Why humpbacks sing

The team does not believe the change in pitch is tied directly to human activity. Their research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans , also showed that the call pitch of the Antarctic blue whales varies across seasons, with pitches increasing 0. These extremely loud sounds — like the cracking of ice in a glass — make it harder for the whales to hear one another, so they crank up the volume, Leroy says.

Noad thinks the overall drop in pitch could be a reflection of the ageing of the population, with older whales making deeper sounds. Contrary to other scientists, he also believes that whales can hear human-made noises from quite a distance, in the same way that people in urban environments can hear the distant rumble of traffic even if there are no cars passing directly by.

But for unknown reasons, blue and fin whales are still struggling; just a few thousand Antarctic blue whales remain. In yet another new study related to whale song, researchers at Woods Hole found that short-finned pilot whales living off the coast of Hawaii have their own vocal dialects, suggesting that different groups are purposely avoiding one another.

The new studies provide a better sense of the social ties between whale groups, which could promote understanding of their genetic diversity and evolution , as well as conservation, the researchers say. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies.

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Already subscribed? Log in. Forgotten your password? Sounds constantly arrive from different spaces and times. And somehow whales decipher an acoustic world where the past and present arrive all at once. And all males are incorporating these changes into their own song as populations come into contact with each other. Or a new pop song comes available and everyone is suddenly listening to it.

This is really not normal in the animal kingdom. But while not all humpbacks sing, most will make more general smaller growling noises to make contact with nearby whales. If a humpback wants to know if other animals are around, they have to produce a sound.

And in fact, what we find is they call back. Whales in southeast Alaska will maintain relationships for decade. However, despite these restrictions, scientists have developed a theoretical understanding of how whale noises are formed.

Using an underwater playback machine to transmit greeting calls, she has received signals back from other humpbacks. The idea is to determine whether similarities or differences in the song determine whom singers interact with through playback experiments.

But do some males also work together cooperate around a female? If so, how do we measure competitive versus cooperative behavior of males around females? Subscribe Volunteer Donate Shop.