座头鲸在旅途中分享歌曲

座头鲸在旅途中分享歌曲

Want to know where a whale has been on its long-distance oceanic travels? Try listening to its songs, say scientists from the University of St. Andrews. New research, published in Royal Society's journal Open Science, reveals that migrating humpback whales swap songs during their journey in the South Pacific.

想知道鲸鱼在长途海洋旅行中去了哪里吗?圣安德鲁斯大学的科学家说，试着听听它的歌。发表在英国皇家学会(Royal Society)期刊《开放科学》(Open Science)上的一项新研究显示，迁徙的座头鲸在南太平洋旅行期间会交换歌曲。

The study found that whales teach and learn songs as they come into contact with others during migration. (Photo: Tomas Kotouc/Shutterstock)

"Male humpback whales perform complex, culturally transmitted song displays. Our research has revealed the migration patterns of humpback whales appear to be written into their songs," explains Dr. Ellen Garland of St. Andrews. "We found similarities in songs from the Kermadec Islands and songs from multiple wintering locations."

雄性座头鲸会表演复杂的、通过文化传播的歌曲表演。我们的研究揭示了座头鲸的迁徙模式似乎被写入了它们的歌声中，”圣安德鲁斯大学的艾伦·加兰博士解释道。“我们发现克马德克群岛的歌曲和来自多个过冬地点的歌曲有相似之处。”

The Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand, are a recently discovered migratory stopover in the South Pacific. That region's whale songs were compared to ones being sung in several wintering locations, from New Caledonia to the Cook Islands. The similarity in songs suggest a cultural exchange was taking place as the whales migrated during the fall of 2015.

新西兰北部的克马德克群岛是最近在南太平洋发现的一个迁徙中转站。从新喀里多尼亚到库克群岛，该地区的鲸叫声被拿来与几个越冬地点的鲸叫声进行比较。歌曲上的相似性表明，2015年秋季鲸鱼迁徙时，文化交流正在进行。

"Our best analogy is hit human fashion and pop songs," Garland told New Scientist. "We can pinpoint a population a whale has likely come from by what they are singing." Scientists believe male humpbacks sing for a variety of reasons: to attract mates, to navigate new neighborhoods, or even when they've lost a loved one.

加兰对《新科学家》杂志说:“我们最好的类比是流行时尚和流行歌曲。”“我们可以通过鲸鱼的叫声来确定它们的种群。”科学家们认为雄性座头鲸唱歌有很多原因:为了在新的环境中航行，甚至当它们失去了爱人的时候，为了吸引伴侣。

Whale songs are a relatively new discovery for humans. In 1967, two biologists revealed that male humpbacks produce complex sounds featuring repeated "themes" that can last up to 30 minutes. At the time, the gentle giants were at the brink of extinction because commercial whalers were hunting and killing them by the tens of thousands each year. Fortunately, thanks to pop culture and a best-selling LPof whale songs that debuted after the study, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial hunting of humpbacks, followed by actions to protect all baleen whales and sperm whales in 1986.

对人类来说，鲸的叫声是一个相对较新的发现。1967年，两位生物学家发现雄性座头鲸会发出复杂的声音，重复的“主题”可以持续30分钟。当时，温和的巨兽正处于灭绝的边缘，因为商业捕鲸者每年捕杀它们成千上万只。幸运的是，由于流行文化和在研究之后发布的畅销LPof鲸鱼歌曲，国际捕鲸委员会禁止了对座头鲸的商业捕猎，随后在1986年采取行动保护所有长须鲸和抹香鲸。

Today, humpback numbers hover around 80,000, down from a pre-whaling population of 125,000. Other populations, however, remain endangered or vulnerable to oil spills, fishing gear and climate change.

如今，座头鲸的数量徘徊在8万只左右，低于捕鲸前的12.5万只。然而，其他种群仍然面临着石油泄漏、渔具和气候变化的威胁或脆弱。