A new study by the researchers of the Wildlife Conservation Society, reveals that one of the larger rorqual species humpback whales on both sides of the southern Indian Ocean are singing different tunes.Researchers from the WCS, Columbia University, and Australia deny all the previous humpback whale song comparisons, and said that song from populations in the same ocean basins are compared and they find that the songs contain similar parts or themes.

The study, published in the journal of “Marine Mammal Science”, said that the differences in song between the humpback populations of the Indian Ocean most likely show a limited exchange between the two regions and may shed new light on how the giants culture spreads.

The researchers, in their newest study, find that in the Northern Hemisphere’s ocean basin, whales sing songs that are composed of the same themes, but the southern Indian Ocean whales sing almost entirely different songs.

Lead author of the study, Anita Murray, said that the songs of whales from Madagascar and Western Australia only shared one similar theme, and the rest of the themes were completely different. Murray said that the reason for this difference remains a mystery and it could be the power of singing whales from other ocean basins, like the South Pacific or Atlantic, showing an exchange of individuals between oceans which are unique and matchless to the Southern Hemisphere.

Researchers said that the humpback whales songs are normally sung by male individuals on a population’s winter breeding grounds, traveling routes, and summer feeding grounds. They observed that the songs of whales are complex arrangements consisting of different ascending and descending wails, moans, and shrieks that are repetitive in series lasting up to half an hour.

Salvatore Cerchio, a WCS conservationist, said that they are indications here that give a picture of differences in range between humpback whale populations of the Indian Ocean during a single season, and constant monitoring of these whale songs can provide them valuable information on how whale songs are exchanged and how those channels of cultural transmission can be protected in the future.

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