Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat
Toothed whales (Cetacea, odontoceti) use biosonar to navigate their environment and to find and catch prey. All studied toothed whale species have evolved highly directional, high-amplitude ultrasonic clicks suited for long-range echolocation of prey in open water. Little is known about the biosonar...
Published in: | PLoS ONE |
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2013
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Online Access: | https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/clicking-in-shallow-rivers(69d9faec-593c-4907-94c9-f7272ec9d80a).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/4141/1/e59284.pdf |
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ftunstandrewcris:oai:research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk:publications/69d9faec-593c-4907-94c9-f7272ec9d80a 2024-09-15T18:39:10+00:00 Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat Jensen, Frants Rocco, Alice Mansur, Rubaiyat Smith, Brian Janik, Vincent M. Madsen, Peter 2013-04-03 application/pdf https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/clicking-in-shallow-rivers(69d9faec-593c-4907-94c9-f7272ec9d80a).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/4141/1/e59284.pdf eng eng https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/clicking-in-shallow-rivers(69d9faec-593c-4907-94c9-f7272ec9d80a).html info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Jensen , F , Rocco , A , Mansur , R , Smith , B , Janik , V M & Madsen , P 2013 , ' Clicking in Shallow Rivers : Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat ' , PLoS One , vol. 8 , no. 4 , e59284 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 Ultrasonic clicks Biosonar signals Echolocation Ganges river dolphins Irrawaddy dolphins Adaptation article 2013 ftunstandrewcris https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 2024-07-24T23:35:08Z Toothed whales (Cetacea, odontoceti) use biosonar to navigate their environment and to find and catch prey. All studied toothed whale species have evolved highly directional, high-amplitude ultrasonic clicks suited for long-range echolocation of prey in open water. Little is known about the biosonar signals of toothed whale species inhabiting freshwater habitats such as endangered river dolphins. To address the evolutionary pressures shaping the echolocation signal parameters of non-marine toothed whales, we investigated the biosonar source parameters of Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) within the river systems of the Sundarban mangrove forest. Both Ganges and Irrawaddy dolphins produced echolocation clicks with a high repetition rate and low source level compared to marine species. Irrawaddy dolphins, inhabiting coastal and riverine habitats, produced a mean source level of 195 dB (max 203 dB) re 1 µPapp whereas Ganges river dolphins, living exclusively upriver, produced a mean source level of 184 dB (max 191) re 1 µPapp. These source levels are 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than those of similar sized marine delphinids and may reflect an adaptation to a shallow, acoustically complex freshwater habitat with high reverberation and acoustic clutter. The centroid frequency of Ganges river dolphin clicks are an octave lower than predicted from scaling, but with an estimated beamwidth comparable to that of porpoises. The unique bony maxillary crests found in the Platanista forehead may help achieve a higher directionality than expected using clicks nearly an octave lower than similar sized odontocetes. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whale toothed whales University of St Andrews: Research Portal PLoS ONE 8 4 e59284 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Research Portal |
op_collection_id |
ftunstandrewcris |
language |
English |
topic |
Ultrasonic clicks Biosonar signals Echolocation Ganges river dolphins Irrawaddy dolphins Adaptation |
spellingShingle |
Ultrasonic clicks Biosonar signals Echolocation Ganges river dolphins Irrawaddy dolphins Adaptation Jensen, Frants Rocco, Alice Mansur, Rubaiyat Smith, Brian Janik, Vincent M. Madsen, Peter Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat |
topic_facet |
Ultrasonic clicks Biosonar signals Echolocation Ganges river dolphins Irrawaddy dolphins Adaptation |
description |
Toothed whales (Cetacea, odontoceti) use biosonar to navigate their environment and to find and catch prey. All studied toothed whale species have evolved highly directional, high-amplitude ultrasonic clicks suited for long-range echolocation of prey in open water. Little is known about the biosonar signals of toothed whale species inhabiting freshwater habitats such as endangered river dolphins. To address the evolutionary pressures shaping the echolocation signal parameters of non-marine toothed whales, we investigated the biosonar source parameters of Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) within the river systems of the Sundarban mangrove forest. Both Ganges and Irrawaddy dolphins produced echolocation clicks with a high repetition rate and low source level compared to marine species. Irrawaddy dolphins, inhabiting coastal and riverine habitats, produced a mean source level of 195 dB (max 203 dB) re 1 µPapp whereas Ganges river dolphins, living exclusively upriver, produced a mean source level of 184 dB (max 191) re 1 µPapp. These source levels are 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than those of similar sized marine delphinids and may reflect an adaptation to a shallow, acoustically complex freshwater habitat with high reverberation and acoustic clutter. The centroid frequency of Ganges river dolphin clicks are an octave lower than predicted from scaling, but with an estimated beamwidth comparable to that of porpoises. The unique bony maxillary crests found in the Platanista forehead may help achieve a higher directionality than expected using clicks nearly an octave lower than similar sized odontocetes. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Jensen, Frants Rocco, Alice Mansur, Rubaiyat Smith, Brian Janik, Vincent M. Madsen, Peter |
author_facet |
Jensen, Frants Rocco, Alice Mansur, Rubaiyat Smith, Brian Janik, Vincent M. Madsen, Peter |
author_sort |
Jensen, Frants |
title |
Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat |
title_short |
Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat |
title_full |
Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat |
title_fullStr |
Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat |
title_full_unstemmed |
Clicking in Shallow Rivers:Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat |
title_sort |
clicking in shallow rivers:short-range echolocation of irrawaddy and ganges river dolphins in a shallow, acoustically complex habitat |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/clicking-in-shallow-rivers(69d9faec-593c-4907-94c9-f7272ec9d80a).html https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/10023/4141/1/e59284.pdf |
genre |
toothed whale toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whale toothed whales |
op_source |
Jensen , F , Rocco , A , Mansur , R , Smith , B , Janik , V M & Madsen , P 2013 , ' Clicking in Shallow Rivers : Short-Range Echolocation of Irrawaddy and Ganges River Dolphins in a Shallow, Acoustically Complex Habitat ' , PLoS One , vol. 8 , no. 4 , e59284 . https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 |
op_relation |
https://research-portal.st-andrews.ac.uk/en/researchoutput/clicking-in-shallow-rivers(69d9faec-593c-4907-94c9-f7272ec9d80a).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059284 |
container_title |
PLoS ONE |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
e59284 |
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1810483572635598848 |