Predation by killer whales (Orcinus orca) and the evolution of whistle loss and narrow-band high frequency clicks in odontocetes

A disparate selection of toothed whales (Odontoceti) share striking features of their acoustic repertoires including the absence of whistles and high frequency but weak (low peak-to-peak source level) clicks that have a relatively long duration and a narrow bandwidth. The non-whistling, high frequen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of evolutionary biology 2007-07, Vol.20 (4), p.1439-1458
Main Authors: MORISAKA, T, CONNOR, R.C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
acoustic
Animal communication
Animals
Biological Evolution
cephalorhynchid
Cephalorhynchus
Cetacea
communication
convergence
Echolocation
Evolutionary biology
killer whale
Kogia breviceps
Marine
Odontoceti
Orcinus orca
phocoenid
Phocoenidae
Phylogeny
Pontoporiidae
porpoise
Predation
Predatory Behavior
selection
Vocalization, Animal
Whale, Killer - genetics
Whale, Killer - physiology
Whale, Killer - psychology
Whales & whaling
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A disparate selection of toothed whales (Odontoceti) share striking features of their acoustic repertoires including the absence of whistles and high frequency but weak (low peak-to-peak source level) clicks that have a relatively long duration and a narrow bandwidth. The non-whistling, high frequency click species include members of the family Phocoenidae, members of one genus of delphinids, Cephalorhynchus, the pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps, and apparently the sole member of the family Pontoporiidae. Our review supports the 'acoustic crypsis' hypothesis that killer whale predation risk was the primary selective factor favouring an echolocation and communication system in cephalorhynchids, phocoenids and possibly Pontoporiidae and Kogiidae restricted to sounds that killer whales hear poorly or not at all (< 2 and > 100 kHz).
ISSN:1010-061X
1420-9101
DOI:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2007.01336.x