Bioacoustics Research

Mark W. Sprague
East Carolina University
Mark Sprague page

Research Projects

Sound Propagation Modeling

  • Very shallow water (depths 30 m and less)
  • Transient (short time-duration) sounds
  • Irregular boundaries
  • Modeling sound production in fishes
  • Calculations in Julia, Python, FORTRAN, C/C++, and Mathematica

Figure 1. A representation of sound propagation between a source and receiver in very shallow water.

Publications/Presentations

M. W. Sprague, M. L. Fine, and T. M. Cameron (2022). “An investigation of bubble resonance and its implications for sound production by deep-water fishes,” PLOS ONE, 17(7):1-24. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267338

M. W. Sprague, C. K. Krahforst, and J. J. Luczkovich (2016) “Noise propagation from vessel channels into nearby fish nesting sites in very shallow water,” Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics 27(1). http://scitation.aip.org/content/asa/journal/poma/27/1/10.1121/2.0000265

M. W. Sprague and J. J. Luczkovich (2015), “Development of a finite difference time domain (FDTD) model for propagation of transient sounds in very shallow water,” in Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life II, edited by A. N. Popper and A. D. Hawkins (Springer, New York), chap. 135.

M. Sprague and J. Luczkovich (2012), “Modeling fish aggregation sounds in very shallow water to estimate numbers of calling fish in aggregations,” Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics 12(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4730158

M. W. Sprague and J. J. Luczkovich (2012), “Modeling the propagation of transient sounds in very shallow water using finite difference time domain (FDTD) calculations,” in The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, edited by A. N. Popper and A. Hawkins (Springer US), vol. 730 of Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, pp. 459-461.

M. W. Sprague (2000), “The single sonic muscle twitch model for the sound-production mechanism in the weakfish, Cynoscion regalis,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 108 (5) pp. 2430-2437.

Tracking Fish with Hydrophone Arrays

  • Inshore in very shallow water and offshore in deeper water
  • Locate and track calling fish
  • Count calling fish
  • Acoustic interactions between individuals

Figure 2. A hydrophone array deployed in very shallow water near an oyster bed in the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve near Georgetown, SC, USA.

Publications/Presentations

M. W. Sprague, P. Deville, and J.J. Luczkovich (2023). “Soundscapes from a Saltwater Marsh Creek Captured by a Hydrophone Array.”” In: Popper, A.N., Sisneros, J., Hawkins, A., Thomsen, F. (eds) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/ 978-3-031-10417-6_158-1

Fish Call Synchronization

  • Modeling fish call synchronization
    • Interactions and strengths of interactions
    • Propagation of aggregation sound
    • Synchronization signaling presence of spawners
    • Fish distributions/densities needed for synchronization
  • Recording synchronized aggregations
    • Long-term sound recorders
    • Hydrophone arrays
    • Echo-sounders

Figure 3. Fish calls in a simulated 100-fish aggregation becoming synchronized. The horizontal blue lines represent times when each fish is calling. Interactions between the individual fish cause the calls to become synchronized about 255 s.

Publications/Presentations

M. W. Sprague, M. Bier, M. Majka, and J. J. Luczkovich (2025). “Modeling call synchronization in scieanid fish aggregations: is there an advantage?” Seventh International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, 2025 June 29–July 4, Prague.

J. J. Luczkovich, M. W. Sprague, M. Bier, and M. Majka (2025). “The onset of synchronization of calls in a Sciaenidae mating chorus” Seventh International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, 2025 June 29–July 4, Prague.

Marine Soundscapes

  • Recording soundscapes with the Wave Glider Blackbeard
  • Offshore deployments of long-term sound recorders
  • Identification of unknown sounds in recordings

Figure 4. Power spectral band sums and a composite spectrogram made from a sound recorded off Cape Lookout, NC by the Wave Glider Blackbeard.

ECU's Blackbeard Wave Glider

Publications/Presentations

J. J. Luczkovich and M. W. Sprague (2022). “Soundscape maps of soniferous fishes observed from a mobile glider,” Frontiers in Marine Science, 9(2296-7745). https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.779540/full

M. W. Sprague and J. J. Luczkovich (2025). “Using power spectral band sums to identify significant segments in long-term recordings,” 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America Joint With the 25th International Congress on Acoustics, May 2025, New Orleans, LA.

J. J. Luczkovich and M. W. Sprague (2025). “Identifying unknown fish choruses from the Atlantic Ocean off North Carolina USA with a historical soundscape comparison,” 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America Joint With the 25th International Congress on Acoustics, May 2025, New Orleans, LA.

Fish Sounds in Estuaries, Rivers, and Fresh Water

  • Monitoring fish populations with sounds
  • Identifying unknown fish sounds in rivers and fresh water
  • Development of fish sound detector

Figure 5. An oscillogram and a spectrogram of a weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) purr recorded in Ocracoke Inlet, NC.

Publications/Presentations

J. J. Luczkovich, M. W. Sprague, and H. W. Paerl (2024). “Bottom water hypoxia suppresses fish chorusing in estuaries,” The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 155(3):2014-2024. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0025289

J. J. Luczkovich and M. W. Sprague (2024). “Analyzing Long-Term Changes in Soundscapes Using Power Spectral Band Sums.” In: Popper, A.N., Sisneros, J., Hawkins, A.D., Thomsen, F. (eds) The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/ 978-3-031-10417-6_95-1

J. J. Luczkovich, C. S. Krahforst, K. Kelly, and M. W. Sprague (2016). “The Lombard effect in fishes: How boat noise impacts oyster toadfish calling rates and vocalization amplitudes in natural experiments,” Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 27(1):010035. https://asa.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1121/2.0000340

J. J. Luczkovich, R. C. Pullinger, S. E. Johnson, and M. W. Sprague (2008), “Identifying sciaenid critical spawning habitats by the use of passive acoustics,” Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 137, pp. 576-605.

M. W. Sprague and J. J. Luczkovich (2004), “Measurement of an individual silver perch Bairdiella chrysoura sound pressure level in a field recording ,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 116 (5) pp. 3186-3191.

J. J. Luczkovich, H. J. Daniel III, M. Hutchinson, T. Jenkins, S. E. Johnson, R. C. Pullinger, and M. W. Sprague (2000), “Sounds of sex and death in the sea: bottlenose dolphin whistles suppress mating choruses of silver perch,” Bioacoustics 10 (4) pp. 323-334.

M. W. Sprague, J. J. Luczkovich, R. C. Pullinger, S. E. Johnson, T. Jenkins, and H. J. Daniel, III (2000), “Using spectral analysis to identify drumming sounds of some North Carolina fishes in the family Sciaenidae,” Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 116 (2) pp. 124-145.

J. J. Luczkovich, M. W. Sprague, S. E. Johnson, and R. C. Pullinger (1999), “Delimiting spawning areas of weakfish Cynoscion regalis (family Sciaenidae) in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina using passive hydroacoustic surveys,” Bioacoustics 10 (2) pp. 143-160.