Variation in the vocal behavior of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) in coastal Brazilian waters

Susan E. Parks, Karina Groch, Paulo Flores, Renata Sousa-Lima, Ildar R. Urazghildiiev

Research output: Contribution to journalConference Articlepeer-review

Abstract

Currently there are three recognized species of right whales. The largest population is the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), with circumpolar distribution in the southern hemisphere. One calving area for this population is in Brazilian waters, where increasing numbers of right whales have been sighted over the past decade along with an increase in anthropogenic activities including shipping traffic and fishing. The goals of this study were to describe the vocal behavior of southern right whales in Brazilian waters, assess the difference in vocalizations between areas with low and high human activity, and compare these results to studies conducted with North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Western North Atlantic. Bottom-mounted archival acoustic recorders were deployed in October and November 2011 in two coastal locations in central Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil. One recorder was placed off Gamboa (27°56'S and 48°39'W, low traffic) and a second off Ribanceira (28°11'S and 48°37'W, high traffic). Automated detectors and noise statistic analysis tools developed for North Atlantic right whale upcalls were utilized to analyze the dataset. Calls produced by Brazilian whales were significantly lower in fundamental frequency than North Atlantic right whale calls and the implications for these results will be discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number010059
JournalProceedings of Meetings on Acoustics
Volume19
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event21st International Congress on Acoustics, ICA 2013 - 165th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America - Montreal, QC, Canada
Duration: Jun 2 2013Jun 7 2013

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics

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