Scientists have found evidence of a previously undiscovered population of blue whales living in the western Indian ocean based on an analysis of sound recordings from the region, an advance which sheds light on the global distribution of the largest animals to have ever lived on the Earth. While these highly endangered mammals are found around the globe in all oceans, and sing very low-pitched and recognisable songs, the researchers, including those from the New England Aquarium in the US, said every blue whale population has its own unique song. In a recently published study in the journal Endangered Species Research, the scientists analysed recordings from the Arabian Sea coast of Oman, and as far south as Madagascar, and found a blue whale song that had never been described.
These highly endangered mammals are found around the globe in all oceans. (Representational)
New Delhi:
Scientists have found evidence of a previously undiscovered population of blue whales living in the western Indian ocean based on an analysis of sound recordings from the region, an advance which sheds light on the global distribution of the largest animals to have ever lived on the Earth.
While these highly endangered mammals are found around the globe in all oceans, and sing very low-pitched and recognisable songs, the researchers, including those from the New England Aquarium in the US, said every blue whale population has its own unique song.
By: Times News Service
All blue whales sing very low-pitched and recognisable songs, and conveniently for researchers, every population has its own unique song.
Muscat: An international team of researchers has discovered what it believes to be a new population of blue whales in the Western Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea and the Coast of Oman.
This came as part of a research effort initially focused on the highly endangered Arabian Sea humpback whale, with ongoing collaboration among the Environment Society of Oman, New England Aquarium, African Aquatic Conservation Fund, Five Oceans Environmental Services LLC, Oman’s Environment Authority and Oman’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources.
New population of blue whales discovered in the western Indian ocean
An international team of researchers has discovered what it believes to be a new population of blue whales in the western Indian Ocean.
Blue whales are the largest animals that have ever lived on our planet, and they are found around the globe in all oceans. All blue whales sing very low-pitched and recognizable songs, and conveniently for researchers, every population has its own unique song. In a recently published paper in the journal Endangered Species Research, the researchers describe a new blue whale song that is heard from the Arabian Sea coast of Oman across to the Chagos Archipelago in the central Indian Ocean and as far south as Madagascar in the southwest Indian Ocean.