Vocal structure can vary between populations due to variation in ecology-dependent selection pressures, such as masking by background noise and the presence of eavesdroppers. Signalers can overcome these obstacles to effective communication by avoiding frequencies that overlap with background noise or the audible range of eavesdroppers. In the Northeastern Pacific three “ecotypes” of killer whale coexist in sympatry, but differ from one another in their diet and habitat use. The minimum frequency and the frequency containing the peak energy between 0 and of a random sample of calls produced by a population of each ecotype was measured. The offshore ecotype produced calls with a significantly higher than the other ecotypes, which could be a strategy to avoid masking by low frequency chronic bandlimited wind noise found in the offshore environment. The resident ecotype produced calls with a significantly higher and than the transient ecotype. This could be to reduce detection by their salmonid prey, which has a narrow band, low frequency auditory range.
REFERENCES
1.
Awbrey
, F.
, Evans
, W.
, Jehl
, J.
, Thomas
, J.
, and Leatherwood
, S.
(1982
). “Comparison of Ross Sea and Pacific Northwest killer whale vocalizations
,” Rep. Int. Whal. Comm.
32
, 667
–670
.2.
Bain
, D. E.
, and Dahlheim
, M. E.
(1994
). “Effects of masking noise on detection thresholds of killer whales
,” in Marine Mammals and the Exxon Valdez
, edited by T. R.
Loughlin
(Academic
, San Diego), pp. 243
–256
.3.
Baird
, R. W.
, and Dill
, L. M.
(1995
). “Occurrence and behaviour of transient killer whales: Seasonal and pod-specific variability, foraging behaviour and prey handling
,” Can. J. Zool.
73
, 1300
–1311
.4.
Baird
, R. W.
, and Dill
, L. M.
(1996
). “Ecological and social determinants of group size in transient killer whales
,” Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
7
, 408
–416
.5.
Barrett-Lennard
, L. G.
(2000
). “Population structure and mating systems of North-eastern Pacific killer whales
,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia
, Vancouver, BC.6.
Barrett-Lennard
, L. G.
, Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Heise
, K. A.
(1996
). “The mixed blessing of echolocation: Differences in sonar use by fish-eating and mammal-eating killer whales
,” Anim. Behav.
51
, 553
–565
.7.
Deecke
, V. B.
(2003
). “The vocal behaviour of transient killer whales (Orcinus orca): Communicating with costly calls
,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of St. Andrews
, St. Andrews, Scotland.8.
Deecke
, V. B.
, Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Slater
, P. J. B.
(2005
). “The vocal behaviour of mammal-eating killer whales: Communicating with costly calls
,” Anim. Behav.
69
, 395
–405
.9.
Deecke
, V. B.
, Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Spong
, P.
(1999
). “Quantifying complex patterns of bioacoustic variation: Use of a neural network to compare killer whale (Orcinus orca) dialects
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
105
, 2499
–2507
.10.
Deecke
, V. B.
, Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Spong
, P.
(2000
). “Dialect change in resident killer whales: Implications for vocal learning and cultural transmission
,” Anim. Behav.
60
, 629
–639
.11.
Ding
, W.
, Wursig
, B.
, and Evans
, W. E.
(1995a
). “Whistles of bottlenose dolphins: Comparisons among populations
,” Aquat. Mamm.
21
, 65
–77
.12.
Ding
, W.
, Wursig
, B.
, and Evans
, W. E.
(1995b
). “Comparisons of whistles among seven odontocete species
,” in Sensory Systems of Aquatic Mammals
, edited by R. A.
Kastelein
, J. A.
Thomas
, and P. E.
Nachtigall
(De Spil
, Woerden, The Netherlands), pp. 299
–325
.13.
Filatova
, O. A.
, Burdin
, A. M.
, Hoyt
, E.
, and Sato
, H.
(2004
). “A catalogue of discrete calls of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) from the Avacha Gulf of Kamchatka peninsula
,” Zoolo. J.
83
, 1169
–1180
.14.
Foote
, A. D.
, Griffin
, R. M.
, Howitt
, D.
, Larsson
, L.
, Miller
, P. J. O.
, and Hoelzel
, A. R.
(2006
). “Killer whales are capable of vocal learning
,” Biol. Lett.
2
, 509
–512
.15.
Foote
, A. D.
, Osborne
, R. W.
, and Hoelzel
, A. R.
(2004
). “Whale-call response to masking boat noise
,” Nature (London)
428
, 910
.16.
Ford
, J. K. B.
(1987
). “A catalogue of underwater calls produced by killer whales (Orcinus orca) in British Columbia
,” Can. Data Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci.
633
, 165
.17.
Ford
, J. K. B.
(1989
). “Acoustic behaviour of resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) off Vancouver Island, British Columbia
,” Can. J. Zool.
67
, 727
–745
.18.
Ford
, J. K. B.
(1991
). “Vocal traditions among resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) in coastal waters of British Columbia
,” Can. J. Zool.
69
, 1454
–1483
.19.
Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Ellis
, G. M.
(1999
). Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales of British Columbia, Washington, and Southeastern Alaska
(University of British Columbia Press
, Vancouver).20.
Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Ellis
, G. M.
(2006
). “Selective foraging by fish-eating killer whales Orcinus orca in British Columbia
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
316
, 185
–199
.21.
Ford
, J. K. B.
, Ellis
, G. M.
, and Balcomb
, K. C.
(2000
). Killer Whales; The Natural History and Genealogy of Orcinus orca in British Columbia and Washington
(UBC press
, Vancouver).22.
Ford
, J. K. B.
, Ellis
, G. M.
, Barrett-Lennard
, L. G.
, Morton
, A. B.
, Palm
, R. S.
, and Balcomb
, III, K. C.
(1998
). “Dietary specialisation in two sympatric populations of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in coastal British Columbia and adjacent waters
,” Can. J. Zool.
76
, 1456
–1471
.23.
Hawkins
, A. D.
, and Johnstone
, A. D. F.
(1978
). “The hearing of the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar
,” J. Fish Biol.
13
, 655
–674
.24.
Herman
, D. P.
, Burrows
, D. G.
, Wade
, P. R.
, Durban
, J. W.
, Matkin
, C. O.
, Leduc
, R. G.
, Barrett-Lennard
, L. G.
, and Krahn
, M. M.
(2005
). “Feeding ecology of eastern North Pacific killer whales from fatty acid, stable isotope, and organochlorine analysis of blubber biopsies
,” Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.
302
, 275
–291
.25.
Hoelzel
, A. R.
, Dahlheim
, M.
, and Stern
, S. J.
(1998
). “Low genetic variation among killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the Eastern North Pacific and genetic differentiation between foraging specialists
,” J. Hered
89
, 121
–128
.26.
Hoelzel
, A. R.
, and Osborne
, R. W.
(1986
). “Killer whale call characteristics: Implications for cooperative foraging strategies
,” in Behavioral Biology of Killer Whales
, edited by B.
Kirkevold
and J. S.
Lockard
(Liss
, New York), pp. 373
–403
.27.
Hunter
, M. L.
, and Krebs
, J. R.
(1979
). “Geographical variation in the song of the great tit (Parus major) in relation to ecological factors
,” J. Anim. Ecol.
48
, 759
–785
.28.
Kastak
, D.
, and Schusterman
, R. J.
(1998
). “Low frequency amphibious hearing in pinnipeds: Methods, measurements, noise, and ecology
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
103
, 2216
–2228
.29.
Kastelein
, R. A.
, Bunskoek
, P.
, Hagedoorn
, M.
, Au
, W. W. L.
, and de Haan
, D.
(2002
). “Audiogram of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) measured with narrow-band frequency-modulated signals
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
112
, 334
–344
.30.
Knudsen
, V. O.
, Alford
, R. S.
, and Emling
, J. W.
(1948
). “Underwater ambient noise
,” J. Mar. Res.
7
, 410
–429
.31.
Krahn
, M. M.
, Herman
, D. P.
, Matkin
, C. O.
, Durban
, J. W.
, Barrett-Lennard
, L.
, Burrows
, D. G.
, Dahlheim
, M. E.
, Black
, N.
, LeDuc
, R. G.
, and Wade
, P. R.
(2007
). “Use of chemical tracers in assessing the diet and foraging regions of eastern North Pacific killer whales
,” Mar. Environ. Res.
63
, 91
–114
.32.
Ma
, B. B.
, and Nystuen
, J. A.
(2005
). “Passive acoustic detection and measurement of rainfall at sea
,” J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol.
22
, 1225
–1248
.33.
Miller
, P. J. O.
(2002
). “Mixed-directionality of killer whale stereotyped calls: A direction of movement cue
?” Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
52
, 262
–270
.34.
Miller
, P. J. O.
, and Bain
, D. E.
(2000
). “Within-pod variation in the sound production of a pod of killer whales, Orcinus orca
,” Anim. Behav.
60
, 617
–628
.35.
Miller
, P. J. O.
, Samarra
, F. I. P.
, and Perthuison
, A. D.
(2007
). “Caller sex and orientation influence spectral characteristics of ‘two-voice’ stereotyped calls produced by free-ranging killer whales
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
121
, 3932
–3937
.36.
Mossbridge
, J. A.
, Shedd
, J. G.
, and Thomas
, J. A.
(1999
). “An ‘acoustic niche’ for antarctic killer whale and leopard seal sounds
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
15
, 1351
–1357
.37.
Nousek
, A. E.
, Slater
, P. J. B.
, Wang
, C.
, and Miller
, P. J. O.
(2006
). “The influence of social affiliation on individual vocal signatures of Northern Resident killer whales (Orcinus Orca)
,” Biol. Lett.
2
, 481
–484
.38.
Rydell
, J.
, and Arlettaz
, R.
(1994
). “Low-frequency echolocation enables the bat Tadarida teniotis to feed on tympanate insects
,” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B
257
, 175
–178
.39.
Saulitis
, E. L.
, Matkin
, C. O.
, Barrett-Lennard
, L. G.
, Heise
, K. A.
, and Ellis
, G. M.
(2000
). “Foraging strategies of sympatric killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations in Prince William Sound
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
16
, 94
–109
.40.
Slabbekoorn
, H.
, and Peet
, M.
(2003
). “Birds sing at a higher pitch in urban noise
,” Nature (London)
424
, 267
.41.
Slater
, P. J. B.
(1986
). “The cultural transmission of bird song
,” Trends Ecol. Evol.
1
, 94
–97
.42.
Slater
, P. J. B.
(1989
). “Bird song learning: Causes and consequences
,” Ethol. Ecol. Evol.
1
, 19
–46
.43.
44.
Wenz
, G. M.
(1962
). “Acoustic ambient noise in the ocean: Spectra and sources
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
34
, 1936
–1956
.45.
Wille
, P. C.
, and Geyer
, D.
(1984
). “Measurements on the origin of the wind-dependent ambient noise variability in shallow water
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
75
, 173
–185
.46.
Yurk
, H.
(2005
). “The evolutionary history of resident killer whale clans in the northeastern Pacific using vocal dialects
,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia
, Vancouver.47.
Yurk
, H.
, Barrett-Lennard
, L.
, Ford
, J. K. B.
, and Matkin
, C. O.
(2002
). “Cultural transmission within maternal lineages: Vocal clans in resident killer whales in southern Alaska
,” Anim. Behav.
63
, 1103
–1119
.48.
Zerbini
, A. N.
, Waite
, J. M.
, Durban
, J. W.
, LeDuc
, R.
, Dahlheim
, M. E.
, and Wade
, P. R.
(2007
). “Estimating abundance of killer whales in the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands using line-transect sampling
,” Mar. Biol. (Berlin)
150
, 1033
–1045
.© 2008 Acoustical Society of America.
2008
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.
