The long-range echo scene of the sperm whale biosonar.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Tonnesen P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7480161 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Closely related species are expected to diverge in foraging strategy, reflecting the evolutionary drive to optimize foraging performance. The most speciose cetacean genus, Mesoplodon, comprises beaked whales with little diversity in external morphology or diet, and overlapping distributions. Moreover, the few studied species of beaked whales (Ziphiidae) show very similar foraging styles with slow, energy-conserving movement during long, deep foraging dives. This raises the question of what factors drive their speciation. Using data from animal-attached tags and aerial imagery, we tested the hypothesis that two similar-sized mesoplodonts, Sowerby's (Mesoplodon bidens) and Blainville's (Mesoplodon densirostris) beaked whales, exploit a similar low-energy niche. We show that, compared with the low-energy strategist Blainville's beaked whale, Sowerby's beaked whale lives in the fast lane. While targeting a similar mesopelagic/bathypelagic foraging zone, they consistently swim and hunt faster, perform shorter deep dives, and echolocate at a faster rate with higher frequency clicks. Further, extensive near-surface travel between deep dives challenges the interpretation of beaked whale shallow inter-foraging dives as a management strategy for decompression sickness. The distinctively higher frequency echolocation clicks do not hold apparent foraging benefits. Instead, we argue that a high-speed foraging style influences dive duration and echolocation behaviour, enabling access to a distinct prey population. Our results demonstrate that beaked whales exploit a broader diversity of deep-sea foraging and energetic niches than hitherto suspected. The marked deviation of Sowerby's beaked whales from the typical ziphiid foraging strategy has potential implications for their response to anthropogenic sounds, which appears to be strongly behaviourally driven in other ziphiids.
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Project description:1. Sperm-whale ferrimyoglobin was found to contain 0.308% of Fe, on a dry weight basis, corresponding to a molecular weight of 18130. The solid takes up moisture to an equilibrium state, and was then assayed to contain 0.280% of Fe. 2. Absorption spectra are presented for acidic ferrimyoglobin, Fe(+)(H(2)O), and its conjugate base, Fe-OH, as well as for the fluoride and cyanide complexes, within the range 200-2500mmu. Data for ferromyoglobin-carbon monoxide, Fe(II)-CO, in the visible region are also included. 3. Minor spectral differences have been found between whale and horse myoglobins, particularly in the effect of temperature on the visible-absorption spectrum of Fe-OH.
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Project description:The sperm whale, made famous by Moby Dick, is one of the most fascinating of all ocean-dwelling species given their unique life history, novel physiological adaptations to hunting squid at extreme ocean depths, and their position as one of the earliest branching toothed whales (Odontoceti). We assembled the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) genome and resequenced individuals from multiple ocean basins to identify new candidate genes for adaptation to an aquatic environment and infer demographic history. Genes crucial for skin integrity appeared to be particularly important in both the sperm whale and other cetaceans. We also find sperm whales experienced a steep population decline during the early Pleistocene epoch. These genomic data add new comparative insight into the evolution of whales.
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Project description:Cetaceans inhabit oceans throughout the world. Four specific odontocetes, namely Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), Indo Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), and dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima), have occasionally been found stranded along Thailand's coastal waters (the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand). Although shared haplotypes of each species for many locations have been found, and some species have revealed genetic structure through haplotype networks, cetaceans in Thai waters have never been investigated in terms of comparing haplotypes to those that have existed before. Herein, we have illustrated the matrilineally phylogeographic relationships among worldwide populations through Bayesian Phylogenetic tree computations using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) and Median-Joining Networks (MJNs). Unique haplotypes of the control region mitochondrial DNA of Thai odontocetes were found for all species. Moreover, a high degree of worldwide haplotype diversity (hd) above 0.8 among the four species was detected, while the lowest degree of nucleotide diversity (π) was observed in the Indo Pacific finless porpoise (1.12% ± 0.184%). An expansion of the effective female population size worldwide of three odontocete species was detected using Bayesian Skyline Reconstruction, but this did not include the Indo Pacific finless porpoise. Because Thai seas are located within the Indo Polynesian province, where this biodiversity hotspot exists, we speculate that these odontocetes may also inhabit specific habitats within the Malay Peninsula and Thailand's territorial waters. Therefore, closer attention and monitoring of these cetacean populations will be necessary for future conservation efforts.
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Project description:Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) populations were expected to rebuild following the end of commercial whaling. We document the decline of the population in the eastern Caribbean by tracing demographic changes of well-studied social units. We address hypotheses that, over a ten-year period of dedicated effort (2005-2015), unit size, numbers of calves and/or calving rates have each declined. Across 16 units, the number of adults decreased in 12 units, increased in two, and showed no change in two. The number of adults per unit decreased at -0.195 individuals/yr (95% CI: -0.080 to -0.310; P = 0.001). The number of calves also declined, but the decline was not significant. This negative trend of -4.5% per year in unit size started in about 2010, with numbers being fairly stable until then. There are several natural and anthropogenic threats, but no well-substantiated cause for the decline.
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Project description:Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick was inspired by historical instances in which large sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus L.) sank 19th century whaling ships by ramming them with their foreheads. The immense forehead of sperm whales is possibly the largest, and one of the strangest, anatomical structures in the animal kingdom. It contains two large oil-filled compartments, known as the "spermaceti organ" and "junk," that constitute up to one-quarter of body mass and extend one-third of the total length of the whale. Recognized as playing an important role in echolocation, previous studies have also attributed the complex structural configuration of the spermaceti organ and junk to acoustic sexual selection, acoustic prey debilitation, buoyancy control, and aggressive ramming. Of these additional suggested functions, ramming remains the most controversial, and the potential mechanical roles of the structural components of the spermaceti organ and junk in ramming remain untested. Here we explore the aggressive ramming hypothesis using a novel combination of structural engineering principles and probabilistic simulation to determine if the unique structure of the junk significantly reduces stress in the skull during quasi-static impact. Our analyses indicate that the connective tissue partitions in the junk reduce von Mises stresses across the skull and that the load-redistribution functionality of the former is insensitive to moderate variation in tissue material parameters, the thickness of the partitions, and variations in the location and angle of the applied load. Absence of the connective tissue partitions increases skull stresses, particularly in the rostral aspect of the upper jaw, further hinting of the important role the architecture of the junk may play in ramming events. Our study also found that impact loads on the spermaceti organ generate lower skull stresses than an impact on the junk. Nevertheless, whilst an impact on the spermaceti organ would reduce skull stresses, it would also cause high compressive stresses on the anterior aspect of the organ and the connective tissue case, possibly making these structures more prone to failure. This outcome, coupled with the facts that the spermaceti organ houses sensitive and essential sonar producing structures and the rostral portion of junk, rather than the spermaceti organ, is frequently a site of significant scarring in mature males suggest that whales avoid impact with the spermaceti organ. Although the unique structure of the junk certainly serves multiple functions, our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the structure also evolved to function as a massive battering ram during male-male competition.
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Project description:Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) are unusual in that there is good evidence for sympatric populations with distinct culturally determined behaviour, including potential acoustic markers of the population division. In the Pacific, socially segregated, vocal clans with distinct dialects coexist; by contrast, geographical variation in vocal repertoire in the Atlantic has been attributed to drift. We examine networks of acoustic repertoire similarity and social interactions for 11 social units in the Eastern Caribbean. We find the presence of two socially segregated, sympatric vocal clans whose dialects differ significantly both in terms of categorical coda types produced by each clan (Mantel test between clans: matrix correlation?=?0.256; p???0.001) and when using classification-free similarity which ignores defined types (Mantel test between clans: matrix correlation?=?0.180; p???0.001). The more common of the two clans makes a characteristic 1?+?1?+?3 coda, while the other less often sighted clan makes predominantly regular codas. Units were only observed associating with other units within their vocal clan. This study demonstrates that sympatric vocal clans do exist in the Atlantic, that they define a higher order level of social organization as they do in the Pacific, and suggests that cultural identity at the clan level is probably important in this species worldwide.
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Project description:Apomyoglobin from sperm whale is often used for studies of ligand binding, protein folding, and protein stability. In an effort to describe its conformational properties in solution, homonuclear and heteronuclear (13C and 15N) NMR methods were applied to the protein in its native state. Assignments were confirmed for nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) involving side chain and backbone protons in the folded regions of the structure. These NOEs were used to derive distance restraints. The shifts induced by the hydrophobic dye 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) were inspected in the regions remote from its binding site and served as an indicator of conformational flexibility. 3JalphaH-NH values were obtained to assess dihedral angle averaging and to provide additional restraints. A family of structures was calculated with X-PLOR and an ab initio simulated annealing protocol using holomyoglobin as a template. Where the structure appeared well defined by chemical shift, line width, ANS perturbation, and density of NOEs, the low resolution model of apomyoglobin provides a valid approximation for the structure. The new model offers an improved representation of the folded regions of the protein, which encompass the A, B, E, helices as well as parts of the G and H helices. Regions that are less well defined at this stage of calculations include the CD corner and the end of the H-helix. The EF-F-FG segment remains uncharacterized.
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Project description:Many cellular proteins are multi-domain proteins. Coupled domain-domain interactions in these multidomain proteins are important for the allosteric relay of signals in the cellular signaling networks. We have initiated the application of neutron spin echo spectroscopy to the study of nanoscale protein domain motions on submicrosecond time scales and on nanometer length scale. Our NSE experiments reveal the activation of protein domain motions over a long distance of over more than 100 Å in a multidomain scaffolding protein NHERF1 upon binding to another protein Ezrin. Such activation of nanoscale protein domains motions is correlated with the allosteric assembly of multi-protein complexes by NHERF1 and Ezrin. Here, we summarize the theoretical framework that we have developed, which uses simple concepts from nonequilibrium statistical mechanics to interpret the NSE data, and employs a mobility tensor to describe nanoscale protein domain motion. Extracting nanoscale protein domain motion from the NSE does not require elaborate molecular dynamics simulations, or complex fits to rotational motion, or elastic network models. The approach is thus more robust than multiparameter techniques that require untestable assumptions. We also demonstrate that an experimental scheme of selective deuteration of a protein subunit in a complex can highlight and amplify specific domain dynamics from the abundant global translational and rotational motions in a protein. We expect NSE to provide a unique tool to determine nanoscale protein dynamics for the understanding of protein functions, such as how signals are propagated in a protein over a long distance to a distal domain.
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Project description:Here, we describe the diving behavior of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) using the Advanced Dive Behavior (ADB) tag, which records depth data at 1-Hz resolution and GPS-quality locations for over 1 month, before releasing from the whale for recovery. A total of 27 ADB tags were deployed on sperm whales in the central Gulf of California, Mexico, during spring 2007 and 2008, of which 10 were recovered for data download. Tracking durations of all tags ranged from 0 to 34.5 days (median = 2.3 days), and 0.6 to 26.6 days (median = 5.0 days) for recovered tags. Recovered tags recorded a median of 50.8 GPS-quality locations and 42.6 dives per day. Dive summary metrics were generated for archived dives and were subsequently classified into six categories using hierarchical cluster analysis. A mean of 77% of archived dives per individual were one of four dive categories with median Maximum Dive Depth >290 m (V-shaped, Mid-water, Benthic, or Variable), likely associated with foraging. Median Maximum Dive Depth was <30 m for the other two categories (Short- and Long-duration shallow dives), likely representing socializing or resting behavior. Most tagged whales remained near the tagging area during the tracking period, but one moved north of Isla Tiburón, where it appeared to regularly dive to, and travel along the seafloor. Three whales were tagged on the same day in 2007 and subsequently traveled in close proximity (<1 km) for 2 days. During this period, the depth and timing of their dives were not coordinated, suggesting they were foraging on a vertically heterogeneous prey field. The multiweek dive records produced by ADB tags enabled us to generate a robust characterization of the diving behavior, activity budget, and individual variation for an important predator of the mesopelagos over temporal and spatial scales not previously possible.
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