Exploring the vast oceans where humpback whales live reveals fascinating insights into their complex sonic world. These ocean giants use a variety of sounds, including complex songs and social calls, to navigate and communicate in their underwater environments. Able to produce long-distance vocalizations that evolve over time, whales display impressive and mysterious acoustic skills. Understanding these sounds provides unique opportunities to study animal intelligence and explore the possibilities for meaningful interactions between humans and other species.
After a lot of hard work, Professor Brenda McCown’s team at the University of California conducted a “conversation” with Alaska’s humpback whales through sound. The study focuses on how these whales respond to artificial sound playback. Playback refers to the technique of playing back recorded sounds to observe animal reactions. The study, published in the journal PeerJ, highlights the potential for understanding animal communication systems in new ways.
The experiment centered on an adult female humpback whale nicknamed “Twain” who responded to a series of recorded whale calls, called “woops.” These sounds are a type of bonding call that humpback whales use to maintain social bonds and coordinate with each other. During the 20-minute interaction, Twain’s reactions were recorded and analyzed. Professor McCown shared: “This experiment provides a remarkable insight into how animals such as whales take turns in conversation-like communication, showing flexibility and responsiveness.”
Twain’s behavior changed markedly throughout the interaction, passing through stages of active engagement, apparent agitation, and ultimately disengagement. Participation here refers to her active participation, where she responds directly to the sound. During the initial stages, her responses matched the timing of the human-played sounds very closely, suggesting that she was actively engaging in back-and-forth communication. Use advanced tools to analyze the timing and patterns of her calls, revealing how well she adapts to the rhythm of playback.
Dr Laurence Doyle, one of the co-authors from the SETI Institute, reflected on the wider implications of the study: “If whales exhibit conversation-like behavior, this raises questions about communication between different species. and the big question of how intelligence evolved.
These findings are relevant not only to the whales’ responses; They also provide insights into how we design studies of interactions with other intelligent animals. The researchers emphasize the need for an adaptive and interactive approach when creating experiments. Adaptive playback allows researchers to adjust the broadcast based on the animal’s immediate reactions, making interactions more dynamic. Traditional methods that rely on static or repetitive playback often fail to capture an animal’s full response, limiting our understanding of its capabilities.
The findings also hint that humpback whales have complex cognitive abilities, such as recognizing specific calls and adjusting their behavior accordingly. Cognitive abilities here refer to the mental processes involved in learning, understanding, and responding to information. While it’s unclear whether Twain recognized her own voice or the voices of the panelists in the playback, her reaction suggests that she found the voices familiar and captivating. This opens the door to further exploration of social memory and consciousness in whales.
Professor McCown explained the significance of the work: “In-depth study of whale communication could change the way we conserve whales, giving us the tools to better understand and protect these extraordinary creatures.”
This research invites us to consider the rich and often overlooked inner lives of animals. By revealing the depth of whale communication, we can begin to build more meaningful connections with the natural world to bridge the gap between species.
Journal reference
McCowan B., Hubbard J., Walker L., Sharpe F., Frediani J., Doyle L. “Interactive bioacoustic playback as a tool for detecting and exploring non-human intelligence: ‘Conversations’ with Alaskan humpback whales.” PeerJ (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16349
About the author
Professor Brenda McCown is a renowned researcher in animal behavior and communication, focusing on understanding the cognitive and social complexities of non-human species. She serves in the Division of Population Health and Reproduction at UC Davis, where her work spans the fields of animal science, bioacoustics, and behavioral ecology.
Her groundbreaking research explores the complex ways animals communicate and the implications of these systems for understanding intelligence and social dynamics. From studying the vocal patterns of marine mammals such as humpback whales to analyzing primate communication, McCown has made significant contributions to theoretical knowledge and practical applications such as conservation and animal welfare.
She is committed to interdisciplinary research, collaborating with experts around the world to uncover the connection between animal communication and cognitive abilities. She is passionate about education and mentoring the next generation of scientists, inspiring curiosity and innovation in the study of animal intelligence.
