The recent discovery has provided compelling evidence that large combinatorial vocalization systems are a rare phenomenon in the animal world, but they are still present not only among humans but also in other species. Scientists have identified variations in the «clicks» of marine giants — sperm whales, which can be compared to an alphabet, Science Alert reports.
Project CETI’s Findings
As part of the study, members of the Project CETI conservation initiative found that short sequences of sperm whale clicks, lasting less than two seconds, are unique codes. These codes are the basic building blocks of cetacean language.
«We analyzed vocalizations recorded in more than fifty different sperm whales from 2005 to 2018. In total, we identified 8719 different codes, which can be divided into 21 typical distance patterns defined earlier by scientists in other studies. Whales use these codes individually and in combination, forming patterns at the level of individual codes or the overall song structure. Some characteristics of these codes, according to the study authors, depend on the conversation context,» the statement says.
These characteristics include:
- variation in code duration;
- the number of clicks in the codes is not fixed;
- additional clicks added to the base code.
At the same time, it was found that different rhythms and tempos of clicks seem to have no clear connection to a specific context. All these various functions of codes create a diverse combination of sounds, similar to phonemes in the human alphabet. It is worth noting that earlier scientists explained the mass stranding of dolphins when nearly five hundred long-finned pilot whales were stranded on a beach in Australia; several dozen animals were successfully rescued.
