Sound production in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) and its alteration by exposure to aldicarb and copper sulfate

- We found that medaka produce sound with constant average interpulse intervals.
- Sound production is affected by exposure to pesticide and heavy metal.
- Sound production is an effective endpoint to monitor abnormal water quality.

This study is the first to report sound production in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Sound production was affected by exposure to the carbamate insecticide (aldicarb) and heavy-metal compound (copper sulfate). Medaka were exposed at four concentrations (aldicarb: 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg L−1; copper sulfate: 0, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg L−1), and sound characteristics were monitored for 5 h after exposure. We observed constant average interpulse intervals (approx 0.2 s) in all test groups before exposure, and in the control groups throughout the experiment. The average interpulse interval became significantly longer during the recording periods after 50 min of exposure to aldicarb, and reached a length of more than 0.3 s during the recording periods after 120 min exposure. Most medaka fish stopped to produce sound after 50 min of exposure to copper sulfate at 1 and 2 mg L−1, resulting in significantly declined number of sound pulses and pulse groups. Relative shortened interpulse intervals of sound were occasionally observed in medaka fish exposed to 0.5 mg L−1 copper sulfate. These alternations in sound characteristics due to toxicants exposure suggested that they might impair acoustic communication of medaka fish, which may be important for their reproduction and survival. Our results suggested that using acoustic changes of medaka has potential to monitor precipitate water pollutions, such as intentional poisoning or accidental leakage of industrial waste.