Acoustic communication and vocal learning in belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) ...

• Main Author: Vergara, Valeria
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2011
• Subjects: Beluga; Beluga*; Delphinapterus leucas
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0071602; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0071602

Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) are highly vocal cetaceans, but the function of their calls, repertoire ontogeny, and role of learning in vocal behavior are poorly understood. This dissertation examines these issues, focusing on a captive beluga group at the Vancouver Aquarium. First, I investigated vocal development in a beluga calf, longitudinally throughout his first year of life, and later opportunistically. The first sounds after birth were low energy, broadband pulse-trains, which increased in pulse repetition rate with age. He incorporated rudimentary whistles at two weeks. His mixed calls, which became consistent at four months, became progressively stereotyped, increasingly like his mother’s “Type-A” call, a presumed contact call. Six months after he was first exposed to his father’s calls, he developed a call type similar to one of his father’s. I discuss these findings in light of theories of sound production mechanisms, developmental stages of vocal acquisition, and vocal learning. Secondly, I ...