The echolocation transmission beam pattern of a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) was measured in the vertical and horizontal planes. A vertical array of seven broadband miniature hydrophones was used to measure the beam pattern in the vertical plane and a horizontal array of the same hydrophones was used in the horizontal plane. The measurements were performed in the open waters of Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, while the whale performed a target discrimination task. Four types of signals, characterized by their frequency spectra, were measured. Type‐1 signals had a single low‐frequency peak at 40±9 kHz and a low‐amplitude shoulder at high frequencies. Type‐2 signals had a bimodal frequency characteristic with a primary peak at 46±7 kHz and a secondary peak at 88±13 kHz. Type‐3 signals were also bimodal but with a primary peak at 100±7 kHz and a secondary peak at 49±9 kHz. Type‐4 signals had a single high‐frequency peak at 104±7 kHz. The center frequency of the signals were found to be linearly correlated to the peak‐to‐peak source level, increasing with increasing source level. The major axis of the vertical beam was directed slightly downward between 0 and −5°, in contrast to the +5 to 10° for Tursiops and Delphinapterus. The beam in the horizontal plane was directed forward between 0° and −5°. In both planes, the type‐1 signals had the broadest beam pattern, followed by the type‐2 and type‐3 signals, with the narrowest beam pattern being exhibited by the type‐4 signals. The beam pattern in the horizontal plane was much narrower than the beam pattern in the vertical plane.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
July 1995
July 01 1995
Echolocation signals and transmission beam pattern of a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
Whitlow W. L. Au;
Whitlow W. L. Au
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, P. O. Box 1106, Kailua, Hawaii 96734
Search for other works by this author on:
Jeffrey L. Pawloski;
Jeffrey L. Pawloski
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, P. O. Box 1106, Kailua, Hawaii 96734
Search for other works by this author on:
Paul E. Nachtigall;
Paul E. Nachtigall
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, P. O. Box 1106, Kailua, Hawaii 96734
Search for other works by this author on:
Michèle Blonz;
Michèle Blonz
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Nantes, Case postale 3013‐44087 Nantes Cedex 03, France
Search for other works by this author on:
Robert C. Gisner
Robert C. Gisner
Office of Naval Research, 800 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, Virginia 22217‐5000
Search for other works by this author on:
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 98, 51–59 (1995)
Article history
Received:
November 21 1994
Accepted:
March 08 1995
Citation
Whitlow W. L. Au, Jeffrey L. Pawloski, Paul E. Nachtigall, Michèle Blonz, Robert C. Gisner; Echolocation signals and transmission beam pattern of a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 July 1995; 98 (1): 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.413643
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
All we know about anechoic chambers
Michael Vorländer
A survey of sound source localization with deep learning methods
Pierre-Amaury Grumiaux, Srđan Kitić, et al.
Performance study of ray-based ocean acoustic tomography methods for estimating submesoscale variability in the upper ocean
Etienne Ollivier, Richard X. Touret, et al.
Related Content
Similarities in echolocation strategy and click characteristics between a Pseudorca crassidens and a Tursiops truncatus
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (November 2011)
Change in echolocation signals with hearing loss in a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (October 2010)
Spatial orientation of different frequencies within the echolocation beam of a Tursiops truncatus and Pseudorca crassidens
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (August 2012)
Underwater audiogram of a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)
J Acoust Soc Am (September 1988)
Acoustic recording of false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) from Mexico (L)
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. (April 2023)