Are Killer Whales Yelling?
Killer whales raise their voices to be heard over boat noise, and the effort may be wearing the whales out as they try to find food amid dwindling numbers of salmon, new research says.
The killer whales of Puget Sound make more calls and clicks while foraging than while traveling, suggesting that such mealtime conservations are key to coordinating hunts, the work reveals.
Several types of vessels, from small whale-watching boats to large cruise ships, also traverse the coastal waters off Washington State and neighboring British Columbia, Canada.
"[The killer whales'] call exchange is incredibly important … and vessel noises have the potential to mask these calls," said research leader Marla Holt of Seattle's Northwest Fisheries Science Center, which is run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
