Effects of Hurricane Charley on fish chorusing

Hurricane Charley, a category 4 hurricane, passed through Charlotte Harbor, Florida, directly over an autonomous underwater acoustic datalogger used to record sound production by fishes associated with courtship and spawning. Acoustic recordings made on 9 days prior to the storm, during and 3 days after the storm provided unprecedented documentation of the hurricane's passage and its effect on fishes' calling behaviour. The hurricane did not inhibit nightly chorusing events of spawning fish. Sound levels produced by spawning fish on the night of and 3 days after the hurricane were higher and lasted longer than any of the 9 days recorded prior to the hurricane.