TY - JOUR
T1 - Echolocation parameters of Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in the wild
AU - De Freitas, Mafalda
AU - Jensen, Frants H.
AU - Tyne, Julian
AU - Bejder, Lars
AU - Madsen, Peter T.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Acoustical Society of America.
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.
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U2 - 10.1121/1.4921277
DO - 10.1121/1.4921277
M3 - Article
C2 - 26093395
AN - SCOPUS:84934915037
SN - 0001-4966
VL - 137
SP - 3033
EP - 3041
JO - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
JF - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
IS - 6
ER -