Fin whale song characteristics recorded on ocean bottom seismometers in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Fin whales produce low frequency sequences of vocalizations that can be detected opportunistically on ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs). Using an automatic detection algorithm, we have analyzed fin whale calls recorded on OBSs in the Northeast Pacific Ocean over broad spatial and temporal scales. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2014-04, Vol.135 (4_Supplement), p.2333-2333
Main Authors: Weirathmueller, Michelle, Wilcock, William S. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Fin whales produce low frequency sequences of vocalizations that can be detected opportunistically on ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs). Using an automatic detection algorithm, we have analyzed fin whale calls recorded on OBSs in the Northeast Pacific Ocean over broad spatial and temporal scales. The Cascadia Initiative experiment consists of 70 OBSs deployed for a total of four years (2011–2015). It extends from Vancouver Island to Cape Mendocino, and several hundred kilometers offshore. Additional OBS data that overlap spatially with the northern portion of the Cascadia Initiative instruments are available from the Neptune Canada cabled observatory, which has been online since 2009, and from standalone deployments between 2003 and 2006. With this study, we examine call characteristics and seasonal call counts for patterns that might indicate migratory movements or distinct acoustic populations. Both frequency and inter-pulse interval (IPI) are automatically extracted for each detected call and seasonal and inter-annual calling patterns are examined using daily binned call count histograms. Preliminary analysis of a subset of Cascadia Initiative data from 2011 to 2013 shows a dominant sequence of alternating classic and backbeat calls at center frequencies of 20 and 18.5 Hz, respectively, and preceding IPIs of 16 and 18 s, respectively.
ISSN:0001-4966
1520-8524
DOI:10.1121/1.4877654