NDLI: The “risky” business of singing: tactical use of song during joining by male humpback whales

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Dunlop, Rebecca A. ad, Michael J.
Copyright Year	2016
Abstract	Balancing the costs and benefits of emitting a mating signal is complex. There are direct costs, such as time taken away from essential activities like feeding, and indirect costs, such as attracting unintended receivers, who may gain advantageous information from eavesdropping. As a consequence, the signaler may reduce his chances of mating if the costs outweigh the benefits. Male humpback whales (Megaptera noveangliae) sing. Although it is still unclear whether this signal is aimed at males, females, or both, it is generally accepted this is a breeding signal emitted in the presence of females. This study tested the hypothesis that the cost of singing in humpback whales is attracting other competitors to the group and therefore reducing the chances of the singer successfully mating. Males should therefore “choose” to sing only if the social conditions are not “costly.” We found that males were less likely to sing when joining another group if there were two or more adults already in the group (other competitive males), if there was another singing male in the area (a known competitor), and in higher group densities (resulting in an increased likelihood of having another group, and therefore other competitive males close by). This result was confirmed in later years, where the density of whales had increased substantially but the probability of a male singing while joining other animals had reduced. These groups were more likely to be joined by additional animals in higher density, “riskier” conditions, especially if they included a whale that had joined the group previously while singing. It seems, therefore, that male humpback whales will join other animals while singing when the ‘audience’ comprises of fewer competitive males to reduce the potential cost of attracting eavesdroppers to the group.The likelihood of a male joining a group while singing was tested against within-group dynamics (number of additional competitive males, presence of a calf), the presence of a nearby singing whale, the nearest neighbor, and the number of groups in the area (group density). Whales were more likely to join groups while singing if there were no other competitive males in the group and no calf, if there were no other singing whales in the area, and if group density was low. In later years, group density substantially increased, resulting in a decrease in the likelihood of a whale joining a group while singing. Results suggest male humpback whales are monitoring their audience composition (surrounding conspecifics) and using this information to make “vocal decisions” when joining a group containing a female.
Starting Page	2149
Ending Page	2160
Page Count	12
File Format	PDF
ISSN	03405443
Journal	Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
Volume Number	70
Issue Number	12
e-ISSN	14320762
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2016-10-04
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Audience effect Communication strategy Communication network Vocal eavesdropping Sexual signal Behavioral Sciences Zoology Animal Ecology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

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