The Vocal Behaviors of North American River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) Individual Differences and Shared Repertoires
Item
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Title
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The Vocal Behaviors of North American River Otters (Lontra Canadensis) Individual Differences and Shared Repertoires
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:ae97a9f03949:10970
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identifier
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11410
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Creator
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Almonte, Carla,
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Contributor
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Richard Veit
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Behavioral sciences | behavior | otter | repertoire | river | vocal | vocalizations
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Abstract
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The current information on the vocal repertoire of the North American River Otter is very limited. To date there have been no direct studies conducted on their repertories. In this study, I examined the vocal behavior of 12 captive river otters. The discriminant function analysis suggests that river otters have 4 distinct call types with 7 sub-call types and one call the whistle is unique to one group of pups. The results of the Kruskal-Wallis comparing acoustical structures shows strong evidence for the presence of individuality with some individuals showing greater differences in comparison to the others. I also examined the differences in sexes and age groups, and the results show that unique calls are present, and there are significant differences across groups when comparing acoustical structures. Finally, I examined the uses of vocalizations, and the results show a positive correlation between the duration, max frequency, and max power of the call and the arousal state of the individual producing the call. Specific call types also showed tendencies to be produced when the individual was in a particular interaction (asocial or social) and when in a particular arousal state.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Biology
