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https://apnews.com/article/science-oddities-animals-australia-whales-065e1b7c6a45b188ea1c918f4f2a75ee>
"WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.
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 at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. “When there were fewer of
them, there was a lot of singing — now that there are lots of them, no need to
be singing so much.”
Scientists first began to hear and study the elaborate songs of humpback whales
in the 1970s, thanks to new underwater microphones. Only male whales sing, and
the tunes are thought to play a role in attracting mates and asserting
dominance.
Eastern Australia’s humpback whales were facing regional extinction in the
1960s, with only around 200 whales left. But numbers grew and reached 27,000
whales by 2015 — approaching estimated pre-whaling levels."
Via Frederick Wilson II.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
