The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication.
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 hypothesize...
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ftpubmed:38264868 2024-09-15T18:30:31+00:00 The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. Jacobs, Ellen R Gero, Shane Malinka, Chloe E Tønnesen, Pernille H Beedholm, Kristian DeRuiter, Stacy L Madsen, Peter T 2024-02-15 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246442 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38264868 eng eng Silverchair Information Systems https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246442 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38264868 © 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd. J Exp Biol ISSN:1477-9145 Volume:227 Issue:4 Active space Behavioral ecology Bioacoustics Ecophysiology Sperm whales Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246442 2024-07-25T16:05:00Z 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, but 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 m vertical hydrophone array, allowing us to calculate the median RMS source levels of 1598 clicks from 444 codas to be 161 dB re. 1 μPa (IQR 153-167), placing codas among the most powerful communication sounds in toothed whales. However, together with measured ambient noise levels, these source levels lead to a median active space of coda communication of ∼4 km, reflecting the maximum footprint of a single foraging sperm whale unit. We conclude that while sperm whale codas may contain information about clan affiliation, their moderate active space shows that codas are not used for long range acoustic communication between units and clans, but likely serve to mediate social cohesion and behavioral transitions in intra-unit communication. Article in Journal/Newspaper Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale toothed whales PubMed Central (PMC) Journal of Experimental Biology 227 4 |
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Open Polar |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
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ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Active space Behavioral ecology Bioacoustics Ecophysiology Sperm whales |
spellingShingle |
Active space Behavioral ecology Bioacoustics Ecophysiology Sperm whales Jacobs, Ellen R Gero, Shane Malinka, Chloe E Tønnesen, Pernille H Beedholm, Kristian DeRuiter, Stacy L Madsen, Peter T The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
topic_facet |
Active space Behavioral ecology Bioacoustics Ecophysiology Sperm whales |
description |
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, but 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 m vertical hydrophone array, allowing us to calculate the median RMS source levels of 1598 clicks from 444 codas to be 161 dB re. 1 μPa (IQR 153-167), placing codas among the most powerful communication sounds in toothed whales. However, together with measured ambient noise levels, these source levels lead to a median active space of coda communication of ∼4 km, reflecting the maximum footprint of a single foraging sperm whale unit. We conclude that while sperm whale codas may contain information about clan affiliation, their moderate active space shows that codas are not used for long range acoustic communication between units and clans, but likely serve to mediate social cohesion and behavioral transitions in intra-unit communication. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jacobs, Ellen R Gero, Shane Malinka, Chloe E Tønnesen, Pernille H Beedholm, Kristian DeRuiter, Stacy L Madsen, Peter T |
author_facet |
Jacobs, Ellen R Gero, Shane Malinka, Chloe E Tønnesen, Pernille H Beedholm, Kristian DeRuiter, Stacy L Madsen, Peter T |
author_sort |
Jacobs, Ellen R |
title |
The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
title_short |
The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
title_full |
The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
title_fullStr |
The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
title_full_unstemmed |
The active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
title_sort |
active space of sperm whale codas: inter-click information for intra-unit communication. |
publisher |
Silverchair Information Systems |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246442 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38264868 |
genre |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale toothed whales |
genre_facet |
Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale toothed whales |
op_source |
J Exp Biol ISSN:1477-9145 Volume:227 Issue:4 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246442 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38264868 |
op_rights |
© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246442 |
container_title |
Journal of Experimental Biology |
container_volume |
227 |
container_issue |
4 |
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1810471977362653184 |