Communication and whales

From: Dagmar Fertl (dfertl@geo-marine.com)
Date: Tue Oct 26 2004 - 11:42:14 EDT

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    Question:

    Hello my name is Steve and I have a few questions about whales?

    What type of wave is used in communication between whales? Is it Transverse
    or Longitudinal?

    Also what average range of frenquency do whales have?

    Thank You,
    Steve
    *************************************************
    Answer:

    Hi Steve,

    Longitudinal waves are used by whales. For more info, see:

     http://www.gmi.edu/~drussell/Demos/waves/wavemotion.html

    Frequency range depends on the whale. For example, Blue whales vocalize from
    ~12 - 120Hz, Fins ~20 Hz, and Humpbacks from 20Hz - 10kHz. Toothed whales
    have a much higher frequency range. For example sperm whales vocalize from
    100hz - 30kHz.

    Marine mammals and noise by John Richardson et al.(1995) is a good reference
    on frequency ranges. You can find the full citation at amazon.com or any
    reputable reference
    on the issue of marine mammal hearing.

    Regards,

    Dagmar Fertl

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