Audio files from: High-frequency modulated signals of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in the North Pacific
Data files
Apr 23, 2026 version files 5.99 GB
-
Killer_whale_HFM_calls_from_Simonis_et_al_2012.zip
5.99 GB
-
README.md
1.78 KB
Abstract
Killer whales in the North Pacific, similar to Atlantic populations, produce high-frequency modulated signals, based on acoustic recordings from ship-based hydrophone arrays and autonomous recorders at multiple locations. The median peak frequency of these signals ranged from 19.6–36.1 kHz and median duration ranged from 50–163 ms. Source levels were 185–193 dB peak-to-peak re: 1 μPa at 1 m. These uniform, repetitive, down-swept signals are similar to bat echolocation signals and possibly could have echolocation functionality. A large geographic range of occurrence suggests that different killer whale ecotypes may utilize these signals. Audio files with killer whale High Frequency Modulated (HFM) signals are included here, along with CSV files containing contours of HFM signals.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8cz8w9h7f
Description of the data and file structure
High-frequency modulated calls attributed to killer whales were found in acoustic recordings from various locations throughout the North Pacific, as described in Simonis et al 2012 (https://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3690963). Instrumentation included autonomous bottom-moored high-frequency acoustic recording packages, towed hydrophone arrays, and a hydrophone array deployed from the Research Platform FLIP. When HFM signals were detected, their contours were traced and time, frequency, and amplitude values were exported to a CSV file.
Files and variables
File: Killer_whale_HFM_calls_from_Simonis_et_al_2012.zip
Description:
Aleutians: folder with audio files and traced contours from the Aleutian Islands
FLIP: folder with audio files and traced contours from the Research Platform FLIP
Gulf of California: folder with audio files and traced contours from the Gulf of California
Hoke: folder with audio files and traced contours from Hoke Seamount
SOCAL35N: folder with audio files and traced contours from Southern California site "N"
Washington Coast: folder with audio files and traced contours from coastal waters of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary of Washington state
Location and specification of acoustic recordings.xlsx: Metadata for acoustic recordings
Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
- Acoustic recording archives from John Hildebrand, Scripps Whale Acoustics Laboratory