How neighboring whale families learn each other's vocal style

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Animals,Evolutionary Biology,Sea Life

Researchers have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each other.

Researchers from Project CETI and collaborating institutions have developed a method to investigate sperm whale communication by determining their vocal style, finding that groups living in close proximity can develop similar styles to each other., is described as important by the editors, contributing to a richer understanding of communication between whales.

Sperm whales communicate through rhythmic patterns of clicks called codas. The set of vocalised coda types combined with how frequently they are used makes up a vocal repertoire and define membership in a particular clan. To test the validity of their method, the team analysed two datasets of sperm whale vocalisations, from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The Atlantic dataset comprised two different clans and had rich annotations of the coda types recorded, the identity of the vocalising whales and their social relations.

The authors call for more research to fully confirm their evidence for this social learning in sperm whales. Namely, conducting the same analyses on a larger dataset would add more statistical power, and a longitudinal analysis over time could provide direct evidence for the existence of social learning between clans and rule out the alternative possibilities of genetic or environmental factors playing a role.

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