whales and dolphins communication

Echoing porpoise clicks as an alert

2008-09-09T18:51:00.004-05:00

Extract from http://tinyurl.com/3ye7jp :

The PPD alerts porpoises to the presence of fishing nets using resonant acoustic reflectors that increase the net’s “acoustic visibility”, and do so in a less complicated way than the currently used pingers.

When a porpoise emits a click, the reflectors transmit back a stronger echo, making the reflectors appear to the porpoise to be much larger objects than they are, and thus alerting them to danger.

Marine Mammal Bibliography Web Site

2008-09-07T18:14:00.000-05:00

Marine Mammal Bibliography web site - scientific articles:

http://www.mmbib.com/news.php

NRDC.org Protecting Wales from Dangerous Sonar

2008-09-07T17:58:00.004-05:00

This page has links to NRDC's pdf file and a movie narrated by Pierce Brosnan.

http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/sound/contents.asp

Extract from http://johnmuir.ucdavis.edu/featurettes/lethal_sound.html:

High-intensity military sonar, which generates sound at levels in the range of 235 dB, has been proven to disturb, injure and even kill marine mammals. The Navy’s mid-frequency sonar devices are in widespread use and have been definitively connected to mass strandings of whales. The Navy’s Low Frequency Active Sonar, in the early stage of deployment around the world, carries for hundreds of miles. Even 100 miles from the source sound levels can approach 160 decibels. During tests near Alaska, the Navy calculated sound levels of 140 decibels 300 miles from the source ship -- an intensity level approximately 100 times more intense than the noise aversion threshold for gray whales.

Great and rare images of Beaked Whales from the Washington Post

The 2007 WP article is here.

Time Mag. Writes About Japanese Dolphin Hunt

2008-09-07T17:50:00.001-05:00

The Time magazine published and article about the horrible dolphin hunt in Japan.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1668448,00.html

Dolphin communicates with Pygmy Sperm Whales

2008-03-16T09:47:00.001-05:00

Eye witness report (anecdotal info): Moko the dolphin comes to the rescue of a Pygmy Sperm Whale and her calf who repeatedly stranded despite much help by an expert, Malcolm Smith. Moko swims between M. Smith and the whales, communicates with them and gets them to follow her to safety.

http://tinyurl.com/2wx7ht

Interspecies communication.

The witness, Malcolm Smith, is an experienced field worker for the New Zealand Department of Conservation.

Thanks Mark.

Most Impressive Video of Dolphins with Tores

2008-01-22T21:02:00.000-05:00

This most impressive video shows the skill and intelligence of a captive dolphin to create a very subtle game with tores (circular bubble) of air generated with its blow hole and manipulated with its mouth.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1041454/dolphin_play_bubble_rings/

David Rothenberg Plays Music with Belugas

2008-01-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILPzkze3RHw

David Rothenberg does two way underwater communication experiments with Belugas in the wild. One of the most advanced communication research in the world today, at least in the non-military field.

David has written a book on his work, to be published later in 2008: Thousand mile song.

http://www.whsmith.co.uk/CatalogAndSearch/ProductDetails-Thousand+Mile+Song+-9780465071289.html

"Whale song is an astonishing world of sound whose existence no one suspected before the 1960s. Its discovery has forced us to confront the possibility of an alien intelligence not in outer space but right here on earth. This title uses the enigma of whale sounds to open up whales' underwater world of sonic mystery."

Xanadu Halkias, leading researcher

2008-01-22T20:42:00.000-05:00

http://www.ee.columbia.edu/~xanadu/research.html

Xanadu Halkias, leading researcher in dolphin communication.

Theory of Mind in Apes

2008-01-22T20:37:00.000-05:00

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/monkey-200801.html?c=y&page=1

From The Smithsonian:

Santos' interest here is in what psychologists call "theory of mind," the ability to impute thoughts and intentions to another individual, one of the cornerstones of human cognition. "Sitting here talking with you," Santos explains, "all I can see is your behavior, but I draw inferences about your desires and thoughts. The interesting question is, how far back in evolutionary time does that ability extend? Can it exist without language?" As recently as a decade ago, the conventional wisdom doubted that even chimpanzees, which are more closely related to human beings than are monkeys, possessed theory of mind. This view is changing, in large measure because of the work of Santos and her collaborators. With her students in tow and a small bag of grapes in her pocket, Santos is now out to demonstrate the phenomenon—if a Macaca mulatta can be induced to cooperate.

Beautiful : earthOCEAN.tv

2008-01-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

Beautiful and informative new web site:

http://earthOCEAN.tv

PDF on Passive Acoustic Monitoring - 10 Pages

2008-01-22T20:01:00.000-05:00

Excellent overview of the domain, from Dr. David K. Mellinger, a world-leading researcher in cetacean acoustics, NOAA, et al.:

ftp://newportftp.pmel.noaa.gov/newport/mellinger/papers/MellingerEtAl07-AcousticCetaceanObservation.pdf

Terri Irwin trying to stop Japanese Whalers

2008-01-22T19:54:00.000-05:00

Terri Irwin is working with Oregon State University to do some research on whales that will show that Japan's excuse for killing whales is a scam.

http://mmi.oregonstate.edu/

Dolphin helped by people

2008-01-22T19:43:00.000-05:00

This dolphin caught in a rope was rescued and needed to be escorted to sea by Mike Cemm, near Dorset, UK.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/7200311.stm

Apparently true story of a surfer saved by a few dolphins

2007-11-11T21:27:00.000-05:00

Apparently true story of a man saved by a few dolphins. Typical plot:
- surfer bitten by large shark,
- dolphins surround the man to prevent shark from killing the man,
- man reaches shore and survives to tell the tale.

From http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21689083/

Dolphins save surfer from becoming shark’s bait
A pod of bottlenose dolphins helped protect the severely injured boarder

Nov. 8: Todd Endris was surfing when he was bitten by a 12- to 15-foot shark, but thanks to a couple of Flippers and a friend he survived. TODAY anchor Meredith Vieira reports.

Surfer Todd Endris needed a miracle. The shark, a monster great white that came out of nowhere, had hit him three times, peeling the skin off his back and mauling his right leg to the bone.

That’s when a pod of bottlenose dolphins intervened, forming a protective ring around Endris, allowing him to get to shore, where quick first aid provided by a friend saved his life.

Truly a miracle, Endris told TODAY’s Natalie Morales on Thursday.

The attack occurred on Tuesday, Aug. 28, just before 11 a.m. at Marina State Park off Monterey, Calif., where the 24-year-old owner of Monterey Aquarium Services had gone with friends for a day of the sport they love. Nearly four months later, Endris, who is still undergoing physical therapy to repair muscle damage suffered during the attack, is back in the water and on his board in the same spot where he almost lost his life.

[It] came out of nowhere. There’s no warning at all.

Maybe I saw him a quarter second before it hit me. But no warning. It was just a giant shark, Endris said. It just shows you what a perfect predator they really are.

The shark, estimated at 12 to 15 feet long, hit him first as Endris was sitting on his surfboard, but couldn’t get its monster jaws around both surfer and surfboard. The second time, he came down and clamped on my torso sandwiched my board and my torso in his mouth, Endris said.

That attack shredded his back, literally peeling the skin back, he said, like a banana peel. But because Endris’ stomach was pressed to the surfboard, his intestines and internal organs were protected.

The third time, the shark tried to swallow Endris’ right leg, and he said that was actually a good thing, because the shark’s grip anchored him while he kicked the beast in the head and snout with his left leg until it let go.

The dolphins, which had been cavorting in the surf all along, showed up then. They circled him, keeping the shark at bay, and enabled Endris to get back on his board and catch a wave to the shore.

Our finned friends
No one knows why dolphins protect humans, but stories of the marine mammals rescuing humans go back to ancient Greece, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.

A year ago in New Zealand, the group reports, four lifeguards were saved from sharks in the same way Endris was by dolphins forming a protective ring.

Though horribly wounded, Endris said he didn’t think he was going to die. Actually, it never crossed my mind, he told Morales.

It did, though, cross the minds of others on the beach, including some lifeguards who told his friend, Brian Simpson, that Endris wasn’t going to make it.

Simpson is an X-ray technician in a hospital trauma center, and he’d seen badly injured people before. He had seen Endris coming in and knew he was hurt.

I was expecting him to have leg injuries, he told Morales. It was a lot worse than I was expecting.

Blood was pumping out of the leg, which had been bitten to the bone, and Endris, who lost half his blood, was ashen white. To stop the blood loss, Simpson used his surf leash as a tourniquet, which probably saved his life.

Thanks to this guy, Endris said, referring to Simpson, who sat next to him in the TODAY studio, once I got to the beach, he was calming me down and keeping me from losing more blood by telling me to slow my breathing and really just be calm. They wouldn’t let me look at my wounds at all, which really helped.

A medivac helicopter took him to a hospital, where a surgeon had to first figure out what went where before putting him back together.

It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, Endris said.

...

The shark went on its way, protected inside the waters of the park, which is a marine wildlife refuge. Endris wouldn’t want it any other way.

I wouldn’t want to go after the shark anyway, he said. We’re in his realm, not the other way around.

Fin Whales - Greyhounds of the Sea - 20 Knots Easy

2007-10-12T18:36:00.000-05:00

CERSI, based in Sept-îles, reports: Two fin whales were seen swimming a linear trajectory in a synchronized manner, one behind the other. Swimming powerfully and rapidly, the animals dived for only short periods just beneath the surface. Their heads and blows created an explosive noise each time they surfaced. The two fin whales maintained formation for 10 breathing sequences out of 12: one behind the other, with the lead animal slightly to the right. The research team was not able to track the whales for very long; they covered two nautical miles in six minutes at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/hr).

Source: http://www.whales-online.net/eng/FSC.html?sct=1&pag=1-1-1.html

Humpback Routes In Pacific by NOAA

2007-10-12T18:10:00.000-05:00

NOAA has a new map of travel routes of Humpback whales in the Pacific.

Excellent scientific evidence that for these whales, the Pacific, and maybe more, is theirs, their *land* has we would say. Entire oceans are where they live.

Cachalot Starring on YouTube

2007-10-08T16:20:00.000-05:00

Link to a video on YouTube showing a Cachalot, aka. Sperm Whale, touching an underwater robot.

Marine Mammal Bibliography

2007-10-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

Great new site with weekly listing of new scientific publications on marine mammals:
http://www.mmbib.com/news.html

Alex the parrot died recently - Pathology Results

2007-10-08T10:05:00.000-05:00

Alex, the one on the right, was a parrot, not a cetacean, but was extremely important in cognition and language research in all of history. The works of Dr Irene Pepperberg and her team were recognized by all major English-speaking science news channels when Alex died Sept. 6, 2007. We are supporting them in this difficult period and also supporting the continuation of their research with their other two younger parrots.

http://www.alexfoundation.org/

Posted on http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlexFoundation/ by: "Jaimi @ The Alex Foundation" greyburd@remembering-alex.org
Thu Oct 4, 2007 9:01 am (PST)

Alex died quickly. He had a sudden, unexpected catastrophic event associated with arterosclerosis ("hardening of the arteries"). It was either a fatal arrhythmia, heart attack or stroke, which caused him to die suddenly with no suffering. There was no way to predict his demise. All of his tests, including his cholesterol level and as per levels, came back normal earlier that week. His death could not be connected to his current diet or his age; our veterinarian said that she has seen similar events in young (<10 year old) birds on healthy diets. Most likely, genetics or the same kind of low-level (impossible to detect in birds as yet) inflammatory disease that is related to heart disease in humans was responsible. We will have no further information.

WATCH: Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats

2007-08-26T18:35:00.000-05:00

Meeting organized by the UNEP Convention on the Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals (CMS) as part of the Year of the Dolphin
campaign:

WATCH - Western African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats

WATCH is a series of scientific and inter-governmental meetings on
marine mammals that will take place in Adeje, Tenerife, Spain, during
the week of 16-20 October 2007.

WATCH will be divided in three main sessions:

1) A one-day session open to governments, institutions,
non-governmental organisations and the private sector to discuss threats
to and challenges for the conservation of cetaceans in the Eastern
Atlantic Ocean;

2) A one-day whale watching capacity building workshop to present
and discuss best practices in the region and worldwide, including a
whale watching tour;

3) A three-day negotiation session between the Range States (open
to invited observers) to agree on a Conservation and Action Plan for
Small Cetaceans in Western African Waters, and determine the scope and
format of a new CMS instrument for the Conservation of the West African
Manatee and Cetaceans of the Eastern Atlantic Basin.

More information on the background of CMS's initiative, the meeting and
logistics can be found at http://www.cms.int/species/waam/watch.htm,
which is regularly being updated.

For all queries, please contact:

Ms Heidrun Frisch

Marine Mammals Officer

UNEP/CMS Secretariat

Leafy Seadragon Demonstrated in Boston

2007-08-26T13:17:00.000-05:00

Leafy Seadragon, the first open source application to research cetacean communication by using two-way underwater acoustic interactions, was successfully demonstrated at the 3rd International Workshop on Detection and Classification of Marine Mammals using Passive Acoustics, on July 24, 2007, in Boston.

Ken Ekstrom from MIT did a great job with his audio equipment and personal whales and dolphins recordings. Thanks to Ken, we had a very entertaining poster session, with lots of whales and dolphins recordings.

Friendships were re-enforced and new friendships started.

Tourists Witness Japanese Killing of Beaked Whale

2007-08-26T11:32:00.000-05:00

From Yahoo! News:

Bloody whale hunt off Japan shocks tourists: report

Sat Aug 25, 1:46 PM ET

TOKYO (AFP) - Whale watching tourists encountered hunters in waters off northern Japan and witnessed the bloody killing of a Baird's Beaked Whale, a report said Saturday.

Some 20 tourists on board the whale-watching ship Evergreen, some of them foreigners, witnessed the hunt Friday morning off the eastern coast of Hokkaido island, touching Okhotsk Sea, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said.

The crew on Evergreen initially noticed a whaling ship and sprays from a whale's blowhole in waters about 3.5 kilometres (roughly 2.2 miles) away from them, the newspaper said, citing a Japanese whale watching guide.

When Evergreen approached within about 100 metres (330 feet) of the whaling ship, the tourists saw a harpoon shot into a Baird's Beaked Whale, according to the guide, the newspaper said.

Two other whale watching ships were also in the area, and the hunt sickened a few tourists and shocked children, the guide claimed, the Mainichi said.

Baird's Beaked Whale is not considered to be endangered.

"Our job is to show whales, and their job is to hunt. But can we do something about this situation?" the Evergreen's captain told the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the whaling ship has asked local authorities to warn tourism vessels that they have been getting too close to the whaling ship and operating dangerously, the Mainichi said.

TalkBank - Database on vocal communication of people and animals

2007-04-28T13:35:00.000-05:00

This page offers software and xml schemas for exchaning data on vocal communication. A very similar approach used by the Leafy Seadragon system.

TalkBank appears to be an academic site funded by the US National Science Foundation.

Appears to be mostly used for researching aphasia.

TODO read.

Sound in the Sea

2007-04-28T13:31:00.000-05:00

Great site on cetacean and underwater acoustics by the Univ. of Rhode Island. Many informative pages, such as:

How Marine Mammals Communicate Using Sound.

Visit the pages linked on the left side.

Research on Humpbacks around Hawai'i

2007-04-28T13:23:00.000-05:00

At the Pacific Whale Foundation. Is it still active in research?