Raising your voice:Evolution of narrow-band high-frequency signals in toothed whales (Odontoceti)

Cetaceans use sound for communication, navigation and finding prey. Most extant odontocetes produce broadband (BB) biosonar clicks covering frequency ranges from tens of kilohertz to 150-170 kHz. In contrast, the biosonar clicks of some odontocetes are unique, being narrow in bandwidth with high cen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
Main Authors: Galatius, Anders, Olsen, Morten Tange, Steeman, Mette Elstrup, Racicot, Rachel Ann, Bradshaw, Catherine, Kyhn, Line Anker, Miller, Lee A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2019
Subjects:
anatomi
biosonar
Climate
Hearing
Palaeontology
phylogeny
anatomy
ECHOLOCATION SIGNALS
RADIATION
CETACEA
CLICKS
ORCINUS-ORCA
DOLPHINS CEPHALORHYNCHUS-COMMERSONII
TRANSMISSION BEAM PATTERN
LATE MIOCENE
BONY LABYRINTH
SPERM-WHALE
Orca
Orcinus orca
Sperm whale
toothed whales
Online Access:https://pure.au.dk/portal/en/publications/179c11f4-933a-442d-ba3d-b63e21175eab
https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/bly194
https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/biolinnean/bly194/5244783
Description
Summary:Cetaceans use sound for communication, navigation and finding prey. Most extant odontocetes produce broadband (BB) biosonar clicks covering frequency ranges from tens of kilohertz to 150-170 kHz. In contrast, the biosonar clicks of some odontocetes are unique, being narrow in bandwidth with high centroid frequency (NBHF), peak frequencies being at 125-140 kHz and bandwidths of 11-20 kHz. Thirteen species within four families (Phocoenidae, Pontoporiidae, Kogiidae, Delphinidae) are known to produce these signals, implying convergent evolution under strong selective drivers. Several hypotheses have been proposed, including acoustic crypsis to escape predation by killer whales, but none has provided comprehensive explanation of the timing of NBHF evolution and the pressures driving sound production to such extremes. Using molecular phylogenetics and the cochlea anatomy of extinct and extant taxa, we demonstrate that early NBHF adaptations occurred at least 10 Mya, and possibly up to 18 Mya, indicating that killer whales cannot have been the sole driving force of NBHF signals, but that now extinct odontocetes may have provided similar pressures. Using palaeoclimate modelling, we further demonstrate that the upper advantageous spectral window for NBHF signals at around 130 kHz has persisted throughout most of the global sea area since the mid-Miocene, covering all known instances of NBHF evolution.

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