Researchers: Blue whales adjusting songs

SAN DIEGO, June 21 (UPI) -- Blue whales, the largest animals on the planet, have begun adjusting their songs to one another as their population increases, U.S. researchers say.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher John Hildebrand said as the blue whale population continues to grow in the wake of new protection laws, the animals have adjusted their communication patterns to lower tones, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

"As their numbers have slowly increased after the devastation caused by whaling, they are having to communicate over smaller distances so their songs don't need to be as loud and they can make them deeper," the professor at the University of California in San Diego said.

New Jersey Institute of Technology Professor David Rothernberg said by using hydrophones and microphones, he was able to learn the whales actually respond to music and adjust their songs accordingly.

"These are incredibly social animals and they seem to change their songs regularly," he told the British newspaper. "When one of them innovates, this gets picked up by the rest of the population and they all start singing in the same way."