Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring
Passive acoustic methods enable remote monitoring of marine species and habitats. These methods can be applied to investigate distribution and abundance of populations, to evaluate behavioral and physiological states of individuals, and to inform management efforts for animals that live in hard-to-r...
Published in: | Frontiers in Remote Sensing |
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2022
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/frsen.2022.862435 2024-03-31T07:51:00+00:00 Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring Sills, Jillian M. Reichmuth, Colleen National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Remote Sensing volume 3 ISSN 2673-6187 journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435 2024-03-05T00:05:02Z Passive acoustic methods enable remote monitoring of marine species and habitats. These methods can be applied to investigate distribution and abundance of populations, to evaluate behavioral and physiological states of individuals, and to inform management efforts for animals that live in hard-to-reach places. Spotted seals ( Phoca largha ) inhabit high-latitude, light-limited sub-Arctic and Arctic waters and move seasonally with unstable sea ice. They are high trophic level predators vulnerable to changing conditions associated with environmental warming. At present, an incomplete characterization of the spotted seal vocal repertoire limits our ability to monitor this species acoustically. Captive studies can inform passive acoustic efforts by describing fundamental features of species-typical vocalizations emitted by known individuals. These features include acoustic parameters as well as developmental, seasonal, and sex-specific patterns in vocal behavior. Here, we studied several male spotted seals in captivity from age 6 months through adulthood (10 years). Vocal behavior was scored daily and opportunistically recorded. The production of underwater calls emerged during sexual maturation, at age 4. To evaluate vocal repertoire and fine-scale temporal patterns of sound production in adult seals, an underwater acoustic recorder was continuously deployed with two seals at age 7 years. The spotted seals produced at least eight distinctive underwater call types with dominant energy below 1 kHz. The amplitude of the most common vocalization was ∼140 dB re 1 μPa (sound pressure level at 1 m). There was a marked peak in vocal activity in springtime, prior to onset of the annual molt. This period coincided with increased aggressive behavior, presence of a notable musky odor, and urogenital swelling indicative of heightened reproductive status. These results from developing male spotted seals reared in human care confirm the production of recognizable, stereotypic underwater calls associated with the breeding season. ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Sea ice Frontiers (Publisher) Arctic Frontiers in Remote Sensing 3 |
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Passive acoustic methods enable remote monitoring of marine species and habitats. These methods can be applied to investigate distribution and abundance of populations, to evaluate behavioral and physiological states of individuals, and to inform management efforts for animals that live in hard-to-reach places. Spotted seals ( Phoca largha ) inhabit high-latitude, light-limited sub-Arctic and Arctic waters and move seasonally with unstable sea ice. They are high trophic level predators vulnerable to changing conditions associated with environmental warming. At present, an incomplete characterization of the spotted seal vocal repertoire limits our ability to monitor this species acoustically. Captive studies can inform passive acoustic efforts by describing fundamental features of species-typical vocalizations emitted by known individuals. These features include acoustic parameters as well as developmental, seasonal, and sex-specific patterns in vocal behavior. Here, we studied several male spotted seals in captivity from age 6 months through adulthood (10 years). Vocal behavior was scored daily and opportunistically recorded. The production of underwater calls emerged during sexual maturation, at age 4. To evaluate vocal repertoire and fine-scale temporal patterns of sound production in adult seals, an underwater acoustic recorder was continuously deployed with two seals at age 7 years. The spotted seals produced at least eight distinctive underwater call types with dominant energy below 1 kHz. The amplitude of the most common vocalization was ∼140 dB re 1 μPa (sound pressure level at 1 m). There was a marked peak in vocal activity in springtime, prior to onset of the annual molt. This period coincided with increased aggressive behavior, presence of a notable musky odor, and urogenital swelling indicative of heightened reproductive status. These results from developing male spotted seals reared in human care confirm the production of recognizable, stereotypic underwater calls associated with the breeding season. ... |
author2 |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sills, Jillian M. Reichmuth, Colleen |
spellingShingle |
Sills, Jillian M. Reichmuth, Colleen Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
author_facet |
Sills, Jillian M. Reichmuth, Colleen |
author_sort |
Sills, Jillian M. |
title |
Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
title_short |
Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
title_full |
Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
title_fullStr |
Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vocal Behavior in Spotted Seals (Phoca largha) and Implications for Passive Acoustic Monitoring |
title_sort |
vocal behavior in spotted seals (phoca largha) and implications for passive acoustic monitoring |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435/full |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Sea ice |
op_source |
Frontiers in Remote Sensing volume 3 ISSN 2673-6187 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2022.862435 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
3 |
_version_ |
1795029494739763200 |