Dear Danielle ,
Grey whales do indeed communicate among themselves. They use several types
of sounds.
The sounds are :
Calls in a frequency range of 0.2-2.5 kilohertz
Moans
0.o2-1.2 kHz
Modulated pulse 0.08-1.8 kHz
FM sweep 0.10-0.35
kHz
Pulses
0.10-2 kHz
Clicks
0.10-20 kHz .
These sounds are used for social communication and perhaps finding food and
direction. Grey whale sounds differ from toothed whale sounds because they
are in low frequencies. Toothed whales are also called odontocetes.
Grey whale sounds do not differ from other filter feeding (baleen) whales in
general. They are not as low as blue or fin whales but are not as high as
minke whale or humpback sounds.
Grey whales are identified photographically. Individual animals can be
catalogued by scars pigmented areas or tail fringe patterns.
The top three threats to grey whales are :
1) chemical and sound pollution of the oceans.
2) disease
3) predation by killer whales and sharks.
I hope this fufills your request.
dr. Tom Ford
From: "Robert Wighton"
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 19:48:09 -0800
To: "Dr. Tom Ford" <tjfketos@rcn.com>
Subject: Questions
Dear Dr. Tom Ford,
I am a grade six student doing a report on grey whales and I have a few
questions that I'm having trouble finding answers to. I'd really appreciate
your help on these.
1. How do grey whales communicate and how are their vocals different from
other whales?
2. What method is used for identifying individual grey whales?
3. What are the three top threats to the grey whale?
Thank you for your help.
Danielle
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