own ational motorboat passing through the littoral zone. The boat. Here, the distance to each nest site from the speak- recording was taken from real motorboat drive-bys in er was determined using a high precision rangefinder Lake Opinicon (44.5590° N, 76.3280° W), an intercon- (Bushnell Sport 850), aimed at a snorkeler floating nected lake that is part of the Rideau system, which is in above the nest. The snorkeler then returned to the boat, close proximity to the study site, and has a similar water and the fish was given 10 min to acclimate to the camera depth and other environmental features.

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