Humpback Whale SongsBiology 342 Fall 06 |
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Humpback Whale Vocalizations: Kate Williams & Laila BryantIntroductionHumpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)are baleen whales normally ranging from 10 - 16 m in length. Baleen whales use keratinous sieve-like structures instead of teeth to extract krill and small fish from sea water. Humpback whales migrate great distances yearly from the warm tropical waters, where they live in the winter to breed and give birth, to cooler polar waters, where the whales stay to feed for the rest of the year. Historically, humpback whales spanned all of the world's oceans, but their numbers have been dramatically reduced by whaling. The whales are now a federally protected endangered species. Because it is illegal to conduct experiments on humback whales without a federal permit, they are exceptionally difficult to study. They also spend most of their lives underwater and are far too large to hold in an enclosure for any extended period of time [1]. Humpback whales stand out from other whales primarily because
of their "song." Humpback whales use vocalizations (songs) for a
variety of
purposes, most of which are not completely understood by
scientists. Singing is an exclusively male behavior, suggesting
that it may be related to sexual selection either because females
evaluate male
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