Latest news with #MarineMammalScience
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Humpback Whale Bubble Rings May Be an Attempt to Communicate With Us
Humpback whales caught blowing giant bubble rings underwater may have been attempting some kind of communication with their audience of human onlookers, a new study suggests. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are known for blowing spiral bubble nets to hunt with, but not all bubbles have the same meaning in the world of whales. Some are intended to be playful; some frisky; and others are downright aggressive. The particular genre of bubble-blowing documented in the report took the form of perfect circles, similar to ones described by biologist Roger Payne as "madly spinning doughnut-shaped clouds that look like giant smoke rings about three feet in diameter that rise rapidly to the surface." An international team of biologists and photographers reviewed videos and photos of whales producing bubble rings, taken from below the water by a swimmer or overboard from a boat, and above the surface either from a boat, a plane, or a drone. This variety of sources adds to the context in which the whales produce their rings, particularly important if we want to know whether they're meant as communication with humans or not. Their data included a dozen separate examples of rings being made by the whales, equalling a total of 39 bubble rings generated by 11 different humpback whales. "Out of the 12 episodes of ring production reported here, ten episodes were collected near a boat or human swimmers, while six episodes had more than one whale present," the researchers report. "Despite these ample opportunities for intra- and interspecies aggression, there was no evidence of agonism toward conspecifics or aggression toward boats or swimmers in any of the ring episodes." Quite the contrary, in fact. Far from showing signs of avoiding humans, eight of nine ring blowers approached the boat or swimmers, with exceptions to when they were blowing bubbles while feeding. Whales of many different species have been observed exhaling near research and tourist vessels, exhibiting playful and friendly behavior. Intentionally blowing bubbles may be one more sign of wilful interaction, much as we might engage with other animals in whimsical acts of fun. While these facts support the fantastic notion of whale-to-human communication, we're going to need a lot more data before we can be sure of the true meaning of these effervescent messages – and whether they're really intended for us at all. "Whatever the reason for their creation, maintaining vigilance in the field will help elucidate the frequency and function of bubble rings," the researchers write. "Both playful and communicative overtures of bubble rings may hold deeper meaning for humpback whales and their potential for interspecies communication." The research is published in Marine Mammal Science. New Tyrannosaur Species Could Be a Missing Link to The Giants The World's Largest Organism Is Slowly Being Eaten First Evidence of a Sauropod's Last Meal Shows How They Ate Their Food
The Independent
3 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
Humpback whales could be secretly trying to talk to humans, scientists say
Humpback whales have been documented for the first time creating large bubble rings in water during friendly interactions with humans, suggesting they could be trying to communicate with us. The whales are known to use bubbles to hunt prey and when competing to escort females. They don't just produce these rings but also manipulate them in a variety of ways, actively controlling their size and depth. A new study, published in Marine Mammal Science, hints that they could be trying to communicate with humans using the bubbles during friendly encounters. ' This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behaviour in humpback whales,' said Laurance Doyle, an author of the study from SETI Institute. Researchers have previously documented the whales living in complex societies and using their ring bubbles to assist other species harassed by predators. The bubble rings are described by researchers as spinning, air-infused vortices that look like 'giant smoke rings' about a metre in diameter. The whales often exhibit inquisitive, friendly behaviour towards boats and human swimmers. "Now, akin to a candidate signal, we show they are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication,' study co-author Fred Sharpe said. "We've now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers blowing bubble rings during these episodes of curious behaviour,' said Jodi Frediani, another author of the study, In the study, researchers analysed 12 humpback whale bubble ring production incidents, totalling 39 rings made by 11 individuals. They categorised the whales into known age classes: yearling; 4-6 years old subadult; and adult. In many of these instances, during ring release, the whales were motionless or slowly idling forward 'with blowholes held upright and the body mostly in the horizontal position'. 'None of the other ten episodes were associated with feeding behaviour nor were prey organisms noted within rings,' the researchers noted. They also confirmed that none of the observed whales expressed any aggressive behaviour towards a boat or a human swimmer. In a majority of the observed incidents the ring blowing whale was alone, suggesting that the intended recipient wasn't another whale. 'Ring generation during inquisitive encounters adds to the humpback whale's diverse interspecies behaviours,' the scientists wrote. The findings are also intriguing since researchers believe interacting with the humpbacks can be a proxy for communicating with aliens. Studying these whale interactions can offer valuable insights into non-human intelligence and potentially help refine methods for detecting extraterrestrial life, scientists say. 'More research is needed to systematically study bubble ring production and ascertain under what conditions bubble rings are consistently produced,' they said.
BBC News
4 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Humpback whales may blow bubble rings to say hi to humans
Humpback whales are known for being pretty smart mammals, and researchers have made a discovery that may tell us even more about them. A team of scientists from the SETI Institute and the University of California at Davis have documented humpback whales blowing large bubble rings when interacting with people for the first believe it could be a way in which the whales greet humans, representing either play or communication. Humpback whales blowing bubbles has been seen before, mainly when they're either tracking down their prey or competing for the attention of a female the latest discovery suggests the mammals' bubble rings, which they make by forcing air through their blowholes and mouths, could also be used when it comes to encounters with humans. "We show they are blowing bubble rings in our direction in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe our response, and/or engage in some form of communication," said Dr. Fred Sharpe who is a co-lead author on the study which was published in in the journal Marine Mammal part of their research, the team looked at 12 separate instances of bubble production involving 39 rings made by 11 different whales. Out of the twelve episodes reported, ten were collected near a boat or near human swimmers, with eight of the bubble ring blowers actually coming closer. Six of the episodes had more than one whale present and there was no sign of annoyance or aggressive behaviour towards the boats or humans in any of them. "Humpback whales often exhibit inquisitive, friendly behaviour towards boats and human swimmers," said co-lead author Jodi Frediani who is a marine wildlife photographer. "We've now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers, blowing bubble rings during these episodes of curious behaviour."
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
How humpback whales are playfully communicating with humans, according to scientists
Humpback whales may be communicating with humans in a playful way, according to researchers who have been studying the marine mammals' behavior. Researchers from the SETI Institute, a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit research organization, documented humpback whales producing large bubble rings -- similar to the rings humans can produce while blowing smoke -- during friendly interactions with humans, they noted in a paper published last month in the journal Marine Mammal Science. MORE: 50th anniversary of 'Jaws': How the film impacted public perception of sharks This behavior, while little studied, could represent play or communication, the scientists said. Humpback whales were already known to use bubbles to corral, and males have been observed creating bubble trails or bursts when competing for a female mate, according to the SETI Institute. But new observations that appear to show humpback whales producing bubble rings during friendly encounters with humans contributes to a broader goal of studying non-human intelligence, the scientists said. Studying non-human intelligence can aid in the search for extraterrestrial life, the researchers said. The SETI whale team is aiming to develop filters that aid in parsing cosmic signals for signs of extraterrestrial life by studying intelligent, non-terrestrial -- or aquatic -- nonhuman communication systems, according to the research organization. "Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrial intelligence and life will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers," Laurance Doyle, SETI Institute scientist and co-author on the paper, said in a statement. "This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales." Researchers analyzed 12 bubble ring–production episodes involving 39 rings made by 11 individual whales, they said. They determined the whales are blowing bubble rings in the direction of humans in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe humans' response and engage in some form of communication, Fred Sharpe, a co-author of the paper, said in a statement. "Humpback whales live in complex societies, are acoustically diverse, use bubble tools and assist other species being harassed by predators," Sharpe, who is a legacy board member of the Alaska Whale Foundation, said. MORE: Scientists discover how whales can sing under water and how shipping noise can disrupt communication Humpback whales often display "inquisitive, friendly behavior" toward boats and humans, according to Jodi Frediani, a marine wildlife photographer and paper co-author. "We've now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers blowing bubble rings during these episodes of curious behavior," Frediani said. For decades, scientists have been studying how intelligent marine mammals such as whales and dolphins communicate with each other. In 2021, researchers from the SETI Institute recorded a conversation with a humpback whale named Twain by playing whale calls through an underwater speaker. MORE: Ocean scientists concerned over uptick of whale deaths on Northeast coasts Last year, another group of researchers at the University of Southern Denmark discovered how baleen whales are able to sing underwater. Also in 2024, SETI Institute researchers discovered that whale calls made during bubble feeding events were likely a way for whales to issue instructions to the group.
5 days ago
- Science
How humpback whales are playfully communicating with humans, according to scientists
Humpback whales may be communicating with humans in a playful way, according to researchers who have been studying the marine mammals' behavior. Researchers from the SETI Institute, a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit research organization, documented humpback whales producing large bubble rings -- similar to the rings humans can produce while blowing smoke -- during friendly interactions with humans, they noted in a paper published last month in the journal Marine Mammal Science. This behavior, while little studied, could represent play or communication, the scientists said. Humpback whales were already known to use bubbles to corral, and males have been observed creating bubble trails or bursts when competing for a female mate, according to the SETI Institute. But new observations that appear to show humpback whales producing bubble rings during friendly encounters with humans contributes to a broader goal of studying non-human intelligence, the scientists said. Studying non-human intelligence can aid in the search for extraterrestrial life, the researchers said. The SETI whale team is aiming to develop filters that aid in parsing cosmic signals for signs of extraterrestrial life by studying intelligent, non-terrestrial -- or aquatic -- nonhuman communication systems, according to the research organization. "Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrial intelligence and life will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers," Laurance Doyle, SETI Institute scientist and co-author on the paper, said in a statement. "This important assumption is certainly supported by the independent evolution of curious behavior in humpback whales." Researchers analyzed 12 bubble ring–production episodes involving 39 rings made by 11 individual whales, they said. They determined the whales are blowing bubble rings in the direction of humans in an apparent attempt to playfully interact, observe humans' response and engage in some form of communication, Fred Sharpe, a co-author of the paper, said in a statement. "Humpback whales live in complex societies, are acoustically diverse, use bubble tools and assist other species being harassed by predators," Sharpe, who is a legacy board member of the Alaska Whale Foundation, said. Humpback whales often display "inquisitive, friendly behavior" toward boats and humans, according to Jodi Frediani, a marine wildlife photographer and paper co-author. "We've now located a dozen whales from populations around the world, the majority of which have voluntarily approached boats and swimmers blowing bubble rings during these episodes of curious behavior," Frediani said. For decades, scientists have been studying how intelligent marine mammals such as whales and dolphins communicate with each other. In 2021, researchers from the SETI Institute recorded a conversation with a humpback whale named Twain by playing whale calls through an underwater speaker. Last year, another group of researchers at the University of Southern Denmark discovered how baleen whales are able to sing underwater. Also in 2024, SETI Institute researchers discovered that whale calls made during bubble feeding events were likely a way for whales to issue instructions to the group.
