How Do Humpback Whales Communicate With Each

How Do Humpback Whales Communicate With Each 

Migratory baleen whales, humpbacks can live solitarily or in temporary pods of 2-15 individuals. So, how do humpback whales communicate with each other? To maintain peaceful group cohesion and to communicate with individuals over long distances, humpback whales rely primarily on using a range of acoustic signals to communicate.

In this guide, we’ll delve into the types of acoustic communication humpback whales use and what these signals mean.

Read on to learn more.

How Do Humpback Whales Communicate: Acoustic Signals

The primary method of communication for humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) is acoustic signaling. They can produce simple calls or arrange their vocalizations into complex, repeating sequences known as whale songs.

To produce these calls and songs, humpback whales make a wide range of primarily low to mid-frequency vocalizations that include grunts, groans, shrieks, clicking, low-toned guttural roars, moans, blasts. The songs of humpback whales are typically long with a repetitive structure. In comparison, non-song vocalizations, or calls, are shorter in length and don’t feature a repetitive structure.

Humpback whales lack vocal chords, so they produce their calls and songs through the larynx. Non-song vocalizations range in frequencies from 9 Hertz to 6,000 Hertz, and the majority of these calls are produced under 200 Hertz. The songs of humpbacks, however, can range from 24 Hertz (Hz) to up to 24,000 Hertz.

Humpback whales primarily communicate with each other through vocalizations.

Male Humpback Singing

Currently, scientists believe only male humpback whales sing while all humpbacks are capable of making non-song vocalizations. Previously, whale biologists believed that male humpback whales only sang in breeding areas when in search of a mate. However, research has shown that although much of the singing does occur in breeding grounds, male humpbacks will sing outside the context of courtship in their feeding grounds and during migration. Current theories of why humpbacks sing outside of their breeding grounds include practicing, hormonal shifts, and even to show off.

Humpback whale songs are made up of units, which are the shortest audible sounds. A series of units make up a phrase. A series of phrases makes up a theme, and finally, a series of themes makes up the song. One individual song can last up to 30 minutes in duration and may be repeated for up to 24 hours.

Mind bogglingly, the lowest frequency components of their songs can travel up to 10,000 miles. This incredible ability allows male humpbacks to send their poetic messages to potential mates across entire oceans. One study found that a whale song in French Polynesia traveled across the Pacific Ocean to Ecuador.

Male humpback whales produce songs defined by patterned, complex, and repeated vocalizations.