Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Frants H. Jensen, Jacobo Marrero Perez, Mark Johnson, Natacha Aguilar Soto, Peter T. Madsen
Toothed whales rely on sound to echolocate prey and communicate with conspecifics, but little is known about how extreme pressure affects pneumatic sound production in deep-diving species with a limited air supply. The short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) is a highly social species among the deep-diving toothed whales, in which individuals socialize at the surface but leave their social group in pursuit of prey at depths of up to 1000 m. To investigate if these animals communicate acoustically at depth and test whether hydrostatic pressure affects communication signals, acoustic DTAGs logging sound, depth and orientation were attached to 12 pilot whales. Tagged whales produced tonal calls during deep foraging dives at depths of up to 800 m. Mean call output and duration decreased with depth despite the increased distance to conspecifics at the surface. This shows that the energy content of calls is lower at depths where lungs are collapsed and where the air volume available for sound generation is limited by ambient pressure. Frequency content was unaffected, providing a possible cue for group or species identification of diving whales. Social calls may be important to maintain social ties for foraging animals, but may be impacted adversely by vessel noise.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 3017-3025 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
Volume | 278 |
Issue number | 1721 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 22 Oct 2011 |
Discover related content
Find related publications, people, projects and more using interactive charts.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Oscar Eduardo Gaggiotti (Member of editorial board)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editor of research journal
Kate Arnold (Reviewer)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review of manuscripts
Michael Gordon Ritchie (Editor)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editor of research journal
Susan Denise Healy (Member of editorial board)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Editor of research journal
Iain McCombe Matthews (Editor)
Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Peer review of manuscripts
ID: 21712664