Humpback Whales Learn Songs and Share Culture With Each Other
Groups of whales have been recorded learning “incredibly complex” songs from other whales in a new study that explores cultural transmission between marine animals.
Scientists have found that humpback whales share culture and learn complex songs from other whales.
Humpback whales were documented learning “incredibly complex” songs from whale populations in other regions, according to new research published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The study followed the song patterns of different pods of humpback whales located near Australia’s east coast and New Caledonia. Over six years, the groups were found to transmit their cultures to each other through song with a “remarkable accuracy”.
“This really indicates a level of ‘cultural transmission’ beyond any observed non-human species,” says University of Queensland’s Dr Jenny Allen, who led the study.
The whale songs are measured by both the number of sounds and the length of the sound patterns to help compare and contrast songs between regions. Dr Allen has shared a recording of a song, which is available to listen to here:
“By listening to the Australian humpback population, we were able to see if the songs changed in any way when sung by the New Caledonian whales,” explained Dr Allen.
“We found they actually learned the exact sounds, without simplifying or leaving anything out.”
The study supports the idea that whales learn songs from other groups during shared migration routes or at common feeding grounds.
“We hope these findings provide a model for further study into understanding the evolution of cultural communication in animals and humans”, added Dr Allen.
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