Full Access
PATTERNS OF SOUND PRODUCTION IN DIVING SPERM WHALES IN THE NORTHWESTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Valeria Teloni,
Valeria Teloni
Department of Zoophysiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, C. F. Moellers Alle, Build. 131, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark, E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorValeria Teloni,
Valeria Teloni
Department of Zoophysiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, C. F. Moellers Alle, Build. 131, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark, E-mail: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Passive acoustic tracking of sperm whales was conducted during three cruises (2001, 2002, and 2003) in the northwestern part of the Mediterranean Sea using a 128-element towed linear array with real-time beamforming capabilities. This allowed angular separation of sperm whales clicking from different horizontal directions, as well as an enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Thus, when several diving animals were present, the description of individual click series was possible. Over a total of 279 complete dives, sperm whales were recorded clicking an average of 35 min per dive. The acoustic repertoire heard from diving sperm whales consisted of usual clicks, creaks, codas, and ttumpets. Trumpets occurred at the beginning of 45 dives. One hundred and thirty-one codas, 98% belonging to the Mediterranean pattern 3+1, were recorded, usually at the end of the dive.
Literature Cited
-
Au, W. W. L.
1993. Sonar of dolphins. Springer-Verlag,
New York
,
NY
.
10.1007/978-1-4612-4356-4 Google Scholar
- Barrett-Lennard, L. G., J.K.B. Ford and K. A. Heise 1996. The mixed blessing of echolocation: Differences in sonar use by fish-eating and mammal-eating killer whales. Animal Behaviour 51: 553–565.
- Druout, V. 2003. Ecology of sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Mediterranean Sea. Ph.D dessertation. University of Wales, Bangor , UK . 338 pp.
- Goold, J. C. 1999. Behavioural and acoustic observations of sperm whales in Scapa Flow, Orkney Islands. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 79: 541–550.
- Gordon, J. C. D. 1987. Behavior and ecology of sperm whales off Sri Lanka. Ph.D dessertation. University of Cambridge, Cambridge , UK . 347 pp.
- Gordon, J. C. D., L. Steiner 1992. Ventilation and dive patterns in sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the Azores. Report of the International Whaling Commission 42: 561–65.
- Gordon, J. C. D., R. Leaper, F. G. Hartley and O. Chappell 1992. Effects of whale-watching vessels on the surface and underwater acoustic behaviour of sperm whales off Kaikoura, New Zealand. Science and Research Series No. 52, Department of Conservation, Wellington , New Zealand .
- Jaquet, N., S. Dawson and E. Slooten 2000. Seasonal distribution and diving behaviour of male sperm whales off Kaikoura: Foraging implications. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78: 407–419.
- Jaquet, N., S. Dawson and L. Douglas 2001. Vocal behavior of male sperm whales: Why do they click Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 109: 2254–2259.
- Johnson, M., P. L. Tyack 2003. A digital acoustic recording tag for measuring the response of wild marine mammals to sound. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 28: 3–12.
- Madsen, P. T., M. Wahlberg and B. Møhl 2002. Male sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) acoustics in a high-latitude habitat: Implications for echolocation and communication. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 53: 31–41.
- Madsen, P. T., I. Kerr and R. Payne 2004. Echolocation clicks of two free-ranging, oceanic delphinids with different food preferences: False killer whales Pseudorca crassidens and Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus. The Journal of Experimental Biology 207: 1811–1823.
- Møhl, B., M. Wahlberg, P. T. Madsen and L. A. Miller 2000. Sperm whale clicks: directionality and source level revisited. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 107: 638–648.
- Møhl, B., M. Wahlberg, P. T. Madsen, A. Heerford and A. Lund 2003. The monopulsed nature of sperm whale sonar clicks. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 114: 1143–1154.
- Mullins, J., H. Whitehead and L. Weilgart 1988. Behavior and vocalizations of two single sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, off Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 45: 1736–1743.
- Papastavrou, V., S. C. Smith and H. Whitehead 1989. Diving behavior of the sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, off the Galapagos Islands. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 839–846.
- Pavan, G., J. F. Borsani 1997. Bioacoustics research on cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 30: 99–123.
- Pavan, G., T. J. Hayward, J. F. Borsani, M. Priano, M. Manghi, C. Fossati and J.C.D. Gordon 2000. Time patterns of sperm whale codas recorded in the Mediterranean Sea 1985–1996. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 107: 3487–3495.
- Teloni, V. 1998. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Mediterranean Sea: Methods and results of bioacoustics research. Unpublished M.Sc. thesis. University of Pavia, Pavia , Italy . 153 pp. In Italian).
- Thode, A., D. K. Mellinger, S. Stienessen, A. Martinez and K. Mullin 2002. Depth-dependent features of diving sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Gulf of Mexico. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 112: 308–321.
- Urick, R. J. 1983. Principles of underwater sound, 3rd edition. McGraw-Hill, New York , NY .
- Wahlberg, M. 2002. The acoustic behaviour of diving sperm whales observed with a hydrophone array. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 281: 53–62.
-
Watkins, W. A.
1980. Acoustics and the behavior of sperm whales. Pages 283–290 in R. G. Busnel
and
J. F. Fish eds, Animal sonar systems, Plenum,
New York
,
NY
.
10.1007/978-1-4684-7254-7_11 Google Scholar
- Watkins, W. A., W. E. Schevill 1977. Sperm whale codas. Journal of Acoustical Society of America 62: 1485–1490.
- Watkins, W. A., M. A. Daher, K. M. Fristrup, T. J. Howald and G. Notarbartolo di Sciara 1993. Sperm whales tagged with transponders and tracked underwater by sonar. Marine Mammal Science 9: 55–67.
- Watkins, W. A., M. A. Daher, N. A. Dimarzio, A. Samuels, D. Wartzok, K. M. Fristrup, D. P. Gannon, P. W. Howey and R. R. Maiefski 1999. Sperm whale surface activity from tracking by radio and satellite tags. Marine Mammal Science 15: 1158–1180.
- Watkins, W. A., M. A. Daher, N. A. Dimarzio, A. Samuels, D. Wartzok, K. M. Fristrup, P. W. Howey and R. R. Maiefski 2002. Sperm whale dives tracked by radio tag telemetry. Marine Mammal Science 18: 55–68.
- Weilgart, L., H. Whitehead 1988. Distinctive vocalizations from mature male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 66: 1931–1937.
- Weilgart, L., H. Whitehead 1997. Group-specific dialects and geographical variation in coda repertoire in South Pacific sperm whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 40: 277–285.
- Whitehead, H., L. Weilgart 1990. Click rates from sperm whales. Journal of Acoustical Society of America 87: 1798–1806.
- Whitehead, H., L. Weilgart 1991. Patterns of visually observable behaviour and vocalizations in groups of female sperm whales. Behaviour 118: 275–296.
- Whitehead, H. 1996. Babysitting, dive synchrony, and indications of alloparental care in sperm whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 38: 237–244.
- Whitehead, H. 2003. Sperm whales: Social evolution in the ocean. University of Chicago Press, Chicago , IL .
- Zimmer, W. M. X, M. Johnson, A. D'Amico, and P. L. Tyack 2003. Combining data from a multisensor tag and passive sonar to determine the diving behavior of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 28: 13–28.
