Arabian Sea humpbacks' singing put to test

By Michelle WarwickerReporter, BBC Nature

An isolated population of Arabian Sea humpback whales may be less sophisticated "singers" than humpbacks elsewhere.

The whales' calls could be a simplified version of humpback song, scientists' preliminary findings suggest.

Arabian Sea humpbacks (Megaptera novaeangliae) are believed to have been isolated from other whale populations for around 60,000 years.

The humpback subpopulation has been filmed for BBC Two's Wild Arabia.

Arabian Sea humpback whales are genetically distinct and behave differently to other humpbacks.

The subpopulation comprises the only humpbacks not to migrate, instead remaining in a part of the Northern Indian ocean, off the coast of Oman.

The research team's initial findings "[beg] the question as to whether the evolution of song in the Arabian Sea population did not progress to the apparently more complex song of other populations," said Robert Baldwin, scientist at the Environment Society of Oman's Whale and Dolphin Research Group.

Continued and video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/21592348