座頭鯨在旅途中分享歌曲

座頭鯨在旅途中分享歌曲

Want to know where a whale has been on its long-distance oceanic travels? Try listening to its songs, say scientists from the University of St. Andrews. New research, published in Royal Society's journal Open Science, reveals that migrating humpback whales swap songs during their journey in the South Pacific.

想知道鯨魚在長途海洋旅行中去了哪里嗎?圣安德魯斯大學的科學家說，試著聽聽它的歌。發(fā)表在英國皇家學會(Royal Society)期刊《開放科學》(Open Science)上的一項新研究顯示，遷徙的座頭鯨在南太平洋旅行期間會交換歌曲。

The study found that whales teach and learn songs as they come into contact with others during migration. (Photo: Tomas Kotouc/Shutterstock)

"Male humpback whales perform complex, culturally transmitted song displays. Our research has revealed the migration patterns of humpback whales appear to be written into their songs," explains Dr. Ellen Garland of St. Andrews. "We found similarities in songs from the Kermadec Islands and songs from multiple wintering locations."

雄性座頭鯨會表演復雜的、通過文化傳播的歌曲表演。我們的研究揭示了座頭鯨的遷徙模式似乎被寫入了它們的歌聲中，”圣安德魯斯大學的艾倫·加蘭博士解釋道。“我們發(fā)現(xiàn)克馬德克群島的歌曲和來自多個過冬地點的歌曲有相似之處。”

The Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand, are a recently discovered migratory stopover in the South Pacific. That region's whale songs were compared to ones being sung in several wintering locations, from New Caledonia to the Cook Islands. The similarity in songs suggest a cultural exchange was taking place as the whales migrated during the fall of 2015.

新西蘭北部的克馬德克群島是最近在南太平洋發(fā)現(xiàn)的一個遷徙中轉站。從新喀里多尼亞到庫克群島，該地區(qū)的鯨叫聲被拿來與幾個越冬地點的鯨叫聲進行比較。歌曲上的相似性表明，2015年秋季鯨魚遷徙時，文化交流正在進行。

"Our best analogy is hit human fashion and pop songs," Garland told New Scientist. "We can pinpoint a population a whale has likely come from by what they are singing." Scientists believe male humpbacks sing for a variety of reasons: to attract mates, to navigate new neighborhoods, or even when they've lost a loved one.

加蘭對《新科學家》雜志說:“我們最好的類比是流行時尚和流行歌曲。”“我們可以通過鯨魚的叫聲來確定它們的種群。”科學家們認為雄性座頭鯨唱歌有很多原因:為了在新的環(huán)境中航行，甚至當它們失去了愛人的時候，為了吸引伴侶。

Whale songs are a relatively new discovery for humans. In 1967, two biologists revealed that male humpbacks produce complex sounds featuring repeated "themes" that can last up to 30 minutes. At the time, the gentle giants were at the brink of extinction because commercial whalers were hunting and killing them by the tens of thousands each year. Fortunately, thanks to pop culture and a best-selling LPof whale songs that debuted after the study, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial hunting of humpbacks, followed by actions to protect all baleen whales and sperm whales in 1986.

對人類來說，鯨的叫聲是一個相對較新的發(fā)現(xiàn)。1967年，兩位生物學家發(fā)現(xiàn)雄性座頭鯨會發(fā)出復雜的聲音，重復的“主題”可以持續(xù)30分鐘。當時，溫和的巨獸正處于滅絕的邊緣，因為商業(yè)捕鯨者每年捕殺它們成千上萬只。幸運的是，由于流行文化和在研究之后發(fā)布的暢銷LPof鯨魚歌曲，國際捕鯨委員會禁止了對座頭鯨的商業(yè)捕獵，隨后在1986年采取行動保護所有長須鯨和抹香鯨。

Today, humpback numbers hover around 80,000, down from a pre-whaling population of 125,000. Other populations, however, remain endangered or vulnerable to oil spills, fishing gear and climate change.

如今，座頭鯨的數(shù)量徘徊在8萬只左右，低于捕鯨前的12.5萬只。然而，其他種群仍然面臨著石油泄漏、漁具和氣候變化的威脅或脆弱。