Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) have learned to remove fish from demersal longline gear deployments off the eastern Gulf of Alaska, and are often observed to arrive at a site after a haul begins, suggesting a response to potential acoustic cues like fishing-gear strum, hydraulic winch tones, and propeller cavitation. Passive acoustic recorders attached to anchorlines have permitted continuous monitoring of the ambient noise environment before and during fishing hauls. Timing and tracking analyses of sperm whale acoustic activity during three encounters indicate that cavitation arising from changes in ship propeller speeds is associated with interruptions in nearby sperm whale dive cycles and changes in acoustically derived positions. This conclusion has been tested by cycling a vessel engine and noting the arrival of whales by the vessel, even when the vessel is not next to fishing gear. No evidence of response from activation of ship hydraulics or fishing gear strum has been found to date.
REFERENCES
1.
H.
Whitehead
, “Estimates of the current global population size and historical trajectory for sperm whales
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
242
, 295
–304
(2002
).2.
T.
Lyrholm
and U.
Gyllensten
, “Global matrilineal population structure in sperm whales as indicated by mitochondrial DNA sequences
,” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B
265
(1406
), 1679
–1684
(1998
).3.
Y.
Cherel
and G.
Duhamel
, “Antarctic jaws: Cephalopod prey of sharks in Kerguelen waters
,” Deep-Sea Res., Part I
51
(1
), 17
–31
(2004
).4.
A
Berzin
, Kashalot (The Sperm Whale)
. (U.S. Dept of Commerce, National Technical Information Service
, Springfield, VA, 1971
).5.
M. E.
Gosho
, D. W.
Rice
, and J. M.
Breiwick
, “The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus
,” Mar. Fish. Rev.
46
(4
), 54
–64
(1984
).6.
D. W.
Rice
, in Handbook of Marine Mammals
, edited by S. H.
Ridgway
and R.
Harrison
(Academic
, London, 1989), Vol. 4
, pp. 177
–233
.7.
D. K.
Mellinger
, K. M.
Stafford
, and C. G.
Fox
, “Seasonal occurrence of sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) sounds in the Gulf of Alaska, 1999–2001
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
20
(1
), 48
–62
(2004
).8.
P. B.
Best
, in Behavior of Marine Animals
, edited by H. E.
Winn
and B. L.
Olla
(Plenum
, New York, 1979
), Vol. 3
, pp. 227
–289
.9.
D. K.
Caldwell
, M. C.
Caldwell
, and D. W.
Rice
, in Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises
, edited by K. S.
Norris
(University of Califronia Press
, Berkeley, 1966
), pp. 677
–717
.10.
N.
Jaquet
, “How spatial and temporal scales influence understanding of Sperm Whale distribution: A review
,” Mammal Rev.
26
(1
), 51
–65
(1996
).11.
H.
Whitehead
, M.
Dillon
, S.
Dufault
, L.
Weilgart
, and J.
Wright
, “Nongeographically based population structure of South Pacific sperm whales: Dialects, fluke-markings and genetics
,” J. Anim. Ecol.
67
(2
), 253
–262
(1998
).12.
T.
Lyrholm
, O.
Leimar
, B.
Johanneson
, and U.
Gyllensten
, “Sex-biased dispersal in sperm whales: contrasting mitochondrial and nuclear genetic structure of global populations
,” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B
266
(1417
), 347
–354
(1999
).13.
M. B.
Santos
, G. J.
Pierce
, P. R.
Boyle
, R. J.
Reid
, H. M.
Ross
, I. A. P.
Patterson
, C. C.
Kinze
, S.
Tougaard
, R.
Lick
, U.
Piatkowski
, and V.
Hernandez-Garcia
, “Stomach contents of sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus stranded in the North Sea 1990–1996
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
183
, 281
–294
(1999
).14.
K.
Evans
and M. A.
Hindell
, “The diet of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in Southern Australian waters
,” ICES J. Mar. Sci.
61
(8
), 1313
–1329
(2004
).15.
T
Kawakami
, “A review of sperm whale food
,” Sci. Rep. Whales Res. Inst.
32
, 199
–218
(1980
).16.
K. M.
Fristrup
and G. R.
Harbison
, “How do sperm whales catch squids?
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
18
(1
), 42
–54
(2002
).17.
K.
Das
, G.
Lepoint
, Y.
Leroy
, and J. M.
Bouquegneau
, “Marine mammals from the Southern North Sea: Feeding ecology data from delta C-13 and delta N-15 measurements
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
263
, 287
–298
(2003
).18.
H.
Whitehead
, Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean
(University of Chicago Press
, Chicago, 2003
).19.
T.
Okutani
and T.
Nemoto
, “Squids as the food of sperm whales in the Bering Sea and Alaska Gulf
,” Tokai Regional Fisheries Laboratory, Report No. 18, 1964
.20.
M. R.
Clarke
and N.
Macleod
, “Cephalopod remains from sperm whales caught off Iceland
,” J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. U.K.
56
, 733
–750
(1976
).21.
C. P.
Nolan
and G. M.
Liddle
, “Interactions between killer whales (Orcinus orca) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) with a longline fishing vessel
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
16
(3
), 658
–664
(2000
).22.
M. G.
Purves
, D. J.
Agnew
, E.
Balguerias
, C. A.
Moreno
, and B.
Watkins
, “Killer whale (Orcinus orca) and sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) interactions with longline vessels in the patagonian toothfish fishery at South Georgia, South Atlantic
,” Ccamlr Sci.
11
, 111
–126
(2004
).23.
R.
Hucke-Gaete
, C. A.
Moreno
, J.
Arata
, and Blue
Whale Ctr
, “Operational interactions of sperm whales and killer whales with the Patagonian toothfish industrial fishery off Southern Chile
,” Ccamlr Sci.
11
, 127
–40
(2004
).24.
E. A.
Zollett
and A. J.
Read
, “Depredation of catch by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Florida king mackerel (Scomberomorus cavalla) troll fishery
,” Fish. Bull.
104
, 343
–349
(2006
).25.
J. R.
Ashford
, P. S.
Rubilar
, and A. R.
Martin
, “Interactions between cetaceans and longline fishery operations around South Georgia
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
12
(3
), 452
–457
(1996
).26.
D.
Capdeville
, “Interaction of marine mammals with the longline fishery around the Kerguelen Islands (Division 58.5.1) during the 1995/96 cruise
,” Ccamlr Sci.
4
, 171
–174
(1997
).27.
E. F.
González
, presented at the XXI Congreso de Ciencias del Mar
, Chile, 2001
.28.
P. S.
Hill
, J. L.
Laake
, and E.
Mitchell
, “Results of a pilot program to document interactions between sperm whales and longline vessels in Alaska waters
,” U.S Department of Commerce, Report No. NOAA TM-NMFS-AFSC-108, 1999
.29.
M. F.
Sigler
, C. R.
Lunsford
, and J. M.
Straley
Marine Mammal Sci.
(in press).30.
G. R.
McPherson
, P.
Turner
, C.
McPherson
, and D.
Cato
, “Predation of large marine mammals (family Delphinidae) on longline and dropline target species. Phase I. Pilot study of the acoustic mechanism of predation, and development of a three dimensional acoustic tracking system
.” Australian Fisheries Management Authority and Eastern Tuna Management Advisory Committee, Department of Primary Industries, Queensland., Report No. QI 02105, 2002
.31.
G. R.
McPherson
, C.
Clague
, P.
Turner
, C. R.
McPherson
, A.
Madry
, I.
Bedwell
, and D. H.
Cato
, presented at the Proceedings of Acoustics 2004
, Gold Coast
, Australia, 2004
.32.
J. C.
Goold
and S. E.
Jones
, “Time and frequency-domain characteristics of sperm whale clicks
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
98
(3
), 1279
–1291
(1995
).33.
L. V.
Worthington
and W. E.
Schevill
, “Underwater sounds heard from sperm whales
,” Nature (London)
180
, 291
(1957
).34.
35.
L. A.
Douglas
, S. M.
Dawson
, and N.
Jaquet
, “Click rates and silences of sperm whales at Kaikoura, New Zealand
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
118
(1
), 523
–529
(2005
).36.
A.
Thode
, D. K.
Mellinger
, S.
Stienessen
, A.
Martinez
, and K.
Mullin
, “Depth-dependent acoustic features of diving sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Gulf of Mexico
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
112
(1
), 308
–321
(2002
).37.
W. M. X.
Zimmer
, M. P.
Johnson
, A.
D’Amico
, and P. L.
Tyack
, “Combining data from a multisensor tag and passive sonar to determine the diving behavior of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)
,” IEEE J. Ocean. Eng.
28
(1
), 13
–28
(2003
).38.
A.
Thode
, C.
Tiemann
, J.
Straley
, K.
Folkert
, and V.
O’Connell
, “Three-dimensional localization of sperm whales using a single hydrophone
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
120
(4
), 2355
–2365
(2006
).39.
W. C.
Burgess
, “The bioacoustic probe: A general-purpose acoustic recording tag (A)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
108
(5
, Pt. 2), 2583
(2000
).40.
D. K.
Mellinger
, “ISHMAEL 1.0 User’s Guide
,” NOAA/PMEL Tech. Mem., Report No. PMEL-120, 2002
.41.
A.
Thode
, “Three-dimensional passive acoustic tracking of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in ray-refracting environments
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
18
(6
), 3575
–3584
(2005
).42.
W. M.
Carey
, “Sound sources and levels in the ocean
,” IEEE J. Ocean. Eng.
31
(1
), 61
–75
(2006
).43.
National Research Council Ocean Studies Board,
Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals
National Academies
, Washington, D.C.
, 2003
.44.
P. T.
Madsen
, “Marine mammals and noise: Problems with root mean square sound pressure levels for transients
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
(6
), 3952
–3957
(2005
).45.
A.
Thode
, “Tracking sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) dive profiles using a towed passive acoustic array
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
116
(1
), 245
–253
(2004
).46.
J. L.
Spiesberger
, “Geometry of locating sounds from differences in travel time: Isodiachrons
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
116
(5
), 3168
–3177
(2004
).47.
M.
Wahlberg
, “The acoustic behaviour of diving sperm whales observed with a hydrophone array
,” J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol.
281
(1–2
), 53
–62
(2002
).48.
S.
Watwood
, P. J. O.
Miller
, M.
Johnson
, P. T.
Madsen
, and P.
Tyack
, “Deep-diving foraging behaviour of sperm whales
,” J. Anim. Ecol.
75
(3
), 814
–825
(2006
).49.
R. L.
Pepper
, Jr., and V.
Simmons
, “In-air visual acuity of the bottlenose dolphin
,” Exp. Neurol.
41
(2
), 271
–276
(1973
).50.
D. A.
Hanan
, L. M.
Jones
, and R. B.
Read
, “California sea lion interaction and depredation rates with the commercial passenger fishing vessel fleet near San Diego
,” CalCOFI Report 30, 122
–126
(1989
).51.
T. A.
Jefferson
and B. E.
Curry
, “Acoustic methods of reducing or eliminating marine mammal-fishery interactions: Do they work?
,” Ocean Coastal Manage.
31
(1
), 41
–70
(1996
).52.
J.
Barlow
and B. L.
Taylor
, “Estimates of sperm whale abundance in the northeastern temperate Pacific from a combined acoustic and visual survey
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
21
(3
), 429
–445
(2005
).53.
J. W.
Bradbury
and S. L.
Vehrencamp
, Principles of Animal Communication
(Sinauer Associates
, Sunderland, MA, 1998
).54.
John
Hall
, Classical Conditioning and Instrumental Learning: A Contemporary Approach
(JB Lippincott
, Philadelphia, 1976
).55.
http://www.animalbehaviour.net/PosReinforcement.htm, reviewed 15 May 2007.
© 2007 Acoustical Society of America.
2007
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.
