Inverse | Humpback Whale Calls vs. Whale Songs | Inverse @inverse | Uploaded 5 years ago | Updated 2 hours ago
American biologist Roger Payne, Ph.D., caught the world’s ears with humpback whale songs in the early 1970s. His record of whale sounds — the first to capture the marine mammal’s complex compositions — went on to become a best-seller and ignited a movement to rescue their dwindling populations that continues into the present. Today, Payne’s recordings continue to be crucial to our understanding of whales. In a study released Thursday in Scientific Reports, they reveal a phenomenon that’s been going on for at least 36 years.
Read Full Article Here: inverse.com/article/49329-humpback-whale-calls-haven-t-changed
In the paper, scientists led by Cornell University postdoctoral fellow Michelle Fournet, Ph.D. report that some humpback whale calls have not changed at all, regardless of time or whale. Comparing Payne’s recordings from the 1970s to recordings taken in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, they discovered that, of the 16 humpback whale call types recorded in Southeast Alaska, 12 calls persisted from 1976 to 2012. Overall, eight call types were present in all four decades of recordings. It’s a remarkable conclusion, considering that whale songs — which are much more understood by scientists — constantly morph. Calls, meanwhile, appear to be perennial.
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Fournet, who contributed to the paper while she was a research assistant at Oregon State University, tells Inverse that “it has taken multiple generations of scientists to describe what multiple generations of whales have been talking about.”
“When I first listened to his recordings and heard the same call types that I myself had heard floating in a small boat in Southeast, Alaska 36 years later, I felt exhilarated,” says Fournet of Payne’s recordings. “I felt that, as a biologist, I was a part of something bigger than myself both ecologically and culturally.”
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American biologist Roger Payne, Ph.D., caught the world’s ears with humpback whale songs in the early 1970s. His record of whale sounds — the first to capture the marine mammal’s complex compositions — went on to become a best-seller and ignited a movement to rescue their dwindling populations that continues into the present. Today, Payne’s recordings continue to be crucial to our understanding of whales. In a study released Thursday in Scientific Reports, they reveal a phenomenon that’s been going on for at least 36 years.
Read Full Article Here: inverse.com/article/49329-humpback-whale-calls-haven-t-changed
In the paper, scientists led by Cornell University postdoctoral fellow Michelle Fournet, Ph.D. report that some humpback whale calls have not changed at all, regardless of time or whale. Comparing Payne’s recordings from the 1970s to recordings taken in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, they discovered that, of the 16 humpback whale call types recorded in Southeast Alaska, 12 calls persisted from 1976 to 2012. Overall, eight call types were present in all four decades of recordings. It’s a remarkable conclusion, considering that whale songs — which are much more understood by scientists — constantly morph. Calls, meanwhile, appear to be perennial.
Subscribe to Inverse! goo.gl/AGT2uT
Fournet, who contributed to the paper while she was a research assistant at Oregon State University, tells Inverse that “it has taken multiple generations of scientists to describe what multiple generations of whales have been talking about.”
“When I first listened to his recordings and heard the same call types that I myself had heard floating in a small boat in Southeast, Alaska 36 years later, I felt exhilarated,” says Fournet of Payne’s recordings. “I felt that, as a biologist, I was a part of something bigger than myself both ecologically and culturally.”
New Merch! 'Science & Chill t-shirts! inverse.com/tshirts
Watch our new show Squad Up: The Fortnite Talk Show!
youtube.com/watch?v=Oi-prnCYnAQ&list=PLh9sgDrUcPgX_oLis3mNzFtUmPZQVhgBc
About Inverse
Inverse sparks curiosity about the future. We explore the science of anything, innovations that shape tomorrow, and ideas that stretch our minds. Our goal is to motivate the next generation to build a better world.
http://www.inverse.com
#whales #science #inverse
