Beluga whales are highly social animals that communicate vocally. Research is underway with the belugas at the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre to learn more about how the acoustic and social environment of our young beluga calf, Tuvaq, influences the development of his vocal repertoire. What sounds does Tuvaq make as he grows? What sounds does he hear? How are his vocalizations shaped by what he hears from the different whales in his social group?

Who's talking?

The difficulty of locating the vocalizing individual is a common problem in studies of cetacean (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) communication. Cetaceans often do not open their mouths when they produce a sound. With some exceptions (e.g. bubble emissions, body postures and/or melon extension) it is very difficult for a human observer to identify the vocalizing individual. The characteristics of sound transmission in an underwater environment make this task more difficult, as the observer has the impression that the sound is arriving from everywhere.

Several researchers have attempted to develop methods to solve this problem. The most promising technology is passive acoustic localization in the form of hydrophone arrays. This means that, through the use of an array of hydrophones arranged in a circular manner and linked to a computer with special software, researchers can instantaneously calculate a vocalizing whale's position and infer its identity. A recently initiated project at the Vancouver Aquarium hopes to achieve exactly that! This will be very helpful not only to continue to follow Tuvaq's progress, but also to tell which adult whale makes which sound. Do our resident belugas have their own distinctive calls? And if they do, whose calls will Tuvaq's resemble?

For more information please visit the web site of researcher Valeria Vergara at UBC.