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Communication in troubled waters: responses of fish communication systems to changing environments

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Abstract

Fish populations are increasingly being subjected to anthropogenic changes to their sensory environments. The impact of these changes on inter- and intra-specific communication, and its evolutionary consequences, has only recently started to receive research attention. A disruption of the sensory environment is likely to impact communication, especially with respect to reproductive interactions that help to maintain species boundaries. Aquatic ecosystems around the world are being threatened by a variety of environmental stressors, causing dramatic losses of biodiversity and bringing urgency to the need to understand how fish respond to rapid environmental changes. Here, we discuss current research on different communication systems (visual, chemical, acoustic, electric) and explore the state of our knowledge of how complex systems respond to environmental stressors using fish as a model. By far the bulk of our understanding comes from research on visual communication in the context of mate selection and competition for mates, while work on other communication systems is accumulating. In particular, it is increasingly acknowledged that environmental effects on one mode of communication may trigger compensation through other modalities. The strength and direction of selection on communication traits may vary if such compensation occurs. However, we find a dearth of studies that have taken a multimodal approach to investigating the evolutionary impact of environmental change on communication in fish. Future research should focus on the interaction between different modes of communication, especially under changing environmental conditions. Further, we see an urgent need for a better understanding of the evolutionary consequences of changes in communication systems on fish diversity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the editor and referees for their constructive criticisms. We also thank Ole Seehausen, Jenny Boughman, and the Lauren Chapman lab for stimulating discussions. Further, SMG and IS would like to thank the Fisheries Society of the British Isles for funding. SMG was supported by a NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship, and BBMW by the Australian Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H3A 1B1, Canada

    Inke van der Sluijs, Suzanne M. Gray, Andrew P. Hendry & Rüdiger Krahe

  2. Unidade de Investigacao em Eco-Etologia, ISPA, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, 1149-041, Lisbon, Portugal

    Maria Clara P. Amorim

  3. Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    Iain Barber

  4. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Ulrika Candolin

  5. Redpath Museum, McGill University, 859 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada

    Andrew P. Hendry

  6. Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Martine E. Maan

  7. Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Center of Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Seestrasse 79, 6047, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland

    Martine E. Maan

  8. Department of Biology, University of Bergen, PO Box 7800, 5020, Bergen, Norway

    Anne Christine Utne-Palm

  9. Anatomisches Institut, Universität Tübingen, Österbergstrasse 3, 72074, Tübingen, Germany

    Hans-Joachim Wagner

  10. School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Bob B. M. Wong

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  1. Inke van der Sluijs
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  2. Suzanne M. Gray
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  3. Maria Clara P. Amorim
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  4. Iain Barber
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  5. Ulrika Candolin
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  6. Andrew P. Hendry
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  7. Rüdiger Krahe
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  8. Martine E. Maan
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  9. Anne Christine Utne-Palm
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  10. Hans-Joachim Wagner
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  11. Bob B. M. Wong
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Inke van der Sluijs or Suzanne M. Gray.

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Inke van der Sluijs and Suzanne M. Gray contributed equally to the paper.

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van der Sluijs, I., Gray, S.M., Amorim, M.C.P. et al. Communication in troubled waters: responses of fish communication systems to changing environments. Evol Ecol 25, 623–640 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-010-9450-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-010-9450-x

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