Cited by 30Animal Vocal Communication and BehaviorMarine animal studies overviewComparative Animal Anatomy Studies

Estimated source intensity and active space of the American alligator (Alligator Mississippiensis) vocal display

Todd, Neil P. McAngus·2007·The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Abstract

In this article the results are reported of a study to measure the intensity of the vocal displays of a population of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). It was found that the dominant frequencies in air range between 20 and 250 Hz with a source sound pressure level (SPL) of 91-94 dB at 1 m. The active space for the air-borne component is defined by the background and was estimated to be in a range up to 159 m in the 125-200 Hz band. For the water-borne component the dominant frequency range was 20-100 Hz with a source SPL of 121-125 dB at 1 m. The active space in water is defined by hearing thresholds and was estimated to range up to 1.5 km in the 63-100 Hz band. In the lowest frequency bands, i.e., 16-50 Hz, the estimated active space for otolith detection of near-field particle motion in water ranged to 80 m, which compared significantly with far-field detection for these frequencies. It is suggested that alligator vocal communication may involve two distinct sensory mechanisms which may subserve the functions of scene analysis and reproduction, respectively.

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Crossref · 10.1121/1.2785811

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30 of 30 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Only four studies have explicitly measured underwater acoustic signals for any crocodylian species worldwide.

    “only four studies (Todd 2007; Staniewicz et al. 2022, 2023; Ajji and Lang 2025) have explicitly measured these for any crocodylian species worldwide.”
  • Acoustic signals are detected by individuals differently in air (by ear) than underwater (likely by bone conduction), resulting in a broader range of frequencies being detected in air, but over longer propagation distances underwater.

    “Acoustic signals are detected by individuals differently in air (by ear) than underwater (likely by bone conduction) (Higgs et al. 2002), which results in a broader range of frequencies being detected in air, but over longer propagation distances underwater (Higgs et al. 2002; Todd 2007).”

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Authors
Todd, N. P. M.
Affiliations
University of Manchester (GB)
Corresponding author
Todd, Neil P. McAngus
Venue
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
Published
2007-11-01
Volume
122
Issue
5
Pages
2906-2915
ISSN
  • 0001-4966 (ISSN-L)
  • 1520-8524
OpenAlex
W2056733200
Cited by
30
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 3 · 2013: 2
FWCI
1.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology › Animal Vocal Communication and Behavior
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Marine animal studies overview
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Urology › Comparative Animal Anatomy Studies
Keywords
Alligator mississippiensis, vocal display, vocal communication, source intensity, active space, sound pressure level, dominant frequency, underwater acoustic propagation, particle motion, hearing threshold, scene analysis, reproduction
MeSH terms
Air, Alligators and Crocodiles, Animals, Auditory Threshold, Male, Models, Theoretical, Noise, Sound Spectrography, Vocalization, Animal, Water

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