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Marine biologist Philip Clapham describes the song as "probably the most complex in the animal kingdom." [11] Male humpback whales perform these vocalizations often during the mating season, and so it was initially believed the purpose of songs is to aid mate selection. [12] However, no evidence was found that links these songs to reprosexuality.
Because all marine mammals have excellent underwater hearing, transients probably remain silent until they have caught their prey to avoid detection by acoustically sensitive animals. For the same reason, the mammal-eating orcas tend to restrict their echolocation, occasionally using just a single click (called a cryptic click) rather than the ...
Toothed whales (odontocetes) pass air through a system of air sacs and muscular phonic lips, which vibrate to produce audible vocalizations, thus serving the function of vocal folds in other mammals. [4] Sound vibrations are conveyed to an organ in the head called the melon, which can be changed in shape to control and direct vocalizations. [5]
The melon is structurally part of the nasal apparatus and comprises most of the mass tissue between the blowhole and the tip of the snout. The function of the melon is not completely understood, but scientists believe it is a bioacoustic component, providing a means of focusing sounds used in echolocation and creating a similarity between characteristics of its tissue and the surrounding water ...
The vocalizations produced by the bearded seal are very unique, possibly because their trachea is different from that of other Northern Pacific phocids. A majority of the rings in the trachea are incomplete with only a membrane attaching the two ends. [24] Sample of underwater bearded seal vocalizations taken using a hydrophone
Hubbs' beaked whale skull located at the California Academy of Sciences San Francisco. Hubbs’ beaked whale M. carlhubbsi has a light ventral surface and a midventral portion grading from white to medium gray dorsally.
The vocalizations of the harbour porpoise is made up of short clicks from 0.5 to 5 milliseconds in bursts up to two seconds long. Each click has a frequency between 1000 and 2200 hertz. Aside from communication, the clicks are used for echolocation. [10]
The California sea lion is used in military applications by the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, including detecting naval mines and enemy divers. In the Persian Gulf , the animals can swim behind divers approaching a US naval ship and attach a clamp with a rope to the diver's leg.