Decades of research have been dedicated to understanding humpback whale songs. Why do they sing? What and where is the intended audience of these songs? To help uncover the answers, many scientists have framed whale songs as something similar to bird songs: vocalizations designed for attracting potential mates, or warnings to competitors.
But for the past several years, a University at Buffalo researcher has been proposing a radically different story about whale songs. His latest study, published in the journal Animal Cognition, presents additional evidence to strengthen his argument for a departure from treating whale songs as the underwater analog to bird songs.
The findings reveal the changing nature of the units within whale songs, and the way those units further morph through the years. These changes present a vocal flexibility that demonstrates the inadequacy of using human labels, likes cries, chirps and moans, for a species with the capacity for much more sophisticated sound production.
"The analyses in this paper suggest that we shouldn't be thinking about whale songs as language or musical notes," says Eduardo Mercado, PhD, a professor of psychology in UB's College of Arts and Sciences. "What the singers are doing seems to be much more dynamic, both within songs and across years.
