How whale singing can be heard by another 4,000 miles away
7 years, 1 month ago

How whale singing can be heard by another 4,000 miles away

Daily Mail  

It sounds like something out of Finding Nemo. When ‘chatting’, sperm whales’ clicks are deep and sonorous and regular — like cetacean Morse code. Whales are highly social and are always ‘talking’ to each other and killer whales use their highly complex vocalisations to co-operate in hunting At this point it turned its clicks to another purpose — as a long-range sonar to locate prey such as squid. In the Pacific, there are five different ‘clans’ of sperm whales and communicates using loud clicks that they create in their huge, bulbous heads where there are oil-filled reservoirs that act as natural amplifiers Marine mammals express the intensely close nature of their society in these sounds. Perhaps that’s why the idea that ‘tame’ whales and dolphins like Wikie — held in captivity close to the open sea where they ought to be swimming wild and free and ‘chattering’ — are learning our human idioms is, for all its good intentions, a distinctly unsettling one.

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History of this topic

Whales communicate with a 'language-like' structure similar to humans
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Whales communicate with a 'language-like' structure similar to humans

ABC  

Across just a few weeks, complex, never-before-heard melodies sung by humpback whales can spread across thousands of kilometres of oceans. A new study, published in Science today, has found these whale songs share fundamental structural similarities with human language, showing that certain linguistic laws are not unique to humans. "We did a very meticulous deep dive into humpback whale song," …

Whale stuns scientists with record journey spanning three oceans to mate
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Whale stuns scientists with record journey spanning three oceans to mate

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A humpback whale has been found travelling a record-breaking distance spanning …

Mysterious clicking sounds reveal rare apex predator lurking in California: 'Sounded like a human machine'
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Mysterious clicking sounds reveal rare apex predator lurking in California: 'Sounded like a human machine'

Daily Mail  

A mysterious clicking sound detected thousands of feet below the surface of the Pacific ocean has revealed fascinating insights into the elusive sperm whale population in California. The endangered giant sperm whale, which is the loudest animal on the planet, is rarely spotted in Monterey Bay, Central California, and is difficult to study due to their lengthy, deep-dive capabilities. A …

Cetacean conversation: AI could let us talk to whales. Experts question if that's a good idea
7 months ago

Cetacean conversation: AI could let us talk to whales. Experts question if that's a good idea

Salon  

Selling more than 125,000 copies, the 1970 album “Songs of the Humpback Whale” is the bestselling nature recording of all time. In an article published five days before Payne’s death last year, the lifelong activist asked readers to imagine what it might be like to talk to whales, writing, “If we could communicate with animals, ask them questions and receive …

How AI is decoding whale communication : Short Wave : NPR
10 months, 1 week ago

How AI is decoding whale communication : Short Wave : NPR

NPR  

Sperm whale families talk a lot. Researchers are trying to decode what they're saying Enlarge this image wildestanimal/Getty Images wildestanimal/Getty Images Scientists are testing the limits of artificial intelligence when it comes to language learning. They dive and hunt together, and sperm whale biologist Shane Gero says they even babysit for each other. But sperm whale scientists like Gero have …

Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Scientists document remarkable sperm whale 'phonetic alphabet'

The Hindu  

The various species of whales inhabiting Earth's oceans employ different types of vocalisations to communicate. We are studying the calls in their behavioral contexts next to understand what sperm whales might be communicating about," said Ms. Sharma. "All of these different codas that we see are actually built by combining a comparatively simple set of smaller pieces," said study co-author …

How do sperm whales talk to each other? MIT scientists decode basic elements of communication system
10 months, 3 weeks ago

How do sperm whales talk to each other? MIT scientists decode basic elements of communication system

Hindustan Times  

Scientists studying the sperm whales that live around the Caribbean island of Dominica have described for the first time the basic elements of how they might be talking to each other, in an effort that could one day help better protect them. Like many whales and dolphins, sperm whales are highly social mammals and communicate by squeezing air through their …

Scientists discover sperm whale ‘phonetic alphabet’
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Scientists discover sperm whale ‘phonetic alphabet’

Al Jazeera  

Scientists studying sperm whales have discovered that they communicate through a sort of “phonetic alphabet”, enabling them to build a rough equivalent of what humans refer to as words and phrases. The study, published on Tuesday, involved sperm whales living around the Caribbean island of Dominica, describing how they communicate by squeezing air through their respiratory systems to make rapid …

Sperm whale language building blocks identified by scientists
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Sperm whale language building blocks identified by scientists

Associated Press  

ROSEAU, Dominica — Scientists studying the sperm whales that live around the Caribbean island of Dominica have described for the first time the basic elements of how they might be talking to each other, in an effort that could one day help better protect them. “We’re now starting to find the first building blocks of whale language,” said David Gruber, …

Scientists are learning the basic building blocks of sperm whale language after years of effort
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Scientists are learning the basic building blocks of sperm whale language after years of effort

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Like many whales and dolphins, sperm whales are highly …

How do whales sing? Lab experiments suggest their voice boxes have a unique feature
1 year, 1 month ago

How do whales sing? Lab experiments suggest their voice boxes have a unique feature

LA Times  

Scientists believe whales, like this humpback and her calf, have specialized voice boxes. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Coen Elemans of the University of Southern Denmark and colleagues studied the voice boxes, or larynxes, from three dead, stranded whales — a humpback, minke and sei, which are all types of baleen whales. As loud as whales’ …

Whale songs are being drowned out by human ocean vessels, study finds
1 year, 1 month ago

Whale songs are being drowned out by human ocean vessels, study finds

Salon  

Whales are best known for their massive size and the biggest among them are the baleen whales. This low frequency makes the whales' vocalizations extremely vulnerable to human noise pollution like shipping traffic. As the study authors explain, baleen whales and their toothed whale cousins could not survive with the larynxes from their land mammal ancestors. At the same time, …

How do whales sing? Scientists point to a specialised voice box that other animals don’t have
1 year, 1 month ago

How do whales sing? Scientists point to a specialised voice box that other animals don’t have

ABC  

In short: A study published in Nature has found baleen whales have evolved over millions of years to use a modified voice box that generates sound without them choking. A study published in Nature has found baleen whales have evolved over millions of years to use a modified voice box that generates sound without them choking. Experts in the field …

How do whales sing? Lab experiments suggest their voice boxes have a unique feature
1 year, 1 month ago

How do whales sing? Lab experiments suggest their voice boxes have a unique feature

Associated Press  

LONDON — Whales sing loud enough that their songs travel through the ocean, but knowing the mechanics behind that has been a mystery. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, Coen Elemans of the University of Southern Denmark and colleagues studied the voice boxes, or larynxes, from three dead, stranded whales — a humpback, minke and sei, which …

Scientists discover secret to how the largest ever mammal sings
1 year, 1 month ago

Scientists discover secret to how the largest ever mammal sings

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The secret to how baleen whales – the largest mammals to …

For toothed whales, sound production is all in the nose
2 years ago

For toothed whales, sound production is all in the nose

The Hindu  

Dolphins, porpoises, killer whales, sperm whales and other toothed whales produce an array of sounds - to find prey employing a sonar-like system called echolocation and to communicate with other members of their species. "Echolocating toothed whales make the loudest sounds in the animal kingdom by forcing highly pressurized air past structures called phonic lips in their nose," said Peter …

Australian humpback whales are singing less and fighting more
2 years, 1 month ago

Australian humpback whales are singing less and fighting more

The Hindu  

As eastern Australian humpback whale populations have recovered over the years, males have adapted their mating strategy in a highly strategic way, new research finds. I analysed 123 days' worth of data on Australian humpbacks, collected from 1997 to 2015, and found male humpbacks sang less and fought more as the whale population ballooned. As the eastern humpback population grew, …

Noise from deep-sea mining may disrupt whale song
2 years, 1 month ago

Noise from deep-sea mining may disrupt whale song

The Hindu  

Noise produced by mining the seabed could interfere with whales' ability to communicate with one another, according to a study released on Tuesday, just as plans to start deep-sea mining for battery metals gather pace. The peer-reviewed study, funded by Umweltstiftung Greenpeace, a foundation arm of the environmental organisation, argues that more research is needed to assess the risk deep-sea …

Blue whales end up as ‘ocean’s roadkill’ in the crowded waters of Patagonia
2 years, 8 months ago

Blue whales end up as ‘ocean’s roadkill’ in the crowded waters of Patagonia

CNN  

The new docuseries “Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World” explores one of the wildest places on Earth. “This allows us to put pressure on the government to regulate ship traffic.” Video Ad Feedback Experts investigate a suspicious blue whale death 03:25 - Source: CNN High-traffic zone The fingerlike fjords, sheltered bays and inner seas of the Patagonian Pacific …

Scientists are eavesdropping on whales -- and it could save their lives
2 years, 8 months ago

Scientists are eavesdropping on whales -- and it could save their lives

The Independent  

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. So-called Distributed Acoustic Sensing uses an “interrogator” instrument to tap into existing, underwater fibre optic cables, and converts unused …

Humans could soon TALK to whales: AI is learning to decode clicking sounds made by the animals
3 years, 5 months ago

Humans could soon TALK to whales: AI is learning to decode clicking sounds made by the animals

Daily Mail  

A team of international scientists recently launched an ambitious project to listen to, contextualize and translate the communication of Sperm whales, with a goal of 'talking' to the majestic marine animals. The initiative, called Project CETI, is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to interpret clicking sounds, or 'codas,' Sperm whales make to communicate with one another. The initiative, called …

How whales are helping conservation efforts in the Indian Ocean
4 years ago

How whales are helping conservation efforts in the Indian Ocean

Live Mint  

Mascarene Plateau, Indian Ocean: Over two weeks at sea, the scientists spotted pilot whales and spinner dolphins, orcas and more. The scientists are on a monthlong quest to document whales and other marine mammals living around the Mascarene Plateau, hoping to bolster arguments for protecting the remote 2,000-km underwater ridge to both fight climate change and protect ocean wildlife. "We're …

Endangered Whale Sightings Aid Quest to Protect Wildlife in Indian Ocean Oasis
4 years ago

Endangered Whale Sightings Aid Quest to Protect Wildlife in Indian Ocean Oasis

News 18  

Over two weeks at sea, the scientists spotted pilot whales and spinner dolphins, orcas and more. “We’re actually generating some of the first baseline data for this area on marine megafauna, and that feels quite exciting,” said Exeter University biologist Kirsten Thompson, one of the scientists on the Greenpeace research expedition. STALLED SANCTUARIES Rising from the ocean depths, the Saya …

Fin whales pick up new songs while migrating and bring them back to local populations, study suggests
4 years, 5 months ago

Fin whales pick up new songs while migrating and bring them back to local populations, study suggests

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But this theory “has been blown out of the water”, by a new study that …

Blue whale singing patterns predict migration, study finds
4 years, 5 months ago

Blue whale singing patterns predict migration, study finds

The Independent  

In the immense vastness of the ocean, sound is everything for whales - allowing them to communicate over titanic distances, and in some species, target food through echolocation. So many marine organisms use sound for a variety of purposes.” Recommended Humpback whales move north as scientists believe warm oceans are the cause Blue whale vocalisations can be detected by other …

Sperm whales avoid foraging first thing in the morning, underwater robots reveal
4 years, 7 months ago

Sperm whales avoid foraging first thing in the morning, underwater robots reveal

Daily Mail  

Endangered sperm whales are less likely to forage for food at dawn in some areas of the Mediterranean, underwater robotic equipment has revealed. The study, published today in the Endangered Species Research, focused on the extremely powerful and highly directional 'usual clicks' produced while foraging The study shows how glider missions can monitor the Mediterranean sperm whale over the winter …

Scientists record singing by rare right whale for first time
5 years, 9 months ago

Scientists record singing by rare right whale for first time

Hindustan Times  

Federal marine biologists for the first time have recorded singing by one of the rarest whales on the planet, the North Pacific right whale. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researchers used moored acoustic recorders to capture repeated patterns of calls made by male North Pacific right whales. It’s the first time right whale songs in any population have been documented, …

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHALE SONG?
6 years, 5 months ago

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHALE SONG?

Daily Mail  

For a long time it was believed that whales sang solely for mating purposes. Researchers have recorded humpback whales changing their calls when they move to new pastures in order to match the songs of others around them. Learning these songs may help whales pinpoint one another and group together better when in unfamiliar waters. Researchers have recorded humpback whales …

HOW DO WHALES COMMUNICATE AND COULD THEY ONE DAY TALK TO HUMANS?
7 years, 1 month ago

HOW DO WHALES COMMUNICATE AND COULD THEY ONE DAY TALK TO HUMANS?

Daily Mail  

How do whales communicate? Whales are known for using complex clicks and singing to communicate with each other - even if they are hundreds of miles apart. Whales that are closely related or live together produce similar pulsed calls that carry vocal characteristics distinct to the group, known as a dialect. She does not attach any meaning to this sound …

Whales also shout to overcome noise
14 years, 8 months ago

Whales also shout to overcome noise

The Hindu  

Just like people in a noisy location, North American right whales virtually ‘shout’ to be heard above the levels of environmental noise, says a study. Susan Parks, assistant professor of acoustics in Penn State University, and fellow researchers looked at individual North Atlantic right whales in varying environmental noise situations. “The impact of human activities in increasing ocean noise is …

Underwater Glider Hunts, Records Cryptic Whales
15 years, 4 months ago

Underwater Glider Hunts, Records Cryptic Whales

Wired  

The mysterious beaked whale is the target of a new undersea glider trying to track the deep-diving mammals by their high-frequency clicks and squeals. “We’ve been focusing on beaked whales because of the conservation implications of being able to find them,” Mellinger said. Most of the Navy’s systems can’t record the high frequencies used by the beaked whales to locate …

What It Sounds Like to Be a Whale
15 years, 9 months ago

What It Sounds Like to Be a Whale

Wired  

When the International Whaling Commission meets this week to discuss the future of whale hunting, aquatic noise pollution will be low on the agenda, if it's discussed at all. They rely on hearing to find food, navigate, and communicate, calling to each other with elaborate vocalizations that can be heard for hundreds of miles, even, in the case of species …

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