Examining harp seal behavioural patterns via their underwater vocalizations

Abstract

Recordings of harp seal ( Pagophilus groenlandicus) underwater vocalizations, obtained at 3-h intervals over 7 days during the breeding season, were examined with regard to the relative occurrence of high frequency calls. An increase of high frequency calls at mid-March is possibly associated with the onset of courtship and mating. A daily pattern indicated that the seals are vocally active all night and least active at daybreak and in the early afternoon. The inactive afternoon period coincided with the time that the greatest number of seals were resting on the ice. Remote and/or automated monitoring of vocalizations may provide a means of examining various underwater activities of marine mammals.