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Whale songs are very far from the song to which humans are accustomed. Unlike our musical sounds, those produced by whales are a complex range of vocalizations that include groans, clicks and whistles and that may sound like anything, from the Moo of a cow to the twitter of a bird. These vocalizations can be so powerful that up to 10 km (6 miles) can be heard, and can last half an hour at the same time.
But while they may not be exactly dance material, whale songs are critical for communication: between men and women during mating, or between a migrate whales school.
For researchers, these complex sounds are a window to the behavior of whales, even if humans still do not know exactly how to decode them.
The frequency of songs and their intensity can indicate several things: an abundance of food, for example. However, in recent studies, researchers have been alarmed to discover that blue whales, larger and, in fact, the largest mammals on earth, have stopped singing at specific times.
His mysterious tranquility, scientists say, is a sign that oceanic life is changing fundamentally. The most recent study, conducted by scientists from the Research Institute of the Bay of Monterey Bay in California in the United States and published in February, He examined three types of whales. The researchers found that blue whales, in particular, have become more vulnerable to this change.
What have the researchers found and where?
At least two studies between 2016 and 2025 have found a similar behavior: blue whales have reduced their song during sections of time.
The first study, conducted in the marine waters between the New Zealand islands between 2016 and 2018, was led by scientists from the Oregon State University Institute in the United States. During that period of time, the researchers tracked specific vocalizations of blue whales linked to food (called D-Calls) and mating (called stamped songs).
The researchers used continuous recordings of underwater devices called hydrophones, which can register the sounds in thousands of kilometers, and that were placed in the south of Taranaki, a place of fodder known for blue whales on the west coast of New Zealand.
They discovered that for some periods, particularly in the warmer months of spring and summer, when whales generally fattens, the frequency and intensity of sounds related to the feeding activity decreased, which suggests a reduction in food sources. This decrease was followed by a reduction in the songs of the stamped songs, indicating a drop in reproductive activity.
“When there are fewer feeding opportunities, they put less effort in reproduction,” said principal researcher Dawn Barlow to journalists. The results of that study were published In the Ecology and Evolution magazine in 2023.
Then, in a study Published in the Scientific Journal PLOS One in February of this year, the researchers tracked the sounds of Baleen whales in the current California ecosystem, the area in the northern ocean of the Pacific that extends from British Columbia to Baja California. The blue whales are a type of Baleen whale, and the study focused on them, along with their cousins, humpback whales and fins whales.
For six years since 2015, scientists found different patterns. During the first two years, “the times were difficult for whales”, principal researcher John Ryan, of the Research Institute of the Monterey Bay in California, said in a press release, since the whales, particularly the blue whales, sang less. However, in the next three years, the three species of whales sing again more frequently, the study said.
Why do blue whales sing less?
Both studies found a main reason for the reduction of whale song: food or, in this case, the lack of it.
It turns out that the investigation, carried out between 2015 and 2020, captured periods of extreme sea wave events that killed Krill, the small shrimp animals that feed the blue whales.
These thermal waves are part of an imminent catastrophe catastrophe that scientists have noticed: the continuous global warming marked by the increases in the average global temperatures and caused by high -emission human activities, main among them the burning of fossil fuels.
Scientists say that the world could soon reach a turning point in which there will be irreversible changes on the planet. Already, 2016, 2023 and 2024 have registered as the warmest years in history.
Why do food sources disappear for whales?
Krill, of those who feed mainly blue whales, are highly heat sensitive and can disappear during heat waves, according to studies. Their movement patterns also change dramatically: instead of staying together, as they usually do, Krill disperse when it is hot, which makes them more difficult for predators such as blue whales to find.
In general, when looking for blue whales they sing to others to indicate that they have found swarms by Krill. If there is no food to sing, it makes sense that there will be no song.
Heat waves can also trigger harmful chemical changes in oceans that encourage the growth of toxic algae, which causes poisoning and death to mammals in oceans and sea birds, researchers have previously been found, suggesting that blue whales also run the risk of being poisoned.
In the most recent study in California, researchers found that in the first two years when whales sang less frequently, there was also a reduction in other fish populations.
Are the most vulnerable blue whales than other whales?
The second three -year period witnessed a resurgence of Krill and the other fish, along with more whale song. When Krill again declined, the blue whales sing less frequently, while singing humpback whales continued, the study said.
“Compared to humpback whales, blue whales in the east of the North Pacific can be more vulnerable due not only to a smaller population size but also to a less flexible feeding strategy,” said Ryan, the main author of California’s study in a statement.
“These findings can help scientists and resource managers to predict how marine ecosystems and species will respond to climate change,” he added.
It is likely, according to both studies, that blue whales need to spend more time and energy finding food when it is scarce, instead of singing.
Are other animals changing their sounds?
Studies have found that climate change is also altering the sounds of several other species. Sounds related to nature, such as the song of the birds of certain species, could disappear completely in some places, since the temperatures of heating alter the behavior of the animals. For example, some animals could permanently move away from their traditional habitats.
In New York, scientists found That for more than a century (1900-1999), four species of frogs changed their call patterns, which men use to attract females for mating, and that are generally linked to the heating of spring and early summer. Over time, some frogs called approximately two weeks earlier than usual, the researchers found, and added that it meant that summer was arriving before.
