Humpback whales are well known for their songs

Whale song is the sound made by whales to communicate. The word "song" is used in particular to describe the pattern of regular and predictable sounds made by some species of whales (notably the humpback) in a way that is reminiscent of human singing. This article is about the rock group. ... Make A Friend Out Of Me is a unique song written by Vinny Pop for whale conservation. ... Image File history File links This image was taken by United States government employee during the course of their work and thus is in the public domain. ... Image File history File links This image was taken by United States government employee during the course of their work and thus is in the public domain. ... Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae Borowski, 1781 Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is a baleen whale. ... This image shows the fluke of Sperm Whale as it begins a dive into the Gulf of Mexico. ... Sound is a disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through matter as a wave. ... This article is about the animal. ... Animal communication is any behaviour on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. ... For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae Borowski, 1781 Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is a baleen whale. ... This article is about modern humans. ...

The mechanisms used to produce sound vary from one family of cetaceans to another. Marine mammals, such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises, are much more dependent on sound for communication and sensation than land mammals are , as other senses are of limited effectiveness in water. Sight is limited for marine mammals because of the way water absorbs light. Smell is also limited, as molecules diffuse more slowly in water than air, which makes smelling less effective. In addition, the speed of sound in water is roughly four times that in the atmosphere at sea level. Because sea-mammals are so dependent on hearing to communicate and feed, environmentalists and cetologists are concerned that they are being harmed by the increased ambient noise in the world's oceans caused by ships and marine seismic surveys. Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... A Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), a member of Order Cetacea A Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), a member of infrafamily Pinnipedia A West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), a member of Order Sirenia A pair of Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris), a member of family Mustelidae yeahh boii ♥ A marine mammal is a... This article is about the animal. ... Genera See article below. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoise Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoise The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Young boy smelling a flower Olfaction, which is also known as Olfactics is the sense of smell, and the detection of chemicals dissolved in air. ... Sound is a disturbance of mechanical energy that propagates through matter as a wave. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... Cetology is the branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoise in the scientific order Cetacea. ...

Production of sound

Humans produce sound by expelling air through the larynx. The vocal cords within the larynx open and close as necessary to separate the stream of air into discrete pockets of air. These pockets are shaped by the throat, tongue, and lips into the desired sound. The larynx (plural larynges), colloquially known as the voicebox, is an organ in the neck of mammals involved in protection of the trachea and sound production. ... Laryngoscopic view of the vocal folds. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... For other uses, see Lip (disambiguation). ...

Cetacean sound production differs markedly from this mechanism. The precise mechanism differs in the two major suborders of cetaceans: the Odontoceti (toothed whales—including dolphins) and the Mysticeti (baleen whales—including the largest whales, such as the Blue Whale). Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ... Diversity Around 15 species; see list of cetaceans or below. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Blue Whale range Subspecies B. m. ...

Toothed whale sound production

Idealized dolphin head showing the regions involved in sound production. This image was redrawn from Cranford (2000).

Toothed whales do not make the long, low-frequency sounds known as the whale song. Instead they produce rapid bursts of high-frequency clicks and whistles. Single clicks are generally used for echolocation whereas collections of clicks and whistles are used for communication. Though a large pod of dolphins will make a veritable cacophony of different noises, very little is known about the meaning of the sound. Frankell^[1] quotes one researcher characterizing listening to such a school as like listening to a group of children at a stripclub. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... See: Animal echolocation: animals emitting sound waves and listening to the echo in order to locate objects or navigate. ...

The multiple sounds themselves are produced by passing air through a structure in the head rather like the human nasal passage called the phonic lips. As the air passes through this narrow passage, the phonic lip membranes are sucked together, causing the surrounding tissue to vibrate. These vibrations can, as with the vibrations in the human larynx, be consciously controlled with great sensitivity. The vibrations pass through the tissue of the head to the melon, which shapes and directs the sound into a beam of sound for echolocation. Every toothed whale except the sperm whale has two sets of phonic lips and is thus capable of making two sounds independently. Once the air has passed the phonic lips it enters the vestibular sac. From there the air may be recycled back into the lower part of the nasal complex, ready to be used for sound creation again, or passed out through the blowhole. The melon is a oily, fatty lump of tissue found at the centre of the forehead of most dolphins and toothed whales. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 metres (60 ft) long. ... It has been suggested that Equilibrioception be merged into this article or section. ...

The French name for phonic lips—museau de singe—translates to "monkey lips," which the phonic lip structure is supposed to resemble. New cranial analysis using computed axial and single photon emission computed tomography scans in 2004 showed that, at least in the case of bottlenose dolphins, air may be supplied to the nasal complex from the lungs by the palatopharyngeal sphincter, enabling the sound creation process to continue for as long as the dolphin is able to hold their breath.^[2] CT apparatus in a hospital Computed axial tomography (CAT), computer-assisted tomography, computed tomography, CT, or body section roentgenography is the process of using digital processing to generate a three-dimensional image of the internals of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around... Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is a nuclear medicine tomographic imaging technique using gamma rays. ...

Toothed Whale Sound Levels

Toothed whale sound levels range from 0.04 kHz to 325 kHz. ^[3] A list of typical levels is shown in the table below.

Broadband in telecommunications is a term which refers to a signaling method which includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 metres (60 ft) long. ... This article refers to the whale, beluga. ... See: Animal echolocation: animals emitting sound waves and listening to the echo in order to locate objects or navigate. ... Binomial name Lagenorhynchus albirostris (Gray, 1846) White-beaked Dolphin range The White-beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) is a marine mammal belonging to the family Delphinidae (dolphins) in the suborder of the Odontoceti, or toothed whales. ... Binomial name (Gray, 1828) Spinner Dolphin range The Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. ... Binomial name Montagu, 1821 Bottlenose Dolphin range (in blue) The Bottlenose Dolphin is the most common and well-known dolphin. ...

Baleen whale sound production

Baleen whales do not have phonic lip structure. Instead they have a larynx that appears to play a role in sound production, but it lacks vocal chords and scientists remain uncertain as to the exact mechanism. The process, however, cannot be completely analogous to humans because whales do not have to exhale in order to produce sound. It is likely that they recycle air around the body for this purpose. Cranial sinuses may also be used to create the sounds, but again researchers are currently unclear how.

Baleen-Whale Sound Levels

Marine mammal sounds range between 10 Hz - 31 000 Hz. ^[5] A list of typical levels is shown in the table below.

Broadband in telecommunications is a term which refers to a signaling method which includes or handles a relatively wide range of frequencies which may be divided into channels or frequency bins. ... Binomial name Balaenoptera physalus (Linneus, 1758) Fin Whale range The Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also called the Finback Whale, is a mammal that belongs to the baleen whales suborder. ... Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Blue Whale range Subspecies B. m. ... Binomial name Eschrichtius robustus Lilljeborg, 1861 Gray Whale range The Gray Whale or Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus), more recently called the Eastern Pacific Gray Whale, is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. ... Binomial name Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758 Bowhead Whale range The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a marine mammal of the order Cetacea. ...

Purpose of whale-created sounds

While the complex and haunting sounds of the Humpback Whale (and some Blue Whales) are believed to be primarily used in sexual selection (see section below), the simpler sounds of other whales have a year-round use. While many toothed whales are capable of using echolocation (essentially acoustic radar) to detect the size and nature of objects, this capability has never been demonstrated in baleen whales. Further, unlike some fish such as sharks, a whale's sense of smell is not highly developed. Thus, given the poor visibility of aquatic environments and the fact that sound travels so well in water, sounds audible to humans may play a role in navigation. For instance, the depth of water or the existence of a large obstruction ahead may be detected by loud noises made by baleen whales. Illustration from The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles Darwin showing the Tufted Coquette Lophornis ornatus, female on left, ornamented male on right. ... See: Animal echolocation: animals emitting sound waves and listening to the echo in order to locate objects or navigate. ... For other uses, see Radar (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Shark (disambiguation). ...

The song of the Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale song spectrogram,
— Play audio (OGG format, 57 kB)

Two groups of whales, the Humpback Whale and the subspecies of Blue Whale found in the Indian Ocean, are known to produce the repetitious sounds at varying frequencies known as whale song. Marine biologist Philip Clapham describes the song as "probably the most complex in the animal kingdom".^[7] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1004x221, 261 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1004x221, 261 KB) Please see the file description page for further information. ...

Male Humpback Whales perform these vocalizations only during the mating season, and so it is surmised the purpose of songs is to aid sexual selection. Whether the songs are a competitive behavior between males seeking the same mate, a means of defining territory or a "flirting" behavior from a male to a female is not known and the subject of on-going research. Males have been observed singing while simultaneously acting as an "escort" whale in the immediate vicinity of a female. Singing has also been recorded in competitive groups of whales that are composed of one female and multiple males.

Interest in whale song was aroused by researchers Roger Payne and Scott McVay after the songs were brought to their attention by a Bermudian named Frank Watlington who was working for the US government at the SOFAR station listening for Russian submarines with underwater hydrophones off the coast of the island. The songs follow a distinct hierarchical structure. The base units of the song (sometimes loosely called the "notes") are single uninterrupted emissions of sound that last up to a few seconds. These sounds vary in frequency from 20 Hz to 10 kHz (the typical human range of hearing is 20 Hz to 20 kHz). The units may be frequency modulated (i.e., the pitch of the sound may go up, down, or stay the same during the note) or amplitude modulated (get louder or quieter). However the adjustment of bandwidth on a spectrogram representation of the song reveals the essentially pulsed nature of the FM sounds. Roger Payne is a biologist and environmentalist made famous by (together with Scott McVay) in 1967 discovering Whale song among Humpback whales. ... In telecommunications, frequency modulation (FM) conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its frequency. ... Amplitude modulation (AM) is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. ... In signal processing, the term pulse has the following meanings: A rapid, transient change in the amplitude of a signal from a baseline value to a higher or lower value, followed by a rapid return to the baseline value. ...

A collection of four or six units is known as a sub-phrase, lasting perhaps ten seconds (see also phrase (music)). A collection of two sub-phrases is a phrase. A whale will typically repeat the same phrase over and over for two to four minutes. This is known as a theme. A collection of themes is known as a song. The whale will repeat the same song, which last up to 30 or so minutes, over and over again over the course of hours or even days. This "Russian doll" hierarchy of sounds has captured the imagination of scientists. Look up phrase in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In music a phrase (Greek φράση, sentence, expression, see also strophe) is a section of music that is relatively self contained and coherent over a medium time scale. ... A Matryoshka doll (Cyrillic матрёшка or матрешка) is a Russian nesting doll. ...

All the whales in an area sing virtually the same song at any point in time and the song is constantly and slowly evolving over time. For example, over the course of a month a particular unit that started as an "upsweep" (increasing in frequency) may slowly flatten to become a constant note. Another unit may get steadily louder. The pace of evolution of a whale's song also changes—some years the song may change quite rapidly, whereas in other years little variation may be recorded.

Idealized schematic of the song of a Humpback Whale.
Redrawn from Payne, et al. (1983)

Whales occupying the same geographical areas (which can be as large as entire ocean basins) tend to sing similar songs, with only slight variations. Whales from non-overlapping regions sing entirely different songs. Download high resolution version (1219x122, 20 KB)This image (C) User:Pcb21, 2004. ... Download high resolution version (1219x122, 20 KB)This image (C) User:Pcb21, 2004. ...

As the song evolves it appears that old patterns are not revisited. An analysis of 19 years of whale songs found that while general patterns in song could be spotted, the same combinations never recurred.

Humpback Whales may also make stand-alone sounds that do not form part of a song, particularly during courtship rituals. Finally, Humpbacks make a third class of sound called the feeding call. This is a long sound (5 to 10 s duration) of near constant frequency. Humpbacks generally feed cooperatively by gathering in groups, swimming underneath shoals of fish and all lunging up vertically through the fish and out of the water together. Prior to these lunges, whales make their feeding call. The exact purpose of the call is not known, but research suggests that fish do know what it means. When the sound was played back to them, a group of herring responded to the sound by moving away from the call, even though no whale was present.

Some scientists have proposed that humpback whale song may serve an echolocative purpose,^[8] but has been subject to disagreement.^[9] Echolocation, also called Biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several mammals such as bats (although not all species), dolphins and whales (though not baleen whales). ...

Other whale sounds

Most baleen whales make sounds at about 15–20 hertz. However, marine biologists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reported in the New Scientist in December 2004 that they had been tracking a whale in the North Pacific for 12 years that was "singing" at 52 Hz. The scientists are currently unable to explain this dramatic difference from the norm; however, they are sure the whale is a baleen and extremely unlikely to be a new species, suggesting that currently known species may have a wider vocal range than previously thought. This article is about the SI unit of frequency. ... Various species of reef fish in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. ... New Scientist is a weekly international science magazine covering recent developments in science and technology for a general English-speaking audience. ...

Most other whales and dolphins produce sounds of varying degrees of complexity. Of particular interest is the Beluga (the "sea canary") which produces an immense variety of whistles, clicks and pulses. Binomial name Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776) Beluga range This article is about the whale. ...

Human interaction

Voyager Golden Records carried whale songs into outer space with other sounds representing planet Earth.

Though some observers suggest that undue fascination has been placed on the whales' songs simply because the animals are under the sea, most marine mammal scientists believe that sound plays a particularly vital role in the development and well-being of cetaceans. It may be argued those against whaling have anthropomorphized the behavior in an attempt to bolster their case. Conversely pro-whaling nations are perhaps disposed to downplay the meaning of the sounds, noting for example that little account is taken of the "moo" of cattle. Voyager Golden Record - Cover (NASA) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Voyager Golden Record - Cover (NASA) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Voyager Golden Record. ... Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA)[1] Outer space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... This dog has been dressed in human accessories for humorous effect. ... For general information about the genus, including other species of cattle, see Bos. ...

Researchers use hydrophones (often adapted from their original military use in tracking submarines) to ascertain the exact location of the origin of whale noises. Their methods allow them also to detect how far through an ocean a sound travels. Research by Dr Christopher Clark of Cornell University conducted using thirty years worth of military data showed that whale noises travel up to 3,000 km. As well as providing information about song production, the data allows researchers to follow the migratory path of whales throughout the "singing" (mating) season. A hydrophone is a sound-to-electricity transducer for use in water or other liquids, analogous to a microphone for air. ... “Cornell” redirects here. ...

Prior to the introduction of human noise production, Clark says the noises may have travelled right from one side of an ocean to the other. His research indicates that ambient noise from boats is doubling each decade. This has the effect of reducing the range at which whale noises can be heard. Those who believe that whale songs are significant to the continued well-being of whale populations are particularly concerned by this increase in ambient noise. Other research has shown that increased boat traffic in, for example, the waters off Vancouver, has caused some Orca to change the frequency and increase the amplitude of their sounds, in an apparent attempt to make themselves heard.^{[citation needed]} Environmentalists fear that such boat activity is putting undue stress on the animals as well as making it difficult to find a mate.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see Vancouver (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... Bold textHello ...

Whale song in fiction

• The song of Humpback Whales was a significant plot element of the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
• In the animated film Finding Nemo, the (fish) character Dory believed she could "speak whale", which she performed entirely in English with a whale's sing-song voice.
• In the 2003 Whale Song by Cheryl Kaye Tardif, killer whales and their vocalization play a key role in the story. Make A Friend Out Of Me is a unique song written by Vinny Pop released 2007. He sings as a whale with whale voices dueting with him, for whale conservation.
• Whale song was the main plot device in the book Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore.
• Whale song is also a factor in the worldview of uplifted dolphins in David Brin's Uplift and Uplift Storm trilogies, comprising elements of religion, philosophy, cosmology and poetry.

Binomial name Megaptera novaeangliae Borowski, 1781 Humpback Whale range The Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is a baleen whale. ... Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Paramount Pictures, 1986; see also 1986 in film) is the fourth feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series. ... Finding Nemo is an Academy Award-winning computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released to theaters by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. ... Whale Song[1] is a novel by Canadian author Cheryl Kaye Tardif which was self-published with Trafford Publishing in 2003. ... Cheryl Kaye Tardif (born August 12, 1963 is a Canadian mystery author best known for her novels Whale Song[1], Divine Intervention[2], and The River[3]. Her stories feature prominant Canadian locations and characters, and each novel carries a theme, message or combination. ... Fluke, or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings is the seventh novel by Christopher Moore. ... Christopher Moore (born 1957 in Toledo, Ohio[1]) is an American writer of absurdist fiction. ... In science fiction, biological uplift is a common but by no means universal term for the act of an advanced civilization helping the development of another species by bringing a non-sapient one into sentience, or by giving a sapient one spacefaring capabilities. ... Glen David Brin, Ph. ... The Uplift Universe is a fictional universe created by science fiction writer David Brin. ...

Media

See also: List of whale songs

Whale song is the sound made by whales to communicate. ... Image File history File links Humpback whale wheezeblow. ... Humpback whale moo. ... Killer whale. ... Killer whale simple. ... Killer whale residents broadband. ...

Selected discography

• Songs of the Humpback Whale (SWR 118) was originally released in 1970 by CRM Records from recordings made by Roger Payne, Frank Watlington and others. The LP was later re-released by Capitol Records, published in a flexible format in the National Geographic Society magazine, Volume 155, Number 1, in January 1979 and released on CD by BGO-Beat Goes On in 2001.
• Deep Voices: The Second Whale Record (Capitol Records ST-11598) was released on LP in 1977 from additional recordings made by Roger Payne, and re-released on CD in 1995 by Living Music. It includes recordings of humpbacks, blues, and rights.
• Northern Whales (MGE 19) was released by Music Gallery Editions from recordings made by Pierre Ouellet, John Ford, and others affiliated with Interspecies Music and Communication Research. It includes recordings of belugas, narwhals, orca, and bearded seals.
• Sounds of the Earth: Humpback Whales (Oreade Music) was released on CD in 1999.
• Rapture of the Deep: Humpback Whale Singing (Compass Recordings) was released on CD in 2001.

Roger Payne is a biologist and environmentalist made famous by (together with Scott McVay) in 1967 discovering Whale song among Humpback whales. ... Capitol Records is a major United States-based record label, owned by EMI. // The Capitol Records company was founded by the songwriter Johnny Mercer in 1942, with the financial help of movie producer Buddy DeSylva and the business acumen of Glenn Wallichs, (1910-1971) (owner of Music City, at the... Roger Payne is a biologist and environmentalist made famous by (together with Scott McVay) in 1967 discovering Whale song among Humpback whales. ...

See also

• Bioacoustics
• List of whale songs
• Underwater acoustics

Bioacoustics is a cross-disciplinary science that combines biology and acoustics. ... Whale song is the sound made by whales to communicate. ... Underwater acoustics is the study of the propagation of sound in water and the interaction of the mechanical waves that constitute sound with the water and its boundaries. ...

References

General references

Louis Herman is a researcher in of dolphin sensory abilities, dolphin cognition, and humpback whales. ...

External links

• Cornell University's Bioacoustics Research Program
• Whale Songs at the Avant Garde Project has FLAC files made from high-quality LP transcriptions available for free download.

   

Image File history File links LinkFA-star. ...