Whistle source levels of free-ranging beluga whales in Saguenay-St. Lawrence marine park

Bot, Olivier Le; Simard, Yvan; Roy, Nathalie; Mars, Jérôme; Gervaise, Cédric

doi:10.1121/1.4955115

Cited by 9 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 16 publications

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“…The mean broadband ASLs of adult and subadult beluga contact calls reported here are within the range of SL rms of odontocete sounds reported in the literature, such as Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (138.5 ± 6.8 and 137.2 ± 7.0 dB re 1 μPa depending on location [Wang et al 2016]), killer whales (155.3 ± 6.5 dB re 1 μPa, Holt et al 2011), Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris; range 123-149 dB re 1μPa [Aguilar de Soto et al 2012]), bottlenose dolphins (158 ± 0.6 dB re 1μPa [Janik 2000]; 146.7 ± 6.2 dB re 1μPa [Jensen et al 2012]; median 138 dB re 1μPa [Frankel et al 2014]), spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis; median 138 dB re 1μPa [Frankel et al 2014]) and white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris; 148 ± 12 dB re 1μPa or 139 ± 12 dB re 1μPa, depending on method [Rasmussen et al 2006]). The only other study that documented SLs of beluga calls looked at narrow-band tonal signals rather than broadband pulsed calls and found a mean SL rms of 143.8 ± 6.7dB re 1 μPa at 1 m, for a sample of 52 whistles with a dominant frequency between 1.5 and 5 kHz (Le Bot et al 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can you hear me? Impacts of underwater noise on communication space of adult, sub-adult and calf contact calls of endangered St. Lawrence belugas (Delphinapterus leucas)

Vergara¹,

Wood²,

Lesage

et al. 2021

Polar Research

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Noise and anthropogenic disturbances from vessel traffic are an important threat to the recovery of the endangered St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) beluga population. The consequences of acoustic masking could be particularly adverse in the case of critical vocalizations that maintain contact between mothers and their dependent but mobile calves. This study models the communication range of adults, sub-adults and newborn beluga contact calls in the presence and absence of vessels in an important summering area for this population. Ambient noise measurements, a composite beluga audiogram and apparent source levels of adult/sub-adult and newborn calls, informed the model. Apparent source levels were estimated from received levels of contact calls produced by four individuals carrying digital acoustic tags in the SLE, Canada, and from received levels of calls recorded from two adults and a newborn calf at an aquarium, at known distances from a calibrated hydrophone. The median communication ranges were over 18 times larger for SLE adult and sub-adult calls than for newborn calls, with a 57 and 53% reduction in range in the presence of vessel noise, respectively. For newborn calls, this results in a median range of 170 m in vessel noise. These first estimates of the communication range of beluga vocalizations with a known function suggest that masking of the quiet calls of newborns by anthropogenic noise could impair mother–calf contact.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can you hear me? Impacts of underwater noise on communication space of adult, sub-adult and calf contact calls of endangered St. Lawrence belugas (Delphinapterus leucas)

Vergara¹,

Wood²,

Lesage

et al. 2021

Polar Research

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A decade of marine mammal acoustical presence and habitat preference in the Bering Sea

Seger¹,

Miksis‐Olds

2020

Polar Biol

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As Arctic seas rapidly change with increased ocean temperatures and decreased sea ice extent, traditional Arctic marine mammal distributions may be altered, and typically temperate marine mammal species may shift poleward. Extant and seasonal odontocete species on the continental shelves of the Bering and Chukchi Seas include killer whales (Orcinus orca), sperm whales (Physeter microcephalus), beluga whales (Delphiapterus leucas), harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), and Dall’s porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli). Newly documented, typically temperate odontocete species include Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) and Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens). Until recently, recording constraints limited sampling rates, preventing the acoustic detection of many of these high frequency-producing (> 22 kHz) species in the Arctic seas. Using one of the first long-term datasets to record frequencies up to 50 kHz in these waters, clicks, buzzes, and whistles have been detected, classified, and paired with environmental data to explore which variables best parameterize habitat preference. Typically temperate species were associated temporally with cold Bering Sea Climate Regimes in tandem with negative Pacific Decadal Oscillations. Typically Arctic species’ strongest explanatory variables for distribution were largely species and site specific. Regardless of species, however, the environmental cues (e.g. percent ice cover or zooplankton community structure) marine mammals use for locating viable habitat space are ones that will change as temperatures increase. This 10-year dataset documents the current state and tracks recent dynamics of odontocetes and their habitats along the Pacific Arctic Corridor to contribute to ongoing discussions about future Arctic conditions.

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Three-dimensional anthropogenic underwater noise modeling in an Arctic fjord for acoustic risk assessment

Richard¹,

Mathias²,

Collin³

et al. 2023

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Whistle source levels of free-ranging beluga whales in Saguenay-St. Lawrence marine park

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Can you hear me? Impacts of underwater noise on communication space of adult, sub-adult and calf contact calls of endangered St. Lawrence belugas (Delphinapterus leucas)

Can you hear me? Impacts of underwater noise on communication space of adult, sub-adult and calf contact calls of endangered St. Lawrence belugas (Delphinapterus leucas)

A decade of marine mammal acoustical presence and habitat preference in the Bering Sea

Three-dimensional anthropogenic underwater noise modeling in an Arctic fjord for acoustic risk assessment

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