Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca)
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2008 Studying the social and cultural transmission of behavior among animals helps to identify patterns of intera...
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2008
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ftwhoas:oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/2421 2023-05-15T15:35:28+02:00 Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) Shapiro, Ari D. Norway Baffin Island 2008-06 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2421 en_US eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WHOI Theses https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2421 doi:10.1575/1912/2421 doi:10.1575/1912/2421 Social behavior in animals Killer whale Thesis 2008 ftwhoas https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/2421 2022-05-28T22:57:35Z Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2008 Studying the social and cultural transmission of behavior among animals helps to identify patterns of interaction and information content flowing between individuals. Killer whales are likely to acquire traits culturally based on their population-specific feeding behaviors and group-distinctive vocal repertoires. I used digital tags to explore the contributions of individual Norwegian killer whales to group carousel feeding and the relationships between vocal and non-vocal activity. Periods of tail slapping to incapacitate herring during feeding were characterized by elevated movement variability, heightened vocal activity and call types containing additional orientation cues. Tail slaps produced by tagged animals were identified using a rapid pitch change and occurred primarily within 20m of the surface. Two simultaneously tagged animals maneuvered similarly when tail slapping within 60s of one another, indicating that the position and composition of the herring ball influenced their behavior. Two types of behavioral sequence preceding the tight circling of carousel feeding were apparent. First, the animals engaged in periods of directional swimming. They were silent in 2 of 3 instances, suggesting they may have located other foraging groups by eavesdropping. Second, tagged animals made broad horizontal loops as they dove in a manner consistent with corralling. All 4 of these occasions were accompanied by vocal activity, indicating that this and tail slapping may benefit from social communication. No significant relationship between the call types and the actual movement measurements was found. Killer whale vocalizations traditionally have been classified into discrete call types. Using human speech processing techniques, I considered that calls are alternatively comprised of shared segments that can be recombined to ... Thesis Baffin Island Baffin Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale Woods Hole Scientific Community: WHOAS (Woods Hole Open Access Server) Baffin Island Norway Woods Hole, MA |
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Open Polar |
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Woods Hole Scientific Community: WHOAS (Woods Hole Open Access Server) |
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ftwhoas |
language |
English |
topic |
Social behavior in animals Killer whale |
spellingShingle |
Social behavior in animals Killer whale Shapiro, Ari D. Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
topic_facet |
Social behavior in animals Killer whale |
description |
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2008 Studying the social and cultural transmission of behavior among animals helps to identify patterns of interaction and information content flowing between individuals. Killer whales are likely to acquire traits culturally based on their population-specific feeding behaviors and group-distinctive vocal repertoires. I used digital tags to explore the contributions of individual Norwegian killer whales to group carousel feeding and the relationships between vocal and non-vocal activity. Periods of tail slapping to incapacitate herring during feeding were characterized by elevated movement variability, heightened vocal activity and call types containing additional orientation cues. Tail slaps produced by tagged animals were identified using a rapid pitch change and occurred primarily within 20m of the surface. Two simultaneously tagged animals maneuvered similarly when tail slapping within 60s of one another, indicating that the position and composition of the herring ball influenced their behavior. Two types of behavioral sequence preceding the tight circling of carousel feeding were apparent. First, the animals engaged in periods of directional swimming. They were silent in 2 of 3 instances, suggesting they may have located other foraging groups by eavesdropping. Second, tagged animals made broad horizontal loops as they dove in a manner consistent with corralling. All 4 of these occasions were accompanied by vocal activity, indicating that this and tail slapping may benefit from social communication. No significant relationship between the call types and the actual movement measurements was found. Killer whale vocalizations traditionally have been classified into discrete call types. Using human speech processing techniques, I considered that calls are alternatively comprised of shared segments that can be recombined to ... |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Shapiro, Ari D. |
author_facet |
Shapiro, Ari D. |
author_sort |
Shapiro, Ari D. |
title |
Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_short |
Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_full |
Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_fullStr |
Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging Norwegian killer whales (Orcinus orca) |
title_sort |
orchestration : the movement and vocal behavior of free-ranging norwegian killer whales (orcinus orca) |
publisher |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2421 |
op_coverage |
Norway Baffin Island |
geographic |
Baffin Island Norway |
geographic_facet |
Baffin Island Norway |
genre |
Baffin Island Baffin Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Baffin Island Baffin Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
op_source |
doi:10.1575/1912/2421 |
op_relation |
WHOI Theses https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2421 doi:10.1575/1912/2421 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/2421 |
op_publisher_place |
Woods Hole, MA |
_version_ |
1766365806833172480 |