Nimrit Palan, Mumbai University
Humpback whale songs are similar to bird songs in that they sing to attract other whales for mating or to warn their competitors. They sing with great changes in vocal flexibility. This explains why human labels like crying, chirping and moaning are insufficient for a species that is capable of more advanced sound formation. Each song lasts 10-20 minutes and has several variations in frequency and amplitude. Individual humpbacks can sing for more than 24 hours).
Purpose of the study:
The goal of this study is to learn more about humpback whales who sing songs to attract potential mates and alert competitors. Essentially, singing songs is the primary mode of communication. The term “song” refers to a pattern of variations in sounds produced by humpback whales like human singing.
A recent study shows:
Experts in marine mammals used to believe that male humpbacks only sang during courtship and mating to attract females and/or compete with other males. However, newer research indicates that whales sing while hunting for food and migrating along the coast. Researchers previously believed that humpback and bowhead whales were the only mammals other than humans to gradually change the songs they sing through a process known as cultural learning. Humpback whales do not change their songs as a result of cultural learning.
Salient features of the study:
When listening to whale songs from years ago, there are clear differences in the units. They’re as indistinguishable as switching from one musical genre to another.
The changes in the sounds appear to be evolutionary rather than random in nature. The modifications follow a strict set of rules, such as maintaining pitch ranges even when the sounds appear to vary quite a bit qualitatively. The mutating of these units could help the overall function of the songs by increasing the number of positions from which listening whales can accurately identify, localize, and monitor them.
Although the humpback whale song is one of the most well-known animal sounds, little is known about its function. Only male humpback whales sing, implying that the song is a mating display similar in nature to bird songs.
Limitations of the study:
The changes in the units that contribute to the overall functions of the sounds are not functionally equal, which makes detecting the locations and movements of the morphing units in the sound difficult.
Conclusion:
The article concludes with a discussion of the differences in male humpback whale singing techniques used to seduce or attract their female partners. It has been noticed that the pattern of their singing is very similar to the sound of chirping birds. It has also been discovered that their singing has less to do with attracting mates and more to do with locating their next meal.
Reference:
- Mercado, E., & Perazio, C. E. (2021). All units are equal in humpback whale songs, but some are more equal than others. Animal Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01539-8
Author info:
Nimrit Palan is a Biotech researcher with graduation in BSc. Biotechnology from the University of Mumbai. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Biotechnology Part 1.
Selected previous articles of the author:
Congratulations Nimrit !! Amazing Article on Biotech 🙂