Recordings with a hydrophone deployed from a boat and the shore revealed that the sciaenid Whitemouth Croaker Micropogonias furnieri produces a seasonal and dailycharacteristic courtship/spawning sound in the Pando stream mouth on the Rio de la Plata estuary during the spawning season from November to March. Recordings were made at five stations. The drumming sound was qualitatively rated on scale of 0-4, according to criteria proposed by Connaughton & Taylor (1995). Recordings of 5 marked individuals were made in a 3000-l canvas tank in the laboratory for three months (December 2006 – March 2007). The drumming or advertisement call of Whitemouth Croaker was strongly seasonal, appearing in October, increasing to a peak in January – March, and then disappearing abruptly in April, in coincidence with the spawning season and with gonadosomatic index (GSI). Daily drumming activity showed two peaks through the day, increasing in the early morning between 07:00 to 10:00 h and in the evening between 17:00 to 23:00 h.
Sciaenidae, drumming sound, Micropogonias furnieri, advertisement call, seasonal sound