Hal Whitehead
YOU?
Author Swipe
View article: Reversing decline: The impact of spatial conservation on endangered northern bottlenose whales
Reversing decline: The impact of spatial conservation on endangered northern bottlenose whales Open
Despite the end of commercial whaling in 1972, the northern bottlenose whale ( Hyperoodon ampullatus ) remains endangered in Canada and faces multiple human threats. The effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPAs) in safeguarding highly…
View article: The active space of sperm whale codas allows for communication within and between social units
The active space of sperm whale codas allows for communication within and between social units Open
Jacobs et al. (2024) recently published a powerful analysis of apparent source levels from acoustically localised sperm whale codas, using it to estimate that the active space of these vocalisations is around 4 km. This is an important ste…
View article: Cetaceans are the next frontier for vocal rhythm research
Cetaceans are the next frontier for vocal rhythm research Open
While rhythm can facilitate and enhance many aspects of behavior, its evolutionary trajectory in vocal communication systems remains enigmatic. We can trace evolutionary processes by investigating rhythmic abilities in different species, b…
View article: Abundance estimate of Eastern Caribbean sperm whales using large scale regional surveys
Abundance estimate of Eastern Caribbean sperm whales using large scale regional surveys Open
This research was funded by the National Geographic Society (NGS-62320R-19-2), the Agoa Sanctuary, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Animal Behavior Society and approved by the Dalhousie University Co…
View article: Sperm whale clans and human societies
Sperm whale clans and human societies Open
Sperm whale society is structured into clans that are primarily distinguished by vocal dialects, which may be symbolic markers of clan identity. However, clans also differ in non-vocal behaviour. These distinctive behaviours, as well as cl…
View article: Using culturally transmitted behavior to help delineate conservation units for species at risk
Using culturally transmitted behavior to help delineate conservation units for species at risk Open
Culture (information or behavior acquired by social learning and shared by members of a community) is an inheritance system that that can contribute to the designation of conservation units for species at risk. The phenotypic diversity pro…
View article: Plastic pollution within "The Gully" Marine Protected Area of the Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic
Plastic pollution within "The Gully" Marine Protected Area of the Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic Open
This dataset contains information on plastic particle densities, characteristics (colour, morphology), size, and polymer types collected from seawater in "The Gully" Marine Protected Area between 1990 and 2019. Also included are the charac…
View article: Plastic pollution within "The Gully" Marine Protected Area of the Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic
Plastic pollution within "The Gully" Marine Protected Area of the Scotian Shelf, Northwest Atlantic Open
This dataset contains information on plastic particle densities, characteristics (colour, morphology), size, and polymer types collected from seawater in "The Gully" Marine Protected Area between 1990 and 2019. Also included are the charac…
View article: Population estimate and inter-island movement of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the Eastern Caribbean Sea
Population estimate and inter-island movement of sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, in the Eastern Caribbean Sea Open
When a population extends across international boundaries, management becomes more complex. This is especially true within a confined multinational area such as the Caribbean Sea. The population size of sperm whales in the Eastern Caribbea…
View article: Evidence from sperm whale clans of symbolic marking in non-human cultures
Evidence from sperm whale clans of symbolic marking in non-human cultures Open
Culture, a pillar of the remarkable ecological success of humans, is increasingly recognized as a powerful force structuring nonhuman animal populations. A key gap between these two types of culture is quantitative evidence of symbolic mar…
View article: Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations
Ocean nomads or island specialists? Culturally driven habitat partitioning contrasts in scale between geographically isolated sperm whale populations Open
The sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) is a deep-diving cetacean with a global distribution and a multi-leveled, culturally segregated, social structure. While sperm whales have previously been described as ‘ocean nomads’, this might n…
View article: Posterior probabilities of membership of repertoires in acoustic clades
Posterior probabilities of membership of repertoires in acoustic clades Open
Recordings of calls may be used to assess population structure for acoustic species. This can be particularly effective if there are identity calls, produced nearly exclusively by just one population segment. The identity call method, IDca…
View article: Using identity calls to detect structure in acoustic datasets
Using identity calls to detect structure in acoustic datasets Open
Acoustic analyses can be powerful tools for illuminating structure within and between populations, especially for cryptic or difficult to access taxa. Acoustic repertoires are often compared using aggregate similarity measures across all c…
View article: Sargasso sperm whales 2004
Sargasso sperm whales 2004 Open
Original provider: Dalhousie University Dataset credits: Hal Whitehead, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University Abstract: The Sargasso Sea cruise surveyed marine birds and mammals in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, during the summer of 2…
View article: A deepening understanding of animal culture suggests lessons for conservation
A deepening understanding of animal culture suggests lessons for conservation Open
A key goal of conservation is to protect biodiversity by supporting the long-term persistence of viable, natural populations of wild species. Conservation practice has long been guided by genetic, ecological and demographic indicators of r…
View article: Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale?
Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale? Open
Animals can mitigate human threats, but how do they do this, and how fast can they adapt? Hunting sperm whales was a major nineteenth century industry. Analysis of data from digitized logbooks of American whalers in the North Pacific found…
View article: NP_data_set_Whitehead_et_al.xlsx from Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale?
NP_data_set_Whitehead_et_al.xlsx from Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale? Open
Data set used for primary analysis (edited from that at whalinghistory.org)
View article: Data set from Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale?
Data set from Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale? Open
Data set used for primary analysis (edited from that at whalinghistory.org)
View article: MATLAB Code from Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale?
MATLAB Code from Adaptation of sperm whales to open-boat whalers: rapid social learning on a large scale? Open
Animals can mitigate human threats, but how do they do this, and how fast can they adapt? Hunting sperm whales was a major nineteenth century industry. Analysis of data from digitized logbooks of American whalers in the North Pacific found…
View article: Long-term associations among male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
Long-term associations among male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Open
Little is known about the social structure of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) after they leave their natal units. While previous studies found no evidence for preferred associations among males, the observation of mass-stranding…
View article: Prolonged maternal investment in northern bottlenose whales alters our understanding of beaked whale reproductive life history
Prolonged maternal investment in northern bottlenose whales alters our understanding of beaked whale reproductive life history Open
Nursing and weaning periods are poorly understood in cetaceans due to the difficulty of assessing underwater behaviour in the wild. However, the onset and completion of weaning are critical turning points for individual development and sur…
View article: Causes and consequences of female centrality in cetacean societies
Causes and consequences of female centrality in cetacean societies Open
Cetaceans are fully aquatic predatory mammals that have successfully colonized virtually all marine habitats. Their adaptation to these habitats, so radically different from those of their terrestrial ancestors, can give us comparative ins…
View article: Animal cultures matter for conservation
Animal cultures matter for conservation Open
Understanding the rich social lives of animals benefits international conservation efforts
View article: Kin selection and allocare in sperm whales
Kin selection and allocare in sperm whales Open
Female sperm whales babysit and suckle one another’s calves, especially those of close relatives. This is predicted by the theory of kin selection in which helping close relatives improves the prospects of the helper’s genes. However, amon…
View article: Kinship influences sperm whale social organization within, but generally not among, social units
Kinship influences sperm whale social organization within, but generally not among, social units Open
Sperm whales have a multi-level social structure based upon long-term, cooperative social units. What role kinship plays in structuring this society is poorly understood. We combined extensive association data (518 days, during 2005–2016) …
View article: What factors shape genetic diversity in cetaceans?
What factors shape genetic diversity in cetaceans? Open
Understanding what factors drive patterns of genetic diversity is a central aspect of many biological questions, ranging from the inference of historical demography to assessing the evolutionary potential of a species. However, as a larger…