Communication in Blennies

Abstract

The use of vision, olfaction, and sound production by combtooth blennies (Blenniidae) for communication in the context of their reproduction is described and discussed. Vision is important as blennies have well-developed visual systems with interspecific variation that may relate to behavioural and lifestyle differences. Moreover, the visual features of males are distinct from those of females and the great intra- and interspecific variation of their rich repertoire of courtship and agonistic visual displays reinforces the idea that communication using vision is important in reproduction. The peacock blenny (Salaria pavo) has been studied with respect to chemical communication. Males release putative pheromones from anal-fin glands and testicular accessory organs, the production of which depends on androgen plasma levels. Females are attracted to the, apparently, multi-component male pheromone through their sense of olfaction. Given that all male blennies studied so far have testicular accessory organs and epidermal glands on their fin, it is possible that the use of sex pheromones is widespread in this fish group. Very little is known about sound production and reception in blennies, since there is only one study showing that male rock-pool blennies (Parablennius sanguinolentus parvicornis) produce grunt-like calls during courtship which may play a role in female spawning decision. The scarcity of studies limits the validity of generalizations on how and why blennies communicate, nevertheless, the use of multimodal signals to achieve reproduction and the potential for communication networks using visual and chemical signals are discussed.