Humpback whales can learn a lot from other whales.
Dr. Jenny Allen's PhD work at UQ's School of Veterinary Science led to the discovery that New Caledonian Humpback whales were able to learn songs from their counterparts in Australia.
Dr. Allen said that this really indicates a level of cultural transmission beyond any observed non-human species.
The study looked at the song patterns of male whales from different regions to see how culture is transmitted.
The complexity of the songs is determined by the number of sounds the whales make and the length of their sounds.
Dr. Allen said that they could see if the songs changed when sung by the New Caledonian whales.
They were able to learn the sounds without leaving anything out.
Humpback whales can learn a song pattern from another population very quickly, even if it's complex or difficult, because they sing a different song each year.
It supports the idea that songs are being learned by whales on shared migration routes.
It is rare for a large amount of cultural exchange to be documented in a non-human species.
We hope that these findings will lead to a better understanding of cultural communication in animals and humans.
Dr. Allen said that the populations of the whales still need to be carefully managed, even though they have been removed from the list.
Dr. Allen said that an in-depth understanding of a species improves the effectiveness of management methods.
There is a more complete picture of the behaviors, movements and interactions of different whales.
As our climate and planet continue to change, we are better equipped to protect them.
The research has been published in a scientific journal.
More information: Jenny A Allen et al, Song complexity is maintained during inter-population cultural transmission of humpback whale songs, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12784-3 Journal information: Scientific Reports
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