Aussie Scientists Track Antarctic Blue Whale Through Mammal’s Songs (VIDEO & AUDIO)
An international team led by Australian scientists tracked the Antarctic blue whale, the world's biggest animal, through the mammal's songs, using acoustic tracking techniques.
Researchers used to study the whales before by following their migratory routes. However, by using the sonar, they could hear the extremely low-pitches song that lasted for 20 to 30 seconds, said Brian Miller, an acoustician. The equipment was developed from anti-submarine warfare.
"It's a very deep song, but all of the Antarctic blues sing the same tune. They have perfect pitch," Mr Miller was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.
The group left New Zealand in January aboard the chartered fishing boat Amaltal Explorer. They scoured the waters from the Ross Sea region to the far south of Tasmania and analysed 26,545 blues call recorded for 626 hours during their entire voyage. They sighted 87 blue whales.
Whenever the vessel approached the singing whales, they triangulated their positions within a few kilometers from the mammals by dropping sonobuoys in the very cold waters. Then they directed the shop close enough to photo identify the whales which resulted in 57 photo identifications.
The team then examined the dorsal fin shape and skin mottling patterns to catalogue individual whales and compare them with future sighting in later years.
Virginia Andrews-Goff, a member of the research team tasked with firing the satellite tag darts, said the result of their journey would likely change the method of whale research and would be the benchmark for other whale researchers across the world.
They collected 23 biopsy samples and attached satellite tags to two of the whales by sailing in boats that were only six metres long versus the 30-metre mammals.
"I felt like an ant next to one of these massive whales. They are huge," she added.
Ms Andrews-Goff said that with the satellite tags on the whales, researchers could actually see where the mammals spend a lot of their time and they could like it with environmental features such as the sea ice edge.
