Sound variation by hypertrophy and atrophy sonic muscle in the male southern black drum (Pogonias courbina)

Abstract

The male and female southern black drum possess highly specialized, bilateral, striated sonic muscles used in sound production during courtship by males and in the production of disturbance calls by both males and females. Androgen-driven hypertrophy of the sonic muscles in males during the late spring spawning period results in increased growth of sonic muscle mass followed by post-spawning atrophy of sonic muscles. We examined changes in sonic muscle morphology and in the sound characteristics of males and females underlying seasonal changes in sonic muscle mass and muscle contraction as measured by sound production. In males, the sound pressure level increased while sound pulse duration decreased with increasing sonic muscle mass, indicating that sonic muscle fibers contract with greater force and shorter duration during the spawning season. Interpulse interval and the total number of pulses varied seasonally with muscle mass, which suggests that the effects of steroids on male southern black drum sound characteristics are more pronounced peripherally than in the central nervous system. In females, no increase in sonic muscle mass was found, and therefore, a change was not observed in the acoustic variables analyzed. Seasonal sonic muscle hypertrophy in males likely functions as a secondary sexual characteristic that maximizes vocalization amplitude or loudness during the spawning period.