Author: Leah Rosenbaum / Source: Science News
Narwhals are among the most elusive of whales. But for the first time, researchers have been able to eavesdrop on the creatures for days at a time as these unicorns of the sea dove, fed and socialized.
Biologist Susanna Blackwell and colleagues listened in on the clicks, buzzes and calls of the East Greenland narwhal (Monodon monoceros). The team’s findings, published June 13 in PLOS ONE, provide a peek into the daily behavior of the long-toothed whale. The research could help scientists determine how human-made noises may affect narwhals as the Arctic warms due to climate change and shipping lanes become more open.
Many whale sounds are recorded using hydrophones, underwater microphones that dangle in the water. But these acoustic devices have several drawbacks: They can’t sense the depth or direction from which noise comes, and they can’t detect which animal is making a sound.
Blackwell and colleagues skirted these issues by attaching an acoustic recording device to the narwhals themselves. “It is really like sitting on the back of a narwhal for a few days and experiencing the world,” Blackwell says.
Listen to two recordings of East Greenland narwhals collected by researchers from 2013 to 2016.
Several whales socialize with each other at a depth of 65 meters, using clicks, whistles and trumpet sounds.
A female narwhal communicates using pulselike sounds as she swims near the surface of the ocean.
With the help of native Greenland hunters, the researchers tagged six of the skittish creatures from 2013 to 2016. The devices were attached with suction cups, and held in place for several days by a nylon string threaded through a ridge of cartilage on the narwhals’ backs. After three to eight days in the water, magnesium…
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