Dear
list members,
We
are pleased to announce the following article on North Atlantic right whale
acoustics and vocal behavior:
Vocalization
characteristics of North Atlantic right whale surface active groups in the
calving habitat, southeastern United States
(2013)
Trygonis,
V., Gerstein, E., Moir, J., and McCulloch,
S.
Journal
of the Acoustical Society of America 134, (6) 4518
Abstract:
Passive
acoustic surveys were conducted to assess the vocal behavior of North Atlantic
right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the designated critical calving habitat
along the shallow coastal waters of southeastern United States. Underwater
vocalizations were recorded using autonomous buoys deployed in close proximity
to surface active groups (SAGs). Nine main vocalization types were identified
with manual inspection of spectrograms and standard acoustic descriptors were
extracted. Classification trees were used to examine the distinguishing
characteristics of calls and quantify their variability within the SAG vocal
repertoire. The results show that descriptors of frequency bandwidth and
spectral disorder are the most important parameters for partitioning the SAG
repertoire contrary to duration-related measures. The reported source levels and
vocalization statistics provide sound production data vital to inform regional
passive acoustic monitoring and conservation for this endangered
species.
The
full text is available online at:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.4824682
Regards,
Edmund
R. Gerstein, Ph.D.,
Director Marine Mammal Research
Charles
E. Schmidt College of Science
Behavioral Sciences Building
Florida
Atlantic University
777 Glades Road
Boca Raton, Florida
33431
561-338-9185 direct, 561-809-9185 cell
egerste1@fau.edu,