Musical Whales?

You've heard of musical chairs. Well this is different. This is musical whales. For years, scientists and marine biologists have sought to understand the complexities and intricacies of humpback whale communication through series of underwater sounds. Popular movies throughout American cinematic culture, such as Free Willy (1993) and even Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), have done little justice to this beautiful phenomenon. But now, the science world may be closer to unraveling this mystery than ever before.

According to a recent article featured on ScienceNews.org (sciencenews.org), the popular website for the "Magazine of the Society for Science & the Public", humpback whales may alter their "song" if another whale begins to "sing along." Humpback communicatory sounds were originally termed "songs" due their regular sound patterns and acoustic predictability, particularly in terms of pitch, resonance, etc. Male humpbacks have even been referred to as "composers" on occasion.

The breakthrough in humpback song research came when scientists began applying the same methodology employed in studying the musical dimensions of bird songs, according to Science News columnist Susan Milius (sciencenews.org). Danielle Cholewiak is a researcher for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Scituate, Mass. She and a team of fellow researchers experimented with playing previously-recorded whale songs underwater in order to see how average humpbacks would respond. Interestingly, they were able to detect very obvious changes and adjustments in melodic tone, pitch and duration of calls.

The research and data also revealed that it is typically the male humpbacks who unleash extended strings of repetitive sounds, deep booms, hums and chirps, some of which are powerful enough to vibrate nearby boats. Much like songbirds employ the use of their melodic tunes to attract potential mates, so does the male humpback whale sing when he is near a female. It is not uncommon for three to four males to encircle a female and compete for her attention. In fact, Salvatore Cerchio of the Wildlife Conservation Society (www.wcs.org), says that the notion of "The gentle giant is a myth," according to Milius.

Unfortunately, current tests, experiments and research have been unable to conclusively prove a link between whale's songs and their mating rituals. Not to mention that no scientist has truly been able to observe a male and female humpback mate in their natural habitat.

In one observed case cited by Science News, however, a male humpback began singing while alone and continued for a span of 45 minutes. After being joined by another male, the two continued singing together for an additional 45 minutes. Cholewiak noted the subtle changes in their songs when they sing alone as opposed to together.

The majority of marine biologists and whale researchers have tended to give up on underwater, electronic song playbacks. Cholewiak, however, observed a considerable amount of response from the whales in the area. She has concluded that when two whales meet one another, whether for the first time or again, their songs tend to change in musical theme.