The acoustic repertoire of wild common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Walvis Bay, Namibia

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dc.contributor.author Gridley, Tess
dc.contributor.author Nastasi, Aurora
dc.contributor.author Kriesell, Hannah Joy
dc.contributor.author Elwen, Simon Harvey
dc.date.accessioned 2016-02-10T06:15:57Z
dc.date.issued 2015-05
dc.description.abstract Describing the repertoire of sounds produced by wild cetaceans is necessary for understanding their function, for acoustic population monitoring and for measuring the potential influence of anthropogenic impact. Geographic variation in the types and parameters of sounds makes regional assessment of vocal behaviour necessary. We describe the acoustic repertoire of a small population of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting Walvis Bay, Namibia from recordings made over 59 encounters (72 h) between 2009 and 2012. The characteristics of burst pulse (BP) sounds, low-frequency narrow-band (LFN) sounds, brays, whistles and chirps are described. The BP sounds identified were generated at 150–1050 pulses per second, and most were short, lasting less than 1 s in duration. Bottlenose dolphins from Walvis Bay produce the lowest frequency LFN sounds described for the species. Whistles ranged in frequency from 1.58 to 23.24 kHz, and the mean acoustic parameters were within the range of those described from other geographic regions. Chirps were identified infrequently and usually as single occurrences. Although several sound types were often produced in close temporal succession, we found little evidence of stereotyped bray production, even during recordings of animals feeding. Our results demonstrate geographic variation in both the characteristics and sound types used by bottlenose dolphins and highlight the importance of regional data collection as a pre-curser to passive acoustic monitoring programmes. en_ZA
dc.description.embargo 2016-05-31
dc.description.librarian hb2015 en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorship TG was funded during the initial stages of this work by NERC PhD studentship, a University of St.Andrews Russell Trust Award and later the University of Pretoria Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral fellowship. A scholarship from Sapienza University of Rome provided financial support to AN and postdoctoral fellowships from the University of Pretoria and Claude Leon Foundation provided assistance to SE. Equipment and running costs were provided by Idea Wild Fund, Prof V. Janik, and the Nedbank Go Green Fund. en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tbio20 en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation T. Gridley, A. Nastasi, H.J. Kriesell & S.H. Elwen (2015) The acoustic repertoire of wild common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Walvis Bay, Namibia, Bioacoustics, 24:2, 153-174, DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2015.1014851. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0952-4622 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 2165-0586 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1080/09524622.2015.1014851
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/51300
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Taylor and Francis en_ZA
dc.rights © 2015 Taylor & Francis. This is an electronic version of an article published in Bioacoustics, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 153-174, 2015. doi : 10.1080/09524622.2015.1014851. Bioacoustics is available online at : http://www.tandfonline.comtoc/tbio20. en_ZA
dc.subject Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) en_ZA
dc.subject Tursiops truncatus en_ZA
dc.subject Low-frequency narrow-band en_ZA
dc.subject Burst pulse en_ZA
dc.subject Whistle en_ZA
dc.subject Namibia en_ZA
dc.title The acoustic repertoire of wild common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Walvis Bay, Namibia en_ZA
dc.type Postprint Article en_ZA


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