The Belukha whale : natural behavior and bioacoustics

Abstract

This monograph presents new original material on the behavior and bioacoustic signals of the belukha whale in its natural environment. A typological classification of the species' signals is based on researches that were conducted for many years. This book as well contains descriptions of the time-frequency characteristics of the main classes of sounds. Comparison of the behavior and signals of the belukha whale synchronized by time, enabled development of an ethological-acoustical model of individual behavioral activity in search and hunting, and this study reveals the function of certain sounds. Also, the study made it possible to obtain data on the navigational mechanism (or orientation mechanism) and emphasizes the role of sounds in all the different beharioral activities of the belukha whale. Studies conducted at the extreme points of its range enabled, for the first time, comparison of the ethological-acoustic attributes of the belukha whale in the White Sea and the Amur River estuary.