Measuring Hearing in Wild Beluga Whales

Area of Science:

• Marine Mammal Research
• Bioacoustics
• Auditory Physiology

Background:

• Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are Arctic marine mammals.
• Understanding their hearing is crucial for assessing anthropogenic impacts.
• Previous hearing studies in wild cetaceans are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure the hearing abilities of wild beluga whales.
• To evaluate the feasibility of using auditory evoked potential (AEP) audiograms in a collection-and-release setting.
• To establish baseline hearing data for population-level assessments.

Main Methods:

• Auditory evoked potential (AEP) audiograms were collected from seven wild beluga whales during a collection-and-release experiment.
• Hearing thresholds were measured across a frequency range of 4 to 150 kHz.
• Data from one individual are presented and analyzed.

Main Results:

• The studied beluga whale exhibited its lowest hearing threshold at 80 kHz.
• The animal demonstrated robust hearing sensitivity from 22 kHz to 110 kHz.
• The AEP methodology proved robust for data collection.

Conclusions:

• AEP audiograms are a viable tool for assessing hearing in wild beluga whales.
• This method can be integrated into health assessments for individual animals.
• The approach facilitates population-level hearing studies and can be applied to other species.