PATTERN SIMILARITY IN SHARED CODAS FROM SPERM WHALES (PHYSETER-CATODON)

KE MOORE*, WA WATKINS, Peter Lloyd Tyack

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Codas (patterned dick sequences) produced by sperm whales (Physeter catodon) were recorded during four research cruises in the southeast Caribbean. Two coda patterns comprised more than 50% of the codas analyzed from 46 h of recording. These two patterns were called ''shared'' codas because they were produced by numerous whales throughout the area, both as repeated sequences by individual whales, at times simultaneously by two or more whales, and occasionally in overlapping series. Analyses of both the absolute timing and the relative timing of click intervals indicate equivalent variability in the temporal patterns of similar shared codas, whether produced by the same or different whales. The shared codas appear to have a function that is different from individual identification as hypothesized previously for some coda patterns.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalMarine Mammal Science
Volume9
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Jan 1993

Keywords

  • PHYSETER-CATODON
  • SPERM WHALES
  • SHARED CODAS
  • CODAS

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