Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.

Echolocation signals of wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were recorded in 2013 using a vertical, linear 16-hydrophone array at two locations in the pack ice of Baffin Bay, West Greenland. Individual whales were localized for 4:42 minutes of 1:04 hours of recordings. Clicks centered on the...

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Autores principales:	Marie J Zahn, Kristin L Laidre, Peter Stilz, Marianne H Rasmussen, Jens C Koblitz
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b0ef890fa8664244acaa6d32c6c42af0
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b0ef890fa8664244acaa6d32c6c42af02021-12-02T20:08:24ZVertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0257054https://doaj.org/article/b0ef890fa8664244acaa6d32c6c42af02021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257054https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Echolocation signals of wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were recorded in 2013 using a vertical, linear 16-hydrophone array at two locations in the pack ice of Baffin Bay, West Greenland. Individual whales were localized for 4:42 minutes of 1:04 hours of recordings. Clicks centered on the recording equipment (i.e. on-axis clicks) were isolated to calculate sonar parameters. We report the first sonar beam estimate of in situ recordings of wild belugas with an average -3 dB asymmetrical vertical beam width of 5.4°, showing a wider ventral beam. This narrow beam width is consistent with estimates from captive belugas; however, our results indicate that beluga sonar beams may not be symmetrical and may differ in wild and captive contexts. The mean apparent source level for on-axis clicks was 212 dB pp re 1 μPa and whales were shown to vertically scan the array from 120 meters distance. Our findings support the hypothesis that highly directional sonar beams and high source levels are an evolutionary adaptation for Arctic odontocetes to reduce unwanted surface echoes from sea ice (i.e., acoustic clutter) and effectively navigate through leads in the pack ice (e.g., find breathing holes). These results provide the first baseline beluga sonar metrics from free-ranging animals using a hydrophone array and are important for acoustic programs throughout the Arctic, particularly for acoustic classification between belugas and narwhals (Monodon monoceros).Marie J ZahnKristin L LaidrePeter StilzMarianne H RasmussenJens C KoblitzPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0257054 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Marie J Zahn Kristin L Laidre Peter Stilz Marianne H Rasmussen Jens C Koblitz Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.
description	Echolocation signals of wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) were recorded in 2013 using a vertical, linear 16-hydrophone array at two locations in the pack ice of Baffin Bay, West Greenland. Individual whales were localized for 4:42 minutes of 1:04 hours of recordings. Clicks centered on the recording equipment (i.e. on-axis clicks) were isolated to calculate sonar parameters. We report the first sonar beam estimate of in situ recordings of wild belugas with an average -3 dB asymmetrical vertical beam width of 5.4°, showing a wider ventral beam. This narrow beam width is consistent with estimates from captive belugas; however, our results indicate that beluga sonar beams may not be symmetrical and may differ in wild and captive contexts. The mean apparent source level for on-axis clicks was 212 dB pp re 1 μPa and whales were shown to vertically scan the array from 120 meters distance. Our findings support the hypothesis that highly directional sonar beams and high source levels are an evolutionary adaptation for Arctic odontocetes to reduce unwanted surface echoes from sea ice (i.e., acoustic clutter) and effectively navigate through leads in the pack ice (e.g., find breathing holes). These results provide the first baseline beluga sonar metrics from free-ranging animals using a hydrophone array and are important for acoustic programs throughout the Arctic, particularly for acoustic classification between belugas and narwhals (Monodon monoceros).
format	article
author	Marie J Zahn Kristin L Laidre Peter Stilz Marianne H Rasmussen Jens C Koblitz
author_facet	Marie J Zahn Kristin L Laidre Peter Stilz Marianne H Rasmussen Jens C Koblitz
author_sort	Marie J Zahn
title	Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.
title_short	Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.
title_full	Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.
title_fullStr	Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.
title_full_unstemmed	Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.
title_sort	vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (delphinapterus leucas) in west greenland.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/b0ef890fa8664244acaa6d32c6c42af0
work_keys_str_mv	AT mariejzahn verticalsonarbeamwidthandscanningbehaviorofwildbelugasdelphinapterusleucasinwestgreenland AT kristinllaidre verticalsonarbeamwidthandscanningbehaviorofwildbelugasdelphinapterusleucasinwestgreenland AT peterstilz verticalsonarbeamwidthandscanningbehaviorofwildbelugasdelphinapterusleucasinwestgreenland AT mariannehrasmussen verticalsonarbeamwidthandscanningbehaviorofwildbelugasdelphinapterusleucasinwestgreenland AT jensckoblitz verticalsonarbeamwidthandscanningbehaviorofwildbelugasdelphinapterusleucasinwestgreenland
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Vertical sonar beam width and scanning behavior of wild belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland.

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