| Literature DB >> 34229495 |
Miriam Romagosa1, Sergi Pérez-Jorge1, Irma Cascão1, Helena Mouriño2, Patrick Lehodey3, Andreia Pereira4, Tiago A Marques5,6, Luís Matias4, Mónica A Silva1.
Abstract
Animals use varied acoustic signals that play critical roles in their lives. Understanding the function of these signals may inform about key life-history processes relevant for conservation. In the case of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), that produce different call types associated with different behaviours, several hypotheses have emerged regarding call function, but the topic still remains in its infancy. Here, we investigate the potential function of two fin whale vocalizations, the song-forming 20-Hz call and the 40-Hz call, by examining their production in relation to season, year and prey biomass. Our results showed that the production of 20-Hz calls was strongly influenced by season, with a clear peak during the breeding months, and secondarily by year, likely due to changes in whale abundance. These results support the reproductive function of the 20-Hz song used as an acoustic display. Conversely, season and year had no effect on variation in 40-Hz calling rates, but prey biomass did. This is the first study linking 40-Hz call activity to prey biomass, supporting the previously suggested food-associated function of this call. Understanding the functions of animal signals can help identifying functional habitats and predict the negative effects of human activities with important implications for conservation.Entities:
Keywords: ecosystem model; fin whale; food-associated call; prey biomass; song
Mesh:
Year: 2021 PMID: 34229495 PMCID: PMC8261222 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1156
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Biol Sci ISSN: 0962-8452 Impact factor: 5.349
Figure 1(a) Location of the Azores (inset map) and of the hydrophone moorings (black dots) at two locations (Gigante and Condor). Example spectrograms showing (b) the 20-Hz and (c) the 40-Hz call. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2Monthly variation in (a) 20-Hz and (b) 40-Hz call rates, and (c) model-based estimates of zooplankton biomass (gWW: grams wet weight), from 2008 to 2012. The graph on the x-axis in (a) and (b) represents the recording effort by month and year and grey colour indicates no data. Horizontal lines within the boxplots in (c) indicate the median, box boundaries indicate the 25th (lower boundary) and 75th (upper boundary) percentiles, vertical lines indicate the largest (upper whisker) and smallest (lower whisker) values no further than 1.5 times the interquartile range, and black dots represent outliers. Colours on the x-axis indicate seasons: blue, winter; green, spring; orange, summer; brown, autumn. Abbreviations for months are the following: Jan, January; Feb, February; Mar, March; Apr, April; Jun, June; Jul, July; Aug, August; Sep, September; Oct, October; Nov, November; Dec, December. (Online version in colour.)
Analysis of deviance (ANOVA) for the best fitting quasi-Poisson model of the 20-Hz call rate. Significant terms (p < 0.05) are shown in italics. d.f.—degrees of freedom, Dev.—deviance, Res. d.f.—residual d.f., Res dev.—residual deviance.
| d.f. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NULL | 142 | 3066.7 | ||||
| season | 2 | 955.38 | 140 | 2111.3 | 47.25 | |
| year | 4 | 601.36 | 136 | 1510.0 | 14.87 | |
| lag-1-call rate | 1 | 209.92 | 135 | 1300.0 | 20.76 |
Figure 3Results from the quasi-Poisson model showing the (a) season and (b) year effect on the 20-Hz call rate. Blue points represent observations, error bars represent the mean (back dot) and 95% confidence intervals of fitted values. Seasons are abbreviated as follows: spr, spring; aut, autumn; win, winter. (Online version in colour.)
Analysis of deviance (ANOVA) for the best fitting quasi-Poisson model of the 40-Hz call rate. Significant terms (p < 0.05) are shown in italics. d.f.—degrees of freedom, Dev.—deviance, Res. d.f.—residual d.f., Res dev.—residual deviance.
| d.f. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NULL | 143 | 197.81 | ||||
| zooplankton | 1 | 39.62 | 142 | 158.18 | 25.94 |
Figure 4Zooplankton biomass effect on the 40-Hz call. Blue points represent the observed 40-Hz call rate index. The solid line corresponds to the mean fitted values (i.e. the trend) and the grey shaded area represents the 95% confidence interval. (Online version in colour.)