Berlin 2015 – scientific programme
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SOE: Fachverband Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme
SOE 17: Social Systems, Opinion and Group Dynamics
SOE 17.1: Talk
Thursday, March 19, 2015, 09:30–09:45, MA 001
Bag-of-calls analysis reveals group-specific vocal repertoire in long-finned pilot whales — •Sarah Hallerberg1, Heike Vester2, Kurt Hammerschmidt3, and Marc Timme1 — 1Network Dynamics, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, 37077 Göttingen — 2Ocean Sounds, Sauoya 01, 8312 Henningsvaer, Norway — 3Cognitive Ethology Lab, German Primate Center, Kellnerweg 4, 37077 Göttingen
Besides humans, a large number of marine mammal species exhibit fundamental prerequisites to evolve language: cognitive abilities, flexibility in vocal production and advanced social interactions. Group specific communication is key to understanding potential vocal learning and thus vocal cultures. Here, we analyse the vocal repertoires and their group-specificity for long-finned pilot whales (Globicephalus melas) recorded in Northern Norway, by observer-based single-call sorting and a bag-of-calls approach we newly develop. The observer based analysis shows a complex vocal repertoire with 140 different call types, call sequences, call repetitions and group specific differences in the usage of call types. The bag-of-calls approach reveals that groups of pilot whales can be distinguished by properties of the ensembles of the vocalisations they produce. Comparing inter- and intra-group differences quantifies group specificity in a statistical significant way, indicates that pilot-whales have group-specific vocal cultures.