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Journal of the Acoustical Society of America / Volume 122 / Issue 6 / BIOACOUSTICS [80]

Short- and long-term changes in right whale calling behavior: The potential effects of noise on acoustic communication

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 122, Issue 6, pp. 3725-3731 (2007); (7 pages)

Susan E. Parks1, C. W. Clark1, and P. L. Tyack2

1Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850
2Biology Department, MS #50, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543

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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.

© 2007 Acoustical Society of America

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors dedicate this paper to the memory of William Watkins, a pioneer of marine mammal bioacoustics, who provided access to the 1956 Schevill recordings from the North Atlantic. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all who assisted with the collection of the recordings used in this paper. M.A. Daher and K. Amaral from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution provided the 1956 clips from the Watkins collection. The Bay of Fundy recordings were collected under U.S. Permit No. NMFS No. 1014. Contemporary recordings (1999–2004) were collected with approval of the Cornell University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Animal Care and Use Committees. Funding for the recordings in Cape Cod Bay and the Great South Channel was provided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (2000 and 2001) and NOAA. Elvira Rawson Paz provided funds to support the 2000 recordings in Argentina. T. J. Balsby, I. Urazghildiiev, and two anonymous reviewers provided helpful suggestions that improved this manuscript. Funding for this analysis was provided by NOAA Grant No. NA04NMF4720413.

Article Outline

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. MATERIAL AND METHODS
    1. Comparison 1—Sound production in Surface Active Groups
      1. Recordings
      2. Analysis
    2. Comparison 2—North Atlantic right whale versus southern right whale upcalls
      1. Recordings
        1. North Atlantic right whales.
        2. Southern right whales.
      2. Analysis
    3. Comparison 3—Historic versus contemporary upcall recordings
      1. Recordings
        1. North Atlantic right whales.
        2. Southern right whales.
      2. Analysis
  3. RESULTS
    1. Comparison 1—Sound production in surface active groups
    2. Comparison 2—North Atlantic right whale versus southern right whale upcalls and Comparison 3—Historic versus contemporary upcall recordings
      1. Start frequency
      2. End frequency
      3. Bandwidth
      4. Duration
  4. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

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KEYWORDS and PACS

Keywords

acoustic noise, bioacoustics, biocommunications, hearing, speech intelligibility, underwater sound

PACS

  • 43.80.Nd

    Effects of noise on animals and associated behavior, protective mechanisms

  • 43.80.Ka

    Sound production by animals: mechanisms, characteristics, populations, biosonar

  • 43.66.Dc

    Masking

ARTICLE DATA

History
Received 20 Feb 2007
Accepted 25 Sep 2007
Revised 31 Aug 2007
Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2799904

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

0001-4966 (print)  

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef Acoustical Society of America

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