Humpback whale songs simplified during ‘cultural revolutions’

Humpback whales sing increasingly complex songs, but University of Queensland researchers have discovered they may suddenly switch to something simpler, in a ‘cultural revolution’. The study examined the structure and complexity of songs sung by the eastern Australian humpback whale population over 13 consecutive years. Dr Jenny Allen from UQ’s Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory said members of humpback whale populations were known to sing the same song at any one time.

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