The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication ...

• Main Author: Jacobs, Ellen
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Mendeley Data 2023
• Subjects: Animal Communication; Marine Mammal; Marine Acoustics; Physeter macrocephalus; Sperm whale
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17632/msvscjgtfp.1; https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/msvscjgtfp/1

Publication abstract: Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are social mega-predators who form stable matrilineal units that often associate within a larger vocal clan. Clan membership is defined by sharing a repertoire of coda types consisting of specific temporal spacings of multi-pulsed clicks. It has been hypothesized that codas communicate membership across socially segregated sympatric clans, while others propose that codas are primarily used for behavioral coordination and social cohesion within a closely spaced social unit. Here, we test these hypotheses by combining measures of ambient noise levels and coda click source levels with models of sound propagation to estimate the active space of coda communication. Coda clicks were localized off the island of Dominica with a four- or five-element 80-meter vertical hydrophone array, allowing us to calculate the median RMS source levels of 1598 clicks from 444 codas to be 161 dB re 1μPa (IQR 153-167), placing codas among the most powerful communication ...