Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation?
Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) invest substantial amounts of energy in their calves, while facing the risk of having them predated upon by eavesdropping killer whales (Orcinus orca). We tested the hypothesis that southern right whale mother–calf pairs employ acoustic crypsis to reduce a...
Main Authors: | , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Company of Biologists
2019
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/49906/ |
id |
ftmurdochuniv:oai:researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au:49906 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftmurdochuniv:oai:researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au:49906 2023-05-15T15:37:08+02:00 Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? Nielsen, ML.K. Bejder, L. Videsen, S.K.A. Christiansen, F. Madsen, P.T. 2019 https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/49906/ eng eng Company of Biologists https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/49906/ full_text_status:none © 2019 The Company of Biologists Ltd Nielsen, ML.K., Bejder, L. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Bejder, Lars.html>, Videsen, S.K.A., Christiansen, F. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Christiansen, Fredrik.html> and Madsen, P.T. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Madsen, Peter.html> (2019) Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? The Journal of Experimental Biology, 222 (13). Journal Article 2019 ftmurdochuniv 2020-01-05T19:04:33Z Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) invest substantial amounts of energy in their calves, while facing the risk of having them predated upon by eavesdropping killer whales (Orcinus orca). We tested the hypothesis that southern right whale mother–calf pairs employ acoustic crypsis to reduce acoustic detectability by such predators. Specifically, we deployed multi-sensor DTAGs on nine lactating whales for a total of 62.9 h in a Western Australian breeding ground, and used a SoundTrap to estimate the concomitant acoustic background noise. Vocalisations were recorded at low rates of <10 calls h−1 (1 call per dive) and at low received levels between 123±8 and 134±10 dB re. 1 µPa RMS depending on call type. We conclude that such acoustic crypsis in southern right whales and other baleen whales decreases the risk of alerting potential predators and hence jeopardizing a substantial energetic investment by the mother. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales Orca Orcinus orca Southern Right Whale Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftmurdochuniv |
language |
English |
description |
Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) invest substantial amounts of energy in their calves, while facing the risk of having them predated upon by eavesdropping killer whales (Orcinus orca). We tested the hypothesis that southern right whale mother–calf pairs employ acoustic crypsis to reduce acoustic detectability by such predators. Specifically, we deployed multi-sensor DTAGs on nine lactating whales for a total of 62.9 h in a Western Australian breeding ground, and used a SoundTrap to estimate the concomitant acoustic background noise. Vocalisations were recorded at low rates of <10 calls h−1 (1 call per dive) and at low received levels between 123±8 and 134±10 dB re. 1 µPa RMS depending on call type. We conclude that such acoustic crypsis in southern right whales and other baleen whales decreases the risk of alerting potential predators and hence jeopardizing a substantial energetic investment by the mother. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Nielsen, ML.K. Bejder, L. Videsen, S.K.A. Christiansen, F. Madsen, P.T. |
spellingShingle |
Nielsen, ML.K. Bejder, L. Videsen, S.K.A. Christiansen, F. Madsen, P.T. Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
author_facet |
Nielsen, ML.K. Bejder, L. Videsen, S.K.A. Christiansen, F. Madsen, P.T. |
author_sort |
Nielsen, ML.K. |
title |
Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
title_short |
Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
title_full |
Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
title_fullStr |
Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
title_sort |
acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? |
publisher |
Company of Biologists |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/49906/ |
genre |
baleen whales Orca Orcinus orca Southern Right Whale |
genre_facet |
baleen whales Orca Orcinus orca Southern Right Whale |
op_source |
Nielsen, ML.K., Bejder, L. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Bejder, Lars.html>, Videsen, S.K.A., Christiansen, F. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Christiansen, Fredrik.html> and Madsen, P.T. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Madsen, Peter.html> (2019) Acoustic crypsis in southern right whale mother–calf pairs: infrequent, low-output calls to avoid predation? The Journal of Experimental Biology, 222 (13). |
op_relation |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/49906/ full_text_status:none |
op_rights |
© 2019 The Company of Biologists Ltd |
_version_ |
1766367594472800256 |