Fact Check: Blue whales have stopped singing off the coast of California

Does a full belly ever put a spring in your step? Do you find yourself humming a tune after a satisfying meal? Well, it turns out blue whales do too. A recent study led by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute tracked blue whales from July 2015 through June 2021 and found that these massive marine mammals sing more when food is plentiful—and less when they’re struggling to find their next meal.

The research team spent six years studying the whales to better understand who sings, when, and why. Their careful tracking and analysis revealed new insights into whale behavior. All data was collected off California’s coast, where whale songs can be heard year-round.

When it comes to singing, mature males are the most vocal, and scientists often link their songs to reproduction. More recently, researchers have found that whale songs can also offer clues about feeding habits, migration timing, cultural behavior, population trends, and movement patterns.

Are whales going silent?

The study began in 2015, just after a severe marine heatwave disrupted the whales’ ability to hunt. As a result, singing dropped dramatically, leading some media outlets to report that the ocean had gone quiet. But John Ryan, a biological oceanographer at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and lead author of the study, says that’s not quite accurate. While singing did decline early on, it has steadily increased in recent years—a sign that whales are once again finding enough to eat.

“For example, a persistent marine heatwave during 2014–2016 changed regional upwelling dynamics and phytoplankton ecology, in turn impacting the behavior and population health of invertebrate and vertebrate animal species," relay the authors, but confirmed that after the heatwave ended, more singing was picked up by the devices placed to record the whale sounds.

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