Possible occurrence of contact calls in all‐male groups of free‐ranging beluga whales

• Published in: Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Panova, E., Agafonov, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2023
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas; toothed whales; White Sea
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13054; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jzo.13054; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/jzo.13054; https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jzo.13054

Abstract Social toothed whales are known to produce specific vocalizations that may serve for individual or group recognition and maintaining cohesion among group members. In beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas , these vocalizations referred to as “contact calls” are relatively long duration, repeated stereotyped broadband sounds. Although these calls are thought to be critical in mother‐calf communication, they are utilized by individuals of different ages and sex. We investigated possible occurrence of contact calls in all‐male beluga groups from the White Sea, Russia. Among the vocalizations analyzed ( n = 1169), a considerable proportion (58%) appeared to be potential contact calls. They were subjectively classified into 61 types of mostly complex broadband sounds combined with a narrow band element. The positive linear relationship ( R 2 = 0.90) between the number of unique call types identified in the recordings and the number of belugas observed in the research area suggests that the calls serve as individual signatures. Belugas tended to produce these calls in a series, with the intercall intervals between the same and different call types mainly >1 s and <1 s, respectively. This suggests that vocal exchange by individually distinctive calls, like those of captive belugas and some other social species, might take place. The current study provides more insight into contact call usage in wild belugas and may serve as a basis for long‐term monitoring of their seasonal occurrence, abundance, and site fidelity, as well as for investigating their social organization.