title: Measuring Hearing in Wild Beluga Whales.
abstract: We measured the hearing abilities of seven wild beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) during a collection-and-release experiment in Bristol Bay, AK. Here we summarize the methods and initial data from one animal and discuss the implications of this experiment. Audiograms were collected from 4 to 150 kHz. The animal with the lowest threshold heard best at 80 kHz and demonstrated overall good hearing from 22 to 110 kHz. The robustness of the methodology and data suggest that the auditory evoked potential audiograms can be incorporated into future collection-and-release health assessments. Such methods may provide high-quality results for multiple animals, facilitating population-level audiograms and hearing measures in new species.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 266 Woods Hole Road, MRF MS50, Woods Hole, MA, 02543, USA. amooney@whoi.edu.
authors.forename: T Aran
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Mooney
authors.affiliation: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA. manuel.castellote@noaa.gov.|North Gulf Oceanic Society, Homer, AK, 99603, USA. manuel.castellote@noaa.gov.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Castellote
authors.affiliation: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Fairbanks, AK, 99701, USA. lori.quakenbush@alaska.gov.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Quakenbush
authors.affiliation: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Seattle, WA, 98115, USA.
authors.forename: Roderick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hobbs
authors.affiliation: Alaska SeaLife Center, Seward, AK, 99664, USA. rod.hobbs@noaa.gov.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Goertz
authors.affiliation: Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker Street NW, Atlanta, GA, 30313, USA. egaglione@georgiaaquarium.org.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gaglione
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild / Q000502:physiology*; D001131:Arkansas; D050643:Beluga Whale / Q000502:physiology*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology; D006309:Hearing / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Anthropogenic noise; Arctic; Cetacean; Marine mammal; Odontocete; Sensory