New underwater and aerial vocalizations of captive harp seals ( Pagophilus groenlandicus )

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: Serrano, A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 2001
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Harp Seal; Pagophilus groenlandicus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z00-182; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z00-182

Pinnipeds are ecologically and socially diverse, attributes that are reflected in their systems of communication. The purpose of this investigation was to document the vocal repertoire and annual cycle of vocal activity in the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), a species that communicates mainly under water, but whose social and communicative systems outside the breeding season are poorly known. The repertoire comprised 18 vocal classes, or call types; 7 that had not been described previously are described here. Vocal activity varied seasonally and with time of day. Calls of low frequency and with few pulse repetitions were predominantly used outside the breeding season, and calls of high frequency and with a high number of pulse repetitions predominated in the breeding season. The new vocalizations described here differed in several ways from those described previously. First, calls were relatively brief, with an average duration of 1.75 s (except call types 22 and 23, which averaged >2 s in duration). Second, some calls differed in mean fundamental frequency, the average being 677 Hz. Call types 22 and 23 differed the most, with an average of 838 Hz. The vocal repertoire described previously comprise calls with a fundamental frequency of approximately 400–500 Hz. Third, call types 22 and 25 differed from the rest of the vocalizations. The mean maximum frequency of call types 22 and 25 was 3.4 kHz, while the mean maximum frequency of the other call types is around 7.7 kHz.