Author: Ted Cheeseman, PhD Candidate, Marine Ecological Research Centre, Southern Cross University

Spanning more octaves than a piano, humpback whales sing powerfully into the vast ocean. These songs are beautifully complex, weaving phrases and themes into masterful compositions. Blue and fin whales richly fill out a bass section with their own unique versions of song. Together, these three species can create a marvellous symphony in the sea. Published today in PLOS One, our new research reveals these baleen whale species’ response to major changes in their ecosystem can be heard in their songs. Food for long-distance travel The six-year study took place in whale foraging habitat in the eastern North Pacific, off…