Killer whales (Orcinus orca) produce ultrasonic whistles

• Published in: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
• Main Authors: Samarra, Filipa I.P., Deecke, Volker B., Vinding, Katja, Rasmussen, Marianne H., Swift, Rene, Miller, Patrick J.O.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Acoustical Society of America 2010
• Subjects: 599 Mammals; 534 Sound & related vibrations; Pacific; Northeast Atlantic; Orca; Orcinus orca
• Online Access: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/2704/; https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/2704/1/Deecke_KillerWhalesOrcinucOrcaProduce.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3462235

This study reports that killer whales, the largest dolphin, produce whistles with the highest fundamental frequencies ever reported in a delphinid. Using wide-band acoustic sampling from both animal-attached (Dtag) and remotely deployed hydrophone arrays, ultrasonic whistles were detected in three Northeast Atlantic populations but not in two Northeast Pacific populations. These results are inconsistent with analyses suggesting a correlation of maximum frequency of whistles with body size in delphinids, indicate substantial intraspecific variation in whistle production in killer whales, and highlight the importance of appropriate acoustic sampling techniques when conducting comparative analyses of sound repertoires.