Editing Narwhal (section)

=== Communication ===
{{See also|Whale vocalization}}
Like most toothed whales, narwhals use sound to navigate and hunt for food. They primarily vocalise through clicks, whistles and knocks, created by air movement between chambers near the [[Blowhole (anatomy)|blowhole]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Blackwell |first1=Susanna B. |last2=Tervo |first2=Outi M. |last3=Conrad |first3=Alexander S. |last4=Sinding |first4=Mikkel H. S. |last5=Hansen |first5=Rikke G. |last6=Ditlevsen |first6=Susanne |last7=Heide-Jørgensen |first7=Mads Peter |date=13 June 2018 |title=Spatial and temporal patterns of sound production in East Greenland narwhals |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=13 |issue=6 |pages=e0198295 |bibcode=2018PLoSO..1398295B |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0198295 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=5999075 |pmid=29897955 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":25">{{Citation |last=Wei |first=Chong |title=Chapter 17 - Sound production and propagation in cetaceans |date=1 January 2021 |work=Neuroendocrine Regulation of Animal Vocalization |pages=267–295 |editor-last=Rosenfeld |editor-first=Cheryl S. |editor-last2=Hoffmann |editor-first2=Frauke |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012815160000013X |access-date=18 July 2024 |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |isbn=978-0-12-815160-0 }}</ref> The frequency of these sounds ranges from 0.3 to 125 [[hertz]], while those used for [[Animal echolocation|echolocation]] typically fall between 19 and 48 hertz.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Still |first1=Robert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9B-DwAAQBAJ&dq=Narwhal+reproduction&pg=PA161 |title=Europe's Sea Mammals Including the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde: A field guide to the whales, dolphins, porpoises and seals |last2=Harrop |first2=Hugh |last3=Dias |first3=Luís |last4=Stenton |first4=Tim |date=2019 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-19062-4 |pages=16 |language=en |access-date=28 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128092010/https://books.google.com/books?id=z9B-DwAAQBAJ&dq=Narwhal+reproduction&pg=PA161#v=onepage&q=Narwhal%20reproduction&f=false |archive-date=28 January 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Miller |first1=Lee A. |last2=Pristed |first2=John |last3=Møshl |first3=Bertel |last4=Surlykke |first4=Annemarie |date=October 1995 |title=The click-sounds of narwhals (''Monodon monoceros'') in Inglefield Bay, Northwest Greenland |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1995.tb00672.x |url-status=live |journal=Marine Mammal Science |language=en |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=491–502 |bibcode=1995MMamS..11..491M |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.1995.tb00672.x |issn=0824-0469 |s2cid=85148204 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005045122/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1995.tb00672.x |archive-date=5 October 2022 |access-date=27 January 2024}}</ref> Sounds are reflected off the sloping front of the skull and focused by the animal's [[Melon (cetacean)|melon]]: a mass of fat which can be controlled through surrounding musculature.<ref name=":25" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Senevirathna |first1=Jayan Duminda Mahesh |last2=Yonezawa |first2=Ryo |last3=Saka |first3=Taiki |last4=Igarashi |first4=Yoji |last5=Funasaka |first5=Noriko |last6=Yoshitake |first6=Kazutoshi |last7=Kinoshita |first7=Shigeharu |last8=Asakawa |first8=Shuichi |date=January 2021 |title=Transcriptomic insight into the melon morphology of toothed whales for aquatic molecular developments |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=13 |issue=24 |pages=13997 |doi=10.3390/su132413997 |issn=2071-1050 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Echolocation clicks are used for detecting prey and locating barriers at short distances.<ref name=":25" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zahn |first1=Marie J. |last2=Rankin |first2=Shannon |last3=McCullough |first3=Jennifer L. K. |last4=Koblitz |first4=Jens C. |last5=Archer |first5=Frederick |last6=Rasmussen |first6=Marianne H. |last7=Laidre |first7=Kristin L. |date=12 November 2021 |title=Acoustic differentiation and classification of wild belugas and narwhals using echolocation clicks |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=22141 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1122141Z |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-01441-w |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=8589986 |pmid=34772963}}</ref> Whistles and throbs are most commonly used to communicate with other pod members.<ref name=":25" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Marcoux |first1=Marianne |last2=Auger-Méthé |first2=Marie |last3=Humphries |first3=Murray M. |date=October 2012 |title=Variability and context specificity of narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') whistles and pulsed calls |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00514.x |journal=Marine Mammal Science |language=en |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=649–665 |bibcode=2012MMamS..28..649M |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00514.x |issn=0824-0469}}</ref> Calls recorded from the same pod are more similar than calls from different pods, suggesting the possibility of group- or individual-specific calls. Narwhals sometimes adjust the duration and pitch of their pulsed calls to maximise sound propagation in varying acoustic environments.<ref name="WinterWhales" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shapiro |first=Ari D. |date=1 September 2006 |title=Preliminary evidence for signature vocalizations among free-ranging narwhals (''Monodon monoceros'') |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2226586 |journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America |volume=120 |issue=3 |pages=1695–1705 |bibcode=2006ASAJ..120.1695S |doi=10.1121/1.2226586 |issn=0001-4966 |pmid=17004490 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1912/2355}}</ref> Other sounds produced by narwhals include trumpeting and "squeaking-door sounds".<ref name="Fisheries and Oceans Canada" /> The narwhal vocal repertoire is similar to that of the beluga whale. However, the frequency ranges, durations, and repetition rates of narwhal clicks differ from those of belugas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Joshua M. |last2=Frasier |first2=Kaitlin E. |last3=Westdal |first3=Kristin H. |last4=Ootoowak |first4=Alex J. |last5=Wiggins |first5=Sean M. |last6=Hildebrand |first6=John A. |date=1 March 2022 |title=Beluga (''Delphinapterus leucas'') and narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') echolocation click detection and differentiation from long-term Arctic acoustic recordings |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-022-03008-5 |journal=Polar Biology |language=en |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=449–463 |bibcode=2022PoBio..45..449J |doi=10.1007/s00300-022-03008-5 |issn=1432-2056 |s2cid=246176509}}</ref>