Factoid/2018/12/09
From Beachapedia
< Beachapedia:Factoid | 2018 | 12
Whale songs have been dropping in pitch, potential causes explored
- "Blue and fin whales are among the loudest animals in the oceans as well as the largest. Only males sing, humming about as loud as large ships. The whales’ loud songs can travel more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) underwater, allowing the whales to communicate across vast oceans. Blue whales have been dropping pitch incrementally over several decades, but the cause has remained a mystery." - Excerpt from American Geophysical Union. Hypothesized reasons for the reduced pitch include noise traveling more effectively in increasingly acidic waters, whale populations rebounding (less need for long distance communication), and seasonal variations (in the summer, songs must be louder to be heard over crackling icebergs).
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