Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin
Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin (Sousa chinensis)
Description
Humpback dolphins are found in tropical to temperate, coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic, Indian, and western Pacific oceans. There are four recognized species: S. teuszii, Atlantic humpback dolphin; S. plumbea, Indian Ocean humpback dolphin; S. sahulensis, Australian humpback dolphin; and S. chinensis, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin.
The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (also known as Sousa, Chinese white dolphin, and pink dolphin) is found throughout Southeast Asian waters and is thought to be declining throughout its range. Their acoustic repertoire is similar to that of other dolphin species, with broadband click trains, burst pulses, and narrow-band, frequency-modulated whistles. In Sanniang Bay, China, the dolphins were found to produce broadband, high frequency (ultrasonic) echolocation clicks (mean peak frequency 109 kHz), similar to those of other species, such as bottlenose dolphin and Risso’s dolphin. For dolphins in Hong Kong waters, burst pulses had a large frequency range from 0.6 to > 2.2kHz. Whistles range from 0.52 to 33 kHz. Differences in duration and frequency modulation across locations may be related to local ambient noise.
The distribution of humpback dolphins makes them vulnerable to impacts from human activities, including disturbance from anthropogenic noise. The underwater habitats of Indo-Pacific dolphins are inherently noisy, impacted primarily by shipping and other vessel traffic. Mid- to high-frequency underwater noise associated with high-speed ferries and small high-speed boats were found to overlap in frequency with Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin communication and echolocation signals, and is within the hearing range for the species. More data on population distributions, bioacoustics behavior, physiology of humpback dolphins, prey distributions, as well as noise characteristics are needed, especially as rapid coastal development continues in the species’ range.
Additional Links on DOSITS
- Animals > Marine Mammal Navigation
- Animals > Marine Mammal Communication
- Animals > Marine Mammal Masking
- Animals > Commercial Vessel Traffic
- Audio Gallery > Bottlenose dolphin
- Audio Gallery > Risso’s dolphin
Additional Resources
- Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin / Indian Ocean humpback dolphin.
References
- Fang, L., Li, S., Wang, K., Wang, Z., Shi, W., & Wang, D. (2015). Echolocation signals of free-ranging Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in Sanniang Bay, China. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(3), 1346–1352. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4929492
- Hoffman, J. M., Ponnampalam, L. S., Araújo, C. C., Wang, J. Y., Kuit, S. H., & Hung, S. K. (2015). Comparison of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin ( Sousa chinensis) whistles from two areas of western Peninsular Malaysia. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(5), 2829–2835. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4934254
- Jefferson, T. A. (2000). Population biology of the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin in Hong Kong waters. Wiley on behalf of the Wildlife Society.
- Jefferson, T. A., & Hung, S. K. (2004). A review of the status of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in Chinese waters. Aquatic Mammals, 30(1), 149–158. https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.30.1.2004.149
- Jefferson, T. A., & Smith, B. D. (2016). Re-assessment of the conservation status of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) using the IUCN Red List criteria. In Advances in Marine Biology(Vol. 73, pp. 1–26). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.amb.2015.04.002
- Karczmarski, L., Huang, S.-L., Or, C. K. M., Gui, D., Chan, S. C. Y., Lin, W., … Wu, Y. (2016). Humpback Dolphins in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. In Advances in Marine Biology(Vol. 73, pp. 27–64). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.amb.2015.09.003
- Li, S., Liu, M., Dong, L., Dong, J., & Wang, D. (2018). Potential impacts of shipping noise on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and implications for regulation and mitigation: a review. Integrative Zoology, 13(5), 495–506. https://doi.org/10.1111/1749-4877.12304
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Li, S., Wu, H., Xu, Y., Peng, C., Fang, L., Lin, M., … Zhang, P. (2015). Mid- to high-frequency noise from high-speed boats and its potential impacts on humpback dolphins. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(2), 942–952. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4927416
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Liu, M., Dong, L., Lin, M., & Li, S. (2017). Broadband ship noise and its potential impacts on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins: Implications for conservation and management. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 142(5), 2766–2775. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5009444
- Munger, L., Lammers, M. O., Cifuentes, M., Würsig, B., Jefferson, T. A., & Hung, S. K. (2016). Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin occurrence north of Lantau Island, Hong Kong, based on year-round passive acoustic monitoring. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 140(4), 2754–2765. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4963874
- Parra, G. J., & Jefferson, T. A. (2018). Humpback Dolphins. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals(pp. 483–489). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804327-1.00153-9
- Pine, M. K., Wang, K., & Wang, D. (2016). Monitoring rising ambient sound levels from vessels and impacts on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) occurrences (p. 070003). Presented at the Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life, Dublin, Ireland. https://doi.org/10.1121/2.0000252</a
- Sims, P. Q., Vaughn, R., Hung, S. K., & Würsig, B. (2012). Sounds of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins ( Sousa chinensis) in West Hong Kong: A preliminary description. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 131(1), EL48–EL53. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.3663281
- Wang, Z., Fang, L., Shi, W., Wang, K., & Wang, D. (2013). Whistle characteristics of free-ranging Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins ( Sousa chinensis) in Sanniang Bay, China. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 133(4), 2479–2489. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4794390
- Würsig, B., Parsons, E. C. M., Piwetz, S., & Porter, L. (2016). The Behavioural Ecology of Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins in Hong Kong. In Advances in Marine Biology(Vol. 73, pp. 65–90). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.amb.2015.08.008