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Single-click beam patterns suggest dynamic changes to the field of view of echolocating Atlantic Spotted Dolphins (Stenella frontalis) in the wild

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Date
05/2015
Author
Jensen, Frants
Wahlberg, Magnus
Beedholm, Kristian
Johnson, Mark
Aguilar de Soto, Natacha
Madsen, Peter
Funder
European Commission
Grant ID
PCIG10-GA-2011-304132
Keywords
Echolation
Directionality
Biosonar
Perception
Toothed whales
Prey capture
QH301 Biology
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Abstract
Echolocating animals exercise an extensive control over the spectral and temporal properties of their biosonar signals to facilitate perception of their actively generated auditory scene when homing in on prey. The intensity and directionality of the biosonar beam defines the field of view of echolocating animals by affecting the acoustic detection range and angular coverage. However, the spatial relationship between an echolocating predator and its prey changes rapidly, resulting in different biosonar requirements throughout prey pursuit and capture. Here, we measured single-click beam patterns using a parametric fit procedure to test whether free-ranging Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) modify their biosonar beam width. We recorded echolocation clicks using a linear array of receivers and estimated the beam width of individual clicks using a parametric spectral fit, cross-validated with well-established composite beam pattern estimates. The dolphins apparently increased the biosonar beam width, to a large degree without changing the signal frequency, when they approached the recording array. This is comparable to bats that also expand their field of view during prey capture, but achieve this by decreasing biosonar frequency. This behaviour may serve to decrease the risk that rapid escape movements of prey take them outside the biosonar beam of the predator. It is likely that shared sensory requirements have resulted in bats and toothed whales expanding their acoustic field of view at close range to increase the likelihood of successfully acquiring prey using echolocation, representing a case of convergent evolution of echolocation behaviour between these two taxa.
Citation
Jensen , F , Wahlberg , M , Beedholm , K , Johnson , M , Aguilar de Soto , N & Madsen , P 2015 , ' Single-click beam patterns suggest dynamic changes to the field of view of echolocating Atlantic Spotted Dolphins ( Stenella frontalis ) in the wild ' , Journal of Experimental Biology , vol. 218 , pp. 1314-1324 . https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.116285
Publication
Journal of Experimental Biology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.116285
ISSN
0022-0949
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2015 The authors. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
Description
The study was funded by frame grants from the Danish Natural Science Foundation to P.T.M. and M.W., and by the National Oceanographic Partnership Programme via a research agreement between La Laguna University (N.A.d.S.) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (M.J.). F.H.J. was supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences, and is currently funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Carlsberg Foundation
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  • University of St Andrews Research
URL
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/218/9/1314.abstract
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/8414

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