As whale populations recover, older males sing more

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2026-02-28 03:00

Australia; New Zealand; Pacific

A group of male humpback whales. Photo credit: Opération Cétacés - Claire Bonneville.

Scientists studying humpback whales in the South Pacific have found that as they recover from commercial whaling, older males' reproductive tactics are getting more successful. The researchers looked at humpbacks in the breeding grounds of New Caledonia over 19 years, over which time the male population in the study area grew five-fold, and shifted from being mostly young to a more even distribution across age groups. When the whale population was larger, older males were more often seen singing and escorting a female - behaviours linked with reproduction - and had more success in becoming fathers. The authors suggest the success of younger males when the population was smaller could have helped "buffer" the loss of genetic diversity, at a time when it was critical.

Multimedia

A breaching humpback whale off New Caledonia in the South Pacific.

Male humpback whales competing to be closest to the female of the group

A humpback whale lunging its head out of the water.

Journal/
conference: Current Biology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Auckland, Curtin University, University of St Andrews (UK), Opération Cétacés and IRD (New Caledonia)

Funder: Surveys of humpback whales in New Caledonia were made possible by contributions from Fondation d’Entreprise Total and Total Pacifique; the Provinces Sud, North, and Isles; and the Ministe`re de la Transition Ecologique et Solidaire. The following grants to E.C.G. funded this work: the Royal Society University Research Fellowship (UF160081 and URF\R\221020), the Royal Society Research Fellows Enhancement Award (RGF\EA\180213), the Royal Society Research Grants for Research Fellows 2018 (RGF\R1\181014), the National Geographic Grant (NGS-50654R-18), the Carnegie Trust Research Incentive Grant (RIG007772), the British Ecological Society Small Research Grant (SR18/1288), and the School of Biology Research Committee funding. F.E. was supported by a University of St. Andrews School of Biology PhD scholarship.

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