More of the same: allopatric humpback whale populations share acoustic repertoire.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a widespread, vocal baleen whale best known for producing song, a complex, repetitive, geographically distinct acoustic signal sung by males, predominantly in a breeding context. Humpback whales worldwide also produce non-song vocalizations ("calls") throughout their migratory range, some of which are stable across generations.

Methods

We looked for evidence that temporally stable call types are shared by two allopatric humpback whale populations while on their northern hemisphere foraging grounds in order to test the hypothesis that some calls, in strong contrast to song, are innate within the humpback whale acoustic repertoire.

Results

Despite being geographically and genetically distinct populations, hu

SUBMITTER: Fournet MEH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6071617 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature