The impact of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals has been an area of increasing concern over the past two decades. Most low-frequency anthropogenic noise in the ocean comes from commercial shipping which has contributed to an increase in ocean background noise over the past 150 years. The long-term impacts of these changes on marine mammals are not well understood. This paper describes both short- and long-term behavioral changes in calls produced by the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and South Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena australis) in the presence of increased low-frequency noise. Right whales produce calls with a higher average fundamental frequency and they call at a lower rate in high noise conditions, possibly in response to masking from low-frequency noise. The long-term changes have occurred within the known lifespan of individual whales, indicating that a behavioral change, rather than selective pressure, has resulted in the observed differences. This study provides evidence of a behavioral change in sound production of right whales that is correlated with increased noise levels and indicates that right whales may shift call frequency to compensate for increased band-limited background noise.
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December 2007
December 01 2007
Short- and long-term changes in right whale calling behavior: The potential effects of noise on acoustic communication
Susan E. Parks;
Susan E. Parks
a)
Bioacoustics Research Program,
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
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C. W. Clark;
C. W. Clark
Bioacoustics Research Program,
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
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P. L. Tyack
P. L. Tyack
Biology Department, MS #50,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543
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a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Current address: The Pennsylvania State University, Applied Research Laboratory, P.O. Box 30, State College, PA 16804-0030. Electronic mail: sep20@psu.edu
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 122, 3725–3731 (2007)
Article history
Received:
February 20 2007
Accepted:
September 25 2007
Citation
Susan E. Parks, C. W. Clark, P. L. Tyack; Short- and long-term changes in right whale calling behavior: The potential effects of noise on acoustic communication. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 December 2007; 122 (6): 3725–3731. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2799904
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