Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication.
Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are gregarious toothed whales that strictly reside in the high Arctic. They produce a broad range of signal types; however, studies of narwhal vocalizations have been mostly descriptive of the sounds available in the species' overall repertoire. Little is known rega...
Published in: | PLOS ONE |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/article/90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e 2023-05-15T15:13:47+02:00 Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. Audra E Ames Susanna B Blackwell Outi M Tervo Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/article/90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/article/90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0254393 (2021) Medicine R Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 2022-12-31T07:44:36Z Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are gregarious toothed whales that strictly reside in the high Arctic. They produce a broad range of signal types; however, studies of narwhal vocalizations have been mostly descriptive of the sounds available in the species' overall repertoire. Little is known regarding the functions of highly stereotyped mixed calls (i.e., biphonations with both sound elements produced simultaneously), although preliminary evidence has suggested that such vocalizations are individually distinctive and function as contact calls. Here we provide evidence that supports this notion in narwhal mother-calf communication. A female narwhal was tagged as part of larger studies on the life history and acoustic behavior of narwhals. At the time of tagging, it became apparent that the female had a calf, which remained close by during the tagging event. We found that the narwhal mother produced a distinct, highly stereotyped mixed call when separated from her calf and immediately after release from capture, which we interpret as preliminary evidence for contact call use between the mother and her calf. The mother's mixed call production occurred continually over the 4.2 day recording period in addition to a second prominent but different stereotyped mixed call which we believe belonged to the narwhal calf. Thus, narwhal mothers produce highly stereotyped contact calls when separated from their calves, and it appears that narwhal calves similarly produce distinct, stereotyped mixed calls which we hypothesize also contribute to maintaining mother-calf contact. We compared this behavior to the acoustic behavior of two other adult females without calves, but also each with a unique, stereotyped call type. While we provide additional support for individual distinctiveness across narwhal contact calls, more research is necessary to determine whether these calls are vocal signatures which broadcast identity. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Monodon monoceros narwhal* toothed whales Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic PLOS ONE 16 8 e0254393 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Audra E Ames Susanna B Blackwell Outi M Tervo Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are gregarious toothed whales that strictly reside in the high Arctic. They produce a broad range of signal types; however, studies of narwhal vocalizations have been mostly descriptive of the sounds available in the species' overall repertoire. Little is known regarding the functions of highly stereotyped mixed calls (i.e., biphonations with both sound elements produced simultaneously), although preliminary evidence has suggested that such vocalizations are individually distinctive and function as contact calls. Here we provide evidence that supports this notion in narwhal mother-calf communication. A female narwhal was tagged as part of larger studies on the life history and acoustic behavior of narwhals. At the time of tagging, it became apparent that the female had a calf, which remained close by during the tagging event. We found that the narwhal mother produced a distinct, highly stereotyped mixed call when separated from her calf and immediately after release from capture, which we interpret as preliminary evidence for contact call use between the mother and her calf. The mother's mixed call production occurred continually over the 4.2 day recording period in addition to a second prominent but different stereotyped mixed call which we believe belonged to the narwhal calf. Thus, narwhal mothers produce highly stereotyped contact calls when separated from their calves, and it appears that narwhal calves similarly produce distinct, stereotyped mixed calls which we hypothesize also contribute to maintaining mother-calf contact. We compared this behavior to the acoustic behavior of two other adult females without calves, but also each with a unique, stereotyped call type. While we provide additional support for individual distinctiveness across narwhal contact calls, more research is necessary to determine whether these calls are vocal signatures which broadcast identity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Audra E Ames Susanna B Blackwell Outi M Tervo Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen |
author_facet |
Audra E Ames Susanna B Blackwell Outi M Tervo Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen |
author_sort |
Audra E Ames |
title |
Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
title_short |
Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
title_full |
Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
title_fullStr |
Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (Monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
title_sort |
evidence of stereotyped contact call use in narwhal (monodon monoceros) mother-calf communication. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/article/90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Monodon monoceros narwhal* toothed whales |
genre_facet |
Arctic Monodon monoceros narwhal* toothed whales |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0254393 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 https://doaj.org/article/90698a9650e5410382be2d79b560768e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254393 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
e0254393 |
_version_ |
1766344309281390592 |