Diving apart together: call propagation in diving long-finned pilot whales

Area of Science:

• Marine biology
• Bioacoustics
• Animal communication

Background:

• Group-living animals require communication for cohesion.
• Long-finned pilot whales face a trade-off between deep foraging and surface social grouping.
• Understanding communication in pilot whales is crucial for their social structure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the communicative potential of pilot whale social calls during foraging.
• To determine the distances over which these calls can reach dispersed group members.
• To investigate factors influencing call detectability.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical modeling of sound propagation.
• Empirical data collection using tagged pilot whales.
• Analysis of call characteristics and environmental factors affecting detection.

Main Results:

• Pilot whale social calls can potentially reach dispersed group members up to 385m (empirically) and 1800m (theoretically).
• Call detectability is influenced by call length, sound pressure level (SPL), and environmental noise.
• Pilot whales adjust call loudness and peak frequency in noisier conditions.

Conclusions:

• Social calls play a vital role in orientation and reunion for deep-diving pilot whales.
• The study highlights the potential impact of anthropogenic noise on pilot whale communication.
• Combining modeling and tag data offers insights into pilot whale acoustic communication.