Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire

Intraspecific conflict can be costly; therefore, many species engage in ritualized contests composed of several stages. Each stage is typically characterized by different levels of aggression, arousal, and physical conflict. During these different levels of “intensity,” animals benefit from communic...

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Autores principales:	Dana A. Cusano, David Paton, Michael J. Noad, Rebecca A. Dunlop
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:	competition discrete calls graded calls intraspecific conflict resource holding potential social system Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/d03070aaca59430d87fb46b5198477a8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:d03070aaca59430d87fb46b5198477a82021-12-03T06:16:13ZSocially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire2296-774510.3389/fmars.2021.665186https://doaj.org/article/d03070aaca59430d87fb46b5198477a82021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.665186/fullhttps://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745Intraspecific conflict can be costly; therefore, many species engage in ritualized contests composed of several stages. Each stage is typically characterized by different levels of aggression, arousal, and physical conflict. During these different levels of “intensity,” animals benefit from communicating potential information related to features such as resource holding potential, relative fighting ability, level of aggression, intent (i.e., fight or flight), and whether or not the competitor currently holds the resource (e.g., a receptive female). This information may be conveyed using both visual displays and a complex acoustic repertoire containing fixed (e.g., age, sex, and body size) and flexible information (e.g., motivation or arousal). Calls that contain fixed information are generally considered “discrete” or stereotyped, while calls that convey flexible information are more “graded,” existing along an acoustic continuum. The use of displays and calls, and the potential information they convey, is likely dependent on factors like intensity level. The breeding system of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) involves intense male competition for access to a relatively limited number of breeding females (the resource). Here, we investigated the behavior and acoustic repertoire of competitive groups of humpback whales to determine if an increase in intensity level of the group was correlated with an increase in the complexity of the vocal repertoire. We categorized the behavior of humpback whales in competitive groups into three mutually exclusive stages from low to high intensity. While discrete calls were infrequent compared to graded calls overall, their use was highest in “low” and “moderate” intensity groups, which may indicate that this stage of contest is important for assessing the relative resource holding potential of competitors. In contrast, visual displays, call rates, and the use of graded call types, were highest during “high intensity” competitive groups. This suggests that flexible information may be more important in “high intensity” levels as males continue to assess the motivation and intent of competitors while actively engaged in costly conflict. We have shown that the relatively complex social call repertoire and visual displays of humpback whales in competitive groups likely functions to mediate frequently changing within-group relationships.Dana A. CusanoDavid PatonMichael J. NoadRebecca A. DunlopFrontiers Media S.A.articlecompetitiondiscrete callsgraded callsintraspecific conflictresource holding potentialsocial systemScienceQGeneral. Including nature conservation, geographical distributionQH1-199.5ENFrontiers in Marine Science, Vol 8 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	competition discrete calls graded calls intraspecific conflict resource holding potential social system Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5
spellingShingle	competition discrete calls graded calls intraspecific conflict resource holding potential social system Science Q General. Including nature conservation, geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Dana A. Cusano David Paton Michael J. Noad Rebecca A. Dunlop Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire
description	Intraspecific conflict can be costly; therefore, many species engage in ritualized contests composed of several stages. Each stage is typically characterized by different levels of aggression, arousal, and physical conflict. During these different levels of “intensity,” animals benefit from communicating potential information related to features such as resource holding potential, relative fighting ability, level of aggression, intent (i.e., fight or flight), and whether or not the competitor currently holds the resource (e.g., a receptive female). This information may be conveyed using both visual displays and a complex acoustic repertoire containing fixed (e.g., age, sex, and body size) and flexible information (e.g., motivation or arousal). Calls that contain fixed information are generally considered “discrete” or stereotyped, while calls that convey flexible information are more “graded,” existing along an acoustic continuum. The use of displays and calls, and the potential information they convey, is likely dependent on factors like intensity level. The breeding system of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) involves intense male competition for access to a relatively limited number of breeding females (the resource). Here, we investigated the behavior and acoustic repertoire of competitive groups of humpback whales to determine if an increase in intensity level of the group was correlated with an increase in the complexity of the vocal repertoire. We categorized the behavior of humpback whales in competitive groups into three mutually exclusive stages from low to high intensity. While discrete calls were infrequent compared to graded calls overall, their use was highest in “low” and “moderate” intensity groups, which may indicate that this stage of contest is important for assessing the relative resource holding potential of competitors. In contrast, visual displays, call rates, and the use of graded call types, were highest during “high intensity” competitive groups. This suggests that flexible information may be more important in “high intensity” levels as males continue to assess the motivation and intent of competitors while actively engaged in costly conflict. We have shown that the relatively complex social call repertoire and visual displays of humpback whales in competitive groups likely functions to mediate frequently changing within-group relationships.
format	article
author	Dana A. Cusano David Paton Michael J. Noad Rebecca A. Dunlop
author_facet	Dana A. Cusano David Paton Michael J. Noad Rebecca A. Dunlop
author_sort	Dana A. Cusano
title	Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire
title_short	Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire
title_full	Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire
title_fullStr	Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire
title_full_unstemmed	Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire
title_sort	socially complex breeding interactions in humpback whales are mediated using a complex acoustic repertoire
publisher	Frontiers Media S.A.
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/d03070aaca59430d87fb46b5198477a8
work_keys_str_mv	AT danaacusano sociallycomplexbreedinginteractionsinhumpbackwhalesaremediatedusingacomplexacousticrepertoire AT davidpaton sociallycomplexbreedinginteractionsinhumpbackwhalesaremediatedusingacomplexacousticrepertoire AT michaeljnoad sociallycomplexbreedinginteractionsinhumpbackwhalesaremediatedusingacomplexacousticrepertoire AT rebeccaadunlop sociallycomplexbreedinginteractionsinhumpbackwhalesaremediatedusingacomplexacousticrepertoire
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Socially Complex Breeding Interactions in Humpback Whales Are Mediated Using a Complex Acoustic Repertoire

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