Suckling behavior in sperm whale calves: Observations and hypotheses

Marine Mammal Science

Volumn 23, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 398-413

  Gero, Shane ^a   Whitehead, Hal ^a  

^a DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

Behavior; Dive; Echelon; Laterality; Mammary stimulation; Mother calf; Nasopharynx; Physeter macrocephalus; Sperm whale; Suckling

Indexed keywords

BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY; DIVING BEHAVIOR; QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS; SUCKLING; SYMMETRY; WHALE;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; CARIBBEAN SEA; SARGASSO SEA;

PHYSETER CATODON; PHYSETERIDAE;

EID: 33947629256     PISSN: 08240469     EISSN: 17487692     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00113.x     Document Type: Article

References (74)

1. ALTMANN, J. 1974. Observational study of behavior: Sampling methods. Behavior 49:227-267.
2. ANDERSON, P. K. 1984. Suckling in Dugong dugong. Journal of Mammalogy 65:510-511.
3. ANDREWS, J., A. MECKLENBORG AND F. B. BERCOVITCH. 2005. Milk intake and development in a newborn captive African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Zoo Biology 24:275-281.
4. ASPER, E. D., W. G. YOUNG AND M. T. WALSH. 1988. Observations on the birth and development of a captive born killer whale. International Zoo Yearbook 27:295-304.
5. ARNBOM, T. 1987. Individual identification of sperm whales. Report of the International Whaling Commission 37:201-204.
6. ARNBOM, T., AND H. WHITEHEAD. 1989. Observations on the composition and behavior of groups of female sperm whales near the Galapagos Islands. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67:1-7.
7. BEALE, T. 1839. The natural history of the sperm whale. John van Voorst, London, UK.
8. BENNETT, F. D. 1840. Narrative of a whaling voyage around the globe from the year 1833 to 1836. Richard Bentley, London, UK.
9. BEST, P. B. 1974. The biology of the sperm whale as it relates to stock management. Pages 257-293 in W. E. Schevill, ed. The whale problem: A status report. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
10. BEST, P. B., P. A. S. CANHAM AND N. MACLEOD. 1984. Patterns of reproduction in sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus. Report of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue 6):51-79.
11. BÉRUBÉ, M., AND P. PALSBØ LL. 1996. Identification of sex in cetaceans by multiplexing using ZFX and ZFY specific primers. Molecular Ecology 5:283-287.
12. BRADSHAW, J., AND L. ROGERS. 1993. The evolution of lateral asymmetries, language, tool use, and intellect. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
13. BROWN, C. E. 1924. Rearing hippopotamuses in captivity. Journal of Mammalogy 5:243-246.
14. CALDWELL, M. C., AND THE DOLPHIN PROJECT. 1993. Observations of mudding by Georgia bottlenose dolphins. Tenth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Galveston, TX.
15. CAMERON, E. Z., K. J. STAFFORD, W. L. LINKLATER AND C. J. VELTMAN. 1999. Suckling behavior does not measure milk intake in horses, Equus caballus. Animal Behavior 57:673-678.
16. CLAPHAM, P. J., AND C. A. MAYO. 1987. Reproduction and recruitment of individually identified humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, observed in Massachusetts bay, 1979-1985. Canadian Journal of Zoology 65:2853-2863.
17. CLAPHAM, P. J., E. LEIMKUHLER, B. K. GRAY AND D. K. MATTILA. 1995. Do humpback whales exhibit lateralized behavior? Animal Behavior 50:73-82.
18. CLARKE, M. R. 1970. Function of the spermaceti organ of the sperm whale. Nature 228:873-874.
19. CLARKE, M. R. 1978. Buoyancy control as a function of the spermaceti organ in the sperm whale. Journal of the Marine Biology Association of the United Kingdom 58:27-71.
20. CLUTTON-BROCK, T. H. 1991. The evolution of parental care. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
21. COWIE, A. T., S. J. FOLLEY, B. A. CROSS, G. W. HARRIS, D. JACOBSOHN AND K. C. RICHARDSON. 1951. Terminology for use in lactational physiology. Nature 168:421.
22. CRANFORD, T. W. 1999. The sperm whale's nose: Sexual selection on a grand scale. Marine Mammal Science 15:1133-1157.
23. CRANFORD, T. W., M. AMUNDIN AND K. S. NORRIS. 1996. Functional morphology and homology in the odontocete nasal complex: Implications for sound generation. Journal of Morphology 228:223-285.
24. CRELIN, E. S. 1976. Development of the upper respiratory system. CIBA Foundation Symposium 28:3-26.
25. DRINNAN, R. L., 4 R. M. F. S. SADLEIR. 1981. The suckling behavior of a captive beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) calf. Applied Animal Ethology 7:179-185.
26. DUFAULT, S., AND H. WHITEHEAD. 1993. Assessing the stock identity of sperm whales in the eastern equatorial pacific. Report of the International Whaling Commission 43:469-475.
27. EASTCOSTT, A., AND T. DICKINSON. 1987. Underwater observations of the suckling and social behavior of a newborn bottlenosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Aquatic Mammals 13:51-56.
28. GERO, S. 2005. Fundamentals of sperm whale societies: Care for calves. M.Sc. thesis, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. 99 pp.
29. GORDON, J. C. D. 1987. Sperm whale groups and social behavior observed off Sri Lanka. Report of the International Whaling Commission 37:205-217.
30. GORDON, J. C. D. 1991a. The World Wildlife Fund's Indian Ocean sperm whale project: An example of cetacean research within the Indian Ocean Sanctuary. Pages 219-239 in S. Leatherwood and G. P. Donovan, eds. Cetaceans and cetacean research in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary. UNEP Technical Report Number 3, Nairobi, Kenya.
31. GORDON, J. C. D. 1991b. Evaluation of a method for determining the length of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) for their vocalizations. Journal of Zoology (London) 224:301-341.
32. GORDON, J. C. D., A. MOSCROP, C. CARLSON, S. INGRAM, R. LEAPER, J. MATTHEWS AND K. YOUNG. 1998. Distribution, movements, and residency of sperm whales off the Commonwealth of Dominica, Eastern Caribbean: Implications for the development and regulation of the local whalewatching industry. Report of the International Whaling Commission 48:551-557.
33. GUBBINS, C., B. MCCOWAN, S. K. LYNN, S. HOOPER AND D. REISS. 1999. Mother-infant spatial relations in captive bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus. Marine Mammal Science 15:751-765.
34. HARTMAN, D. 1979. Ecology and behavior of the manatee (Trichechus manatus) in Florida. Special Publications of the American Society of Mammalogists 5:1-153.
35. HOESE, H. D. 1971. Dolphin feeding out of water in a salt marsh. Journal of Mammalogy 52:222-223.
36. HOPKINS, W. D., AND R. D. MORRIS. 1993. Handedness in great apes: A review of findings. International Journal of Primatology 14:1-25.
37. JOSEPH, B. E., J. E. ANTRIM AND L. H. CORNELL. 1987. Commerson's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii): A discussion of the first live birth within a marine zoological park. Zoo Biology 6:69-77.
38. KASUYA, T., AND D. W. RICE. 1970. Note on baleen plates and on arrangement of parasitic barnacles of gray whale. Scientific Report of the Whales Research Institute, Tokyo 22:39-43.
39. KLEIMAN, D. G., AND J. R. MALCOLM. 1981. The evolution of male paternal investment in mammals. Pages 347-387 in D. J. Gubernick and P. H. Klopfer, eds. Parental care in mammals. Plenum Press, New York, NY.
40. KLOPFER, P. H. 1981. Origins of parental care. Pages 1-13 in D. J. Gubernick and P. H. Klopfer, eds. Parental care in mammals. Plenum Press, New York, NY.
41. KOOYMAN, G. L., M. A. CASTELLINI AND R. W. DAVIS. 1981. Physiology of diving marine mammals. Annual Review of Physiology 43:343-256.
42. LAITMAN, J. T., E. S. CRELIN AND G. J. CONLOGUE. 1977. The function of the epiglottis in monkey and man. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 50:43-48.
43. LANGBAUER, W. R. JR. 2000. Elephant communication. Zoo Biology 19:425-445.
44. LENT, P. C. 1974. Mother-infant relationships in ungulates. Pages 14-55 in V. Geist and F. Walther, eds. The behaviour of ungulates and its relation to management. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Morges, Switzerland.
45. LOGAN, F. D., AND F. D. ROBSON. 1971. On the birth of a common dolphin (Dephinus delphis) in captivity. Zoologische Gaerten (Leipzig) 40:115-124.
46. MANN, J. 1999. Behavioral sampling methods for cetaceans: A review and critique. Marine Mammal Science 15:102-122.
47. MANN, J., AND B. SMUTS. 1999. Behavioral development in wild bottlenose dolphin newborns (Tursiops sp.). Behavior 136:529-566.
48. MARINO, L. AND J. STOWE. 1997. Lateralized behavior in two captive bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Zoo Biology 16:173-177.
49. MCBRIDE, A. F., AND H. KRITZLER. 1951. Observations on pregnancy, parturition, and postnatal behavior in the bottle-nose dolphin. Journal of Mammalogy 32:251-266.
50. MILES, J. A., AND D. L. HERZING. 2003. Underwater analysis of the behavioural development of free-ranging Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) calves (birth to 4 years of age). Aquatic Mammals 29:363-377.
51. NORRIS, K. S. 1975. Cetacean biosonar: Part 1-anatomical and behavioural studies. Pages 215-234 in D. C. Malins and J. R. Sargent, eds. Biochemical and biophysical perspectives in marine biology. Academic Press, New York, NY.
52. NORRIS, K. S., AND J. H. PRESCOTT. 1961. Observations on Pacific cetaceans of California and Mexican waters. University of California Publications in Zoology 63:291-402.
53. PEDDEMORS, V. M., M. FOTHERGILL AND V. G. COCKCROFT. 1992. Feeding and growth in a captive-born bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. South African Journal of Zoology 27(2):74-80.
54. PILLERI, G. 1979. Sonar field patterns in cetaceans, feeding behaviour and the functional significance of the pterygoschisis. Pages 147-155 in G. Pilleri, ed. Investigations on Cetacea. Brain Anatomy Institute, Berne, Switzerland.
55. PILLERI, G., K. ZBINDEN, M. GIHR AND C. KRAUS. 1976a. Sonar clicks, directionality of the emission field and echolocating behaviour of the Indus dolphin (Platanista indi, Blyth, 1859). Pages 13-43 in G. Pilleri, ed. Investigations on Cetacea. Brain Anatomy Institute, Berne, Switzerland.
56. PILLERI, G., M. GIHR, P. E. PURVES, K. ZBINDEN AND C. KRAUS. 1976b. On the behaviour, bioacoustics and functional morphology of the indus river dolphin (Platanista indi, Blyth, 1859). Pages 72-88 in G. Pilleri, ed. Investigations on Cetacea. Brain Anatomy Institute, Berne, Switzerland.
57. PURVES, P. E., AND G. PILLERI. 1983. Echolocation in whales and dolphins. Academic Press, New York, NY.
58. REEVE, H. K., AND J. S. SHELLMAN-R EEVE. 1997. The general protected invasion theory: Sex biases in parental and alloparental care. Evolutionary Ecology 11:357-370.
59. REID, K., J. MANN, J. R. WEINER AND N. HECKER. 1995. Infant development in two aquarium bottle-nosed dolphins. Zoo Biology 14:135-147.
60. REIDENBERG, J. S., AND J. T. LAITMAN. 1987. Position of the larynx in Odontoceti (toothed whales). The Anatomical Record 218:98-106.
61. RICE, D. W. 1989. Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758. Pages 177-233 in S. H. Ridgway and R. Harrison, eds. Handbook of marine mammals. Volume 4. Academic Press, London, UK.
62. RUSSELL, J. M., J. S. SMINONOFF AND J. NIGHTINGALE. 1997. Nursing behaviors of beluga calves (Delphinapterus leucas) born in captivity. Zoo Biology 16:247-262.
63. SLIJPER, E. J. 1979. Whales. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
64. SPRINGER, S. P., AND G. DEUTSCH. 1989. Left brain, right brain. W. H. Freeman, New York, NY.
65. THOMAS, P. O., AND S. M. TABER. 1984. Mother-infant interaction and behavioral development in southern right whales, Eubalaena australis. Behaviour 88:42-60.
66. WAHLBERG, M., A. FRANTZIS, P. ALEXIADOU, P. T. MADSEN AND B. MOHL. 2005. Click production during breathing in a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 118:3404-3407.
67. WEILGART, L. S., AND H. WHITEHEAD. 1986. Observations of a sperm whale (Physeter catodon) birth. Journal of Mammalogy 67:399-401.
68. WEILGART, L., H. WHITEHEAD AND K. PAYNE. 1996. A colossal convergence. American Scientist 84:278-287.
69. WHITEHEAD, H. 1996. Babysitting, dive synchrony, and indications of alloparental care in sperm whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 38:237-244.
70. WHITEHEAD, H. 2003. Sperm whales: Social evolution in the ocean. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
71. WHITEHEAD, H. 2004. The group strikes back: Follow protocols for behavioral research on cetaceans. Marine Mammal Science 20:664-670.
72. WHITEHEAD, H., AND S. DUFAULT. 1999. Techniques for analyzing vertebrate social structure using identified individuals: Review and recommendations. Advances in the Study of Behavior 28:33-74.
73. WHITEHEAD, H., AND J. GORDON. 1986. Methods of obtaining data for assessing and modeling sperm whale populations which do not depend on catches. Report of the International Whaling Commission (Special Issue 8):149-165.
74. WHITEHEAD, H., J. GORDON, E. A. MATHEWS AND K. R. RICHARD. 1990. Obtaining skin samples from living sperm whales. Marine Mammal Science 6:316-326.