Humpback whale song occurs extensively on feeding grounds in the western North Atlantic Ocean

Vu, Elizabeth; Risch, Denise; Clark, Christopher W.; Gaylord, Shonda; Hatch, Leila T.; Thompson, Michael; Wiley, David N.; Parijs, Sofie M. Van

doi:10.3354/ab00390

Cited by 93 publications

(149 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The song phrases shown in Figures 2 and 3 here for humpbacks located at NEGB and FB-GSC respectively are similar to one or more phrases of humpback songs recorded previously in the Gulf of Maine and other ocean regions [5,7,8,19,21,55,56]. The song call rate of between 11 to 35 calls per minute obtained here is consistent with the call rates for humpback songs shown in spectrograms of Refs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

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Diel and Spatial Dependence of Humpback Song and Non-Song Vocalizations in Fish Spawning Ground

Huang¹,

Wang²,

Ratilal³

2016

Remote Sensing

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Abstract:The vocalization behavior of humpback whales was monitored over vast areas of the Gulf of Maine using the passive ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing technique (POAWRS) over multiple diel cycles in Fall 2006. The humpback vocalizations comprised of both song and non-song are analyzed. The song vocalizations, composed of highly structured and repeatable set of phrases, are characterized by inter-pulse intervals of 3.5 ± 1.8 s. Songs were detected throughout the diel cycle, occuring roughly 40% during the day and 60% during the night. The humpback non-song vocalizations, dominated by shorter duration (≤3 s) downsweep and bow-shaped moans, as well as a small fraction of longer duration (∼5 s) cries, have significantly larger mean and more variable inter-pulse intervals of 14.2 ± 11 s. The non-song vocalizations were detected at night with negligible detections during the day, implying they probably function as nighttime communication signals. The humpback song and non-song vocalizations are separately localized using the moving array triangulation and array invariant techniques. The humpback song and non-song moan calls are both consistently localized to a dense area on northeastern Georges Bank and a less dense region extended from Franklin Basin to the Great South Channel. Humpback cries occur exclusively on northeastern Georges Bank and during nights with coincident dense Atlantic herring shoaling populations, implying the cries are feeding-related.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…The song call rate of between 11 to 35 calls per minute obtained here is consistent with the call rates for humpback songs shown in spectrograms of Refs. [5,7,8,19,21,55,56].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diel and Spatial Dependence of Humpback Song and Non-Song Vocalizations in Fish Spawning Ground

Huang¹,

Wang²,

Ratilal³

2016

Remote Sensing

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“…Humpback whale song was detected almost every day from November through December 2009, which is consistent with other findings from high latitude areas in winter (Vu et al 2012). As a precautionary strategy, whenever an up-call was (Payne and McVay 1971, Mellinger et al 2007, Mussoline et al 2012, while right whale calls occur in bouts with longer and less regular inter-call intervals than humpbacks (Matthews et al 2001, Mussoline et al 2012.…”

Section: Data Processing and Analysissupporting

confidence: 79%

“…The highly seasonal nature of gunshot sound detections within this study supports the hypothesis that this call peaks seasonally (Parks et al 2005, 2012, Van Parijs et al 2009). In the North Atlantic, mature male right whales have been observed producing gunshot sounds during SAGs and in solitary bouts (Parks et al 2012).…”

Section: Call Seasonalitysupporting

confidence: 72%

North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis vocalization patterns in the central Gulf of Maine from October 2009 through October 2010

Bort¹,

Parijs²,

Stevick³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

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“…Detection ranges of calls for these three species might be affected by passing ships in similar ways, which is of concern given the dependence of Balaenoperids on long range communication (Payne and Webb, 1971). Although their calls have been mainly attributed to male reproductive displays, whales also produce sounds outside their breeding grounds and season (Clark et al, 2002;Oleson et al, 2007;Vu et al, 2012). Blue whales are known to produce D calls during foraging within groups (McDonald et al, 2001;Stafford et al, 2005;Calambokidis et al, 2008) and fin whales produce "20-Hz pulse" calls that are likely to have a social purpose or a contact maintaining function when produced irregularly or as call-counter calls (McDonald et al, 1995;Edds-Walton, 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underwater Ambient Noise in a Baleen Whale Migratory Habitat Off the Azores

et al. 2017

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Assessment of underwater noise is of particular interest given the increase in noise-generating human activities and the potential negative effects on marine mammals which depend on sound for many vital processes. The Azores archipelago is an important migratory and feeding habitat for blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (Balaenoptera physalus) and sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) en route to summering grounds in northern Atlantic waters. High levels of low frequency noise in this area could displace whales or interfere with foraging behavior, impacting energy intake during a critical stage of their annual cycle. In this study, bottom-mounted Ecological Acoustic Recorders were deployed at three Azorean seamounts (Condor, Açores, and Gigante) to measure temporal variations in background noise levels and ship noise in the 18-1,000 Hz frequency band, used by baleen whales to emit and receive sounds. Monthly average noise levels ranged from 90.3 dB re 1 µPa (Açores seamount) to 103.1 dB re 1 µPa (Condor seamount) and local ship noise was present up to 13% of the recording time in Condor. At this location, average contribution of local boat noise to background noise levels is almost 10 dB higher than wind contribution, which might temporally affect detection ranges for baleen whale calls and difficult communication at long ranges. Given the low time percentatge with noise levels above 120 dB re 1 µPa found here (3.3% at Condor), we woud expect limited behavioral responses to ships from baleen whales. Sound pressure levels measured in the Azores are lower than those reported for the Mediterranean basin and the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the currently unknown effects of baleen whale vocalization masking and the increasing presence of boats at the monitored sites underline the need for continuous monitoring to understand any long-term impacts on whales.

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Humpback whale song occurs extensively on feeding grounds in the western North Atlantic Ocean

Cited by 93 publications

References 39 publications

Diel and Spatial Dependence of Humpback Song and Non-Song Vocalizations in Fish Spawning Ground

Diel and Spatial Dependence of Humpback Song and Non-Song Vocalizations in Fish Spawning Ground

North Atlantic right whale Eubalaena glacialis vocalization patterns in the central Gulf of Maine from October 2009 through October 2010

Underwater Ambient Noise in a Baleen Whale Migratory Habitat Off the Azores

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