Honing in on sperm whale populations

Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are the world's loudest animals, producing echolocation creaks and clicks more deafening than a rocket launch. It's no wonder then that naturalists have long keyed into their noises and attempted to interpret their meanings. Surprisingly, however, popu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in ecology and the environment 2021-06, Vol.19 (5), p.260-260
Main Author: Murray, Meghan Miner
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
Aquatic mammals
DISPATCHES
Echolocation
Honing
Hydrophones
Physeter macrocephalus
Population statistics
Sound
Whales
Whales & whaling
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Summary:Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are the world's loudest animals, producing echolocation creaks and clicks more deafening than a rocket launch. It's no wonder then that naturalists have long keyed into their noises and attempted to interpret their meanings. Surprisingly, however, population estimates and where these bulky beasts choose to spend time may be even more enigmatic than their conversations. Now, thanks to Barkley's PhD work, the various noises made by sperm whales may be useful to researchers for counting individuals and learning more about the species. By towing a line with several hydrophones and coupling the sound captured with models created from an acoustics database of sperm whale sounds along with information about the general properties of sound in water, researchers can use the minute differences in arrival time between the passive listening devices to triangulate a whale's location in three-dimensional space.
ISSN:1540-9295
1540-9309
DOI:10.1002/fee.2351