Sperm Whales

Social Evolution in the Ocean

By: Hal Whitehead

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Hardcover | 1 August 2003 | Edition Number 1

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Famed in story as "the great leviathans," sperm whales are truly creatures of extremes. Giants among all whales, they also have the largest brains of any creature on Earth. Males can reach a length of sixty-two feet and can weigh upwards of fifty tons.
With this book, Hal Whitehead gives us a clearer picture of the ecology and social life of sperm whales than we have ever had before. Based on almost two decades of field research, Whitehead describes their biology, behavior, and habitat; how they organize their societies; and how their complex lifestyles may have evolved in this unique environment. Among the many fascinating topics he explores is the crucial role that culture plays in the life of the sperm whale, and he traces the consequences of this argument for both evolution and conservation. Finally, drawing on these findings, Whitehead builds a general model of how the ocean environment influences social behavior and cultural evolution among mammals as well as other animals.
The definitive portrait of a provocative creature, "Sperm Whales" will interest animal behaviorists, conservationists, ecologists, and evolutionary biologists as well as marine mammalogists.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Nature & The Natural World Wildlife in General Wildlife & Aquatic Creatures Religion & Beliefs Religion Philosophy of Religion Nature & Existence of God Science Science in General Biology, Life Sciences Zoology & Animal Sciences

Zoology & Vertebrates Zoology & Mammals Marine & Freshwater Mammals Life Sciences in General Evolution Miscellaneous Items

Acknowledgments	p. xi
Conventions	p. xv
Symbols and Abbreviations	p. xvii
Prologue: Observations of Sperm Whale Societies	p. xix
The Sperm Whale: An Animal of Extremes	p. 1
Social Complexity in the Ocean	p. 1
Evolutionary History of the Sperm Whale	p. 2
Morphology: What Does the Sperm Whale Look Like?	p. 3
The Peculiar Anatomy of the Sperm Whale: The Spermaceti Organ	p. 8
The Lives and Populations of Sperm Whales	p. 11
Sperm Whales and Humans	p. 13
The Sperm Whale in Print	p. 15
What Is Social Structure, and How Is It Studied in Sperm Whales?	p. 25
What Is Culture, and How Is It Studied in Sperm Whales?	p. 26
What Do We Know and What Don't We Know about Sperm Whale Societies?	p. 27
Summary	p. 28
The Oceanic Habitat of the Sperm Whale	p. 30
Spatio-Temporal Structure of the Ocean	p. 30
Oceanographic Habitat of the Sperm Whale	p. 33
The Diet of the Sperm Whale: The Walnut, the Pea, and the Half-Pound Steak	p. 43
An Alternative View of the Sperm Whale Diet: The Picky Eater	p. 51
The Sperm Whale and Its Competitors	p. 55
The Ecological Role of the Sperm Whale	p. 60
Feeding Success of the Sperm Whale	p. 61
Intraspecific Competition	p. 68
Natural Enemies	p. 70
Attack, Defense, and Escape in the Ocean	p. 73
Summary	p. 76
The Sperm Whale: On the Move through an Ocean	p. 78
Why Movement Is Crucial	p. 78
Vertical Movements: The Sperm Whale's Dive	p. 79
Costs and Benefits of Vertical Movement	p. 83
Horizontal Movements of Females and Immatures	p. 84
Movements of Males	p. 100
Movements of Other Oceanic and Terrestrial Animals	p. 104
Costs and Benefits of Horizontal Movement	p. 106
How Fast Should a Sperm Whale Swim?	p. 108
Summary	p. 109
Sperm Whale Populations	p. 111
Geographic Structure	p. 111
The Sizes of Sperm Whale Populations	p. 115
Methods of Assessing Sperm Whale Populations	p. 115
Population Parameters	p. 122
Population Dynamics	p. 125
Changes in Sperm Whale Populations off the Galapagos Islands, 1985-2002	p. 126
Summary	p. 131
Sperm Whale Behavior and Vocalizations	p. 133
Measuring Behavior	p. 133
Vocalizations	p. 134
Are Sperm Whale Clicks Echolocation?	p. 137
Measures of Sperm Whale Behavior	p. 146
Modes of Behavior	p. 146
Foraging	p. 156
Socializing	p. 168
Aerial Behavior (and Other Peculiar Activities)	p. 176
Birthing	p. 184
Behavior of the Calf	p. 186
Defense against Predators	p. 188
Interactions between Sperm Whales and Killer Whales	p. 189
Stranding	p. 200
Summary	p. 204
Sperm Whale Societies	p. 206
Social Scales	p. 206
Concentrations	p. 208
Aggregations	p. 211
Groups	p. 213
The Problems of Estimating Group Size	p. 216
Social Units	p. 232
Delineating Social Units	p. 233
Genetic Structure of Groups and Units	p. 239
The Functions of Groups and Units	p. 245
A Week in the Life of a Sperm Whale Group	p. 247
The Cluster	p. 252
Care of the Calf	p. 261
The Social Male?	p. 264
Mating Systems	p. 271
An Observation of Two Male Sperm Whales Fighting	p. 280
Summary	p. 283
Sperm Whale Cultures	p. 286
The Quest for Sperm Whale Culture	p. 286
Coda Dialects of Units and Clans	p. 288
Describing and Comparing Coda Repertoires	p. 290
Sperm Whale Clans of the South Pacific	p. 297
Nonvocal Cultural Traits of Sperm Whales	p. 301
Low Mitochondrial DNA Diversity and Culture: Cultural Hitchhiking	p. 310
Summary	p. 315
Social and Cultural Evolution in the Ocean	p. 316
Evolution to Extremes	p. 316
The Function and Evolution of a Big Nose	p. 317
The Spermaceti Organ: A Buoyancy Control Device or a Battering Ram?	p. 318
The Function and Evolution of a Large Brain	p. 321
Sperm Whales and Other Deep Divers	p. 325
The Colossal Convergence: Sperm Whales and Elephants	p. 332
K-Selection, Sociality, and Ecological Success	p. 335
Social Evolution of Female Sperm Whales: Facing the Predators	p. 339
The Lives of Males	p. 342
Sexual Segregation	p. 346
Social Evolution in the Open Ocean	p. 348
Cultural Evolution in the Ocean	p. 354
Summary	p. 357
Sperm Whales and the Future	p. 360
Ghosts of Past Whaling	p. 360
The New Threats to Sperm Whales	p. 362
Studying Sperm Whales in the Future	p. 368
The Nature and Future of the Sperm Whale	p. 370
Summary	p. 372
How We Study the Sperm Whale	p. 375
Examining Carcasses	p. 375
Studying Living Animals	p. 376
Photoidentification and Photographic Measurement: The Key to Individuals	p. 380
Quantifying Sounds	p. 384
Unraveling Genes	p. 385
References	p. 387
Index	p. 417
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Sperm Whales

Social Evolution in the Ocean

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