Part of our objective here in Panama is to listen for humpback whale song.
Humpback whales are known for their long complex songs, which are a series of themes and phrases that are repeated. Only the males sing, and they only sing on the breeding areas indicating it is part of their mating behavior. Sadly, our hydrophone died a few days ago, but the backup is on the way soon!
Meanwhile, we are using our intrepid intern Megan as a human hydrophone. Today we saw a whale that was exhibiting classic singer behavior…a single whale staying down for long periods of time (up to 20 minutes) and surfacing in the same general area. Megan offered to slip into the water to see if she could hear singing. With her help we learned that this whale was NOT a singer, and she got the chance to cool off! Thank you Megan for putting in the extra effort in the name of science!
