SC/61/SH16 1 Geographic Variation in Southern Ocean Fin Whale Song

• Main Author: Jason Gedamke
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Fin whale
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.595.8093; http://www.iwcoffice.co.uk/_documents/sci_com/SC61docs/sc-61-sh16.pdf

This short paper describes 3 consistent regional differences in fin whale vocalizations recorded in the Southern Ocean. Long term recordings were analysed from locations in eastern and western Australia, and locations south of these in the Antarctic. Preliminary analysis indicates fin whale ‘20Hz pulses ” off Tasmania and south to the Antarctic continent (at ~145°E) had 2 distinctive higher frequency components with peaks at ~82 and ~94Hz, while those off Western Australia and Antarctica (at ~75-80°E) had a single distinct higher frequency component with a peak near ~99Hz. This contrasts with the fin whale ‘20Hz pulses ’ recorded off the West Antarctic Peninsula which have previously been described as having higher frequency energy near 88Hz. The distinct and consistent differences between fin whale song in the three regions illustrate the potential value in using acoustic means of assessing stock or population structuring within fin whales.