Whales use sound to communicate. For most baleen whales, song is an essential component of courtship. For the echolocating toothed whales, sound is literally how they perceive the world around them.
Clearly, sound is very important to cetaceans... And it is very important to those of us studying them!
Whale biologists use sound to study whale populations.
How? See whale fact 25 to learn more!
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| Humpback whales assume this position when they sing. Only the males sing - it is believed that song is sexually selected, either for attracting females, or warning off other males. Aside from song, whales of all species and sexes vocalize to communicate. the difference is that the songs are specific, stereotyped and repeated, while vocalizations are more random. Photo credit: indopacificimages.com |
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| Echolocation is like sonar - toothed whales create high-frequency clicks and based on the echos that bounce back, they can determine size, shape, distance and even angular direction! All toothed whales echolocate, but they also vocalize to communicate. Vocalizations have a wider range of patterns, pitches, and duration. Photo credit: dolphincommunicationproject.org |
