Frequency synchronization of blue whale calls near Pioneer Seamount

Autor: R.W. Bland, Michael D. Hoffman, Newell Garfield
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 128:490-494
ISSN: 0001-4966
Popis: Vocalizations of blue whales were recorded with a cabled hydrophone array at Pioneer Seamount, 50 miles off the California coast. Most calls occurred in repeated sequences of two-call pairs (A, then B). The B call is a frequency-modulated tone highly repeatable in form and pitch. A model of this sound is described which permits detecting very small frequency shifts. B calls are found to be aligned in frequency to about one part in 180. This requires very fine pitch discrimination and control over calling frequency, and suggests that synchronizing to a common frequency pattern carries some adaptive advantage. Some possibilities for acoustic sensing by whales requiring this fine frequency resolution are discussed.
Databáze: OpenAIRE