Dear MARMAM subscribers,
We are very pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America: Oliveira C, Wahlberg M, Johnson M, Miller PJO and Madsen PT. (2013) The function of male sperm whale slow clicks in a high latitude habitat: Communication, echolocation, or prey debilitation? J. Acoust. Soc. Am., Vol. 133, Issue 5, pp 3135-3144. http://link.aip.org/link/?JAS/133/3135 <http://link.aip.org/link/?JAS/133/3135> Abstract: Sperm whales produce different click types for echolocation and communication. Usual clicks and buzzes appear to be used primarily in foraging while codas are thought to function in social communication. The function of slow clicks is less clear, but they appear to be produced by males at higher latitudes, where they primarily forage solitarily, and on the breeding grounds, where they roam between groups of females. Here the behavioral context in which these vocalizations are produced and the function they may serve was investigated. Ninety-nine hours of acoustic and diving data were analyzed from sound recording tags on six male sperm whales in Northern Norway. The 755 slow clicks detected were produced by tagged animals at the surface (52%), ascending from a dive (37%), and during the bottom phase (11%), but never during the descent. Slow clicks were not associated with the production of buzzes, other echolocation clicks, or fast maneuvering that would indicate foraging. Some slow clicks were emitted in seemingly repetitive temporal patterns supporting the hypothesis that the function for slow clicks on the feeding grounds is long range communication between males, possibly relaying information about individual identity or behavioral states. Best wishes, Cláudia Oliveira ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DOP, Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas - Universidade dos Açores Rua Prof. Doutor Frederico Machado 9901-862 Horta - Portugal Telefone: +351 292200400 Fax: +351 292200411 URL: www.horta.uac.pt <http://www.horta.uac.pt/> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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