While scientists have long known that male humpback whales ’sing,’ new research shows that these giant mammals may also alter their singing to sing with other males! 

     Using methods adapted from research on birds’ singing, scientists have recently discovered that a singing male will ’change his tune’ when he hears another male singing nearby.  Humpback whales respond musically to each other’s songs, reports Danielle Cholewiak, a researcher with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary in Scituate, Massachusetts.

     Cholewiak observed many instances of a male humpback singing alone for about 45 minutes, and then continuing for another 45 minutes when another humpback started singing.  She noticed two changes in the first male’s singing , once the second whale  had joined in.  

     For one thing, the first singer switched more frequently among various musical themes when a second male was ’singing along.’  ”Also,” Science News (November 7) reports, “the first males adjusted their songs so that the pair was more likely to sing the same theme simultaneously.”

     Cholewiak concluded that when whales meet, songs change.

       Scientists are still unsure of just why male humpbacks sing.  It is unclear whether they sing, as male birds do, to defend territory and to attract females. 

     For an audio treat, click on the phrase below to hear a male humpback whale singing.

      A Humpback whale singing

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Insights and Visions on the State of the Earth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.