The newly described Araguaian river dolphins, Inia araguaiaensis (Cetartiodactyla, Iniidae), produce a diverse repertoire of acoustic signals

PeerJ

article

Gabriel Melo-Santos¹  Angélica Lúcia Figueiredo Rodrigues²  Rodrigo Hipólito Tardin⁶  Israel de Sá Maciel⁷  Miriam Marmontel⁴  Maria Luisa Da Silva³  Laura Johanna May-Collado⁹ 

[1] Sea Mammal Research Unit/Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews;BioMA—Biology and Conservation of Amazonian Aquatic Mammals;Graduate program in Theory and Research of Behavior, Universidade Federal do Pará;Research Group on Amazonian Aquatic Mammals, Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development;Laboratory of Ornithology and Bioacoustics, Universidade Federal do Pará;Department of Ecology, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro;Laboratory of Bioacoustics and Cetacean Ecology, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro;Graduate Program in Animal Biology, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro;Department of Biology, University of Vermont

关键词: Boto;    Behavior;    Acoustic communication;    Mother-calf pairs;    Non-linear phenomena;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.6670

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

The recent discovery of the Araguaian river dolphin (Inia araguaiaensis) highlights how little we know about the diversity and biology of river dolphins. In this study, we described the acoustic repertoire of this newly discovered species in concert with their behaviour. We analysed frequency contours of 727 signals (sampled at 10 ms temporal resolution). These contours were analyzed using an adaptive resonance theory neural network combined with dynamic time-warping (ARTwarp). Using a critical similarity value of 96%, frequency contours were categorized into 237 sound-types. The most common types were emitted when calves were present suggesting a key role in mother-calf communication. Our findings show that the acoustic repertoire of river dolphins is far from simple. Furthermore, the calls described here are similar in acoustic structure to those produced by social delphinids, such as orcas and pilot whales. Uncovering the context in which these signals are produced may help understand the social structure of this species and contribute to our understanding of the evolution of acoustic communication in whales.

【 授权许可】

CC BY