Mind the gap: Why neurological plasticity may explain seasonal interruption in humpback whale song

Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom

Volumn 90, Issue 8, 2010, Pages 1489-1491

  Wright, A J ^a,b   Walsh, L A ^c  

^a NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE   (Denmark)

^b GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c Previously with National Geographic   (United States)

Author keywords

brain; humpback whale; neurology; reproductive behaviour; song

Indexed keywords

ANIMALIA; MAMMALIA; MEGAPTERA; MEGAPTERA NOVAEANGLIAE;

EID: 77953943995     PISSN: 00253154     EISSN: 14697769     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0025315410000913     Document Type: Article

References (23)

1. Best P.B. (1982) Seasonal abundance, feeding, reproduction, age and growth in minke whales off Durban (with incidental observations from the Antarctic). Report of the International Whaling Commission 32, 759-786.
2. Brenowitz E.A., Lent K. (2002) Act locally and think globally: Intracerebral testosterone implants induce seasonal-like growth of adult avian song control circuits. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99, 12421-12426.
3. Brownell R.L., Ralls K. (1986) Potential for sperm competition in baleen whales. In Donovan D. (ed.) Behavior of whales in relation to management. Cambridge, UK: International Whaling Commission, pp. 110-141. [Report of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 8.]
4. Charif R.A., Clapham P.J., Clark C.W. (2001) Acoustic detections of singing humpback whales in deep waters off the British Isles. Marine Mammal Science 17, 751-768.
5. Chittleborough R.G. (1955) Aspects of reproduction in the male humpback whale Megaptera nodosa (Bonnaterre). Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 6, 1-29.
6. Clapham P.J. (1996) The social and reproductive biology of humpback whales: An ecological perspective. Mammal Review 26, 27-49.
7. Clark C.W., Clapham P.J. (2004) Acoustic monitoring on a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding ground shows continual singing into late spring. Proceedings of the Royal Society, London 271, 1051-1057.
8. Jacobs L.F. (1996) Sexual selection and the brain. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 11, 82-86.
9. Mikhalev Y.A. (1997) Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Arabian Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 149, 13-21.
10. Parsons E.C.M., Wright A.J., Gore M.A. (2008) The nature of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song. Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology 1, 21-30.
11. Payne K., Tyack P., Payne R. (1983) Progressive changes in the song of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae): A detailed analysis of two seasons in Hawaii. In Payne R. (ed.) Communication and behavior of whales. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, pp. 9-57.
12. Piersma T., Lindstrom A. (1997) Rapid reversible changes in organ size as a component of adaptive behavior. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12, 134-138.
13. Reeves B.J., Beecher M.D and Brenowitz EA. (2003) Seasonal changes in avian song control circuits do not cause seasonal changes in song discrimination in song sparrows. Journal of Neurobiology 57, 119-129.
14. Reilly S.B., Bannister J.L., Best P.B., Brown M., Brownell Jr R.L., Butterworth D.S., Clapham P.J., Cooke J., Donovan G.P., Urbán J., Zerbini A.N. (2008a) Balaenoptera acutorostrata. In IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. IUCN, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2474/0. (accessed 28 July 2009).
15. Reilly S.B., Bannister J.L., Best P.B., Brown M., Brownell Jr R.L., Butterworth D.S., Clapham P.J., Cooke J., Donovan G.P., Urbán J., Zerbini A.N. (2008b) Balaenoptera bonaerensis. In IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. IUCN, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/2480/0. (accessed 28 July 2009).
16. Rice D.W. (1998) Marine mammals of the world: Systematics and distribution.
17. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press Inc. [Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication Number 4.]
18. Rice D.W., Wolman A.A. (1971) The life history and ecology of the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). American Society of Mammalogists Special Publication 3, 1-142.
19. Symons H.W., Weston R.D. (1958) Studies on the humpback whale (Megaptera nodosa) in the Bellingshausen Sea. Norsk Hvalfangst-Tidende (The Norwegian Whaling Gazette) 2, 53-81.
20. Tramontin A.D., Brenowitz E.A. (2000) Seasonal plasticity in the adult brain. Trends in Neurosciences 23, 251-258.
21. Tramontin A.D., Perfito N., Wingfield J.C., Brenowitz E.A. (2001) Seasonal growth of song control nuclei precedes seasonal reproductive development in wild adult song sparrows. General and Comparative Endocrinology 122, 1-9.
22. Tramontin A.D., Wingfield J.C., Brenowitz E.A. (2003) Androgens and estrogens induce seasonal-like growth of song nuclei in the adult songbird brain. Journal of Neurobiology 57, 130-140.
23. Vu E.T., Risch D., Clark C.W., Gaylord S., Hatch L., Merrick R.L., Thompson M.A., Tougaard J., Wiley D.N., Van Parijs S.M. (2009) Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) song occurs extensively on a feeding ground in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Abstracts of the 18th Biennial Confrence on the Biology of Marine Mammals. October 12-16. Quebec, Canada, 269 pp.