Cultural transmission of humpback whale song and metapopulation structure in the western and central South Pacific Ocean

• Main Author: Ellen Clare Garland
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: The University of Queensland, School of Veterinary Science 2011
• Subjects: song; cultural transmission; population structure; acoustic display; non-human culture; humpback whale; Megaptera novaeangliae; South Pacific Ocean; 07 Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences; Pacific; Tonga; Humpback Whale
• Online Access: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:259485/s41119491_phd_finalthesis.pdf; https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:259485

Male humpback whales produce a long, complex and highly stereotyped acoustic display termed ‘song’. The exact function of song is unclear but it is believed to be involved in sexual selection through mate attraction and/or male social ordering. All males within a population adhere to the current con...