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Are Icelandic harbor seals acoustically cryptic to avoid predation?
Helen Rößler1, Jakob Tougaard2, Puk F Sabinsky1
1Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark.
Abstract:
Male harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) produce stereotypic underwater roars during the mating season. It remains unclear to what extent roar structures vary due to predation levels. Here, seal roars from waters with many (Iceland) and few (Denmark and Sweden) predators were compared. Most Icelandic roars included a long pulse train and a pause. Icelandic roars occurred less frequently, lasted longer (20.3 ± 6.5 s), and were recorded with lower received sound levels (98.3 ± 8.9 dB re 1 μPa root mean square) than roars from Denmark and Sweden. Local extrinsic factors may shape sound production in harbor seals more than previously reported.
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