Use of acoustic signals in Cape fur seal mother-pup reunions: individual signature, signal propagation and pup home range.

Autor:	Martin M; Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, 151 Route de la Rotonde, 91400 Saclay, France.; Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Road, Muizenberg, Cape Town 7945, South-Africa., Gridley T; Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Road, Muizenberg, Cape Town 7945, South-Africa.; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7605, South Africa., Immerz A; Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, 0028 Pretoria, South Africa., Elwen SH; Sea Search Research and Conservation NPC, 4 Bath Road, Muizenberg, Cape Town 7945, South-Africa.; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7605, South Africa., Charrier I; Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, 151 Route de la Rotonde, 91400 Saclay, France.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The Journal of experimental biology [J Exp Biol] 2024 Jul 01; Vol. 227 (13). Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 02.
DOI:	10.1242/jeb.246917
Abstrakt:	The Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) is one of the most colonial mammals, with colonies of up to hundreds of thousands of individuals during the breeding season. During the lactation period, mothers and pups are regularly separated as females undertake multi-day foraging trips at sea. Mothers and pups use a mutual vocal recognition system to reunite after separation. Such communication is highly constrained by both high background noise and risk of individual confusion owing to the density of seals. This study aimed to experimentally assess the acoustic features relevant for mother-pup vocal identification and the propagation properties of their calls. Playback experiments revealed that mother and pup individual vocal signatures rely on both temporal and frequency parameters: amplitude and frequency modulations, timbre and fundamental frequency (f0). This is more parameters than in any colonial species studied so far. The combinational use of acoustic features reinforces the concept that both environmental and social constraints may have acted as selective pressures on the individual vocal recognition systems. Theoretical propagation distances of mother and pup vocalisations were estimated to be below the range of distances at which mother-pup reunions can occur. This suggests that Cape fur seals may have strong abilities to extract vocal signals from the background noise, as previously demonstrated in the highly colonial king penguin. Investigating the transmission of information throughout the propagation of the signal as well as the ability of the receiving individual to decipher vocal signatures is crucial to understanding vocal recognition systems in the wild. Competing Interests: Competing interests The authors declare no competing or financial interests. (© 2024. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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