Beaked whale echolocation signals are mostly frequency-modulated (FM) upsweep pulses and appear to be species specific. Evolutionary processes of niche separation may have driven differentiation of beaked whale signals used for spatial orientation and foraging. FM pulses of eight species of beaked whales were identified, as well as five distinct pulse types of unknown species, but presumed to be from beaked whales. Current evidence suggests these five distinct but unidentified FM pulse types are also species-specific and are each produced by a separate species. There may be a relationship between adult body length and center frequency with smaller whales producing higher frequency signals. This could be due to anatomical and physiological restraints or it could be an evolutionary adaption for detection of smaller prey for smaller whales with higher resolution using higher frequencies. The disadvantage of higher frequencies is a shorter detection range. Whales echolocating with the highest frequencies, or broadband, likely lower source level signals also use a higher repetition rate, which might compensate for the shorter detection range. Habitat modeling with acoustic detections should give further insights into how niches and prey may have shaped species-specific FM pulse types.
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September 2013
September 01 2013
Species-specific beaked whale echolocation signals
Simone Baumann-Pickering;
Simone Baumann-Pickering
a)
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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Mark A. McDonald;
Mark A. McDonald
WhaleAcoustics
, 11430 Rist Canyon Road, Bellvue, Colorado 80512
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Anne E. Simonis;
Anne E. Simonis
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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Alba Solsona Berga;
Alba Solsona Berga
Universitat de Barcelona
, 585 Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona 08007, Spain
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Karlina P. B. Merkens;
Karlina P. B. Merkens
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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Erin M. Oleson;
Erin M. Oleson
Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center
, NOAA, 1601 Kapiolani Boulevard, Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
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Marie A. Roch;
Marie A. Roch
Department of Computer Science,
San Diego State University
, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, California 92182-7720
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Sean M. Wiggins;
Sean M. Wiggins
Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California San Diego
, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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Shannon Rankin;
Shannon Rankin
Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service
, NOAA, 8901 La Jolla Shores Dr., La Jolla, California 92037
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Tina M. Yack;
Tina M. Yack
b)
Bio-waves, Inc.
, 517 Cornish Drive, Encinitas, California 92024
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John A. Hildebrand
John A. Hildebrand
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego
, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: sbaumann@ucsd.edu
b)
Also at: Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, CA 92037.
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 134, 2293–2301 (2013)
Article history
Received:
March 26 2013
Accepted:
July 17 2013
Citation
Simone Baumann-Pickering, Mark A. McDonald, Anne E. Simonis, Alba Solsona Berga, Karlina P. B. Merkens, Erin M. Oleson, Marie A. Roch, Sean M. Wiggins, Shannon Rankin, Tina M. Yack, John A. Hildebrand; Species-specific beaked whale echolocation signals. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 September 2013; 134 (3): 2293–2301. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4817832
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