Humpback Whales Role In Communication

Found in oceans and seas throughout the world, the Megaptera novaeangliae, also commonly known as the humpback whale, is one of many species that dictates the environment surrounding them. As they migrate from the polar waters where they prefer to feed during the summer to tropical waters to breed during the winter, they cover up to 16,000 miles each year. But how does each whale know exactly what to do, where to go, and who to follow? They accomplish this through their communication system of songs, clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. To humans, this tasks deems highly challenging, for we use words to communicate with each other; however, whales do not need as elaborate of a vocabulary. Male humpback whales produce long, repetitive vocalizations …show more content…
Sounds such as “underwater blows” and “cries” were heard mainly in competitive groups while other low-frequency sounds such as “grumbles,” “snorts,” “thwops,” and “wops” may function in intergroup communication. Particular sounds such as “grunts,” “groans,” and “barks” seem exclusive to joining pods, thus suggesting a role in social integration. Social sounds in humpbacks may have specific social and behavioral functions relating to social group composition, as well as the mediation of interactions between these social groups. Whales rumble, grunt, and gurgle using their voices to attract mates, stay in touch with their offspring, and navigate the shelves, seamounts, and islands in the ocean. Therefore, humpback whales are known to use two different types of communication signal: vocal acoustic signals and surface-generated sounds. The vocal acoustic signals convey detailed acoustic information, while the surface generated sounds convey acoustic and possibly some limited visual information, for they are elicited by surface …show more content…
These forms of communication are believed to be used to show dominance, youth, and health during mating season in order to prove to other whales that they are healthy, fit, and a good partner to mate with. Some males whales will even charge other males to show their dominance and claim their territory; however, it is rare that any serious harm will come to either whale.
Even though scientists have been studying humpback whale songs for nearly fifty years, there are still strange things about them they can’t explain. Humans have assumed from prior research that male humpback whales sing these elaborate songs in order to attract the attention of females; however, no one has ever seen a female whale approach a singing male. Instead, other males seem to be more interested, for when they approach the singer, he stops singing, and the two males go off silently together for a little while, and then they