01996nas a2200265   4500008004100000022001400041245007900055210006900134260002000203300001300223490000700236520110200243653002701345653002401372653002301396653002301419100001701442700002701459700002201486700001701508700002301525700002001548700001801568856014401586       2018                        eng d  a1744-956100aDolphins simplify their vocal calls in response to increased ambient noise0 aDolphins simplify their vocal calls in response to increased amb  cSep-05-20182022  a201804840 v143 a<p>Ocean noise varies spatially and temporally and is driven by natural and anthropogenic processes. Increased ambient noise levels can cause signal masking and communication impairment, affecting fitness and recruitment success. However, the effects of increasing ambient noise levels on marine species, such as marine mammals that primarily rely on sound for communication, are not well understood. We investigated the effects of concurrent ambient noise levels on social whistle calls produced by bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the western North Atlantic. Elevated ambient noise levels were mainly caused by ship noise. Increases in ship noise, both within and below the dolphins&#39; call bandwidth, resulted in higher dolphin whistle frequencies and a reduction in whistle contour complexity, an acoustic feature associated with individual identification. Consequently, the noise-induced simplification of dolphin whistles may reduce the information content in these acoustic signals and decrease effective communication, parent&ndash;offspring proximity or group cohesion.</p>
10aacoustic communication10aanthropogenic noise10abottlenose dolphin10avocal modification1 aFouda, Leila1 aWingfield, Jessica, E.1 aFandel, Amber, D.1 aGarrod, Aran1 aHodge, Kristin, B.1 aRice, Aaron, N.1 aBailey, Helen  uhttp://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0484https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0484