Sperm whales occur throughout the year and are associated mainly with deep-water and canyon-associated habitats (Alves et al.<\/em>, 2018<\/a>). Habitat suitability increases from June to November and is highest at sea-surface temperatures of around 23\u00b0C (Fernandez et al.<\/em>, 2021). The presence of calves and neonates indicates that Madeira is also used as a calving area (Correia-Fagundes & Romano, 2013).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sperm whales produce powerful broadband clicks, with energy extending from <100 Hz to at least 20\u201332 kHz and a peak frequency often around 10 kHz (M\u00f8hl et al.<\/em>, 2003). Their acoustic activity is dominated by long series of regularly spaced \u2018usual clicks\u2019 during deep foraging dives, typically emitted at intervals of ~ 0.5\u20132 s (Miller et al.<\/em>, 2004). These clicks are generally interpreted as biosonar signals used in prey detection, often accelerating into much faster buzzes or creaks during prey capture (Miller et al.<\/em>, 2004). In contrast, shorter stereotyped click patterns, known as codas, are produced mainly during social interactions at the surface and are linked to cohesion within social groups. These consist of brief sequences of ~ 3\u201340 clicks, typically lasting less than 3 s (Watkins and Schevill, 1977; Weilgart and Whitehead, 1993; Rendell and Whitehead, 2003).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sperm whale(Physeter macrocephalus) Sperm whales occur throughout the year and are associated mainly with deep-water and canyon-associated habitats (Alves et al., 2018). Habitat suitability increases from June to November and is highest at sea-surface temperatures of around 23\u00b0C (Fernandez et … Continue reading