Biologists interpret the language of sperm whales [View All]

When they dive together, sperm whales make patterns of clicks to each other known as "codas". Recent findings suggest that, not only do different codas mean different things, but that whales can also tell which member of their community is speaking based on the sound properties of the codas. Just as we can tell our friends apart by the sounds of their voices and the way they pronounce their words, different sperm whales make the same pattern of clicks, but with different accents.

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Dr. Whitehead enjoys researching sperm whales because of their "fascinating and complex social lives." He hopes the Dominica Sperm Whale Project will be able to trace how whale communities change through time.

Part of Mr. Gero's PhD includes studying how calves acquire their dialect. Baby sperm whales babble at first, and Mr. Gero is interested in discovering how the babies' diversity of calls gets narrowed down to the family repertoire.

"One of the most exciting parts is to go down and see who's around," says Mr. Gero, admitting that he has "become attached to the individual whales." For the first time, sperm whales can be studied as individuals within families, with such lovable nicknames as "Pinchy" and "Fingers". The family that includes these two whales is recognized as "the best studied social unit of sperm whales in the world."

http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-05-biologists-language-sperm-whales.html