TY - CHAP
T1 - Echolocation parameters of Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the wild
AU - Parra Vergara, Guido
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - Echolocation is a key sensory modality for toothed whale orientation, navigation, and foraging. However, a more comparative understanding of the biosonar properties of toothed whales is necessary to understand behavioral and evolutionary adaptions. To address this, two free-ranging sympatric delphinid species, Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), were studied. Biosonar clicks from both species were recorded within the same stretch of coastal habitat in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, using a vertical seven element hydrophone array. S. sahulensis used biosonar clicks with a mean source level of 199?±?3?dB re 1?μPa peak-peak (pp), mean centroid frequency of 106?±?11 kHz, and emitted at interclick intervals (ICIs) of 79?±?33?ms. These parameters were similar to click parameters of sympatric T. aduncus, characterized by mean source levels of 204?±?4?dB re 1?μPa pp, centroid frequency of 112?±?9 kHz, and ICIs of 73?±?29?ms. These properties are comparable to those of other similar sized delphinids and suggest that biosonar parameters are independent of sympatric delphinids and possibly driven by body size. The dynamic biosonar behavior of these delphinids may have, consequently, allowed for adaptations to local environments through high levels of control over sonar beam properties.
AB - Echolocation is a key sensory modality for toothed whale orientation, navigation, and foraging. However, a more comparative understanding of the biosonar properties of toothed whales is necessary to understand behavioral and evolutionary adaptions. To address this, two free-ranging sympatric delphinid species, Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus), were studied. Biosonar clicks from both species were recorded within the same stretch of coastal habitat in Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia, using a vertical seven element hydrophone array. S. sahulensis used biosonar clicks with a mean source level of 199?±?3?dB re 1?μPa peak-peak (pp), mean centroid frequency of 106?±?11 kHz, and emitted at interclick intervals (ICIs) of 79?±?33?ms. These parameters were similar to click parameters of sympatric T. aduncus, characterized by mean source levels of 204?±?4?dB re 1?μPa pp, centroid frequency of 112?±?9 kHz, and ICIs of 73?±?29?ms. These properties are comparable to those of other similar sized delphinids and suggest that biosonar parameters are independent of sympatric delphinids and possibly driven by body size. The dynamic biosonar behavior of these delphinids may have, consequently, allowed for adaptations to local environments through high levels of control over sonar beam properties.
UR - http://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo22211175.html
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84934915037&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1121/1.4921277
DO - 10.1121/1.4921277
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9780226183190
VL - 137
T3 - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
SP - 3033
EP - 3041
BT - Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises: A Natural History and Species Guide
PB - University of Chicago Press
ER -