Dear MARMAM readers,
We are pleased to announce the publication (available via early view) of the following paper in Marine Mammal Science:
"The occurrence of pulse, “knock” sounds amidst social/sexual behavior of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) off Vancouver Island"
Benj Youngson, Jim Darling
10.1111/mms.12325
*Abstract*
We report an unusual level of gray whale social/sexual behavior on Vancouver
Island feeding grounds during mid-summer 2013, and the production of knock-like
(S1/N1) sounds (Dahlheim et al. 1984, Moore and Ljungblad 1984) by individuals
in these groups. On 15 d between 15 July and 16 August 2013 a total of 33 encounters
observed gray whales exhibiting social/sexual behavior, more for these months
than for the previous 10 years combined. Knock (S1/N1) sounds were heard in 24
(86%) of the 28 recordings made in the presence of the social/sexual groups
(Table S1). The function of the social/sexual behavior is not known. To date, the
knock sounds have not been linked to a specific behavior pattern.
Full text available at:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12325/abstractPDFs may be requested from
benjyoungson@gmail.com