[SEMCO] News from NOAA -- Megapclicks Recorded in Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary

[Anne Smrcina]

Text Box:



Contact: Anne Smrcina/SBNMS *FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*
781-545-8026, ext. 204 or 781-738-2242 August 28, 2007

David Hall/NOAA Public Affairs
301-713-3066, ext. 191

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*SCIENTISTS RECORD FIRST “MEGAPCLICKS” FROM FEEDING HUMPBACK
WHALES IN NOAA’S STELLWAGEN BANK NATIONAL MARINE SANCTUARY*

For the first time, researchers have recorded “megapclicks” — a series 
of clicks and buzzes from humpback whales apparently associated with 
nighttime feeding behaviors — in and around NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank 
National Marine Sanctuary. As detailed in the most recent issue of the 
Royal Society journal /Biology Letters/, this study offers the first 
documentation that baleen whales produce this type of sound, normally 
associated with toothed whales and echolocation.

“We’ve known that humpback whales exhibit a variety of foraging 
behaviors and vocalizations, but these animals as well as other baleen 
whales were not known to produce broadband clicks in association with 
feeding,” said David Wiley, sanctuary research coordinator and leader of 
the research team. “However, recent work with special acoustic tags has 
made us reexamine our previous assumptions, with this expansion of the 
acoustic repertoire of humpback whales.”

The research team from the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Woods 
Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of New Hampshire, and NOAA’s 
National Marine Sanctuary Program used multi-sensor acoustic tags 
attached with suction cups to study whale behavior. The data provided a 
record of the whales’ underwater movements, including heading, pitch, 
roll, and sounds made and heard. During the tagging studies, broadband 
clicks were recorded exclusively during nighttime hours. Sharp body 
rolls also occurred at the end of click bouts containing buzzes, 
suggesting feeding episodes.

Alison Stimpert (HIMB), lead author on the paper, labeled the sounds 
“megapclicks” based on their form and the scientific name for humpback 
whales (/Megaptera novaeangliae/). This acoustically active species has 
been known to produce complex “songs” on their breeding grounds, but 
knowledge of sound production on northern feeding grounds has been limited.

The researchers report that the similarity of the megapclicks to sounds 
made by toothed whales suggests echolocation-assisted feeding behaviors, 
especially where buzzes at the end of a series of clicks appear to be 
associated with attempts to capture prey. The sounds may also be used to 
detect the sea floor or other large targets. Another possibility for the 
megapclicks could be to attract prey, such as herding schools of fish or 
chasing animals out of the sediments. But the research team notes that a 
lack of knowledge about baleen whale hearing and sound production 
prevents any definitive answers at this time about the function of the 
megapclicks.

Additional humpback whale tagging studies completed earlier this summer 
in the Stellwagen Bank sanctuary may provide further insights into sound 
production in northern feeding grounds.

The report appeared in the Aug. 8, 2007 on-line issue of /Biology 
Letters/. Funding for the project was provided by NOAA’s National Marine 
Sanctuary Program and the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College 
Program. Research was conducted under National Marine Fisheries Service 
permit no. 981-1707-00.

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary encompasses 842 square miles 
of ocean, stretching between Cape Ann and Cape Cod offshore of 
Massachusetts. Renowned for its scenic beauty and remarkable 
productivity, the sanctuary is renowned as a whale watching destination 
and supports a rich assortment of marine life, including marine mammals, 
seabirds, fishes, and marine invertebrates. The sanctuary’s position 
astride the historic shipping routes and fishing grounds for 
Massachusetts’ oldest ports also make it a repository for shipwrecks 
representing several hundred years of maritime transportation.

NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program seeks to increase the public 
awareness of America's marine resources and maritime heritage by 
conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration and educational 
programs. Today, the sanctuary program manages 13 national marine 
sanctuaries and one marine national monument that together encompass 
more than 150,000 square miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes 
natural and cultural resources.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety 
through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related 
events and information service delivery for transportation, and by 
providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine 
resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of 
Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 
countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring 
network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and 
protects.

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On the Web:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
NOAA Ocean Service: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov
NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program: http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary: http://stellwagen.noaa.gov

Reporters interested in reviewing a copy of the “Megapclicks” paper 
should contact:
Anne Smrcina at the sanctuary (anne.smrcina at noaa.gov) or
The Royal Society (http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk)