Book contents
- Elephant Seals
- Elephant Seals
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Origins, Misnomers, and Bottleneck
- 2 Back from the Abyss, Population Recovery, and Genetic Aftermath
- 3 The Year of the Seal
- 4 Fieldwork 101
- 5 Adapting to Life at Sea and on Land
- 6 The Cost of Living in a Seal Harem
- 7 Coito Ergo Sum
- 8 Females
- 9 Diving, Foraging, and Migration
- 10 Development
- 11 Sleep When You Can
- 12 What Is All the Noise About?
- 13 Comparisons, Unsolved Mysteries, and Conclusions
- References
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
12 - What Is All the Noise About?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 September 2021
Book contents
- Elephant Seals
- Elephant Seals
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Origins, Misnomers, and Bottleneck
- 2 Back from the Abyss, Population Recovery, and Genetic Aftermath
- 3 The Year of the Seal
- 4 Fieldwork 101
- 5 Adapting to Life at Sea and on Land
- 6 The Cost of Living in a Seal Harem
- 7 Coito Ergo Sum
- 8 Females
- 9 Diving, Foraging, and Migration
- 10 Development
- 11 Sleep When You Can
- 12 What Is All the Noise About?
- 13 Comparisons, Unsolved Mysteries, and Conclusions
- References
- Index
- Plate Section (PDF Only)
Summary
An elephant seal rookery is a noisy place. The vocalizations of adults of both sexes and the pups are described as well as their functions. Elephant seals have good hearing in air and in water and are also unusually sensitive to sounds. This is especially the case because their deep diving puts them smack in the middle of the deep sound channel where low-frequency sounds travel most efficiently and can be heard thousands of miles away. This may make them prone to disturbance by sources such as ship traffic, air guns from petroleum exploration, and US Navy operations.
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- Elephant SealsPushing the Limits on Land and at Sea, pp. 134 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021