Hello MarMam subscribers, My co-author and I are excited to announce a new publication describing the vocalizations of minke whales on a summer feeding ground in British Columbia, Canada. The article was published in Bioacoustics this month. Abstract is below. Please contact the corresponding author (katrinan@uvic.ca) for more information or for a full-text PDF copy of the article. Citation: Katrina Nikolich & Jared R. Towers (2018): Vocalizations of common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in an eastern North Pacific feeding ground, Bioacoustics, DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2018.1555716 Link to the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09524622.2018.1555716 Abstract: The minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is a small species of baleen whale with a cosmopolitan distribution. Despite extensive study on the vocalizations of other balaenopterids, the acoustic repertoire of minke whales is not well known. Individuals of the North Pacific subspecies (B. acutorostrata scammoni) produce unique vocalizations (boings) during their putative breeding season from fall to spring. However, no vocalizations have been previously reported for this subspecies in any eastern North Pacific feeding ground. We present two call types recorded in the presence of six minke whales, two of which were confirmed as female, in Cormorant Channel, British Columbia, Canada, during the summer of 2012. The calls consist of downsweeps and pulse chains. These call types share some characteristics with calls described elsewhere, although they are not identical to similar call types observed for other populations. Calling rates for minke whales in this study region are very low compared to those reported for this subspecies on its putative breeding grounds, as well as for other subspecies on their feeding grounds. We propose predation risk, sexual segregation and acoustic masking as potential causes of the low calling rates observed for minke whales in Cormorant Channel. Thanks and have a great holiday season! Kat Nikolich PhD Student, Biology University of Victoria Victoria, British Columbia 250-208-9374 katrinan@uvic.ca