Range-dependent flexibility in the acoustic field of view of echolocating porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
- Aarhus University, Denmark
- University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
- University of St Andrews, Scotland
- University of Tübingen, Germany
Abstract
Toothed whales use sonar to detect, locate, and track prey. They adjust emitted sound intensity, auditory sensitivity and click rate to target range, and terminate prey pursuits with high-repetition-rate, low-intensity buzzes. However, their narrow acoustic field of view (FOV) is considered stable throughout target approach, which could facilitate prey escape at close-range. Here we show that, like some bats, harbour porpoises can broaden their biosonar beam during the terminal phase of attack but, unlike bats, maintain the ability to change beamwidth within this phase. Based on video, MRI, and acoustic-tag recordings, we propose this flexibility is modulated by the melon and implemented to accommodate dynamic spatial relationships with prey and acoustic complexity of surroundings. Despite independent evolution and different means of sound generation and transmission, whales and bats adaptively change their FOV, suggesting that beamwidth flexibility has been an important driver in the evolution of echolocation for prey tracking.
Article and author information
Author details
Ethics
Animal experimentation: The animals are maintained by Fjord&Belt, Denmark, under permits no. SN 343/FY-0014 from the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, and 1996-3446-0021 from the Danish Forest and Nature Agency (under the Danish Ministry of the Environment). Their care and all experiments are in strict accordance with the recommendations of the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (issuing the permit to keep the animals), the Danish Ministry of the Environment (permit for catching the animals) and the Danish Council for Experiments on Animals (always contacted for permits when appropriate - but in the case of this study such permit was not required).
Copyright
© 2015, Wisniewska et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 3,859
- views
-
- 597
- downloads
-
- 53
- citations
Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.
Download links
A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.
Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)
Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)
Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)
Range-dependent flexibility in the acoustic field of view of echolocating porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
eLife 4:e05651.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05651
Further reading
-
Porpoises use a sophisticated sonar system to locate and track prey.
-
- Ecology
Feral pigs threaten biodiversity in 54 countries and cause an estimated $120 billion in damages annually in the USA. They endanger over 600 native species and have driven 14 to extinction. Additionally, they pose a significant zoonotic disease risk, carrying pathogens such as Brucella, leptospirosis, and Japanese encephalitis. Understanding and controlling disease spread relies on models of social dynamics, but these vary widely across regions, limiting the transferability of findings from the USA and Europe to other locations like Australia. This study addresses this gap by analysing the social interactions of 146 GPS-tracked feral pigs in Australia using a proximity-based social network approach. Findings reveal that females exhibit stronger group cohesion, while males act as key connectors between groups. Contact rates are high within groups, facilitating rapid intra-group disease spread, whereas inter-group transmission is slower. Seasonal variations further impact dynamics, with increased contact in summer. These insights suggest that targeting adult males in control programs could help limit disease outbreaks. Given the rising economic and public health concerns associated with animal diseases, the study highlights the need for localized strategies based on feral pig social behaviour to enhance global control efforts.
