Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags
Delphinoids (Delphinidae, Odontoceti) produce tonal sounds and clicks by forcing pressurized air past phonic lips in the nasal complex. It has been proposed that homologous, hypertrophied nasal structures in the deep-diving sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) (Physeteridae, Odontoceti) are dedica...
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fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:jexbio:205/13/1899 2023-05-15T17:59:24+02:00 Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags Madsen, P. T. Payne, R. Kristiansen, N. U. Wahlberg, M. Kerr, I. Møhl, B. 2002-07-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/205/13/1899 en eng Company of Biologists http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/205/13/1899 Copyright (C) 2002, Company of Biologists Research Article TEXT 2002 fthighwire 2015-02-28T12:44:08Z Delphinoids (Delphinidae, Odontoceti) produce tonal sounds and clicks by forcing pressurized air past phonic lips in the nasal complex. It has been proposed that homologous, hypertrophied nasal structures in the deep-diving sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) (Physeteridae, Odontoceti) are dedicated to the production of clicks. However, air volumes in diving mammals are reduced with increasing ambient pressure, which seems likely to influence pneumatic sound production at depth. To study sperm whale sound production at depth, we attached ultrasound time/depth-recording tags to sperm whales by means of a pole and suction cup. We demonstrate that sperm whale click production in terms of output and frequency content is unaffected by hydrostatic reduction in available air volume down to less than 2% of the initial air volume in the nasal complex. We present evidence suggesting that the sound-generating mechanism has a bimodal function, allowing for the production of clicks suited for biosonar and clicks more suited for communication. Shared click features suggest that sound production in sperm whales is based on the same fundamental biomechanics as in smaller odontocetes and that the nasal complexes are therefore not only anatomically but also functionally homologous in generating the initial sound pulse. Text Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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HighWire Press (Stanford University) |
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Research Article |
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Research Article Madsen, P. T. Payne, R. Kristiansen, N. U. Wahlberg, M. Kerr, I. Møhl, B. Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
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Research Article |
description |
Delphinoids (Delphinidae, Odontoceti) produce tonal sounds and clicks by forcing pressurized air past phonic lips in the nasal complex. It has been proposed that homologous, hypertrophied nasal structures in the deep-diving sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) (Physeteridae, Odontoceti) are dedicated to the production of clicks. However, air volumes in diving mammals are reduced with increasing ambient pressure, which seems likely to influence pneumatic sound production at depth. To study sperm whale sound production at depth, we attached ultrasound time/depth-recording tags to sperm whales by means of a pole and suction cup. We demonstrate that sperm whale click production in terms of output and frequency content is unaffected by hydrostatic reduction in available air volume down to less than 2% of the initial air volume in the nasal complex. We present evidence suggesting that the sound-generating mechanism has a bimodal function, allowing for the production of clicks suited for biosonar and clicks more suited for communication. Shared click features suggest that sound production in sperm whales is based on the same fundamental biomechanics as in smaller odontocetes and that the nasal complexes are therefore not only anatomically but also functionally homologous in generating the initial sound pulse. |
format |
Text |
author |
Madsen, P. T. Payne, R. Kristiansen, N. U. Wahlberg, M. Kerr, I. Møhl, B. |
author_facet |
Madsen, P. T. Payne, R. Kristiansen, N. U. Wahlberg, M. Kerr, I. Møhl, B. |
author_sort |
Madsen, P. T. |
title |
Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
title_short |
Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
title_full |
Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
title_fullStr |
Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
title_sort |
sperm whale sound production studied with ultrasound time/depth-recording tags |
publisher |
Company of Biologists |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/205/13/1899 |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale |
op_relation |
http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/short/205/13/1899 |
op_rights |
Copyright (C) 2002, Company of Biologists |
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1766168210698141696 |