Blue whale
PROVINCETOWN – Researchers have recently identified a new blue whale song that likely shows that a new population of the marine animals has been discovered.
The new song was described in a published paper in the journal Endangered Species Research by Dr. Salvatore Cerchio, Director of the African Aquatic Conservation Fund’s Cetacean Program and a scientist with the Center for Coastal Studies.
Dr. Cerchio led the analysis of the new song, recordings of which were taken from three locations in the western Indian Ocean.
In the paper Cerchio said that blue whales in the Indian Ocean were thought to be structured into 4 populations, each with their own song.
This new population, Cerchio wrote in the paper, may be a population hinted at by earlier Soviet catch data.
“The potentially restricted range, intensive historic whaling, and the fact that the song-type has been previously undetected, suggests a small population that is in critical need of status assessment and conservation action.”
World Wildlife lists the blue whale as an endangered species, with a population between 10,000 and 25,000 individuals.
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