title: Vocalization characteristics of North Atlantic right whale surface active groups in the calving habitat, southeastern United States.
abstract: Passive acoustic surveys were conducted to assess the vocal behavior of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the designated critical calving habitat along the shallow coastal waters of southeastern United States. Underwater vocalizations were recorded using autonomous buoys deployed in close proximity to surface active groups (SAGs). Nine main vocalization types were identified with manual inspection of spectrograms, and standard acoustic descriptors were extracted. Classification trees were used to examine the distinguishing characteristics of calls and quantify their variability within the SAG vocal repertoire. The results show that descriptors of frequency, bandwidth, and spectral disorder are the most important parameters for partitioning the SAG repertoire, contrary to duration-related measures. The reported source levels and vocalization statistics provide sound production data vital to inform regional passive acoustic monitoring and conservation for this endangered species.
authors: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US 1 North, Florida 34946.
authors: Vasilis
authors: V
authors: Trygonis
authors: Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Florida 33431.
authors: Edmund
authors: E
authors: Gerstein
authors: Marine Resources Council, Palm Bay, 5215 SE Williams Way, Stuart, Florida 34997.
authors: Jim
authors: J
authors: Moir
authors: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University, 5600 US 1 North, Florida 34946.
authors: Stephen
authors: S
authors: McCulloch
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics / Q000295:instrumentation; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017753:Ecosystem; D056727:Endangered Species; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D012098:Reproduction; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D012919:Social Behavior; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013045:Species Specificity; D014160:Transducers, Pressure; D014828:Vocalization, Animal / Q000145:classification; D014907:Whales / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology