Soundscape characteristics of RAS tanks holding Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) during feeding and feed withdrawal

Abstract

Behavioural monitoring can provide crucial information on welfare and feeding in aquaculture. Passive acoustic monitoring of behaviour can be particularly useful in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), as they often have turbid water that impairs visual monitoring. Currently, little is known about the sounds that make up the soundscapes in RAS tanks holding Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). In this study, hydrophones were used to continuously record the soundscape in eight single tank RAS holding Atlantic salmon parr for 15 days, with the fish in four of the tanks being fasted by feed withdrawal for five days from the sixth to the tenth day. The results show that soundscapes in RAS tanks are affected by feeding. Two main sound sources were identified during feeding in RAS tanks, one related to pellets delivery and the other to fish behaviour. The sound of pellets hitting the water surface had energy concentrated at frequencies between 1.7 and 4.0 kHz, with peak frequency decreasing and amplitude increasing with increasing number of pellets hitting simultaneously. The feeding sounds of Atlantic salmon had energy concentrated at frequencies between 6.5 and 9.4 kHz. More complex soundscapes were recorded during feeding events. These were characterized by variations in amplitude and frequency that have been described by using acoustic indexes in RAS tanks for the very first time. The Acoustic Complexity Index (ACI), the Acoustic Entropy Index (H) and the Normalized Difference Soundscape Index (NDSI) showed distinct changes in the soundscape related to feeding events; ACI increased while H and NDSI decreased compared to the times in between scheduled feeding times. The sound types identified in this study and the outcomes of the acoustic indices indicate a possibility to monitor system performance as well as fish behaviour in the tank soundscapes in RAS. Soundscape monitoring can contribute to match feeding closer to fish appetite, improve water quality, and reduce risks that deviations in the system performance can have on fish welfare during production.