Different modes of acoustic communication in deep‐diving short‐finned pilot whales (<i>Globicephala macrorhynchus</i>)

Pérez, Jacobo Marrero; Jensen, Frants H.; Rojano-Doñate, Laia; Soto, Natacha Aguilar de

doi:10.1111/mms.12344

Cited by 34 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…However, we did not include buzzes in statistical analyses as we could not use them to confirm feeding at shallow depths; further detailed analysis of their acoustic characteristics would be required to distinguish sounds produced by the tagged whale vs. other whales, the movement context of tagged whale buzz production, and to ensure buzzes are not confused with acoustically similar “rasps” that pilot whales may use in social context (Pérez et al. ). A more direct assessment of whether feeding occurs at shallow depths could be achieved by animal‐attached video cameras or recording acoustic backscatter from prey using onboard sensors (Wisniewska et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual, ecological, and anthropogenic influences on activity budgets of long‐finned pilot whales

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Time allocation to different activities and habitats enables individuals to modulate their per-ceived risks and access to resources and can reveal important trade-offs between fitness-enhancing activities (e.g., feeding vs. social behavior). Species with long reproductive cycles and high parental investment, such as marine mammals, rely on such behavioral plasticity to cope with rapid environmental change, including anthropogenic stressors. We quantified activity budgets of free-ranging long-finned pilot whales in order to assess individual time trade-offs between foraging and other behaviors in different individual and ecological contexts, and during experimental sound exposures. The experiments included 1-2 and 6-7 kHz naval sonar exposures (a potential anthropogenic stressor), playback of killer whale (a potential predator/competitor) vocalizations, and negative controls. We combined multiple time series data from digital acoustic recording tags (DTAG) as well as group-level social behavior data from visual observations of tagged whales at the surface. The data were classified into near-surface behaviors and dive types (using a hidden Markov model for dive transitions) and aggregated into time budgets. On average, individuals (N = 19) spent most of their time (69%) resting and transiting near surface, 21% in shallow dives (depth <40 m), and only 10% of their time in deep foraging dives, of which 65% reached a depth 10 m from the sea bottom. Individuals in the largest of three body size classes or accompanied by calves tended to spend more time foraging than others. Simultaneous tagging of pairs of individuals showed that up to 50% of the activity budget was synchronized between conspecifics with decreased synchrony during foraging periods. Individuals spent less time foraging when forming larger non-vocal aggregations of individuals in late afternoons, and more time foraging when in the mid-range of water depths (300-400 m) available in the study area (50-700 m). Individuals reduced foraging time by 83% (29-96%) during their first exposure to sonar, but not during killer whale sound playbacks. A relative increase in foraging during repeat sonar exposures indicated habituation or change in response tactic. We discuss the possible adaptive value of these trade-offs in time allocation to reduce individual conflict while maintaining benefits of group living.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual, ecological, and anthropogenic influences on activity budgets of long‐finned pilot whales

et al. 2017

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“…In the Caribbean, Eastern Tropical Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, south-eastern USA, Canary Islands and Bahamas, this species emits whistles with fundamental frequencies ranging from 1 to 20 kHz and 0.1-2.5-s duration [8,151,152,[162][163][164][165][166]. Burst-pulse sounds cover a frequency band from 1 to greater than 30 kHz, lasting up to 1.5 s [8,165].…”

Section: Globicephala Macrorhynchus-short-finned Pilot Whalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Short-finned pilot whales further make biphonations, i.e. the simultaneous emission of two vocalisations by the same individual [8,166,167]. Foraging clicks and buzzes during deep dives have been recorded in the Canary Islands and off Hawaii showing a peak frequency of 8-39 kHz and 0.2-1.2 ms per click [168,169].…”

Section: Globicephala Macrorhynchus-short-finned Pilot Whalementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Foraging clicks and buzzes during deep dives have been recorded in the Canary Islands and off Hawaii showing a peak frequency of 8-39 kHz and 0.2-1.2 ms per click [168,169]. Feeding buzzes last 0.7-6.8 s with 4-10-ms ICI; rasps are shorter (0.2-0.6 s) with longer ICI (11-50 ms) [166]. Finally, this species has been reported to copy tonal sounds of anthropogenic sources (e.g.…”

Section: Globicephala Macrorhynchus-short-finned Pilot Whalementioning

confidence: 99%

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Review of Underwater and In-Air Sounds Emitted by Australian and Antarctic Marine Mammals

et al. 2017

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The study of marine soundscapes is a growing field of research. Recording hardware is becoming more accessible; there are a number of off-the-shelf autonomous recorders that can be deployed for months at a time; software analysis tools exist as shareware; raw or preprocessed recordings are freely and publicly available. However, what is missing are catalogues of commonly recorded sounds. Sounds related to geophysical events (e.g. earthquakes) and weather (e.g. wind and precipitation), to human activities (e.g. ships) and to marine animals (e.g. crustaceans, fish and marine mammals) commonly occur. Marine mammals are distributed throughout Australia's oceans and significantly contribute to the underwater soundscape. However, due to a lack of concurrent visual and passive acoustic observations, it is often not known which species produces which sounds. To aid in the analysis of Australian and Antarctic marine soundscape recordings, a literature review of the sounds made by marine mammals was undertaken. Frequency, duration and source level measurements are summarised and tabulated. In addition to the literature review, new marine mammal data are presented and include recordings from Australia of Omura's whales (Balaenoptera omurai), dwarf sperm whales (Kogia sima), common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), long-finned pilot whales (G. melas), Fraser's dolphins (Lagenodelphis hosei), false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and spinner dolphins (S. longirostris), as well as the whistles and burst-pulse sounds of Australian pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata). To date, this is the most comprehensive acoustic summary for marine mammal species in Australian waters.

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“…Communicative click sequences at varying pulse repetition rates have been described for several odontocete species (Weilgart and Whitehead, 1993;Blomqvist and Amundin, 2004;Lammers et al, 2006;Aguilar Soto et al, 2011;Clausen et al, 2011;Marrero et al, 2016). Captive bottlenose dolphins emit directional pulsed sounds in intraspecific agonistic interactions (Blomqvist and Amundin, 2004;Blomqvist, 2004).…”

Section: Burst Pulsesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discrimination of fast click series produced by tagged Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) for echolocation or communication

Arranz

DeRuiter

Stimpert

et al. 2016

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Early studies that categorized odontocete pulsed sounds had few means of discriminating signals used for biosonar-based foraging from those used for communication. This capability to identify the function of sounds is important for understanding and interpreting behavior; it is also essential for monitoring and mitigating potential disturbance from human activities. Archival tags were placed on free-ranging Grampus griseus to quantify and discriminate between pulsed sounds used for echolocation-based foraging and those used for communication. Two types of rapid click-series pulsed sounds, buzzes and burst pulses, were identified as produced by the tagged dolphins and classified using a Gaussian mixture model based on their duration, association with jerk (i.e. rapid change of acceleration) and temporal association with click trains. Buzzes followed regular echolocation clicks and coincided with a strong jerk signal from accelerometers on the tag. They consisted of series averaging 359±210 clicks (mean±s.d.) with an increasing repetition rate and relatively low amplitude. Burst pulses consisted of relatively short click series averaging 45±54 clicks with decreasing repetition rate and longer inter-click interval that were less likely to be associated with regular echolocation and the jerk signal. These results suggest that the longer, relatively lower amplitude, jerkassociated buzzes are used in this species to capture prey, mostly during the bottom phase of foraging dives, as seen in other odontocetes. In contrast, the shorter, isolated burst pulses that are generally emitted by the dolphins while at or near the surface are used outside of a direct, known foraging context.

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Different modes of acoustic communication in deep‐diving short‐finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus)

Cited by 34 publications

References 49 publications

Individual, ecological, and anthropogenic influences on activity budgets of long‐finned pilot whales

Individual, ecological, and anthropogenic influences on activity budgets of long‐finned pilot whales

Review of Underwater and In-Air Sounds Emitted by Australian and Antarctic Marine Mammals

Discrimination of fast click series produced by tagged Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) for echolocation or communication

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