Aloha,

My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper:

Chen, J., Pack, A.A., Au, W.W.L., Stimpert, A.K. (2016) Measurements of humpback whale song sound levels received by a calf in association with a singer. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 140, 4010-4015; http://doi.org/10.1121/1.4967444

Abstract:

Male humpback whales produce loud “songs” on the wintering grounds and some sing while escorting mother–calf pairs, exposing them to near-continuous sounds at close proximity. An Acousonde acoustic and movement recording tag deployed on a calf off Maui, Hawaii captured sounds produced by a singing male escort. Root-mean-square received levels ranged from 126 to 158 dB re 1 μPa. These levels represent rare direct measurements of sound to which a newly born humpback calf may be naturally exposed by a conspecific, and may provide a basis for informed decisions regarding anthropogenic sound levels projected near calves.

Available online at:
http://asa.scitation.org/doi/abs/10.1121/1.4967444

Sincerely,

Jessica Chen

jchen2@hawaii.edu

PhD candidate
Marine Mammal Research Program
University of Hawaii at Manoa