Anti-masking strategies and communication ranges of polar seal underwater vocalizations

极地海豹水下发声的反掩蔽策略和通信范围

• 批准号: 8129-2006
• 负责人: Terhune, John
• 金额: $ 1.09万
• 依托单位: University of New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2006-01-01 至 2007-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=335075
• 关键词: Anti; masking; strategies; communication; ranges

My research investigates the production, transmission and reception of underwater vocalizations of polar seals.  Underwater calls of harp seals from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Weddell seals from Antarctica will be analyzed to determine if they have evolved to overcome jamming (masking) by other seal calls.  Two students will overwinter in Antarctica to determine if monitoring seal calls can index population numbers and find out more about the sound generation abilities of Weddell seals. Under optimal conditions, some underwater Weddell seal calls can be heard up to 25 km away while others would only travel 100 metres.  Harp seal calling rates can exceed 130 calls per minute thus producing loud backkground noises.  This is similar to the "cocktail party" effect encountered by humans at social functions.  We will determine if Weddell seals, like harp seals, follow the "courtesy rule" and call so that they do not mask a neighbour's vocalizations.  Cracking ice, waves, industrial noises of ships and underwater construction also have the potential to block the acoustic communication channel of seals. Underwater calls are studied using hydrophones (underwater microphones) lowered under the sea ice.  Because so many calls overlap, there are no automated analysis possibilities and the analyses of the tape recordings is very time consuming.  We will examine the variability of both natural and human noises and determine the extent to which the fine structure of the noises will impact the seal calling behaviours.  By relating information on the physical and behavioural aspects of seal calls to their hearing abilities and life history needs, we will gain a better understanding of the importance of sound communication in these polar seals.  A practical aspect of this research is that it will provide information which is necessary to assess the potential environmental impacts of noises generated by ice-breaking ships in the Arctic on seals and other marine mammals.

我的研究调查了生产，极地海豹水下发声的传输和接收。来自圣劳伦斯湾的竖琴海豹和来自南极洲的威德尔海豹的水下叫声将被分析，以确定它们是否已经进化到克服干扰（掩蔽）两名学生将在南极洲过冬，以确定监测海豹的叫声是否可以索引种群数量，并了解更多关于南极洲的信息。威德尔海豹的发声能力。在最理想的情况下，威德尔海豹在水下的叫声可以传到25公里外，而其他的只能传到100米外。竖琴海豹的叫声每分钟可以超过130次，从而产生巨大的背景噪音。这类似于人类在社交活动中遇到的"鸡尾酒会"效应。我们将确定威德尔海豹是否像竖琴海豹一样，遵守"礼貌规则"，不要掩盖邻居的声音。碎冰、海浪、船舶和水下建筑的工业噪音也有可能阻断海豹的声音交流渠道。水下通话研究使用水听器（水下麦克风）被放置在海冰下。因为有太多的声音重叠，没有自动分析的可能性，而分析录音带记录非常耗时。我们将研究自然和人类噪音的变化，并确定噪音的精细结构对海豹叫声行为的影响程度。通过将以下信息关联起来，海豹的生理和行为与它们的听觉能力和生活史需要有关，我们将更了解这些极地海豹声音交流的重要性。这项研究的一个实际方面是，它将提供必要的信息，以评估北极破冰船产生的噪音对海豹和其他海洋哺乳动物的潜在环境影响。