The Antillean manatee produces broadband vocalizations with ultrasonic frequencies

Eric A Ramos; Maria Maust-Mohl; Kristi A Collom; Beth Brady; Edmund R Gerstein; Marcelo O Magnasco; Diana Reiss

doi:10.1121/10.0000602

The Antillean manatee produces broadband vocalizations with ultrasonic frequencies

J Acoust Soc Am. 2020 Feb;147(2):EL80. doi: 10.1121/10.0000602.

Authors

Eric A Ramos¹, Maria Maust-Mohl², Kristi A Collom³, Beth Brady⁴, Edmund R Gerstein⁵, Marcelo O Magnasco⁶, Diana Reiss³

Affiliations

¹ The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Ave., New York, New York 10016, USA.
² Department of Psychology, Manhattan College, 4513 Manhattan College Parkway, Riverdale, New York 10471, USA.
³ Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, 695 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, USA.
⁶ Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USAeric.angel.ramos@gmail.com, maria.maustmohl@manhattan.edu, kristiashleycollom@gmail.com, bbrady2@fau.edu, gerstein2@aol.com, magnasco@rockefeller.edu, dlr28@columbia.edu.

PMID: 32113273
DOI: 10.1121/10.0000602

Abstract

Antillean manatees produce vocalizations reported to be important for communication, but their vocal behavior throughout their geographic range is poorly understood. A SoundTrap recorder (sample rates: 288/576 kHz) was deployed in Belize to record vocalizations of wild manatees in a seagrass channel and of a young rehabilitated and released manatee in a shallow lagoon. Spectral analysis revealed broadband vocalizations with frequencies up to 150 kHz and a high proportion of calls with ultrasonic components. Ultrasonic frequency components appear prevalent in their vocal repertoire and may be important to manatee communication.