Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
The long-range echo scene of the sperm whale biosonar. / Tønnesen, Pernille; Oliveira, Cláudia; Johnson, Mark; Madsen, Peter Teglberg.
In: Biology Letters, Vol. 16, No. 8, 20200134, 08.2020.Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The long-range echo scene of the sperm whale biosonar
AU - Tønnesen, Pernille
AU - Oliveira, Cláudia
AU - Johnson, Mark
AU - Madsen, Peter Teglberg
PY - 2020/8
Y1 - 2020/8
N2 - Sperm whales use their gigantic nose to produce the most powerful sounds in the animal kingdom, presumably to echolocate deep-sea prey at long ranges and possibly to debilitate prey. To test these hypotheses, we deployed sound recording tags (DTAG-4) on the tip of the nose of three sperm whales. One of these recordings yielded over 6000 echo streams from organisms detected up to 144 m ahead of the whale, supporting a long-range prey detection function of the sperm whale biosonar. The whale navigated this complex acoustic scene by maintaining a stable, long-range acoustic gaze suggesting continual resource evaluation. Less than 10% of the echoic organisms recorded by the tag were targeted for capture and only 18% of the buzzes were emitted within the 50 m depth interval of maximum organism encounter rate, demonstrating echo-guided prey selection. Buzzes were initiated more than 20 m from the prey, showing that sperm whales do not debilitate their prey with sound, but trade echo levels for reduced forward masking and rapid updates on prey location in keeping with the lower manoeuvrability of these large predators. We conclude that the powerful biosonar of sperm whales enables long-range echolocation and selection of prey, but not acoustic debilitation.
AB - Sperm whales use their gigantic nose to produce the most powerful sounds in the animal kingdom, presumably to echolocate deep-sea prey at long ranges and possibly to debilitate prey. To test these hypotheses, we deployed sound recording tags (DTAG-4) on the tip of the nose of three sperm whales. One of these recordings yielded over 6000 echo streams from organisms detected up to 144 m ahead of the whale, supporting a long-range prey detection function of the sperm whale biosonar. The whale navigated this complex acoustic scene by maintaining a stable, long-range acoustic gaze suggesting continual resource evaluation. Less than 10% of the echoic organisms recorded by the tag were targeted for capture and only 18% of the buzzes were emitted within the 50 m depth interval of maximum organism encounter rate, demonstrating echo-guided prey selection. Buzzes were initiated more than 20 m from the prey, showing that sperm whales do not debilitate their prey with sound, but trade echo levels for reduced forward masking and rapid updates on prey location in keeping with the lower manoeuvrability of these large predators. We conclude that the powerful biosonar of sperm whales enables long-range echolocation and selection of prey, but not acoustic debilitation.
KW - acoustic debilitation
KW - acoustic scene
KW - DTAG
KW - prey selection
KW - sensory ecology
KW - toothed whale
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85089132624&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0134
DO - 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0134
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 32750270
AN - SCOPUS:85089132624
VL - 16
JO - Biology Letters
JF - Biology Letters
SN - 1744-9561
IS - 8
M1 - 20200134
ER -