Seasonal Changes in Male Oyster Toadfish’s Response to Boatwhistle Playbacks

Opasanus tau, the Oyster Toadfish inhabits estuaries along the Atlantic coast. Males produce a short, harmonic mating call titled a 'boatwhistle' to attract females from late May to early August. A hydrophone was deployed under the dock at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole Massachusetts to passively monitor their mating behavior. An underwater speaker played boatwhistles at the toadfish at varied times throughout the day and season to determine the male response to hearing extraneous noise.