A year of whale songs show they are about more often than we think

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Southern right whales, which are found off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, hang around southern ocean shores more often and for longer than previously thought, according to New Zealand research. The study used acoustic monitors off the remote Auckland Islands between New Zealand and Antarctica, to listen for the animals for a year. They found they could hear their calls in every month except January, and the calls peaked during the winter months when the whales move near the shore to calve. The most common calls were upcalls, a deep, rising “whoop” that lasts about a second, which are thought be be a type of 'contact call' - a way of letting other whales know who is around.

Journal/conference: Royal Society Open Science

Link to research (DOI): 10.1098/rsos.181487

Organisation/s: University of Otago, Otago Museum

Funder: This project was funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology, Otago Museum, University of Otago and the New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust. T.W. was supported by a PhD scholarship and publishing bursary from the University of Otago

Media Release

From: The Royal Society

Temporal variation in the vocal behaviour of southern right whales in the Auckland Islands, New Zealand

This study is the first to attempt year-round acoustic monitoring of southern right whale presence in New Zealand. A recorder was moored at the remote sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands to examine the acoustic behaviour of right whales at their main calving ground. Call rates in winter were four times higher than other seasons coinciding with their winter migration inshore to calve. Call rates show a clear diurnal pattern with higher vocal activity during dusk and night potentially because reduced visual contact increases the need for acoustic communication.

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