The song of the Brazilian population of Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae, in the year 2000: individual song variations and possible implications

Abstract

The song of the Brazilian population of the Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae was studied in its breeding and calving ground, the Abrolhos Bank, Bahia, Brazil, from July to November 2000. Aural and spectral analyses of digital recordings were completed for approximately 20 song cycles, totaling 5 hours of song from 10 different recording events. We identified 24 note types, organized in five themes. All songs presented the same themes and the order in which they were sung did not vary. We registered the appearance of a note type and the disappearance of a phrase ending, which indicate that the song changed as the season progressed. Moreover, we detected individual variation in the way singers performed certain complex note types. As songs are transmitted culturally, it is likely that singers have different abilities to compose and/or learn new notes. If, as it has been previously suggested, 'new' songs are preferred to 'old' ones, these more able singers will be sending out information about their learning abilities that could be used by other whales to decide whether or not to interact with them.

The multiple functions of male song within the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) mating system: review, evaluation, and synthesis

“…Spitz et al ., ; Au et al ., , ; Pack et al ., ; Herman et al ., ; also see Payne, , p. 145) they are typically found stationary at perhaps 10–30 m depth with body canted head downward, a position accommodating song transmission in the horizontal plane (Au et al ., ; Pack et al ., ). This downward position has also been noted in lone humpback whale singers in Abrolhos Bank, Brazil (Arraut & Vielliard, ). In addition to this stationary posture or strategy, singers may also travel slowly while singing, as observed in Silver Bank, Dominican Republic (Chu, ), off east Australia (Noad & Cato, ; Smith et al ., ), off Isla Socorro in Mexico (Cholewiak, ), as well as in Hawaii (Tyack, ; Helweg et al ., ; Frankel et al ., ; Darling et al ., ; Herman et al ., ).…”

Singing through winter nights: Seasonal and diel occurrence of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calls in and around the Gully MPA, offshore eastern Canada

“…Humpback songs have been recorded and studied worldwide ( e.g ., Cerchio and Dahlheim , Cerchio et al . , Arraut and Vielliard , Au et al . , Garland et al .…”

El fado y su vinculación con el territorio como elemento identitario de la sociedad portuguesa

“…Por todo esto, el fado puede considerarse como algo más que una sucesión de sonidos que deleitan nuestros oídos. Además, el fado se convierte en un vehículo de comunicación no solo entre la sociedad portuguesa, sino también con cualquier otra nacionalidad, no siendo la lengua portuguesa un impedimento para conocer los sentimientos y mensajes que lleva implícito el fado (Arraut y Vielliard, 2004).…”