Sperm Whales Physeter Macrocephalus Breena Martin, David Glasser, Brian Gregory

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Sperm WhalesPhyseter MacrocephalusBreena
Martin, David Glasser, Brian Gregory
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Sperm Whale Tax.

• Kingdom Animalia
• Class Mammalia
• Order Cetacea
• Suborder Odontoceti
• Family Physeteridae
• Genus/species Physeter macrocephalus

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Sperm Whale Facts

• Highest Sexual Dimorphism of all the Cetaceans
• -males 59 ft
• -females 39 ft
• Nose area accounts for 1/3 of total body length
  and weight.
• Has the worlds largest brain.
• Distinct taxonomically
• -Physteroid fossils date
• back 5-10 mya.
• Long lifespan 60-70 years
• Low mortality rates
• Prolonged prenatal care
• suckle moms for up to 5 years

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Oceanic Relatives

• Taxonomically related to
• Pygmy sperm whale
• Kogia breviceps
• and
• Dwarf sperm whales
• Kogia simus
• Both approaching extinction levels

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Terrestrial Relatives
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Sperm whale Distribution

• Found through-out the world
• Only large males migrate to polar regions.
• Females and immatures stay in temperate or
  tropical waters

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Early History

• 2 Massive Hunts
• 1840
• Oil lubricated Industrial Revolution
• 1960
• Killled at rate of 20,000/year

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Status of Sperm Whales

• Although, hunted near extinction
• There are estimated to be 200,000 Physeter
  macrocephalus alive today.
• In 1988, IWC banned hunting sperm whales
• Status Vulnerable

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Methods for Studying

• Difficult, difficult, difficult
• Deep divers (30-60 minutes at a time)
• Small blow seen above surface
• Large home range
• Studies very expensive
• Detected by distinct click
• Determine size by inter click intervals
• 2. Stereophotography
• Measure of living sperm whale
• Show whale, horizon and take size calculations
  with height
• 3. Depth time recorders
• 4. biopsy/skin/fecal samples
• 5. Whaling information

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Habitat

• Sperm whales are found anywhere in the deep
  ocean
• More frequently found in geographic areas
  spanning 300 1500km (grounds)
• Grounds are believed to be regions of primary
  productivity due to upwelling
• Female sperm whales are rarely found in water
  less than 1000 meters deep
• Males are usually found in deep water except in
  the western North Atlantic, where males are
  consistently in 40 500 meters deep

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Latitudinal Distribution

• Females immatures are often found in latitudes
  less than 40 degrees except in North Pacific (up
  to 50 degrees north)
• Males generally move to higher latitudes as they
  mature
• The largest males are found in waters close to
  the ice edge in both hemispheres

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Latitudinal Distribution
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Spatial Aggregation

• Clusters consist of 2-40 animals swimming
  together several meters apart at surface
• In females immatures, clusters suggest an
  apparently complex social structure
• Units consist of about 10 animals (females)
• Groups consist of about 20 animals
• Aggregations consist of 40 animals
• Geographic concentrations consist of 1000
  animals

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Spatial Organization
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Predators

• Internal parasites, especially helminthes
  external parasites
• Large sharks
• Pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus
• False killer whales, Pseudorca crassidens
• Killer whales, Orcinus orca

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Behavior During Attacks

• Marguerite or Rosette formation
• Shoulder to shoulder defense
• Spindle formation
• Calves injured animals are protected
• Possible alarm call to other sperm whales in the
  area for help

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Relationship Between Females

• Females are usually found in groups of 20
• Galapagos units range between 3-24 animals, with
  an average of 12
• Some pairs of females remain in the same group
  for years, usually close relations
• Its suggested that groups consist of one or more
  matrilines

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Care of Calves

• Calves associate with different adults
  immatures within the unit
• Calves suckle from different females
• Females take communal defensive measures during
  attack to protect calves
• Calving rate is one every five years

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Relationship Between Males

• Smaller males of the same size are found in loose
  aggregations (bachelor schools)
• All-male aggregations become smaller as animals
  grow move to higher latitudes
• Breeding males seem to avoid one another
• Males do fight each other (not often)
• During attacks, males have been observed rescuing
  females but not other males
• Males assess one another using clicks

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Mating Behavior

• Sexual maturity in females ? 7-13 years
• Sexual maturity in males ? by 20 years
• Males stay with groups of females for up to
  several weeks long
• On breeding ground, males rove between females
• Three theories regarding copulation 1) it may be
  a rare occurrence 2) it may be inefficient
  (lions) 3) it may be used for social purposes
  rather than reproductive

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Sperm Whale Communication
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Sound Generation

• Sperm Whales Produce a Multi-pulsed Broadband
  Click
• .2 to 32 kHz
• Inter-Click-Interval

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Click..Click.Click.Click

• Usual Click
• Used for both communication and echolocation
• Codas stereotyped, repetitive patterns of
  clicks
• Used solely for communication
• Used in social contexts
• Creaks clicks with a high repetition rate (
  very short ICIs).
• Used for communication and echolocation
• 220 clicks per second
• 4. Clangs slow clicks
• Generated only by males loud
• 1 click per 5-10 seconds
• Can reach up to 60 km

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Usual Click vs. Coda Click
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Coda Repertoires

• Codas universal communication usage based on
  temporal pattern and number of clicks they
  contain.
• 3-40 broadband clicks per 3 seconds
• Both ICI and IPI are used in formation of
  language
• Form geographical dialects between ocean basins
• Appears to be a learned language.
• Coda usage is transmitted between generations
  (matrilineally) linked by mtDNA
• Shows evidence of culture in cetaceans

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Tails UpIts Dinner Time
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The Sperm Whale is Top Dog!

• Sperm whales are the Top predator of the
  mesopelagic oceans.
• In terms of biomass, they remove as much as
  humans from the ocean.
• Estimated at 110 million metric tons annually.
• K selected species
• Have huge home ranges vast prey resources
• believed foraging behavior has allowed sperm
  whales to survive El Nino effects.
• Now even blamed for millions of dollars of long
  line fishery thefts!

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Sperm Whale Prey

• Most of prey composition info found from whaling
  industry and whales washed ashore.
• Around 1,000 prey items are consumed a day
• 23 large, fast moving cephalopods
• Bulk is small luminescent squid species
• Also consume bottom dwelling fish species, tunas,
  and barracudas
• Most prey found intact and without teeth marks????

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Foraging with Friends

• Large males hunt alone or in small groups
• -N 1-3
• Immature males form bachelor groups
• -grouped formation theorized for increased
  foraging success
• -N 5-10
• Females form matrilineal units
• -N 10-12
• Associate with other units for foraging events
  and social gatherings.
• -N 20-1000
• While group foraging individuals are spaced 500
  meters-5km apart.

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Diving Behavior

• Usually forage near continental shelves.
• Dive to depths of 500-3000 meters
• Dive for periods of 45 to 2 hours
• Rest for periods of around 5-15 minutes.
• Travel 4 km/h while foraging.
• Emits clicks while diving.

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So How do they do it..

• Three Main Foraging Theories Exist
• Sperm Whales SUCK their prey into their mouths
• Sperm whales use their vision in detecting prey.
• Sperm whales debilitate prey using sound waves.

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Sperm Whales Suck Prey Into Their Mouths

• Evidence
• Prey found whole in recovered stomach contents.
• Majority of prey is small
• Teeth dont erupt until sexual maturity.
• Whales documented with deformed or broken lower
  jaw.
• Fish/Squid have been documented swimming out of
  sperm whale mouths when at surface.

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Sperm Whales Use Vision to Locate Prey

• Evidence
• Majority of squid species consumed are
  luminescent.
• Once eaten more squid would be attracted to its
  luminescent teeth
• Prey silhouetted against down-welling light.
• White lower jaw suspected to attract cephalopods.

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Sperm Whales Debilitate Their Prey

• Evidence
• Spermaceti organ is said to the biggest sound
  generator in the animal kingdom.
• Chasing large squid is energetically too costly
  and because of squid speed and maneuverability.
• Echolocation clicks begin 5 s after dive and
  terminate upon accent.
• Surface clicks
• Theoretically can generate the intensity level
  required to stun prey/kill prey.
• Documented in Bottlenose Dolphins

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How Can Sperm Whales Do This?

• Spermaceti organ can be pulled back with a force
  of 10 metric tons
• This force would generate enough pressure inside
  to drive a high intensity sound wave
• max source level of sperm whale 265 dB
• Required to debilitate prey 230 dB

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Foraging Conclusion

• STILL no conclusive evidence to support ANY
  theory
• BUT considering their intelligence, rigor in
  surviving near extinction, energetic
  requirements, advanced social contexts and
  communication skills
• They are likely utilizing ALL methods discussed!

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Work Cited

• Carwardine, Mark. (2000). Whales, Dolphins, and
  Porpoises. Dorking Kindersley New York, N.Y. pg.
  80-81
• Fristrup, K., Harbison, G. (2002). How Do Sperm
  Whales Catch Squid? Marine Mammal Science.
  18(1) pg. 42-54.
• Mann. J. et al. (2000). Sperm Whales. In
  Cetacean Societies Field Studies of Dolphins and
  Whales. University of Chicago Press Chicago. pg.
  154-170.
• Mohl, Wahlberg, Madsen, Miler, Surlykke. (2000).
  Sperm Whale Clicks Directionality and source
  level revisited. Journal of the Acoustical
  Society of America 107(1). Pg. 638-647
• Norris, K., Mohl, B. (1983). Can Odontocetes
  Debilitate Prey with Sound?
• The American Naturalist 122(1). pg 85-104
• Rendell, L., Whitehead, H. (2004). Do sperm
  whales share coda vocalizations? Animal Behavior.
  67. pg. 865-874
• Smith, S., Whitehead, H. (2000). The Diet of
  Sperm Whales as Indicated by Fecal Analysis.
  Marine Mammal Science 16(2) pg. 315-325