Those melancholy tunes sung by humpback whales may really be a sign of loneliness. Scientists who tracked humpback whales in Australia noticed that fewer whales wailed to find mates as their population grew. “Humpback whale song is loud and travels far in the ocean,” said marine biologist Rebecca Dunlop, who has studied humpback whales that breed near the Great Barrier Reef for more than two decades. FILE PHOTO: A humpback whale dives off the coast of Port Stephens, Australia, on June 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File) As whale numbers dramatically rebounded following the end of commercial whaling — one of the world’s great conservation success stories — she noticed something unexpected. “It was getting more difficult to actually find singers,” said Dunlop, who is based ...
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A University of Queensland-led study has found humpback whales can learn incredibly complex songs from whales from other regions. Dr Jenny Allen, whose doctoral work at UQ’s School of Veterinary Science led to the study, said researchers found New Caledonian humpback whales could learn songs from their counterparts from Australia’s east coast with remarkable accuracy. New Caledonian humpback whale. Image credit Opération Cétacés “This really indicates a level of ‘cultural transmission’ beyond any observed non-human species,” Dr Allen said. The study looked closely at the song patterns of male humpback whales from each region between 2009 and 2015, to examine how culture transmits between the populations. Dr Allen said the complexity of the songs was determined by measuring ...
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