Researchers studying sperm whale communication say they’ve uncovered sophisticated structures similar to those found in human language.
Sperm whales are known for their complex social behaviours and communication methods. Spending most of their life at depths of up to 3kms, they primarily communicate using a series of clicks known as codas. While some codas have been observed to convey information about the identity of the caller, much of the sperm whale communication system remains a mystery, including the overall structure and the what information is being communicated.
In a recent study published in Nature, researchers have uncovered new insights into sperm whale communication in the Caribbean.
It was previously thought that sperm whales had just 21 coda types. However, after studying almost 9,000 recordings, researchers identified 156 distinct codas. They also noticed the basic building blocks of these codas which they describe as a “sperm whale phonetic alphabet.” Each coda consists of between three and 40 rapid-fire clicks.
The researchers describe these findings as an “incremental step” towards understanding these giants of the deep. While the study sheds light on the richness and complexity of sperm whale communication, it also highlights the need for further research to fully understand the intricacies of their social interactions and language.
