We are pleased to announce a new publication which describes high levels
of acoustic particle motion noted in humpback whale song. Below is the
reference and abstract.
Singing whales generate high levels of particle motion: implications for
acoustic communication and hearing?
T. Aran Mooney, Maxwell B. Kaplan, Marc O. Lammers
Biology Letters (2016) 12: 20160381; DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0381
It can be accessed at:
http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/11/20160381
If you have trouble accessing it online, please contact Aran Mooney
(amoo...@whoi.edu)
Abstract
Acoustic signals are fundamental to animal communication and cetaceans
are often considered bioacoustic specialists. Nearly all studies of
their acoustic communication focus on sound pressure measurements,
overlooking the particle motion components of their communication
signals. Here we characterize the levels of acoustic particle velocity
(and pressure) of song produced by humpback whales. We demonstrate that
whales generate acoustic fields that include significant particle
velocity components that are detectable over relatively long distances
sufficient to play a role in acoustic communication. We show that these
signals attenuate predictably in a manner similar to pressure and that
direct particle velocity measurements can provide bearings to singing
whales. Whales could potentially use such information to determine the
distance of signaling animals. Additionally, the vibratory nature of
particle velocity may stimulate bone conduction, a hearing modality
similar to other low-frequency specialized mammals, offering a
parsimonious mechanism of acoustic energy transduction into the massive
ossicles of whale ears. With substantial concerns regarding the effects
of increasing anthropogenic ocean noise and major uncertainties
surrounding mysticete hearing, these results highlight both an
unexplored avenue that may be available for whale acoustic communication
and the need to better understand the biological role of acoustic
particle motion.
--
T. Aran Mooney
Sensory Ecology and Bioacoustics Lab
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
www.whoi.edu/sites/amooney
sensoryecology.blogspot.org
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