Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are large cetaceans with a complex and varied vocal repertoire, and we are just beginning to understand the variation in humpback whale communication and the function of different types of vocalizations within the social dynamic. On the summer feeding grounds...
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ftunivpacificdc:oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:purcc-3117 2023-08-27T04:09:54+02:00 Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success Dinh, Trisha Pham, Hanna Situ, Karen Semary, Kirollos 2022-04-30T20:00:00Z https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/purcc/2022/events/87 unknown Scholarly Commons https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/purcc/2022/events/87 Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC) text 2022 ftunivpacificdc 2023-08-07T20:49:00Z Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are large cetaceans with a complex and varied vocal repertoire, and we are just beginning to understand the variation in humpback whale communication and the function of different types of vocalizations within the social dynamic. On the summer feeding grounds humpback whales can form temporary social groups to perform a cooperative foraging behavior known as bubble-net feeding. One whale blows a stream of bubbles while swimming in a circle underneath a school of fish which pushes them to the surface. At the same time, other whales produce loud, low frequency calls known as food calls which likely serve to stun or confuse the fish, making it easier to corral them in the bubble net (Hanser, 2009). Along with food calls, these whales produce a variety of other call types which likely aid in coordinating the group during hunting events. Because their energetic demands are so high, and the feeding season is so brief, there is pressure to perform this behavior successfully. We hypothesized that successful feeding attempts would be accompanied by the loud exhalation of the whales on surfacing (the ‘blow’) as they swallow a mouthful of fish. Unsuccessful feeding attempts would instead be accompanied by a variety of harsh sounding, low frequency social calls which may serve to release tension or frustration in the group members, or to aid in coordinating another feeding attempt. Text Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae University of the Pacific: Scholarly Commons Corral ENVELOPE(-62.950,-62.950,-64.900,-64.900) |
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Open Polar |
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University of the Pacific: Scholarly Commons |
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ftunivpacificdc |
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description |
Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are large cetaceans with a complex and varied vocal repertoire, and we are just beginning to understand the variation in humpback whale communication and the function of different types of vocalizations within the social dynamic. On the summer feeding grounds humpback whales can form temporary social groups to perform a cooperative foraging behavior known as bubble-net feeding. One whale blows a stream of bubbles while swimming in a circle underneath a school of fish which pushes them to the surface. At the same time, other whales produce loud, low frequency calls known as food calls which likely serve to stun or confuse the fish, making it easier to corral them in the bubble net (Hanser, 2009). Along with food calls, these whales produce a variety of other call types which likely aid in coordinating the group during hunting events. Because their energetic demands are so high, and the feeding season is so brief, there is pressure to perform this behavior successfully. We hypothesized that successful feeding attempts would be accompanied by the loud exhalation of the whales on surfacing (the ‘blow’) as they swallow a mouthful of fish. Unsuccessful feeding attempts would instead be accompanied by a variety of harsh sounding, low frequency social calls which may serve to release tension or frustration in the group members, or to aid in coordinating another feeding attempt. |
format |
Text |
author |
Dinh, Trisha Pham, Hanna Situ, Karen Semary, Kirollos |
spellingShingle |
Dinh, Trisha Pham, Hanna Situ, Karen Semary, Kirollos Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success |
author_facet |
Dinh, Trisha Pham, Hanna Situ, Karen Semary, Kirollos |
author_sort |
Dinh, Trisha |
title |
Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success |
title_short |
Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success |
title_full |
Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success |
title_fullStr |
Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success |
title_full_unstemmed |
Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success |
title_sort |
whale feeding: using vocalizations to determine success |
publisher |
Scholarly Commons |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/purcc/2022/events/87 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.950,-62.950,-64.900,-64.900) |
geographic |
Corral |
geographic_facet |
Corral |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Pacific Undergraduate Research and Creativity Conference (PURCC) |
op_relation |
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/purcc/2022/events/87 |
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1775351583930843136 |