In-air vocal repertoires of spotted seals, Phoca largha

Spotted seals (Phoca largha) are thought to be less vocal than other phocids. However, acoustic communication behaviors of spotted seals have been reported several times. In this study, the vocal repertoires of spotted seals housed in Dalian Sun Aquarium, China were recorded and analyzed. The frequencies of the sounds made by the seals ranged from 139.3 to 2323.1 Hz, and the time durations lasted from 92.8 to 1208 ms, depending on age and gender (P < 0.01). The peak-to-peak sound source levels were 109-124 dB re 20μPa. In total, seven vocal types were identified: pup call, yearling call, bark, growl, grunt, moo, and throat guttural. The pups emitted sounds with high frequencies (F1: 972.4 ± 374.4 Hz, mean ± standard deviation) and medial time durations (564 ± 178 ms); when the pups grew older, the sounds became yearling calls, which had high frequencies with median (interquartile range) of 1198.0 (821.7-1385.5) Hz; and long time durations [902 (745-1080) ms]. The male adults emitted sounds with low frequencies [430.2 (388.2-486.7) Hz] and short time durations [334 (233-599) ms], while the female adults emitted sounds with medial frequencies [814.5 (592.6-1024.3) Hz] and medial time durations [531 (336-688) ms].