Short- and long-term changes in right whale calling behavior: The potential effects of noise on acoustic communication
The impact of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals has been an area of increasing concern over the past two decades. Most low-frequency anthropogenic noise in the ocean comes from commercial shipping which has contributed to an increase in ocean background noise over the past 150 years. The long-te...
| Published in: | The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2007
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://risweb.st-andrews.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutput/short-and-longterm-changes-in-right-whale-calling-behavior-the-potential-effects-of-noise-on-acoustic-communication(a780adab-0606-4d46-9db7-2e07cbe2ef92).html https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2799904 |
| Summary: | The impact of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals has been an area of increasing concern over the past two decades. Most low-frequency anthropogenic noise in the ocean comes from commercial shipping which has contributed to an increase in ocean background noise over the past 150 years. The long-term impacts of these changes on marine mammals are not well understood. This paper describes both short- and long-term behavioral changes in calls produced by the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and South Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena australis) in the presence of increased low-frequency noise. Right whales produce calls with a higher average fundamental frequency and they call at a lower rate in high noise conditions, possibly in response to masking from low-frequency noise. The long-term changes have occurred within the known lifespan of individual whales, indicating that a behavioral change, rather than selective pressure, has resulted in the observed differences. This study provides evidence of a behavioral change in sound production of right whales that is correlated with increased noise levels and indicates that right whales may shift call frequency to compensate for increased band-limited background noise. (c) 2007 Acoustical Society of America. |
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