Do You Know The Song Of The Whales?
Whales use various singing techniques to communicate. The song of the whales is one of the strangest mechanisms in nature. In this post we tell you interesting things about this topic.
What does the song of the whales sound like?
The song of the world’s largest mammals is made up of repetitive and predictable patterns.
One of the most “singing” species is the humpback whale, whose song is said to resemble human song.
Also interesting is the song of the bowhead whale, which every year adds a different song to its repertoire, which is then adopted by the whole family.
Whales are well known for the “music” they use to communicate with their fellows underwater. Since they do not have good eyesight, they can orient themselves and come together through the song of the whales .
That these marine mammals sing underwater is a very interesting phenomenon. Sound is faster in water than in air (1500 m / s in water and 340 m / s in air) and covers greater distances so that you can communicate with your fellow dogs several kilometers away!
The song of the whales has been extensively researched. Many claim that it primarily serves to select a partner, but that it can also have other functions, such as determining the size or type of objects in the vicinity.
In some species, only the males sing during the rutting season. This is how the females are impressed.
The song of the whales can also create a rivalry between two males, with which they demarcate their territory or express their superiority and ask the other to leave.
During the mating season, humpback whales “compose” an individual or “unreleased” song that is not sung by other whales.
Another purpose for whales to sing is to let their conspecifics know that they have found a large school of fish when they are eating in groups or cooperatively. This chant is known as the feed call.
How is the whale song produced?
Unlike humans, who use the larynx and vocal cords, whales develop sound in two different ways, depending on whether they are toothed whales or baleen whales.
When choosing teeth, the air flows through a type of lip, creating two sounds in unison. The vibration is driven by the head. For example, the sperm whale can emit a song of up to 223 decibels.
Baleen whales (for example fin whales and gray and bowhead whales) do not have these lips, but they do have a larynx. They don’t have vocal cords and don’t have to exhale air to make the sounds. Baleen whales sing about 180 decibels aloud.
Another interesting fact: whales that live in similar geographic areas sing in a similar way, albeit with small variations.
If, on the other hand, one compares the melodies of species from different hemispheres, they differ greatly.
The whales also had to increase their noise level due to the increasing sea traffic. Only in this way can they “make themselves heard” in an environment that is no longer as quiet as it was a few centuries ago.
This can lead to increased stress and other difficulties for whales and dolphins, for example during the mating season.
