@article {58484,
	title = {Mid-frequency song and low-frequency calls of sei whales in the Falkland Islands},
	journal = {Royal Society Open Science},
	volume = {9},
	year = {2022},
	abstract = {<p>Although sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) are distributed throughout the globe, their behaviour and vocal repertoire are poorly described. We used passive acoustic monitoring to describe the vocal behaviour of sei whales in the Falkland Islands, between December 2018 and April 2019. We isolated more than 2000 low-frequency calls for manual classification, of which 510 calls with high signal-to-noise ratio were quantitatively measured. Five categories of stereotyped call types in the 15\&ndash;230 Hz range were described, some with multiple subcategories. These included some similar to previously described calls (e.g. downsweeps), but others that were novel in acoustic structure and frequency band. In the mid-frequency range, we documented a highly stereotyped, hierarchically structured and rhythmically repetitive song display. Songs were arranged in phrases with a structure composed of repetitive sub- phrases, and a diverse variety of sounds in the 1\&ndash;5 kHz range. Singing commenced in late February, despite the presence of whales and calls since early December, and continued through April. These acoustic properties and behavioural characteristics indicate that this is likely a male breeding display similar to songs and singing of other balaenopterids. This is the first detailed description of a song display for sei whales, highlighting the importance of the Falkland Islands.</p>
},
	keywords = {Balaenoptera borealis, low-frequency calls, passive acoustic monitoring, singing behaviour, song display},
	doi = {10.1098/rsos.220738},
	author = {Salvatore Cerchio and Caroline R. Weir}
}
@article {58467,
	title = {Temporal occurrence of three blue whale populations in New Zealand waters from passive acoustic monitoring},
	journal = {Journal of Mammalogy},
	year = {2022},
	abstract = {<p>Describing spatial and temporal occurrence patterns of wild animal populations is important for understanding their evolutionary trajectories, population connectivity, and ecological niche specialization, with relevance for effective management. Throughout the world, blue whales produce stereotyped songs that enable identification of separate acoustic populations. We harnessed continuous acoustic recordings from five hydrophones deployed in the South Taranaki Bight (STB) region of Aotearoa New Zealand from January 2016 to February 2018. We examined hourly presence of songs from three different blue whale populations to investigate their contrasting ecological use of New Zealand waters. The New Zealand song was detected year-round with a seasonal cycle in intensity (peak February\&ndash;July), demonstrating the importance of the region to the New Zealand population as both a foraging ground and potential breeding area. The Antarctic song was present in two distinct peaks each year (June\&ndash;July; September\&ndash;October) and predominantly at the offshore recording locations, suggesting northbound and southbound migration between feeding and wintering grounds. The Australian song was only detected during a 10-day period in January 2017, implying a rare vagrant occurrence. We therefore infer that the STB region is the primary niche of the New Zealand population, a migratory corridor for the Antarctic population, and outside the typical range of the Australian population.</p>
},
	keywords = {bioacoustics, blue whale, distribution, ecology, marine mammals, New Zealand, passive acoustic monitoring, populations, vocalizations},
	doi = {10.1093/jmammal/gyac106},
	url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyac106},
	author = {Dawn R Barlow and Holger Klinck and Dimitri Ponirakis and Mattea Holt Colberg and Leigh G. Torres}
}
