Amazing new discovery about humpback whales

Humpback whales share songs during migration.

A team of researchers has revealed that humpback whales can share culture with "songs" across the entire South Pacific during migration.

Humpback whales can share songs from different regions during migration.

Whale songs have long been recognized by scientists as part of the animal's culture. A study from the University of St Andrews, Scotland and the University of San Francisco, Ecuador found that the songs of humpback whales in the region of the Pacific Ocean (near Australia) were imitated by whales near Equator.

The discovery of this shared culture could help scientists understand the underlying mechanisms of how whales learn to sing and develop communication with each other.

Humpback whales are crustaceans about 15 meters long and weighing up to 30 tons. This is a species of whale that is of interest to scientists because their songs are very complex and always change from year to year.

In summer, they feed near the Earth's poles, then they migrate in winter to temperate regions and breed.

According to the researchers, males often sing in a stereotypical, repetitive way, while females with short, less complex songs, this is what they communicate with each other.

Specifically, the songs of the children are organized according to a system with many hierarchies. At the first level, each sound (called a "unit") comes together to form a series of units called a "sentence".

Repeated "sentences" create a "theme", sung by this species in a specific order forming a song lasting 5 to 30 minutes, and a humpback song session can be as long. few hours.

Until now, these songs are still being studied by scientists and it is known that they are still being developed every year by humpback whales.

The meaning of these songs is still controversial in the scientific world, some experts believe that it plays an important role in the reproduction of males with females or this is the language for them to communicate. continue to share culture with each other.

Whales share culture across the South Pacific

It has been suggested that a location in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in the Kermadec Islands, New Zealand, is a stopping point for humpback whales from some populations during their southern migration.

Scientists have discovered similarities in the song theme of this species in the Kermadec archipelago with a population in Polysesia, France. This gives an indication of where cultural transmission may take place between populations.

Dr. Ellen Garland, University of St Andrews, member of the research team said in a statement: "Male humpback whales perform complex and highly cultural songs. Our research shows The migratory patterns of humpback whales seem to be inscribed in their songs.

"The team found similarities between the songs of humpback whales in the Kermadec Islands and some winter habitats in temperate areas," adds Garland.

 Spectrogram of three song themes shared by humpback whales from two populations from Polynesia, France (FP) and Ecuador (EC) (Image: Garland).

During the study, the scientists recorded the whale's song between 2016 and 2018 at various locations across the Pacific Ocean.

After analyzing the measurements, the team discovered that a population in Polynesia (France) and a group near the Equator shared song themes. This suggests that humpback whales are closely related throughout the Pacific.

This study expands understanding of the extent of cultural transmission among South Pacific humpback whale populations and helps to elucidate how they learn to sing.

Scientists believe that understanding this cultural phenomenon will provide valuable information about the evolution of complex communication, including language and culture of this species.