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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Phys.org [phys.org]:

Until now, scientists believed the male fin whale sings just one song pattern, which is unique to the males in his particular group—but new research has blown this theory out of the water. The study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, suggests that these endangered deep-sea giants actually sing multiple different songs, which may spread to different parts of the ocean through migrating individuals. Understanding the complexity of fin whale song provides new insights into how their populations move and change over time, helping efforts to better protect and manage the world's second largest mammal.

"There is still a lot of uncertainty around the fin whale population size and structure in the North Pacific, and so learning about the song could help us understand population dynamics in this region much better", says Dr. Tyler Helble of the Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, United States. "Male fin whales in the Pacific sing just two very low notes, which are produced in different rhythms to create song. Previously, some marine mammal scientists thought that fin whales each sang a single pattern of notes, which was found only within their specific group and region. Our research indicates that fin whale song is more complex than this".

Unconfirmed reports say the whale song translates to messages castigating the dolphins for not letting the whales bum a ride off planet [fandom.com].

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