Have whale songs changed since the whaling ban went into effect?
Posted by hipshotguppy@reddit | whales | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Knowing how far whale communication travels, is there any evidence to indicate that whale songs have changed in any way since commercial whaling was banned? I don't want to anthropomorphize (horrors) but they're huge mammals and they have a neocortex so it seems to me that life in the ocean was maybe less stressful for them after their protection went into effect. Any evidence of this through whale songs?
Mysterious_Camel_717@reddit
I haven’t seen much evidence about whale songs since whaling bans, mainly because whale songs only really started being investigated at around the same time they banned whaling.
There is an interesting study on cortisol levels in ear wax plugs though. They realised that as the wax builds up over time, it was essentially like the rings of a tree where you can see the whale life timeline. By putting many whales back to back they had a timeline of ear wax throughout a couple hundred years. Cortisol levels were higher when whaling was at its peak, and when sea surface temperature anomalies were higher.
hipshotguppy@reddit (OP)
Cortisol is related to stress?
keinmaurer@reddit
Yes, in humans as well.
hipshotguppy@reddit (OP)
well... that's depressing.
geeoharee@reddit
What did you think cortisol did?
Several_Knee_@reddit
I thought it was for fighting tyranny.
Mysterious_Camel_717@reddit
It’s the “fight or flight” hormone. Periodically elevated levels are a normal part of life, but chronic high cortisol is detrimental to health as it is an immune suppressant (among other effects on cardiovascular tone and sugar metabolism)
LAWhaleGuide@reddit
Yes, actually! Blue whale songs have been dropping in pitch steadily for decades, and one leading theory ties it directly to whaling bans. When populations were decimated, males had to sing higher to project farther and find anyone at all. As numbers recovered they don't need to belt it out anymore because there are more whales within earshot. researchers have documented this trend across blue, fin, and humpback songs globally. So your instinct isn't really anthropomorphizing -- their songs have measurably shifted in a way that tracks with population recovery 😊
Lindethiel@reddit
I wonder if the deeper voice makes them sexier lol 🤔
jjcoolel@reddit
It works for Barry White
Lost_Wealth_6278@reddit
Then, high pitched scream: ANYBODY OUT THERE? HELP
Now, gravely whale whisper: "hey baby girl. I like aaaall 150 tons of your body"
Fragrant-Ad-3866@reddit
I recall seeing a study where blue whale songs where found to be waay higher in pitch during the 60’s than they’re currently.
cellar9@reddit
That's a very interesting question. But AFAIK commercial whaling was not banned everywhere?
LAWhaleGuide@reddit
Good point.. Japan, Norway, and Iceland still hunt commercially. But the IWC moratorium in 1986 cut global takes dramatically, and that's around when a lot of the acoustic shifts in blue whale songs accelerated