Loud wind causes humpback whales to sing louder, unlike the sound of boats. Reported by the University of Queensland.
Sound data for the study were collected during the southward migration of whales from their breeding grounds in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon to their Antarctic feeding grounds off the Peregian Coast in Queensland in late 2010. Whale songs were recorded using a series of five hydrophone buoys that transmit signals to shore. A 19-foot fishing boat was used to create the sound of the ship.
It turns out that whales to adapt the sound of their songs to the sound of the wind. Also, the volume of the song did not change, even if a similar sound was made by a boat. Whale songs are the main form of their communication, and the most complex “motives” are required for their mating game.
“Humpback whales have evolved over millions of years from noise from natural sources, but artificial noise from ships is alien to their instincts. This is particularly surprising since engine noise has the same frequency range as the wind,” the scientists said.
The authors hope their discovery will help mitigate the consequences of human activity for wildlife.
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