scholarly journals Migratory convergence facilitates cultural transmission of humpback whale song

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 190337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Owen ◽  
Luke Rendell ◽  
Rochelle Constantine ◽  
Michael J. Noad ◽  
Jenny Allen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Wintering Grounds ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Acoustic Contact ◽  
Migratory Routes ◽  
And Migration

Cultural transmission of behaviour is important in a wide variety of vertebrate taxa from birds to humans. Vocal traditions and vocal learning provide a strong foundation for studying culture and its transmission in both humans and cetaceans. Male humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) perform complex, culturally transmitted song displays that can change both evolutionarily (through accumulations of small changes) or revolutionarily (where a population rapidly adopts a novel song). The degree of coordination and conformity underlying song revolutions makes their study of particular interest. Acoustic contact on migratory routes may provide a mechanism for cultural revolutions of song, yet these areas of contact remain uncertain. Here, we compared songs recorded from the Kermadec Islands, a recently discovered migratory stopover, to multiple South Pacific wintering grounds. Similarities in song themes from the Kermadec Islands and multiple wintering locations (from New Caledonia across to the Cook Islands) suggest a location allowing cultural transmission of song eastward across the South Pacific, active song learning (hybrid songs) and the potential for cultural convergence after acoustic isolation at the wintering grounds. As with the correlations in humans between genes, communication and migration, the migration patterns of humpback whales are written into their songs.

Geograpmc Variation in South Pacific Humpback Whale Songs

Behaviour ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Helweg ◽  
Peter Jenkins ◽  
Douglas Cat ◽  
Robert McCauley ◽  
Claire Garrigue
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Megaptera Novaeangliae ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Song Sharing ◽  
Eastern Australia

AbstractEvery winter, (male) humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) produce long complex songs. Song content is dynamic and singers incorporate changes as they occur, thus song is shared through cultural transmission. We compared songs recorded in winter migratory termini in Tonga, New Caledonia, Eastern Australia, and on migration paths off Eastern Australia and New Zealand, in the winter of 1994. Seven themes were shared by all regions, with an additional two themes shared by all but Tonga. Differences in regional variants were most pronounced between Tongan and Eastern Australian song. New Caledonian and Kaikouran song were more similar to songs from Eastern Australia rather than Tonga. These regional differences were stable across the season. The results suggest some migratory exchange among widely separate wintering regions of Area V, consistent with tag recovery data, but the time and location at which song sharing occurs remains speculative.

scholarly journals Migratory insights from singing humpback whales recorded around central New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 201084
Author(s):  
Victoria E. Warren ◽  
Rochelle Constantine ◽  
Michael Noad ◽  
Claire Garrigue ◽  
Ellen C. Garland
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
East Coast ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
Breeding Population ◽  
Population Connectivity ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Migratory Routes ◽  
Migratory Corridor

The migration routes of wide-ranging species can be difficult to study, particularly at sea. In the western South Pacific, migratory routes of humpback whales between breeding and feeding areas are unclear. Male humpback whales sing a population-specific song, which can be used to match singers on migration to a breeding population. To investigate migratory routes and breeding area connections, passive acoustic recorders were deployed in the central New Zealand migratory corridor (2016); recorded humpback whale song was compared to song from the closest breeding populations of East Australia and New Caledonia (2015–2017). Singing northbound whales migrated past New Zealand from June to August via the east coast of the South Island and Cook Strait. Few song detections were made along the east coast of the North Island. New Zealand song matched New Caledonia song, suggesting a migratory destination, but connectivity to East Australia could not be ruled out. Two song types were present in New Zealand, illustrating the potential for easterly song transmission from East Australia to New Caledonia in this shared migratory corridor. This study enhances our understanding of western South Pacific humpback whale breeding population connectivity, and provides novel insights into the dynamic transmission of song culture.

scholarly journals Movement of individual humpback whales between wintering grounds of Oceania (South Pacific), 1999 to 2004

2020 ◽  
pp. 275-282
Author(s):  
Claire Garrigue ◽  
Rochelle Constantine ◽  
Michael Poole ◽  
Nan Hauser ◽  
Phil Clapham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Caledonia ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
American Samoa ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Wintering Grounds ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
Directional Trend

The movement of individual humpback whales between regional breeding grounds of Oceania (South Pacific) was documented by individualidentification photographs collected from 1999 to 2004. Photographs were collected with comparable effort across the six years in four primaryisland breeding grounds: New Caledonia, Tonga (Vava’u) the Cook Islands and French Polynesia (Mo’orea and Rurutu); with smaller effort inadjacent regions: Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Niue and American Samoa. Interchange among wintering grounds was assessed first with all usablephotographs included in each regional catalogue, representing 1,080 regional sightings (including within-region and between-region resightings)of 949 individual whales from Oceania. From this, 28 cases of movement between (mostly adjacent) regions were documented. Previouslyundocumented interchange was found between regions of central Oceania and the western South Pacific. No individual was sighted in more thantwo regions during this six-year period. The documented movement between regions was one-directional, except for one individual sighted first inFrench Polynesia, then in American Samoa and then back in French Polynesia (each in different years). Only one whale was resighted in more thanone region during the same winter season. No directional trend was apparent and movement between regions did not seem to be sex specific. Asystematic quality control review of all catalogues was then implemented to calculate standardised indices of within-region return and betweenregion interchange, resulting in a quality controlled catalogue of 776 regional sightings of 659 individuals. The standardised indices confirmed thatthe probability of between-region interchange was low, relative to within-region return, supporting the assumption of multiple management unitsor stocks in Oceania. The relative isolation of breeding regions and the movement of individuals across the longitudinal borders of Antarcticmanagement Areas V and VI has important implications for the allocation of historical catches from the Antarctic and therefore, for assessingcurrent levels of recovery for breeding stocks

scholarly journals Song Morphing by Humpback Whales: Cultural or Epiphenomenal?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Mercado
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Multiple Time Scales ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
Trajectories Of Change ◽  
Sound Patterns

Singing humpback whales (Megaptera noavaengliae) collectively and progressively change the sounds and patterns they produce within their songs throughout their lives. The dynamic modifications that humpback whales make to their songs are often cited as an impressive example of cultural transmission through vocal learning in a non-human. Some elements of song change challenge this interpretation, however, including: (1) singers often incrementally and progressively morph phrases within and across songs as time passes, with trajectories of change being comparable across multiple time scales; (2) acoustically isolated subpopulations singing similar songs morph the acoustic properties of songs in similar ways; and (3) complex sound patterns, including phrases, themes, and whole songs, recur across years and populations. These properties of song dynamics suggest that singing humpback whales may be modulating song features in response to local conditions and genetic predispositions rather than socially learning novel sound patterns by copying other singers. Experimental and observational tests of key predictions of these alternative hypotheses are critical to identifying how and why singing humpback whales constantly change their songs.

scholarly journals First assessment of interchange of humpback whales between Oceania and the East coast of Australia

2020 ◽  
pp. 269-274
Author(s):  
Claire Garrigue ◽  
Trish Franklin ◽  
Rochelle Constantine ◽  
Kirsty Russell ◽  
Daniel Burns ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
East Coast ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
French Polynesia ◽  
American Samoa ◽  
Individual Identification ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Cook Island ◽  
Breeding Grounds

The interchange of individual humpback whales between the wintering grounds of Oceania (South Pacific) and the east coast of Australia weredocumented by individual identification photographs collected from 1999 to 2004. Interchange was assessed using regional catalogues of flukephotographs, totalling 672 individuals from Oceania (represented by New Zealand, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Cook Island,French Polynesia and American Samoa) and 1,242 individuals from Hervey Bay and Byron Bay representing the southbound and the northboundmigration along the east coast of Australia (EA). Overall, there were seven documented movements between EA and Oceania. Four instances ofmovement of four individuals were documented between EA and the closest breeding grounds of New Caledonia. A further three movements wererecorded between EA and a small catalogue (n = 13) from the New Zealand migratory corridor. In contrast, during this same period, 20 cases ofinterchange were documented among nine breeding grounds: French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue, American Samoa, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatuand New Caledonia. The low level of interchange between Oceania and the east coast of Australia has important implications for understanding thestock structure and abundance of humpback whales in the South Pacific.

scholarly journals February precipitation in the wintering grounds of the lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca : is it a cue for migration onset?

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 160755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irith Aloni ◽  
Shai Markman ◽  
Yaron Ziv
Keyword(s):  
Regression Models ◽  
Arrival Time ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Wintering Grounds ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
Habitat Productivity ◽  
Migration Phenology ◽  
Spring Arrival ◽  
And Migration

Numerous studies report shifts in bird migration phenology, presumably owing to global warming. However, most studies focus on migration patterns in the Northern Hemisphere. In this study, we investigated associations between weather conditions in African wintering grounds of the lesser whitethroat, Sylvia curruca, and spring arrival time in Eilat, Israel. Using multivariate regression models, we analysed a 30-year dataset in order to examine correlations between median springtime arrival and 46 climate variables of the wintering quarters. The model obtained exhibited a highly statistical fit, involving mean precipitation in February and March with negative effects and number of wet days during November–February. February precipitation levels were also the major factor associated with the interquartile range of arrival time. Interestingly and contrary to published results, annual or seasonal precipitation showed no correlation with spring arrival time, nor did temperature. Moreover, winter in this region falls into dry season with negligible rainfall quantities. Hence, it is unlikely that precipitation effect on habitat productivity is a driving force of migration, as suggested by other studies. Instead, we propose that precipitation in February acts as a cue for the birds, indicating the approach of spring and migration time.

scholarly journals Searching for humpback whales in a historical whaling hotspot of the Coral Sea, South Pacific

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. 67-82
Author(s):  
C Garrigue ◽  
S Derville ◽  
C Bonneville ◽  
CS Baker ◽  
T Cheeseman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
New Caledonia ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Breeding Area ◽  
Pristine Area ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Commercial Whaling

Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae were severely depleted by commercial whaling. Understanding key factors in their recovery is a crucial step for their conservation worldwide. In Oceania, the Chesterfield-Bellona archipelago was a primary whaling site in the 19th century, yet has been left almost unaffected by anthropogenic activities since. We present the results of the first multidisciplinary dedicated surveys in the archipelago assessing humpback whale populations 2 centuries post-whaling. We encountered 57 groups during 24 survey days (2016-2017), among which 35 whales were identified using photographs of natural markings (photo-ID), 38 using genotyping and 22 using both. Humpback whales were sparsely distributed (0.041 whales km-1): most sightings concentrated in shallow inner-reef waters and neighbouring offshore shallow banks. The recently created marine protected area covers most of the areas of high predicted habitat suitability and high residence time from satellite-tracked whales. Surprisingly for a breeding area, sex ratios skewed towards females (1:2.4), and 45% of females were with calf. Connectivity was established with the New Caledonia breeding area to the east (mtDNA FST = 0.001, p > 0.05, 12 photo-ID and 10 genotype matches) and with the Australian Great Barrier Reef breeding area to the west (mtDNA FST = 0.006, p > 0.05). Movement of satellite-tracked whales and photo-ID matches also suggest connections with the east Australian migratory corridor. This study confirms that humpback whales still inhabit the Chesterfield-Bellona archipelago 2 centuries post whaling, and that this pristine area potentially plays a role in facilitating migratory interchange among breeding grounds of the western South Pacific.

scholarly journals Global cultural evolutionary model of humpback whale song

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1836) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lies Zandberg ◽  
Robert F. Lachlan ◽  
Luca Lamoni ◽  
Ellen C. Garland
Keyword(s):  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Cultural Transmission ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Evolutionary Model ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Humpback Whale ◽  
The South ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Cultural Evolutionary

Humpback whale song is an extraordinary example of vocal cultural behaviour. In northern populations, the complex songs show long-lasting traditions that slowly evolve, while in the South Pacific, periodic revolutions occur when songs are adopted from neighbouring populations and rapidly spread. In this species, vocal learning cannot be studied in the laboratory, learning is instead inferred from the songs' complexity and patterns of transmission. Here, we used individual-based cultural evolutionary simulations of the entire Southern and Northern Hemisphere humpback whale populations to formalize this process of inference. We modelled processes of song mutation and patterns of contact among populations and compared our model with patterns of song theme sharing measured in South Pacific populations. Low levels of mutation in combination with rare population interactions were sufficient to closely fit the pattern of diversity in the South Pacific, including the distinctive pattern of west-to-east revolutions. Interestingly, the same learning parameters that gave rise to revolutions in the Southern Hemisphere simulations gave rise to evolutionary patterns of cultural evolution in the Northern Hemisphere populations. Our study demonstrates how cultural evolutionary approaches can be used to make inferences about the learning processes underlying cultural transmission and how they might generate emergent population-level processes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Vocal learning in animals and humans’.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document