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Decades-Old Humpback Whale Song Unveils Secrets of a Quieter Ocean
FALMOUTH, MA – A haunting melody, captured on audio equipment from nearly 75 years ago, is offering scientists an unprecedented glimpse into the communication of humpback whales and the vastly different soundscape of the past ocean. Researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Falmouth, Massachusetts, recently unearthed what they believe to be the oldest known recording of a whale song, dating back to March 1949 in Bermuda.
The discovery features the distinctive vocalizations of a humpback whale, a species celebrated for its gentle demeanor and acrobatic breaches. However, the significance of this find extends beyond the whale’s song itself.
Peter Tyack, a marine bioacoustician and emeritus research scholar at Woods Hole, highlights the invaluable insight gained from the ambient ocean sounds recorded alongside the whale. “The ocean of the late 1940s was much quieter than the ocean of today,” Tyack explained, providing a unique acoustic backdrop rarely encountered by modern scientists.
These preserved recordings, Tyack noted, “not only allow us to follow whale sounds, but they also tell us what the ocean soundscape was like in the late 1940s. That’s very difficult to reconstruct otherwise.”
This historical sound data can also aid researchers in understanding how contemporary human-made noises, such as increased shipping traffic, impact whale communication. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has previously published research indicating that whales can adapt their calling behaviors in response to environmental noise.
Currently, NOAA policy manager Sean Hastings identifies ship strikes and fishing gear entanglements as the primary threats to whale populations.
Remarkably, this newly digitized recording predates scientist Roger Payne’s groundbreaking discovery of whale song by nearly two decades. Ashley Jester, director of research data and library services at Woods Hole, detailed how the 1949 recording occurred.
Scientists aboard a research vessel, in collaboration with the U.S. Office of Naval Research, were conducting sonar system tests and acoustic experiments when they inadvertently captured the sounds.
“The scientists didn’t know what they were hearing, but they decided to record and save the sounds anyway,” Jester said. Their curiosity led them to intentionally make recordings without ship noise, preserving as much of the natural soundscape as possible.
The long-lost song was uncovered last year during a project to digitize old audio recordings. Jester located the recording on a remarkably well-preserved disc, created by a Gray Audograph – a type of dictation machine prevalent in the 1940s. “These audograph discs survived because of their material and careful preservation,” Jester explained.
While the early underwater recording equipment might seem rudimentary by today’s standards, Jester emphasized its cutting-edge nature at the time. The fact that the recording was on a plastic disc is also crucial, as most recordings from that era were on tape, which has largely deteriorated over time.
Whales rely heavily on their sound-making abilities for survival, socialization, and communication. NOAA scientists studying whales describe their vocalizations as clicks, whistles, and calls.
These sounds are essential for navigating the vast ocean, locating food, finding other whales, and comprehending their surroundings. Among the various species that produce repetitive, song-like sounds, humpback whales are renowned as the ocean’s most celebrated singers.
These magnificent creatures, weighing over 55,000 pounds, are capable of intricate vocalizations that can sound both ethereal and mournful.
Historically, commercial whaling significantly impacted humpback whale populations, leading to their listing as endangered in the U.S. in the 1970s. A global moratorium on commercial whaling was established in 1985. Today, NOAA reports that four of the 14 distinct population segments of humpback whales remain protected as endangered, with one listed as threatened.
Tyack underscores the importance of such discoveries: “Underwater sound recordings are a powerful tool for understanding and protecting vulnerable whale populations. By listening to the ocean, we can detect whales where they cannot easily be seen.”
Hansen Johnson, a research scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, who was not involved in the research, believes this discovery could be a pivotal point in understanding modern whale sounds. “And, you know, it’s just beautiful to listen to and has really inspired a lot of people to be curious about the ocean, and care about ocean life in general,” Johnson remarked. “It’s pretty special.”