Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) depend on frequency-modulated whistles for many aspects of their social behavior, including group cohesion and recognition of familiar individuals. Vocalization amplitude and frequency influences communication range and may be shaped by many ecological and physiological factors including energetic costs. Here, a calibrated GPS-synchronized hydrophone array was used to record the whistles of bottlenose dolphins in a tropical shallow-water environment with high ambient noise levels. Acoustic localization techniques were used to estimate the source levels and energy content of individual whistles. Bottlenose dolphins produced whistles with mean source levels of 146.7±6.2 dB re. 1 μPa(RMS). These were lower than source levels estimated for a population inhabiting the quieter Moray Firth, indicating that dolphins do not necessarily compensate for the high noise levels found in noisy tropical habitats by increasing their source level. Combined with measured transmission loss and noise levels, these source levels provided estimated median communication ranges of 750 m and maximum communication ranges up to 5740 m. Whistles contained less than 17 mJ of acoustic energy, showing that the energetic cost of whistling is small compared to the high metabolic rate of these aquatic mammals, and unlikely to limit the vocal activity of toothed whales.
REFERENCES
1.
Anderson
, C.
, and McShea
, D. W.
(2001
). “Individual versus social complexity, with particular reference to ant colonies
,” Biol. Rev. Cambridge Philos. Soc.
76
, 211
–237
.2.
Au
, W. W. L.
(1993
). The Sonar of Dolphins
(Springer-Verlag
, New York
), p. 277
.3.
Au
, W. W. L.
, Carder
, D. A.
, Penner
, R. H.
, and Scronce
, B. L.
(1985
). “Demonstration of adaptation in beluga whale echolocation signals
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
77
, 726
–730
.4.
Blumenrath
, S. H.
, and Dabelsteen
, T.
(2004
). “Degradation of great tit (Parus major) song before and after foliation: Implications for vocal communication in a deciduous forest
,” Behaviour
141
, 935
–958
.5.
Boinski
, S.
(1993
). “Vocal coordination of troop movement among white-faced capuchin monkeys, Cebus capucinus
,” Am. J. Primatol.
30
, 85
–100
.6.
Branstetter
, B. K.
, and Finneran
, J. J.
(2008
). “Comodulation masking release in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
124
, 625
–633
.7.
Brenowitz
, E. A.
(1982
). “Long-range communication of species identity by song in the Red-winged Blackbird
,” Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
10
, 29
–38
.8.
Brumm
, H.
(2004
). “The impact of environmental noise on song amplitude in a territorial bird
,” J. Anim. Ecol.
73
, 434
–440
.9.
Brumm
, H.
, and Slabbekoorn
, H.
(2005
). “Acoustic communication in noise
,” in Advances in the Study of Behavior
, edited by P. J. B.
Slater
, C. T.
Snowdon
, T. J.
Roper
, H. J.
Brockmann
, and M.
Naguib
(Elsevier
, New York
), pp. 151
–209
.10.
Cockroft
, V. G.
, and Ross
, G. J. B.
(1990
). “Age, growth, and reproduction of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus from the east coast of southern Africa
,” Fish. Bull.
88
, 289
–302
.11.
Connor
, R. C.
, Smolker
, R. A.
, and Richards
, A. F.
(1992
). “Two levels of alliance formation among male bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.)
,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
89
, 987
–990
.12.
Connor
, R. C.
, Wells
, R. S.
, Mann
, J.
, and Read
, A. J.
(2000
). “The Bottlenose Dolphin
,” in Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Whales and Dolphins
, edited by J.
Mann
, R. C.
Connor
, P. L.
Tyack
, and H.
Whitehead
(Univ. Chicago
, Chicago
), pp. 91
–126
.13.
Cortopassi
, K. A.
, and Bradbury
, J. W.
(2006
). “Contact call diversity in wild orange-fronted parakeet pairs, Aratinga canicularis
,” Anim. Behav.
71
, 1141
–1154
.14.
Cranford
, T. W.
, Amundin
, M.
, and Norris
, K. S.
(1996
). “Functional morphology and homology in the odontocete nasal complex: Implications for sound generation
,” J. Morphol.
228
, 223
–285
.15.
Da Cunha
, R. G. T.
, and Byrne
, R. W.
(2009
). “The use of vocal communication in keeping the spatial cohesion of groups: Intentionality and specific functions
,” in South American Primates
, edited by P. A.
Garber
, A.
Estrada
, J. C.
, Bicca -Marques
, E. W.
, Heymann
, and K. B.
, Strier
(Springer
, New York
), pp. 341
–363
.16.
Dabelsteen
, T.
, Larsen
, O. N.
, and Pedersen
, S. B.
(1993
). “Habitat-induced degradation of sound signals - quantifying the effects of communication sounds and bird location on blur ratio, excess attenuation, and signal-to-noise ratio in blackbird song
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
93
, 2206
–2220
.17.
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
.18.
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
.19.
Deecke
, V. B.
, Slater
, P. J. B.
, and Ford
, J. K. B.
(2002
). “Selective habituation shapes acoustic predator recognition in harbour seals
,” Nature
420
, 171
–173
.20.
Esch
, H. C.
, Sayigh
, L. S.
, and Wells
, R. S.
(2009
). “Quantifying parameters of bottlenose dolphin signature whistles
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
25
, 976
–986
.21.
Fletcher
, H.
(1940
). “Auditory Patterns
,” Rev. Mod. Phys.
12
, 47
.22.
Fraser
, F. C.
(1974
). “Report on Cetacea stranded on the British coasts from 1948–1966
,” Publications of the British Museum of Natural History
14
, 1
–65
.23.
Garstang
, M.
, Larom
, D.
, Raspet
, R.
, and Lindeque
, M.
(1995
). “Atmospheric controls on elephant communication
,” J. Exp. Biol.
198
, 939
–951
.24.
Gillooly
, J. F.
, and Ophir
, A. G.
(2010
). “The energetic basis of acoustic communication
,” Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. B
277
, 1325
–1331
.25.
Gowans
, S.
, Würsig
, B.
, Karczmarski
, L.
, and David
, W. S.
(2007
). “The social structure and strategies of delphinids: Predictions based on an ecological framework
,” Adv. Mar. Biol.
53
, 195
–294
.26.
Hale
, P. T.
, Barreto
, A. S.
, and Ross
, G. J. B.
(2000
). “Comparative morphology and distribution of the aduncus and truncatus forms of bottlenose dolphin Tursiops in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans
,” Aquat. Mamm.
26
, 101
–110
.27.
Hall
, J. W.
, Haggard
, M. P.
, and Fernandes
, M. A.
(1984
). “Detection in noise by spectro-temporal pattern analysis
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
76
, 50
–56
.28.
Hamilton
, W. D.
(1964
). “The genetical evolution of social behaviour. II
,” J. Theor. Biol.
7
, 17
–52
.29.
Herzing
, D. L.
(2000
). “Acoustics and social behavior of wild dolphins: implications for a sound society
,” in Hearing by Whales and Dolphins
, edited by W. W. L.
Au
, A. N.
Popper
, and R. E.
Fay
(Springer
, New York
), pp. 225
–272
.30.
Holt
, M. M.
, Noren
, D. P.
, Veirs
, V.
, Emmons
, C. K.
, and Veirs
, S.
(2009
). “Speaking up: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) increase their call amplitude in response to vessel noise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
125
, EL27
–EL32
.31.
Janik
, V.
, Todt
, D.
, and Dehnhardt
, G.
(1994
). “Signature whistle variations in a bottlenosed dolphin, Tursiops truncatus
,” Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
35
, 243
–248
.32.
Janik
, V. M.
(2000
). “Source levels and the estimated active space of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) whistles in the Moray Firth, Scotland
,” J. Comp. Physiol. [A]
186
, 673
–680
.33.
Janik
, V. M.
(2005
). “Underwater acoustic communication networks in marine mammals
,” in Animal Communication Networks
, edited by P. K.
McGregor
(Cambridge University
, Cambridge
), pp. 390
–415
.34.
Janik
, V. M.
(2009
). “Acoustic communication in delphinids
,” Advances in the study of behavior
, edited by M.
Naguib
, V.
Janik
, N.
Clayton
, and K.
Zuberbuhler
(Academic
, New York
), pp. 123
–157
.35.
Janik
, V. M.
, Sayigh
, L. S.
, and Wells
, R. S.
(2006
). “Signature whistle shape conveys identity information to bottlenose dolphins
,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
103
, 8293
–8297
.36.
Janik
, V. M.
, and Slater
, P. J.
(1998
). “Context-specific use suggests that bottlenose dolphin signature whistles are cohesion calls
,” Anim. Behav.
56
, 829
–838
.37.
Jensen
, F. H.
, Bejder
, L.
, Wahlberg
, M.
, and Madsen
, P. T.
(2009a
). “Biosonar adjustments to target range of echolocating bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) in the wild
,” J. Exp. Biol.
212
, 1078
–1086
.38.
Jensen
, F. H.
, Bejder
, L.
, Wahlberg
, M.
, Soto
, N. A.
, Johnson
, M.
, and Madsen
, P. T.
(2009b
). “Vessel noise effects on delphinid communication
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
395
, 161
–175
.39.
Johnson
, C. S.
(1968a
). “Masked tonal thresholds in bottlenosed porpoise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
44
, 965
–967
.40.
Johnson
, C. S.
(1968b
). “Relation between absolute threshold and duration-of-tone pulses in the bottlenosed porpoise
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
43
, 757
–763
.41.
Knudsen
, V. O.
, Alford
, R. S.
, and Emling
, J. W.
(1948
). “Underwater ambient noise
,” J. Mar. Res.
7
, 410
–429
.42.
Krebs
, J. R.
, and Davies
, N. B.
(1993
). An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology
(Blackwell Publishing
, Oxford)
, p. 420
.43.
Lammers
, M. O.
, and Au
, W. W. L.
(2003
). “Directionality in the whistles of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris): A signal feature to cue direction of movement?
,” Marine Mammal Sci.
19
, 249
–264
.44.
Lockyer
, C.
, and Morris
, R. J.
(1985
). “A wild but sociable dolphin off Portreath, north Cornwall
,” J. Zool.
207
, 605
–607
.45.
Madsen
, P. T.
, and Wahlberg
, M.
(2007
). “Recording and quantification of ultrasonic echolocation clicks from free-ranging toothed whales
,” Deep-Sea Res. I
54
, 1421
–1444
.46.
Madsen
, P. T.
, Wahlberg
, M.
, Tougaard
, J.
, Lucke
, K.
, and Tyack
, P.
(2006
). “Wind turbine underwater noise and marine mammals: implications of current knowledge and data needs
,” Mar. Ecol.: Prog. Ser.
309
, 279
–295
.47.
Marsh
, H. W.
, and Schulkin
, M.
(1962
). “Shallow-water transmission
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
34
, 863
–864
.48.
Marten
, K.
, and Marler
, P.
(1977
). “Sound transmission and its significance for animal vocalization
,” Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
2
, 271
–290
.49.
May-Collado
, L. J.
, and Wartzok
, D.
(2008
). “A comparison of bottlenose dolphin whistles in the Atlantic Ocean: Factors promoting whistle variation
,” J. Mammal.
89
, 1229
–1240
.50.
McComb
, K.
, Moss
, C.
, Sayialel
, S.
, and Baker
, L.
(2000
). “Unusually extensive networks of vocal recognition in African elephants
,” Anim. Behav.
59
, 1103
–1109
.51.
McComb
, K.
, Reby
, D.
, Baker
, L.
, Moss
, C.
, and Sayialel
, S.
(2003
). “Long-distance communication of acoustic cues to social identity in African elephants
,” Anim. Behav.
65
, 317
–329
.52.
McConnell
, S. O.
, Schilt
, M. P.
, and Dworski
, J. G.
(1992
). “Ambient noise measurements from 100 Hz to 80 kHz in an Alaskan fjord
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
91
, 1990
–2003
.53.
McGregor
, P.K.
(2005
). Animal Communication Networks
(Cambridge University
, Cambridge
), p. 672
.54.
Miller
, P.
(2006
). “Diversity in sound pressure levels and estimated active space of resident killer whale vocalizations
,” J. Comp. Physiol., A
192
, 449
–459
.55.
Morisaka
, T.
, and Connor
, R. C.
(2007
). “Predation by killer whales (Orcinus orca) and the evolution of whistle loss and narrow-band high frequency clicks in odontocetes
,” J. Evol. Biol.
20
, 1439
–1458
.56.
Morisaka
, T.
, Shinohara
, M.
, Nakahara
, F.
, and Akamatsu
, T.
(2005
). “Effects of ambient noise on the whistles of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin populations
,” J. Mammal.
86
, 541
–546
.57.
Møhl
, B.
, Wahlberg
, M.
, and Heerfordt
, A.
(2001
). “A large-aperture array of nonlinked receivers for acoustic positioning of biological sound sources
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
109
, 434
–437
.58.
Möller
, L. M.
, Bilgmann
, K.
, Charlton-Robb
, K.
, and Beheregaray
, L.
(2008
). “Multi-gene evidence for a new bottlenose dolphin species in southern Australia
,” Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.
49
, 674
–681
.59.
Nakano
, R.
, Takanashi
, T.
, Fujii
, T.
, Skals
, N.
, Surlykke
, A.
, and Ishikawa
, Y.
(2009
). “Moths are not silent, but whisper ultrasonic courtship songs
,” J. Exp. Biol.
212
, 4072
–4078
.60.
Norris
, K. S.
, and Schilt
, C. R.
(1988
). “Cooperative societies in three-dimensional space - on the origins of aggregations, flocks, and schools, with special reference to dolphins and fish
,” Ethol. Sociobiol.
9
, 149
–179
.61.
NRC
(2005
). Marine Mammal Populations and Ocean Noise: Determining when Noise Causes Biologically Significant Effects
(National Academy
, Washington, DC
)62.
Ophir
, A. G.
, Schrader
, S. B.
, and Gillooly
, J. F.
(2010
). “Energetic cost of calling: general constraints and species-specific differences
,” J. Evol. Biol.
23
, 1564
–1569
.63.
Parks
, S. E.
, Clark
, C. W.
, and Tyack
, P. L.
(2007
). “Short- and long-term changes in right whale calling behavior: The potential effects of noise on acoustic communication
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
122
, 3725
–3731
.64.
Parks
, S. E.
, Johnson
, M.
, Nowacek
, D.
, and Tyack
, P. L.
(2011
). “Individual right whales call louder in increased environmental noise
,” Biol. Lett.
7
, 33
–35
.65.
Parris
, K. M.
, Velik-Lord
, M.
, and North
, J. M. A.
(2009
). “Frogs call at a higher pitch in traffic noise
,” Ecol Soc 14
, (1
); http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss11/art25/. (Last viewed September 26th, 2011).66.
Payne
, R.
, and Webb
, D.
(1971
). “Orientation by means of long range acoustic signalling in baleen whales
,” Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.
188
, 110
–141
.67.
Piggott
, C. L.
(1964
). “Ambient sea noise at low frequencies in shallow water of the scotian shelf
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
36
, 2152
–2163
.68.
Poikonen
, A.
, and Madekivi
, S.
(2010
). “Wind-generated ambient noise in a shallow brackish water environment in the archipelago of the Gulf of Finland
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
127
, 3385
–3393
.69.
Poikonen
, A. A.
(2010
). “High-frequency wind-driven ambient noise in shallow brackish water: Measurements and spectra
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
128
, EL242
–EL247
.70.
Prestwich
, K. N.
, Brugger
, K. E.
, and Topping
, M.
(1989
). “Energy and communication in three species of hylid frogs - power input, power output and efficiency
,” J. Exp. Biol.
144
, 53
–80
.71.
Quintana-Rizzo
, E.
, Mann
, D. A.
, and Wells
, R. S.
(2006
). “Estimated communication range of social sounds used by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
120
, 1671
–1683
.72.
Rasmussen
, M. H.
, Lammers
, M.
, Beedholm
, K.
, and Miller
, L. A.
(2006
). “Source levels and harmonic content of whistles in white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
120
, 510
–517
.73.
Reeves
, R. R.
, Stewart
, B. S.
, Clapham
, P. J.
, and Powell
, J. A.
(2002
). Sea Mammals of the World: A Complete Guide to Whales, Dolphins, Seals, Sea Lions and Sea Cows
(A & C Black
, London
), p. 528
.74.
Ridgway
, S. H.
, and Carder
, D. A.
(1988
). “Nasal pressure and sound production in an echolocating white whale, Delphinapterus leucas
,” in Animal Sonar: Processes and Performance
, edited by P. E.
Nachtigall
, and P. W. B.
Moore
(Plenum
, New York
), pp. 53
–60
.75.
Ryan
, M. J.
, Tuttle
, M. D.
, and Rand
, A. S.
(1982
). “Bat predation and sexual advertisement in a neotropical anuran
,” Am. Nat.
119
, 136
–139
.76.
Sayigh
, L. S.
, Tyack
, P. L.
, Wells
, R. S.
, Solow
, A. R.
, Scott
, M. D.
, and Irvine
, A. B.
(1999
). “Individual recognition in wild bottlenose dolphins: a field test using playback experiments
,” Anim. Behav.
57
, 41
–50
.77.
Scheifele
, P. M.
, Andrew
, S.
, Cooper
, R. A.
, Darre
, M.
, Musiek
, F. E.
, and Max
, L.
(2005
). “Indication of a Lombard vocal response in the St. Lawrence River beluga
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
117
, 1486
–1492
.78.
Sinnott
, J. M.
, Stebbins
, W. C.
, and Moody
, D. B.
(1975
). “Regulation of voice amplitude by the monkey
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
58
, 412
–414
.79.
Slabbekoorn
, H.
, and den Boer-Visser
, A.
(2006
). “Cities change the songs of birds
,” Curr. Biol.
16
, 2326
–2331
.80.
Spiesberger
, J. L.
, and Fristrup
, K. M.
(1990
). “Passive localization of calling animals and sensing of their acoustic environment using acoustic tomography
,” Am. Nat.
135
, 107
–153
.81.
Strain
, J. G.
, and Mumme
, R. L.
(1988
). “Effects of food supplementation, song playback, and temperature on vocal territorial behavior of Carolina Wrens
,” Auk
105
, 11
–16
.82.
Trickey
, J. S.
, Branstetter
, B. K.
, and Finneran
, J. J.
(2010
). “Auditory masking of a 10 kHz tone with environmental, comodulated, and Gaussian noise in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
128
, 3799
–3804
.83.
Tyack
, P. L.
(2000
). “Functional aspects of cetacean communication
,” in Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales
, edited by J.
Mann
, R. C.
Connor
, P. L.
Tyack
, and H.
Whitehead
(Univ. Chicago
, Chicago
), pp. 270
–307
.84.
Tyack
, P. L.
(2008a
). “Convergence of calls as animals form social bonds, active compensation for noisy communication channels, and the evolution of vocal learning in mammals
,” J. Comp., Psych.
122
, 319
–331
.85.
Tyack
, P. L.
(2008b
). “Implications for marine mammals of large-scale changes in the marine acoustic environment
,” J. Mammal
89
, 549
–558
.86.
87.
Wahlberg
, M.
, Mohl
, B.
, and Madsen
, P. T.
(2001
). “Estimating source position accuracy of a large-aperture hydrophone array for bioacoustics
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
109
, 397
–406
.88.
Watwood
, S. L.
, Tyack
, P. L.
, and Wells
, R. S.
(2004
). “Whistle sharing in paired male bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus
,” Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.
55
, 531
–543
.89.
Welch
, P. D.
(1967
). “Use of Fast Fourier Transform for estimation of power spectra - a method based on time averaging over short modified periodograms
,” IEEE Trans. Audio Electroacoust.
AU-15
, 70
–73
.90.
Wells
, R. S.
, and Scott
, M. D.
(1999
). “Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)
,” in Handbook of marine mammals
, edited by S. H.
Ridgway
, and R.
Harrison
(Academic
, New York
), pp. 137
–182
.91.
Wenz
, G. M.
(1962
). “Acoustic ambient noise in ocean - spectra and sources
,” J. Acoust. Soc. Am.
34
, 1936
–1956
.92.
Williams
, T. M.
, Friedl
, W. A.
, and Haun
, J. E.
(1993
). “The physiology of bottlenosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) - Heart rate, metabolic rate and plasma lactate concentration during exercise
,” J. Exp. Biol.
179
, 31
–46
.© 2012 Acoustical Society of America.
2012
Acoustical Society of America
You do not currently have access to this content.