Scientists have long been puzzled by the ability of whales to project their songs across vast distances in the ocean.

Researchers now believe that they have a concept, which is unique among other animals: a specialized larynx.

According to experts, the findings from a small study may not be conclusive, but they will guide future research on whale communication.

On Wednesday, a research article was published in the journal Nature by Coen Elemans and his team from the University of Southern Denmark. They examined the larynxes of three deceased whales – a humpback, minke, and sei – which are all species of baleen whales.

In the lab, researchers conducted experiments by passing air through the vocal cords in a controlled setting to determine which tissues would produce vibrations. They also developed computer simulations of the sei whale’s vocalizations and compared them to recordings of other wild sei whales.

About 50 million years ago, the ancestors of whales lived on land before transitioning to an aquatic lifestyle. According to Elemans, these animals gradually evolved their vocal organs over millions of years in order to produce sounds underwater.

Baleen whales differ from humans and other mammals in that they lack teeth and vocal cords. Instead, they have a unique U-shaped tissue in their voice boxes that enables them to take in large amounts of air. This tissue is accompanied by a substantial layer of fat and muscle, a characteristic not observed in other creatures. According to Elemans, whales produce sound by pressing this tissue against the fat and muscle layer.

Jeremy Goldbogen, an associate professor of oceanography at Stanford University, commented that the recent research on the vocalizations of baleen whales is the most extensive and noteworthy to date, addressing a longstanding mystery in the field.

He observed that there is still much to be researched when it comes to the vast range of vocalizations used by whales. For instance, humpback whales are recognized for creating intricate songs that can be heard by other pods and travel long distances through the ocean.

According to Elemans, modelling indicates that despite the loudness of whales’ songs, humpbacks and similar species are unable to produce sounds louder than those produced by the shipping industry.

“They are heavily impacted by the noise from shipping, which greatly hinders their ability to communicate,” he stated. “There is simply no way for them to increase their volume.”

According to Michael Noad, director of the Centre for Marine Science at the University of Queensland in Australia, the disruption of whale songs by the shipping industry is a cause for concern due to their role in mating calls. Noad was not involved in the Nature study.

According to him, whale species such as the Antarctic blue whales, which are widely scattered, may struggle to find partners in a loud ocean environment. However, species like humpback whales that congregate in large groups are better equipped to tolerate this type of noise pollution.

Juvenile whales, rather than adult males who produce the songs, were utilized for the tested voice boxes. Therefore, Joy Reidenberg, a whale specialist, stated that additional trials on adult males are necessary to validate the results of the study.

Reidenberg, an employee at the Center for Anatomy and Functional Morphology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, stated that laboratory experiments are likely the best way to mimic whale vocalization.

Currently, our technology requires inserting a scope into a whale to observe its vibrations,” she explained. “Since it is not feasible to do this with wild animals, these experiments serve as the best alternative.”

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Source: wral.com