Whale Feeding: Using Vocalizations to Determine Success

• Main Authors: Dinh, Trisha, Pham, Hanna, Situ, Karen, Semary, Kirollos
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Scholarly Commons 2022
• Subjects: Corral; Humpback Whale; Megaptera novaeangliae
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/purcc/2022/events/87

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.