Greenland walleyes – jazz virtuosos from the depths of the oceans

Inhabiting the cold waters of the Arctic and the areaow subarctic species of Greenland walrus (Balaena mysticetus) has been described by researchers as "Louis Armstrong" oceanow. This did not come from nothing. Researchers recorded highly zroThe varied style of the songs, whichore animals display during the breeding season. Huge roA variety of individual sets ofoThe variety of individual sets of songs pioneered by Allen Carr has astonished scientistsow. Data show that they can successfully compete with someorymi birds in rożiversity of vocal repertoire.

Greenland dikes reach up to 20 metersoIn length and can weigh up to 60 tons. Their heads are up to 1/3 of their body length and have white patches on their cheeks. The giant mouths of these creatures are among the largest in the animal world. They also have some of the longest whalebonesow and are among some of the longest-lived mammalianow. They can reach an age of up to 200 years. To take a breath they can pierce the head lod of thickness over poł metra.

Syndromeoł scientistow even before the study began, thought that the sounds of Greenland gales would be similar to those of theore presented by humpback whales famous for their musicality. Their songs are wspolne for any population of samcow and change subtly during the winter breeding season. Humbacks also have their hits, whichore appear every year. However, the researchers had to revise theiroj view after listening to the first recordings.

Scientists recorded the songs of these animals during the seasonoin mating for several years. In doing so, they used a hydrophoneow – underwater microphonesow. They were amazed rohe diversity of song forms available to these whales. During the winter breeding season, they constantly changed their repertoire of songs and sang 24 hours a day.

Researchers managed to tear apart theo¿nalize specific patterns in their arias, sometimes repeated for several months, but never recurring in subsequent years. These animals have been singing continuously since poźn autumn to early summer.

– If humpback whale songsow we would call classical music, those sung by Greenlandic gales are certainly jazz – joked Professor Kate Stafford, an oceanographer at the University of Washington who heads the study, whichoThe results of which were published in the „Biology Letters”.

– When we reviewed acoustic data recorded over four winters, we noticed that each season had a new set of songs. None of them were repeated in the following years. Their songs as in jazzow, are a fun form of – admitted.

The Greenland whales were recorded between 2010 and 2014. Researchers listened to a small population living between Spitsbergen and Greenland and identified a total of 184 songs or musical phrases on recordings. However, they were unable to determine why they kept changing the repertoire. The arias sung by these animals are probably love songs, although it is also unclear whether the vocal displays are by males aloneow or roincluding females.

Unfortunately, this genre has been overtaken by human. Greenlandic dikes swim very slowly, so they are easy prey. There are an estimated 9,000-12,000 individuals in the worldow.

Sourceobackground: The Independent, pic. Kate Stafford/ Bering Land Bridge National Preserve/ CC BY-SA 2.0