Science Bulletin May/June 2014 Debate Issue | Page 36

Structure

Why Humpback whales sing is still a mystery; however, researchers do understand the structure and patterns behind the song. The most basic notes in a whale song are units, basically one note of song. Sub-phrase are the next category, and usually are composed of several units of whale song. Phrases, another rung up the ladder are composed of several sub-phrases. Themes are even above phrases, and would be like verses of a song. Finally whale songs are composed of a series of repeating and new themes, forming the verses and choruses of the song. Often times the songs will last for half an hour and be sung over tens of nautical miles, sort of like the songs we sing on road trips to help make our long journeys more tolerable.

The Other Sounds

Besides singing the complicated songs, whales also communicate using social sounds, such as splashing, and hissing. Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia have done some of the most bountiful of all research on the social sounds whales use to communicate when singing is not practical. They found that in high wind conditions the Humpbacks tend to float to the surface and communicate by splashing their fins or breaching the water; however, researchers don’t truly have all the answers to why whales use social sound over song in most cases. The researchers in Australia, have narrowed the reasons for communication to three general ideas of why they communicate: to prompt fighting between males, to maintain contact between pods of whales, and to select mates. Further study on when whales engage in different forms of communication is necessary to decipher exactly which sounds are meant to communicate which messages.

What do you think?