Seasonal and diel patterns in singing activity of humpback whales migrating through Bermuda

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) produce song and non-song vocalisations, which allows their presence to be detected through passive acoustic monitoring. To determine the seasonal and diel acoustic presence and acoustic behaviour of humpback whales at the migratory stopover site off Bermuda,...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in Marine Science
Main Authors: Narganes Homfeldt, Tamara, Risch, Denise, Stevenson, Andrew, Henry, Lea-anne
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
North Atlantic humpback whale
Bermuda
song
seasonality
diel pattern
passive acoustic monitoring
management
Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
North Atlantic
Online Access:https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/6c64568e-6a48-4382-a505-72217e3c1697
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.941793
https://pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/files/27517326/fmars_09_941793.pdf
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.941793/full
Description
Summary:Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) produce song and non-song vocalisations, which allows their presence to be detected through passive acoustic monitoring. To determine the seasonal and diel acoustic presence and acoustic behaviour of humpback whales at the migratory stopover site off Bermuda, three hydrophones were deployed between March 2018 and April 2019 on Challenger Bank and the Bermuda platform. Song was the predominant vocalisation type encountered, with 65% of song recordings containing whale chorus and a clear seasonal trend of humpback whale occurrence in the spring and winter months from late December to mid-May. A strong diel pattern in singing activity was detected. Singing activity significantly increased at night relative to the daytime (p

Similar Items