A recently published paper investigated acoustic sounds produced by humpback whales in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, near the mouth of Massachusetts Bay. The data revealed that when hunting by themselves, the whales were very quiet. However, when working together, the humpbacks would make “paired burst” noises that sounded like a tick-tock. These paired bursts only occurred when hunting along the sea floor, and did not occur when the whales were working cooperatively closer to the surface. The authors suggest that these noises could be used for communication purposes among the whales. Another reason might be that the paired bursts are able to disrupt the sand, exposing the sand lances and making them easier to collect. It could also be a combination of these factors. Further research may provide more clues on this activity.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 21:19:00 +0000
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