02857nas a2200181 4500008004100000245009900041210006900140520225500209100002302464700002002487700002202507700001902529700001702548700002002565700002702585700002202612856004102634 2016 eng d00aPreliminary Report on Long-term Detection of Arabian Sea Humpback Whale Vocalizations off Oman0 aPreliminary Report on Longterm Detection of Arabian Sea Humpback3 a

This report presents an overview of the progress to date on the humpback whale detection component of the Arabian Sea Humpback Whale Acoustic Research program off Oman. Three archival acoustic recorders were deployed at sites in two regions for approximately one year each, in Hallaniyats Bay during 2011/2012, and the Gulf of Masirah during 2012/2013. Performance of recorders varied among deployments, but despite some challenges due to equipment failures we succeeded in documenting spatiotemporal patterns in the presence of humpback whales in a large dataset. Several key findings broaden our understanding of the Arabian Sea humpback whale population off Oman. There appears a strong seasonal component to the use of song by this population, primarily from November through May, which is congruent with the Northern Hemisphere breeding cycle and singing season. Throughout this period, singing was heard in both Hallaniyats Bay and the Gulf of Masirah, separated by approximately 400km, indicating that the population utilizes both of these regions. However, there was a much stronger presence in Hallaniyats Bay, with song heard nearly 24 hours/day during the peak months, and song detected simultaneously at multiple sites across the Bay. Previous boat-based survey data indicated similar trends, however, given limitation in the duration of this fieldwork the current acoustic dataset provides a more reliable indication of this population’s breeding related activity. This suggests that the Hallaniyats Bay might serve as a more important habitat for breeding activity than the monitored region of the Gulf of Masirah. There also appeared to be a subtle northward shift in distribution of detections as the singing season progressed, both within Hallaniyats Bay, and from Hallaniyats Bay to the Gulf of Masirah, suggesting a seasonal shift in distribution for singing males. During the summer and autumn months, very little song was detected, however sparse detections indicate that whales are present in both regions during at least some of this period. It is recommended that similar acoustic monitoring be conducted in all range states of the population to elucidate spatiotemporal distribution throughout the Arabian Sea.

1 aCerchio, Salvatore1 aWillson, Andrew1 aMuirhead, Charles1 aMinton, Gianna1 aCollins, Tim1 aBaldwin, Robert1 aWillson, Maia, Sarrouf1 aHarthi, Suaad, Al uhttps://bio.acousti.ca/id/node/5791002484nas a2200253 4500008004100000245015800041210006900199260002000268300001100288490000600299520155400305653001101859653002601870653001901896653002501915653000901940100002301949700002801972700002202000700001702022700002702039700002602066856013802092 2018 eng d00aCulturally transmitted song exchange between humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae) in the southeast Atlantic and southwest Indian Ocean basins0 aCulturally transmitted song exchange between humpback whales iMe cApr-16-20182023 a1723050 v53 a

In migratory marine species, investigating population connectivity and structure can be challenging given barriers to dispersal are less evident and multiple factors may influence individual movement patterns. Male humpback whales sing a song display that can provide insights into contemporary connectivity patterns, as there can be a cultural exchange of a single, population-wide shared song type with neighbouring populations in acoustic contact. Here, we investigated song exchange between populations located on the east and west coasts of Africa using 5 years of concurrent data (2001–2005). Songs were qualitatively and quantitatively transcribed by measuring acoustic features of all song units and then compared using both Dice’s similarity index and the Levenshtein distance similarity index (LSI) to quantitatively calculate song similarity. Song similarity varied among individuals and potentially between populations depending on the year (Dice: 36–100%, LSI: 21–100%), suggesting varying levels of population connectivity and/or interchange among years. The high degree of song sharing indicated in this study further supports genetic studies that demonstrate interchange between these two populations and reinforces the emerging picture of broad-scale connectivity in Southern Hemisphere populations. Further research incorporating additional populations and years would be invaluable for better understanding of fine-scale, song interchange patterns between Southern Hemisphere male humpback whales.

10aAfrica10acultural transmission10ahumpback whale10apopulation structure10asong1 aGarland, Ellen, C.1 aCarvajal, Gabriella, A.1 aKing, Carissa, D.1 aCollins, Tim1 aRazafindrakoto, Yvette1 aRosenbaum, Howard, C. uhttp://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rsos.172305https://syndication.highwire.org/content/doi/10.1098/rsos.172305