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Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies

Interactions between individuals of different cetacean species are often observed in the wild. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) can be potential predators of many other cetaceans, and the interception of their vocalizations by unintended cetacean receivers may trigger anti-predator behavior that could m...

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Autores principales: Curé, Charlotte, Antunes, Ricardo, Alves, Ana Catarina, Visser, Fleur, Kvadsheim, Petter H., Miller, Patrick J. O.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3613802/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23545484
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01579
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author Curé, Charlotte
Antunes, Ricardo
Alves, Ana Catarina
Visser, Fleur
Kvadsheim, Petter H.
Miller, Patrick J. O.
author_facet Curé, Charlotte
Antunes, Ricardo
Alves, Ana Catarina
Visser, Fleur
Kvadsheim, Petter H.
Miller, Patrick J. O.
author_sort Curé, Charlotte
collection PubMed
description Interactions between individuals of different cetacean species are often observed in the wild. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) can be potential predators of many other cetaceans, and the interception of their vocalizations by unintended cetacean receivers may trigger anti-predator behavior that could mediate predator-prey interactions. We explored the anti-predator behaviour of five typically-solitary male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Norwegian Sea by playing sounds of mammal-feeding killer whales and monitoring behavioural responses using multi-sensor tags. Our results suggest that, rather than taking advantage of their large aerobic capacities to dive away from the perceived predator, sperm whales responded to killer whale playbacks by interrupting their foraging or resting dives and returning to the surface, changing their vocal production, and initiating a surprising degree of social behaviour in these mostly solitary animals. Thus, the interception of predator vocalizations by male sperm whales disrupted functional behaviours and mediated previously unrecognized anti-predator responses.
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spelling pubmed-36138022013-04-04 Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies Curé, Charlotte Antunes, Ricardo Alves, Ana Catarina Visser, Fleur Kvadsheim, Petter H. Miller, Patrick J. O. Sci Rep Article Interactions between individuals of different cetacean species are often observed in the wild. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) can be potential predators of many other cetaceans, and the interception of their vocalizations by unintended cetacean receivers may trigger anti-predator behavior that could mediate predator-prey interactions. We explored the anti-predator behaviour of five typically-solitary male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the Norwegian Sea by playing sounds of mammal-feeding killer whales and monitoring behavioural responses using multi-sensor tags. Our results suggest that, rather than taking advantage of their large aerobic capacities to dive away from the perceived predator, sperm whales responded to killer whale playbacks by interrupting their foraging or resting dives and returning to the surface, changing their vocal production, and initiating a surprising degree of social behaviour in these mostly solitary animals. Thus, the interception of predator vocalizations by male sperm whales disrupted functional behaviours and mediated previously unrecognized anti-predator responses. Nature Publishing Group 2013-04-02 /pmc/articles/PMC3613802/ /pubmed/23545484 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01579 Text en Copyright © 2013, Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
spellingShingle Article
Curé, Charlotte
Antunes, Ricardo
Alves, Ana Catarina
Visser, Fleur
Kvadsheim, Petter H.
Miller, Patrick J. O.
Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
title Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
title_full Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
title_fullStr Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
title_full_unstemmed Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
title_short Responses of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
title_sort responses of male sperm whales (physeter macrocephalus) to killer whale sounds: implications for anti-predator strategies
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3613802/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23545484
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep01579
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