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Selective habituation shapes acoustic predator recognition in harbour seals

Nature volume 420, pages 171–173 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Predation is a major force in shaping the behaviour of animals1,2,3, so that precise identification of predators will confer substantial selective advantages on animals that serve as food to others. Because experience with a predator can be lethal, early researchers studying birds suggested that predator recognition does not require learning4,5. However, a predator image that can be modified by learning and experience will be advantageous in situations where cues associated with the predator are highly variable or change over time. In this study, we investigated the response of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) to the underwater calls of different populations of killer whales (Orcinus orca). We found that the seals responded strongly to the calls of mammal-eating killer whales and unfamiliar fish-eating killer whales but not to the familiar calls of the local fish-eating population. This demonstrates that wild harbour seals are capable of complex acoustic discrimination and that they modify their predator image by selectively habituating to the calls of harmless killer whales. Fear in these animals is therefore focused on local threats by learning and experience.

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Figure 1: Playback sequences for experiment 2.
Figure 2: Response of harbour seals to the calls of different killer whale populations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, the BC Killer Whale Adoption Program, the German Academic Exchange Service. We also thank P. Arcese, L. Barrett-Lennard, C. Brignall, J. Borrowman, M. Borrowman, J. deBoeck, N. Dedeluk, G. Ellis, C. Emmons, M. Enstipp, V. Janik, B. Mackay, D. Mackay, A. Morton, R. North, P.-A. Presi, A. Spong, S. Taylor, F. Ugarte, J. Watson, G. Weingartner, R. Williams and H. Yurk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology, University of St Andrews, Scotland, KY16 9TS, UK

    Volker B. Deecke & Peter J. B. Slater

  2. Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, British Columbia, V6B 3X8, Vancouver, Canada

    Volker B. Deecke & John K. B. Ford

  3. Pacific Biological Station, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, British Columbia, V9T 6N7, Nanaimo, Canada

    John K. B. Ford

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  1. Volker B. Deecke
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  3. John K. B. Ford
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Correspondence to Volker B. Deecke.

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Deecke, V., Slater, P. & Ford, J. Selective habituation shapes acoustic predator recognition in harbour seals. Nature 420, 171–173 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01030

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