1
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Fandel AD, Silva K, Bailey H. Vocal signatures affected by population identity and environmental sound levels. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299250. [PMID: 38635752 PMCID: PMC11025965 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Passive acoustic monitoring has improved our understanding of vocalizing organisms in remote habitats and during all weather conditions. Many vocally active species are highly mobile, and their populations overlap. However, distinct vocalizations allow the tracking and discrimination of individuals or populations. Using signature whistles, the individually distinct calls of bottlenose dolphins, we calculated a minimum abundance of individuals, characterized and compared signature whistles from five locations, and determined reoccurrences of individuals throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Chesapeake Bay, USA. We identified 1,888 signature whistles in which the duration, number of extrema, start, end, and minimum frequencies of signature whistles varied significantly by site. All characteristics of signature whistles were deemed important for determining from which site the whistle originated and due to the distinct signature whistle characteristics and lack of spatial mixing of the dolphins detected at the Offshore site, we suspect that these dolphins are of a different population than those at the Coastal and Bay sites. Signature whistles were also found to be shorter when sound levels were higher. Using only the passively recorded vocalizations of this marine top predator, we obtained information about its population and how it is affected by ambient sound levels, which will increase as offshore wind energy is developed. In this rapidly developing area, these calls offer critical management insights for this protected species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber D. Fandel
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, United States of America
| | - Kirsten Silva
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, United States of America
| | - Helen Bailey
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, United States of America
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2
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Ghani B, Denton T, Kahl S, Klinck H. Global birdsong embeddings enable superior transfer learning for bioacoustic classification. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22876. [PMID: 38129622 PMCID: PMC10739890 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49989-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Automated bioacoustic analysis aids understanding and protection of both marine and terrestrial animals and their habitats across extensive spatiotemporal scales, and typically involves analyzing vast collections of acoustic data. With the advent of deep learning models, classification of important signals from these datasets has markedly improved. These models power critical data analyses for research and decision-making in biodiversity monitoring, animal behaviour studies, and natural resource management. However, deep learning models are often data-hungry and require a significant amount of labeled training data to perform well. While sufficient training data is available for certain taxonomic groups (e.g., common bird species), many classes (such as rare and endangered species, many non-bird taxa, and call-type) lack enough data to train a robust model from scratch. This study investigates the utility of feature embeddings extracted from audio classification models to identify bioacoustic classes other than the ones these models were originally trained on. We evaluate models on diverse datasets, including different bird calls and dialect types, bat calls, marine mammals calls, and amphibians calls. The embeddings extracted from the models trained on bird vocalization data consistently allowed higher quality classification than the embeddings trained on general audio datasets. The results of this study indicate that high-quality feature embeddings from large-scale acoustic bird classifiers can be harnessed for few-shot transfer learning, enabling the learning of new classes from a limited quantity of training data. Our findings reveal the potential for efficient analyses of novel bioacoustic tasks, even in scenarios where available training data is limited to a few samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Burooj Ghani
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Tom Denton
- Google Research, San Francisco, California, USA.
| | - Stefan Kahl
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
- Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Holger Klinck
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, USA
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3
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Colbert BR, Popper AN, Bailey H. Call rate of oyster toadfish (Opsanus tau) is affected by aggregate sound level but not by specific vessel passagesa). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2023; 154:2088-2098. [PMID: 37787601 DOI: 10.1121/10.0021174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic sound is a prevalent environmental stressor that can have significant impacts on aquatic species, including fishes. In this study, the effects of anthropogenic sound on the vocalization behavior of oyster toadfish (Opasnus tau) at multiple time scales was investigated using passive acoustic monitoring. The effects of specific vessel passages were investigated by comparing vocalization rates immediately after a vessel passage with that of control periods using a generalized linear model. The effects of increased ambient sound levels as a result of aggregate exposure within hourly periods over a month were also analyzed using generalized additive models. To place the response to vessel sounds within an ecologically appropriate context, the effect of environmental variables on call density was compared to that of increasing ambient sound levels. It was found that the immediate effect of vessel passage was not a significant predictor for toadfish vocalization rate. However, analyzed over a longer time period, increased vessel-generated sound lowered call rate and there was a greater effect size from vessel sound than any environmental variable. This demonstrates the importance of evaluating responses to anthropogenic sound, including chronic sounds, on multiple time scales when assessing potential impacts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin R Colbert
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, Maryland 20688, USA
| | - A N Popper
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA
| | - Helen Bailey
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, Maryland 20688, USA
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4
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Winship KA, Jones BL. Acoustic Monitoring of Professionally Managed Marine Mammals for Health and Welfare Insights. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:2124. [PMID: 37443922 DOI: 10.3390/ani13132124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Revised: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Research evaluating marine mammal welfare and opportunities for advancements in the care of species housed in a professional facility have rapidly increased in the past decade. While topics, such as comfortable housing, adequate social opportunities, stimulating enrichment, and a high standard of medical care, have continued to receive attention from managers and scientists, there is a lack of established acoustic consideration for monitoring the welfare of these animals. Marine mammals rely on sound production and reception for navigation and communication. Regulations governing anthropogenic sound production in our oceans have been put in place by many countries around the world, largely based on the results of research with managed and trained animals, due to the potential negative impacts that unrestricted noise can have on marine mammals. However, there has not been an established best practice for the acoustic welfare monitoring of marine mammals in professional care. By monitoring animal hearing and vocal behavior, a more holistic view of animal welfare can be achieved through the early detection of anthropogenic sound sources, the acoustic behavior of the animals, and even the features of the calls. In this review, the practice of monitoring cetacean acoustic welfare through behavioral hearing tests and auditory evoked potentials (AEPs), passive acoustic monitoring, such as the Welfare Acoustic Monitoring System (WAMS), as well as ideas for using advanced technologies for utilizing vocal biomarkers of health are introduced and reviewed as opportunities for integration into marine mammal welfare plans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelley A Winship
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr., Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
| | - Brittany L Jones
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr., Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
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5
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Antichi S, Urbán R. J, Martínez-Aguilar S, Viloria-Gómora L. Changes in whistle parameters of two common bottlenose dolphin ecotypes as a result of the physical presence of the research vessel. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14074. [PMID: 36225904 PMCID: PMC9549881 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
In the presence of vessels, dolphins have been found to change their habitat, behavior, group composition and whistle repertoire. The modification of the whistle parameters is generally considered to be a response to the engine noise. Little is known about the impact of the physical presence of vessels on dolphin acoustics. Whistle parameters of the coastal and oceanic ecotypes of common bottlenose dolphins in La Paz Bay, Mexico, were measured after the approach of the research vessel and its engine shutdown. Recordings of 10 min were made immediately after turning off the engine. For analysis, these recordings were divided from minute 0 to minute 5, and from minute 5:01 to minute 10. The whistles of the oceanic ecotype showed higher maximum, minimum and peak frequency in the second time interval compared to the first one. The whistle rate decreased in the second time interval. The whistles of the coastal ecotype showed no difference between the two time intervals. The physical presence of the research vessel could have induced a change in the whistle parameters of the oceanic dolphins until habituation to the vessel disturbance. The oceanic ecotype could increase the whistle rate and decrease the whistle frequencies to maintain acoustic contact more frequently and for longer distances. The coastal ecotype, showing no significant changes in the whistle parameters, could be more habituated to the presence of vessels and display a higher tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Antichi
- Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
| | - Jorge Urbán R.
- Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
| | - Sergio Martínez-Aguilar
- Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
| | - Lorena Viloria-Gómora
- Departamento de Ciencias Marinas y Costeras, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico
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6
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Jones B, Tufano S, Ridgway S. Signature whistles exhibit a 'fade-in' and then 'fade-out' pattern of relative amplitude declination. Behav Processes 2022; 200:104690. [PMID: 35709885 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104690] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Bottlenose dolphins have individually distinct signature whistles that are characterized by a stereotyped frequency-time contour. Signature whistles are commonly exchanged with short time delays between calls. Dolphin whistles are produced by pressurized nasal sacs that increase and then decrease in pressure over emission. This study found that the relative amplitude modulation pattern over time exhibited the same fade-in and then fade-out pattern in the signature whistles of eight bottlenose dolphins at the Navy in San Diego, CA. Both the initial and final five percent of the whistle's duration also had significantly lower mean relative amplitude than the center five percent. The current analyses of the amplitude-time relationship was then integrated to a previously reported model of the negative relationship between relative log amplitude and log peak frequency. This produced a more robust model for accounting for the predictable aspects of the more broadly non-stereotyped amplitude modulations of signature whistles. Whether dolphins can intentionally manipulate these amplitude features or they are simple by-products of the sound production system, and further whether they are perceived and utilized by receivers, is an exciting area for continued research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Jones
- National Marine Mammal Foundation: 3131, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, San Diego, CA 92106, USA.
| | - Samantha Tufano
- National Marine Mammal Foundation: 3131, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
| | - Sam Ridgway
- National Marine Mammal Foundation: 3131, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
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7
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A Risk-Based Model Using Communication Distance Reduction for the Assessment of Underwater Continuous Noise: An Application to the Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Inhabiting the Spanish North Atlantic Marine Demarcation. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse10050605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Over the last decade, national authorities and European administrations have made great efforts to establish methodological standards for the assessment of underwater continuous noise, especially under the requirements set by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). Through the MSFD implementation across EU Member States Marine Reporting Units (MRUs), it is intended to establish the Good Environmental Status (GES) whether it is achieved or not. The evaluation of the Sound Pressure Level (SPL) at the local or regional scale for 1/3 octave band of 63 Hz and 125 Hz and the identification of long temporary trends were considered to be a priority due to the valuable information they can offer in relation to continuous low-frequency noise. Nevertheless, the methodology to determine threshold values from which to evaluate the GES has become difficult to define, and new approaches and considerations are currently being discussed by groups of experts, such as the technical subgroup on underwater acoustics (TGnoise) and regional commissions (e.g., OSPAR). This work presents a methodology to perform the assessment of a given area, providing a risk index that is related to potential appearance of masking effect due to the underwater noise produced by marine traffic. The risk index is hinged on the calculation of area under curves defined by the density of animals and a variable related to underwater noise SPL, defined as percentage of communication distance reduction. At this stage, the methodology presented does not consider physiological or behavioral mechanisms to overcome the masking by animals. The methodology presented has been applied to the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting the ABIES—NOR marine demarcation to illustrate the possible use of risk-based models to manage marine areas related to human pressures, such as marine traffic, with the potential adverse impact on a given species (e.g., masking effect).
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8
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Viana Y, Amorim TOS, de Castro FR, Wedekin L, Paro AD, Montoril MH, Rossi-Santos M, Andriolo A. Are dolphins modulating whistles in interspecific group contexts? BIOACOUSTICS 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2021.2023047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yasmin Viana
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacústica - LABEC, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
| | - Thiago Orion Simões Amorim
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacústica - LABEC, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
- Instituto Aqualie, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
| | - Franciele Rezende de Castro
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacústica - LABEC, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
- Instituto Aqualie, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
| | - Leonardo Wedekin
- Socioambiental Consultores Associados Ltda, Florianópolis, Brazil
| | - Alexandre Douglas Paro
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia Marinha (IEAPM/UFF), Departamento de Biotecnologia Marinha, Instituto de Estudos do Mar Almirante Paulo Moreira, Arraial do Cabo, Brazil
| | | | - Marcos Rossi-Santos
- Laboratório de Ecologia Acústica E Comportamento Animal - LEAC, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Ambientais e Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Recôncavo da Bahia, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Artur Andriolo
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e Bioacústica - LABEC, Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
- Instituto Aqualie, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
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9
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Zhao L, Wang T, Guo R, Zhai X, Zhou L, Cui J, Wang J. Differential effect of aircraft noise on the spectral-temporal acoustic characteristics of frog species. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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10
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Jones B, Tufano S, Daniels R, Mulsow J, Ridgway S. Non-stereotyped amplitude modulation across signature whistle contours. Behav Processes 2021; 194:104561. [PMID: 34838900 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Bottlenose dolphin signature whistles are characterized by distinctive frequency modulation over time. The stable frequency contours of these whistles broadcast individual identity information. Little is known however, about whether or not the amplitude contour is also stereotyped. Here, we examined the relative amplitude-time contour of signature whistle emissions from eight bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program (MMP) in San Diego, CA. The results suggested that unlike the stable frequency-time contour, the amplitude-time contour of signature whistles were largely non-stereotyped, characterized by large variability across multiple whistle emissions. Relative amplitude was negatively related to log peak frequency, with more energy focused in the lower frequency bands. This trend was consistent over all eight dolphins despite having quite different signature whistle contours. This relationship led to the amplitude contours being slightly more stereotyped within than between dolphins. We propose that amplitude across signature whistle emissions may serve as an avenue for encoding additional communicative information. We encourage future studies to incorporate analyses of amplitude contours in addition to frequency contours of signature whistles in order to begin to understand what role it may play in the dolphin communication system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Jones
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA.
| | - Samantha Tufano
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
| | - Risa Daniels
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
| | - Jason Mulsow
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
| | - Sam Ridgway
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
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11
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Meyer J, Magnasco MO, Reiss D. The Relevance of Human Whistled Languages for the Analysis and Decoding of Dolphin Communication. Front Psychol 2021; 12:689501. [PMID: 34621209 PMCID: PMC8490682 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.689501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans use whistled communications, the most elaborate of which are commonly called "whistled languages" or "whistled speech" because they consist of a natural type of speech. The principle of whistled speech is straightforward: people articulate words while whistling and thereby transform spoken utterances by simplifying them, syllable by syllable, into whistled melodies. One of the most striking aspects of this whistled transformation of words is that it remains intelligible to trained speakers, despite a reduced acoustic channel to convey meaning. It constitutes a natural traditional means of telecommunication that permits spoken communication at long distances in a large diversity of languages of the world. Historically, birdsong has been used as a model for vocal learning and language. But conversely, human whistled languages can serve as a model for elucidating how information may be encoded in dolphin whistle communication. In this paper, we elucidate the reasons why human whistled speech and dolphin whistles are interesting to compare. Both are characterized by similar acoustic parameters and serve a common purpose of long distance communication in natural surroundings in two large brained social species. Moreover, their differences - e.g., how they are produced, the dynamics of the whistles, and the types of information they convey - are not barriers to such a comparison. On the contrary, by exploring the structure and attributes found across human whistle languages, we highlight that they can provide an important model as to how complex information is and can be encoded in what appears at first sight to be simple whistled modulated signals. Observing details, such as processes of segmentation and coarticulation, in whistled speech can serve to advance and inform the development of new approaches for the analysis of whistle repertoires of dolphins, and eventually other species. Human whistled languages and dolphin whistles could serve as complementary test benches for the development of new methodologies and algorithms for decoding whistled communication signals by providing new perspectives on how information may be encoded structurally and organizationally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Meyer
- CNRS, GIPSA-Lab, Université Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, France
| | - Marcelo O. Magnasco
- Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Diana Reiss
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, New York, NY, United States
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12
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Zhao L, Santos JC, Wang J, Ran J, Tang Y, Cui J. Noise constrains the evolution of call frequency contours in flowing water frogs: a comparative analysis in two clades. Front Zool 2021; 18:37. [PMID: 34348772 PMCID: PMC8336270 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-021-00423-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The acoustic adaptation hypothesis (AAH) states that signals should evolve towards an optimal transmission of the intended information from senders to intended receivers given the environmental constraints of the medium that they traverse. To date, most AAH studies have focused on the effect of stratified vegetation on signal propagation. These studies, based on the AAH, predict that acoustic signals should experience less attenuation and degradation where habitats are less acoustically complex. Here, we explored this effect by including an environmental noise dimension to test some AAH predictions in two clades of widespread amphibians (Bufonidae and Ranidae) that actively use acoustic signals for communication. By using data from 106 species in these clades, we focused on the characterization of the differences in dominant frequency (DF) and frequency contour (i.e., frequency modulation [FM] and harmonic performances) of mating calls and compared them between species that inhabit flowing-water or still-water environments. Results After including temperature, body size, habitat type and phylogenetic relationships, we found that DF differences among species were explained mostly by body size and habitat structure. We also showed that species living in lentic habitats tend to have advertisement calls characterized by well-defined FM and harmonics. Likewise, our results suggest that flowing-water habitats can constrain the evolutionary trajectories of the frequency-contour traits of advertisement calls in these anurans. Conclusions Our results may support AAH predictions in frogs that vocalize in noisy habitats because flowing-water environments often produce persistent ambient noise. For instance, these anurans tend to generate vocalizations with less well-defined FM and harmonic traits. These findings may help us understand how noise in the environment can influence natural selection as it shapes acoustic signals in affected species. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12983-021-00423-y.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longhui Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization and Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.,Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Plant and Animal Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, Hainan, China.,Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Juan C Santos
- Department of Biological Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY, 11439, USA
| | - Jichao Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Tropical Plant and Animal Ecology, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, Hainan, China
| | - Jianghong Ran
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Resource and Eco-Environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan, China
| | - Yezhong Tang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization and Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China
| | - Jianguo Cui
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization and Ecological Restoration Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, China.
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13
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Papale EB, Azzolin MA, Cascão I, Gannier A, Lammers MO, Martin VM, Oswald JN, Perez-Gil M, Prieto R, Silva MA, Torri M, Giacoma C. Dolphin whistles can be useful tools in identifying units of conservation. BMC ZOOL 2021; 6:22. [PMID: 37170140 PMCID: PMC10127015 DOI: 10.1186/s40850-021-00085-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Prioritizing groupings of organisms or ‘units’ below the species level is a critical issue for conservation purposes. Several techniques encompassing different time-frames, from genetics to ecological markers, have been considered to evaluate existing biological diversity at a sufficient temporal resolution to define conservation units. Given that acoustic signals are expressions of phenotypic diversity, their analysis may provide crucial information on current differentiation patterns within species. Here, we tested whether differences previously delineated within dolphin species based on i) geographic isolation, ii) genetics regardless isolation, and iii) habitat, regardless isolation and genetics, can be detected through acoustic monitoring. Recordings collected from 104 acoustic encounters of Stenella coeruleoalba, Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus in the Azores, Canary Islands, the Alboran Sea and the Western Mediterranean basin between 1996 and 2012 were analyzed. The acoustic structure of communication signals was evaluated by analyzing parameters of whistles in relation to the known genetic and habitat-driven population structure.
Results
Recordings from the Atlantic and Mediterranean were accurately assigned to their respective basins of origin through Discriminant Function Analysis, with a minimum 83.8% and a maximum 93.8% classification rate. A parallel pattern between divergence in acoustic features and in the genetic and ecological traits within the basins was highlighted through Random Forest analysis. Although it is not yet possible to establish a causal link between each driver and acoustic differences between basins, we showed that signal variation reflects fine-scale diversity and may be used as a proxy for recognizing discrete units.
Conclusion
We recommend that acoustic analysis be included in assessments of delphinid population structure, together with genetics and ecological tracer analysis. This cost-efficient non-invasive method can be applied to uncover distinctiveness and local adaptation in other wide-ranging marine species.
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14
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Diurnal vertical movements in black sea bass (
Centropristis striata
): Endogenous, facultative, or something else? Ecosphere 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
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15
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Winandy GSM, Japyassú HF, Izar P, Slabbekoorn H. Noise-Related Song Variation Affects Communication: Bananaquits Adjust Vocally to Playback of Elaborate or Simple Songs. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.570431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Birds communicate through acoustic variation in their songs for territorial defense and mate attraction. Noisy urban conditions often induce vocal changes that can alleviate masking problems, but that may also affect signal value. We investigated this potential for a functional compromise in a neotropical songbird: the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola). This species occurs in urban environments with variable traffic noise levels and was previously found to reduce song elaboration in concert with a noise-dependent reduction in song frequency bandwidth. Singing higher and in a narrower bandwidth may make their songs more audible in noisy conditions of low-frequency traffic. However, it was unknown whether the associated decrease in syllable diversity affected their communication. Here we show that bananaquits responded differently to experimental playback of elaborate vs. simple songs. The variation in syllable diversity did not affect general response strength, but the tested birds gave acoustically distinct song replies. Songs had fewer syllables and were lower in frequency and of wider bandwidth when individuals responded to elaborate songs compared to simple songs. This result suggests that noise-dependent vocal restrictions may change the signal value of songs and compromise their communicative function. It remains to be investigated whether there are consequences for individual fitness and how such effects may alter the diversity and density of the avian community in noisy cities.
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Pellegrini AY, Romeu B, Ingram SN, Daura‐Jorge FG. Boat disturbance affects the acoustic behaviour of dolphins engaged in a rare foraging cooperation with fishers. Anim Conserv 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Y. Pellegrini
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Ecologia Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Universitário Florianópolis SC Brazil
| | - B. Romeu
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Ecologia Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Universitário Florianópolis SC Brazil
| | - S. N. Ingram
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences University of Plymouth Plymouth United Kingdom
| | - F. G. Daura‐Jorge
- Programa de Pós‐graduação em Ecologia Departamento de Ecologia e Zoologia Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Campus Universitário Florianópolis SC Brazil
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17
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Courts R, Erbe C, Wellard R, Boisseau O, Jenner KC, Jenner MN. Australian long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) emit stereotypical, variable, biphonic, multi-component, and sequenced vocalisations, similar to those recorded in the northern hemisphere. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20609. [PMID: 33244014 PMCID: PMC7693278 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-74111-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
While in the northern hemisphere, many studies have been conducted on the vocal repertoire of long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), no such study has been conducted in the southern hemisphere. Presented here, is the first study on the vocalisations of long-finned pilot whales along the southern coast of mainland Australia. Multiple measures were taken of 2028 vocalisations recorded over five years in several locations. These vocalisations included tonal sounds with and without overtones, sounds of burst-pulse character, graded sounds, biphonations, and calls of multiple components. Vocalisations were further categorised based on spectrographic features into 18 contour classes. Altogether, vocalisations ranged from approximately 200 Hz to 25 kHz in fundamental frequency and from 0.03 s to 2.07 s in duration. These measures compared well with those from northern hemisphere pilot whales. Some call types were almost identical to northern hemisphere vocalisations, even though the geographic ranges of the two populations are far apart. Other call types were unique to Australia. Striking similarities with calls of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) and sometimes sympatric killer whales (Orcinus orca) were also found. Theories for call convergence and divergence are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachael Courts
- Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6102, Australia.
| | - Christine Erbe
- Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6102, Australia
| | - Rebecca Wellard
- Centre for Marine Science and Technology, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6102, Australia
- Project ORCA, Perth, WA, 6026, Australia
| | - Oliver Boisseau
- Song of the Whale Research Team, Marine Conservation Research, 94 High Street, Kelvedon Essex, CO5 9AA, UK
| | - K Curt Jenner
- Centre for Whale Research (WA) Inc., PO Box 1622, Fremantle, WA, 6959, Australia
| | - Micheline-N Jenner
- Centre for Whale Research (WA) Inc., PO Box 1622, Fremantle, WA, 6959, Australia
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18
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Rako-Gospić N, La Manna G, Picciulin M, Ceccherelli G. Influence of foraging context on the whistle structure of the common bottlenose dolphin. Behav Processes 2020; 182:104281. [PMID: 33188844 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 10/18/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Sounds are particularly important for animals that live in complex social communities. In this study, we assessed the communication calls (whistles) that common bottlenose dolphins emit during their foraging activities in the absence and presence of motor boats and during dolphin depredation on trawlers, in Alghero (Sardinia, Italy) and Cres-Lošinj Archipelago (Croatia). The latter behaviour involves foraging on concentrated food sources during very noisy human activity and may require the emission of distinctive whistles. Thus, we investigated if whistle structure, in terms of frequency and time parameters, changes depending on these three foraging contexts. In Sardinia, during foraging in interaction with trawlers, whistles differed from those emitted during the other foraging contexts. Conversely, in Cres-Lošinj, significant variations in whistles were found to be related mainly to the presence of motor boats. This study represents the first report on how two dolphin populations adopt different acoustic tactics in the context of similar foraging behaviour. By investigating the effects of opportunistic foraging on acoustic repertoires, we provide new findings on the acoustic adaptation of dolphins to local conditions and contribute to understanding the relationships between dolphins and human activities, such as fishing and boat traffic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikolina Rako-Gospić
- Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Kaštel 24, Veli Lošinj, Croatia
| | - Gabriella La Manna
- MareTerra Onlus - Environmental Research and Conservation, Regione Salondra 9, Alghero, Italy; Area Marina Protetta Capo Caccia-Isola Piana, Loc. Tramariglio SP 55, Alghero, SS, Italy.
| | - Marta Picciulin
- Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Kaštel 24, Veli Lošinj, Croatia
| | - Giulia Ceccherelli
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Farmacia, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy
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19
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Effects of intense storm events on dolphin occurrence and foraging behavior. Sci Rep 2020; 10:19247. [PMID: 33159135 PMCID: PMC7648104 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-76077-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
As storms become increasingly intense and frequent due to climate change, we must better understand how they alter environmental conditions and impact species. However, storms are ephemeral and provide logistical challenges that prevent visual surveys commonly used to understand marine mammal ecology. Thus, relatively little is known about top predators’ responses to such environmental disturbances. In this study, we utilized passive acoustic monitoring to characterize the response of bottlenose dolphins to intense storms offshore Maryland, USA between 2015 and 2017. During and following four autumnal storms, dolphins were detected less frequently and for shorter periods of time. However, dolphins spent a significantly higher percentage of their encounters feeding after the storm than they did before or during. This change in foraging may have resulted from altered distributions and behavior of their prey species, which are prone to responding to environmental changes, such as varied sea surface temperatures caused by storms. It is increasingly vital to determine how these intense storms alter oceanography, prey movements, and the behavior of top predators.
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20
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Mooney TA, Castellote M, Jones I, Rouse N, Rowles T, Mahoney B, Goertz CEC. Audiogram of a Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). THE JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 2020; 148:3141. [PMID: 33261390 DOI: 10.1121/10.0002351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Noise is a stressor to wildlife, yet the precise sound sensitivity of individuals and populations is often unknown or unmeasured. Cook Inlet, Alaska belugas (CIBs) are a critically endangered and declining marine mammal population. Anthropogenic noise is a primary threat to these animals. Auditory evoked potentials were used to measure the hearing of a wild, stranded CIB as part of its rehabilitation assessment. The beluga showed broadband (4-128 kHz) and sensitive hearing (<80 dB) for a wide-range of frequencies (16-80 kHz), reflective of a healthy odontocete auditory system. Data were similar to healthy, adult belugas from the comparative Bristol Bay population (the only other published data set of healthy, wild marine mammal hearing). Repeated October and December 2017 measurements were similar, showing continued auditory health of the animal throughout the rehabilitation period. Hearing data were compared to pile-driving and container-ship noise measurements made in Cook Inlet, two sources of concern, suggesting masking is likely at ecologically relevant distances. These data provide the first empirical hearing data for a CIB allowing for estimations of sound-sensitivity in this population. The beluga's sensitive hearing and likelihood of masking show noise is a clear concern for this population struggling to recover.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Aran Mooney
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | - Manuel Castellote
- Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington, 3737 Brooklyn Avenue Northeast, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
| | - Ian Jones
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
| | | | - Teri Rowles
- Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, Office of Protected Resources, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, USA
| | - Barbara Mahoney
- Protected Resources Division, Alaska Regional Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Anchorage, Alaska 99513, USA
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21
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La Manna G, Rako‐Gospić N, Sarà G, Gatti F, Bonizzoni S, Ceccherelli G. Whistle variation in Mediterranean common bottlenose dolphin: The role of geographical, anthropogenic, social, and behavioral factors. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:1971-1987. [PMID: 32128130 PMCID: PMC7042681 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The studies on the variation of acoustic communication in different species have provided insight that genetics, geographic isolation, and adaptation to ecological and social conditions play important roles in the variability of acoustic signals. The dolphin whistles are communication signals that can vary significantly among and within populations. Although it is known that they are influenced by different environmental and social variables, the factors influencing the variation between populations have received scant attention. In the present study, we investigated the factors associated with the acoustic variability in the whistles of common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), inhabiting two Mediterranean areas (Sardinia and Croatia). We explored which factors, among (a) geographical isolation of populations, (b) different environments in terms of noise and boat presence, and (c) social factors (including group size, behavior, and presence of calves), were associated with whistle characteristics. We first applied a principal component analysis to reduce the number of collinear whistle frequency and temporal characteristics and then generalized linear mixed models on the first two principal components. The study revealed that both geographic distance/isolation and local environment are associated with whistle variations between localities. The prominent differences in the acoustic environments between the two areas, which contributed to the acoustic variability in the first principal component (PC1), were found. The calf's presence and foraging and social behavior were also found to be associated with dolphin whistle variation. The second principal component (PC2) was associated only with locality and group size, showing that longer and more complex tonal sound may facilitate individual recognition and cohesion in social groups. Thus, both social and behavioral context influenced significantly the structure of whistles, and they should be considered when investigating acoustic variability among distant dolphin populations to avoid confounding factors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gianluca Sarà
- MareTerra Onlus ‐ Environmental Research and ConservationAlgheroItaly
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del MareUniversità di PalermoPalermoItaly
| | - Federica Gatti
- MareTerra Onlus ‐ Environmental Research and ConservationAlgheroItaly
- Università di Roma La SapienzaRomaItaly
| | - Silvia Bonizzoni
- Dolphin Biology and ConservationCordenonsItaly
- OceanCareWädenswilSwitzerland
| | - Giulia Ceccherelli
- MareTerra Onlus ‐ Environmental Research and ConservationAlgheroItaly
- Dipartimento di Chimica e FarmaciaUniversità degli Studi di SassariSassariItaly
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22
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Pedersen MB, Fahlman A, Borque-Espinosa A, Madsen PT, Jensen FH. Whistling is metabolically cheap for communicating bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:jeb.212498. [PMID: 31796610 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.212498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Toothed whales depend on sound for communication and foraging, making them potentially vulnerable to acoustic masking from increasing anthropogenic noise. Masking effects may be ameliorated by higher amplitudes or rates of calling, but such acoustic compensation mechanisms may incur energetic costs if sound production is expensive. The costs of whistling in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have been reported to be much higher (20% of resting metabolic rate, RMR) than theoretical predictions (0.5-1% of RMR). Here, we address this dichotomy by measuring the change in the resting O2 consumption rate (V̇ O2 ), a proxy for RMR, in three post-absorptive bottlenose dolphins during whistling and silent trials, concurrent with simultaneous measurement of acoustic output using a calibrated hydrophone array. The experimental protocol consisted of a 2-min baseline period to establish RMR, followed by a 2-min voluntary resting surface apnea, with or without whistling as cued by the trainers, and then a 5-min resting period to measure recovery costs. Daily fluctuations in V̇ O2 were accounted for by subtracting the baseline RMR from the recovery costs to estimate the cost of apnea with and without whistles relative to RMR. Analysis of 52 sessions containing 1162 whistles showed that whistling did not increase metabolic cost (P>0.1, +4.2±6.9%) as compared with control trials (-0.5±5.9%; means±s.e.m.). Thus, we reject the hypothesis that whistling is costly for bottlenose dolphins, and conclude that vocal adjustments such as the Lombard response to noise do not represent large direct energetic costs for communicating toothed whales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael B Pedersen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Andreas Fahlman
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,Global Diving Research, Ottawa, ON, K2J 5E8
| | - Alicia Borque-Espinosa
- Fundación Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Vía Marqués del Turia 19, 46005 Valencia, Spain.,University of Valencia, Av. de Blasco Ibáñez, 13, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Peter T Madsen
- Zoophysiology, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark.,Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Frants H Jensen
- Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.,Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, East Sands, St Andrews KY16 8LB, UK.,Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
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23
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Interacting effects of vessel noise and shallow river depth elevate metabolic stress in Ganges river dolphins. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15426. [PMID: 31659202 PMCID: PMC6817857 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51664-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In riverine ‘soundscapes’, complex interactions between sound, substrate type, and depth create difficulties in assessing impacts of anthropogenic noise pollution on freshwater fauna. Underwater noise from vessels can negatively affect endangered Ganges river dolphins (Platanista gangetica), which are ‘almost blind’ and rely entirely on high-frequency echolocation clicks to sense their environment. We conducted field-based acoustic recordings and modelling to assess acoustic responses of Platanista to underwater noise exposure from vessels in the Ganga River (India), which is now being transformed into a major waterway. Dolphins showed enhanced activity during acute noise exposure and suppressed activity during chronic exposure. Increase in ambient noise levels altered dolphin acoustic responses, strongly masked echolocation clicks, and more than doubled metabolic stress. Noise impacts were further aggravated during dry-season river depth reduction. Maintaining ecological flows, downscaling of vessel traffic, and propeller modifications to reduce cavitation noise, could help mitigate noise impacts on Ganges river dolphins.
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24
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Mearns AJ, Bissell M, Morrison AM, Rempel-Hester MA, Arthur C, Rutherford N. Effects of pollution on marine organisms. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2019; 91:1229-1252. [PMID: 31513312 DOI: 10.1002/wer.1218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2019] [Revised: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This review covers selected 2018 articles on the biological effects of pollutants, including human physical disturbances, on marine and estuarine plants, animals, ecosystems, and habitats. The review, based largely on journal articles, covers field and laboratory measurement activities (bioaccumulation of contaminants, field assessment surveys, toxicity testing, and biomarkers) as well as pollution issues of current interest including endocrine disrupters, emerging contaminants, wastewater discharges, marine debris, dredging, and disposal. Special emphasis is placed on effects of oil spills and marine debris due largely to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil blowout in the Gulf of Mexico and proliferation of data on the assimilation and effects of marine debris. Several topical areas reviewed in the past (e.g., mass mortalities ocean acidification) were dropped this year. The focus of this review is on effects, not on pollutant sources, chemistry, fate, or transport. There is considerable overlap across subject areas (e.g., some bioaccumulation data may be appear in other topical categories such as effects of wastewater discharges, or biomarker studies appearing in oil toxicity literature). Therefore, we strongly urge readers to use keyword searching of the text and references to locate related but distributed information. Although nearly 400 papers are cited, these now represent a fraction of the literature on these subjects. Use this review mainly as a starting point. And please consult the original papers before citing them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan J Mearns
- Emergency Response Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, Washington
| | - Mathew Bissell
- Emergency Response Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, Washington
| | | | | | | | - Nicolle Rutherford
- Emergency Response Division, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Seattle, Washington
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25
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Geipel I, Amin B, Page RA, Halfwerk W. Does bat response to traffic noise support the misleading cue hypothesis? Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The world has become a noisier place due to the increase in urbanization. Noise is generally considered an impediment, altering an animal’s behavior through masking or distraction. But noise can also provide useful information about the environment. For animals that rely on natural environmental noise as an indicator of favorable foraging conditions, increasing levels of anthropogenic noise might mislead informed decision-making. Bats use rain noise, a natural environmental cue, to delay their emergence from the roost, presumably to avoid sensory and metabolic costs associated with foraging in heavy rain. Here we tested the “misleading cue hypothesis,” asking whether traffic noise is mistaken for rain noise by bats. Given the acoustic similarity between rain noise and traffic noise, we predicted that bats would confuse the two. We conducted a playback experiment using rain, traffic, and ambient noise at natural roosts of common big-eared bats (Micronycteris microtis, Phyllostomidae) and recorded bat emergence behavior. In contrast to their response to rain noise, the bats did not delay roost emergence in response to traffic noise. Thus, we found that bats were able to discriminate between traffic noise and rain noise and were not misled by similarity in acoustic parameters in the two noise types, when emerging from their roost. Emerging bats did show more exploration flights during traffic noise than during rain noise, but not during ambient noise, suggesting that they perceive traffic noise as a novel acoustic cue. Our data provide new insights into perception of traffic noise by bats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inga Geipel
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, Panamá, República de Panamá
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Institute for Advanced Study, Wallotstraße, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bawan Amin
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, Panamá, República de Panamá
- Institute of Biology, Leiden University, RA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Rachel A Page
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado, Balboa, Panamá, República de Panamá
| | - Wouter Halfwerk
- Department of Ecological Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan, HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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26
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Barrett B, Zepeda E, Pollack L, Munson A, Sih A. Counter-Culture: Does Social Learning Help or Hinder Adaptive Response to Human-Induced Rapid Environmental Change? Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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27
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Bats increase vocal amplitude and decrease vocal complexity to mitigate noise interference during social communication. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:199-212. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-01235-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Revised: 12/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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28
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Fouda L, Wingfield JE, Fandel AD, Garrod A, Hodge KB, Rice AN, Bailey H. Dolphins simplify their vocal calls in response to increased ambient noise. Biol Lett 2018; 14:rsbl.2018.0484. [PMID: 30355679 PMCID: PMC6227850 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Ocean noise varies spatially and temporally and is driven by natural and anthropogenic processes. Increased ambient noise levels can cause signal masking and communication impairment, affecting fitness and recruitment success. However, the effects of increasing ambient noise levels on marine species, such as marine mammals that primarily rely on sound for communication, are not well understood. We investigated the effects of concurrent ambient noise levels on social whistle calls produced by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the western North Atlantic. Elevated ambient noise levels were mainly caused by ship noise. Increases in ship noise, both within and below the dolphins' call bandwidth, resulted in higher dolphin whistle frequencies and a reduction in whistle contour complexity, an acoustic feature associated with individual identification. Consequently, the noise-induced simplification of dolphin whistles may reduce the information content in these acoustic signals and decrease effective communication, parent–offspring proximity or group cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Fouda
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, USA
| | - Jessica E Wingfield
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, USA
| | - Amber D Fandel
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, USA
| | - Aran Garrod
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, USA
| | - Kristin B Hodge
- Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Aaron N Rice
- Bioacoustics Research Program, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Helen Bailey
- Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, USA
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