Sound Production by the Gray Whale and Ambient Noise Levels in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Dahlheim, Marilyn E.; Fisher, H. D.; Schempp, James D.

doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-092372-7.50028-5

Cited by 26 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…As this species undergoes its annual migration from Alaska waters to the lagoons of Mexico it encounters a wide spectrum of both naturally occurring and man-made sounds. Gray whale calls have been described from both the southern and northern regions of its habitat (Dahlheim et al 1984, Moore & Ljungblad 1984, with most vocal activity occurring on the southern breeding and calving grounds. Within the shallow waters of Laguna San Ignacio, calls of gray whales most likely are heard and used by conspecifics within a 5-6 mile (8-9.7 km) distance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For gray whales Eschrichtius robus tus, surface behavioral reactions to underwater noise have been directly observed for multiple activities such as oil and gas exploration and production, aircraft overflights, and a variety of vessel activities including whale watching and dredging (Bryant et al 1984, Malme et al 1989, Moore & Clark 2002. Dahlheim (1987) documented a significant decline in the number of gray whales occupying Laguna San Ignacio during noise playback experimentation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These short-term behavioral responses improve signal detection and thus may contribute to maintaining successful communication in noisy habitats (Slabbekoorn 2013); however, the long-term sublethal effects of noise on reproduction and survival remain poorly understood (Kight & Swaddle 2011). In addition to the impacts on acoustic behavior, elevated background noise can cause displacement from preferred or critical habitats (Bryant et al 1984, Dahlheim 1987, Seip et al 2007. Adverse physical effects such as ear damage have also been demonstrated, as well as non-auditory physical effects such as physiological stress involving hormone responses leading to lowering of disease resistance, increased vulnerability to environmental stress, and hormone imbalances which may adversely affect reproduction (Creel et al 2002, Rolland et al 2012, Tennessen et al 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given grey whales' limited call repertoire (i.e. 6 call types) and frequency range of the calls (40 Hz to 4 kHz) (Dahlheim et al 1984, Moore & Ljungblad 1984, what, if any, strategies could be employed by this species to successfully circumvent noise in its environment so that signal transmission and reception would remain effective?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following a 2-yr study conducted in 1981 and 1982 in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja, California Sur, Mexico, which documented both the gray whales' acoustic repertoire and the ambient noise conditions in the lagoon (Dahlheim et al 1984, Dahlheim 1987, acoustic responses of gray whales to both naturally occurring and artificially increased levels of noise were investigated. Different noise sources were introduced into the lagoon through a series of experimental playback sessions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Changes in the acoustic behavior of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus in response to noise

Dahlheim¹,

Castellote²

2016

Endang. Species. Res.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Changes in the acoustic behavior of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus in response to noise

Dahlheim¹,

Castellote²

2016

Endang. Species. Res.

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Bubble blasts! An adaptation for buoyancy regulation in shallow foraging gray whales

Bird,

Pirotta,

New

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Foraging efficiency is key to animal fitness. Consequently, animals evolved a variety of kinematic, morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations for efficient locomotion to reduce energy expenditure while moving to find, capture, and consume prey. Often suited to specific habitat and prey types, these adaptations correspond to the terrain or substrate the animal moves through. In aquatic systems, adaptations focus on overcoming drag, buoyancy, and hydrostatic forces. Buoyancy both benefits and hinders diving animals; in particular, shallow divers constantly contend with the costs of overcoming buoyancy to dive and maintain position. Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales forage in shallow habitats where they work against buoyancy to dive and feed using various foraging tactics. Bubble blasts (underwater exhalations) have been observed during several foraging tactics performed by PCFG whales. As exhalations aid buoyancy regulation in other diving animals, we hypothesize that bubble blasts are performed by longer, more buoyant whales in shallower water and that bubble blasts increase dive duration while accounting for size and tactic. We test our hypotheses using Bayesian linear mixed effects models and a 7‐year dataset of drone footage containing concurrent individual morphological and behavioral data. We find that while headstanding – a stationary, head‐down tactic – bubble blasts are performed by longer, more buoyant whales and extend the dive duration, whereas whales using forward‐swimming tactics are less likely to bubble blast. Our results suggest that PCFG gray whales may use bubble blasts as a behavioral adaption to mitigate the cost of energetically expensive tactics in their shallow habitat foraging niche.

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The Physical Acoustics of Underwater Sound Communication

Bass¹,

Clark²

Springer Handbook of Auditory Research

120

110

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The physical attributes of a vocal/acoustic phenotype for any one species or individual are shaped through the process of natural selection by an ecological environment that has biotic and abiotic components (e.g., Morton 1975Morton , 1982Wiley 1983;McCracken and Sheldon 1997;Bass 1998).The biotic environment mainly includes the influences of other organisms, whereas the abiotic environment includes the physical parameters (e.g., temperature, sound velocity of the transmission medium, geometry of reflective surfaces, composition of boundaries) that can affect acoustic transmission in both the temporal and spatial domains. Here, we focus on the possible influences of the abiotic environment on the vocal communication signals of aquatic vertebrates in part because there is a dearth of information and studies for this group, unlike the case for terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates (e.g., see Michelsen

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Sound Production by the Gray Whale and Ambient Noise Levels in Laguna San Ignacio, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Cited by 26 publications

References 3 publications

Changes in the acoustic behavior of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus in response to noise

Changes in the acoustic behavior of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus in response to noise

Bubble blasts! An adaptation for buoyancy regulation in shallow foraging gray whales

The Physical Acoustics of Underwater Sound Communication

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