Whale, whale, whale! Do we have a fascinating science story for you?! A team of researchers associated with Project CETI, a nonprofit organization that's been studying sperm whales in the Caribbean, has published a remarkable paper on their findings. Specifically, they were paying attention to codas, the rapid burst of clicks these whales use to communicate. What did they discover? Let's dive in!
Using machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence that performs tasks better as it learns, Project CETI researchers were able to study more than 8,700 audio recordings made of the marine mammals.
The results? They were able to identify 143 unique sound combinations which they are calling the sperm whale phonetic alphabet.
Researchers identified repeating sounds in these patterns which could possibly be strung together to form words or even phrases for these giant cetaceans, surprisingly closer to human communication than we thought. These animals are known to have complex social structures so understanding their language could shed light on this vulnerable population, which has been on the Endangered Species Act since 1970.
At the moment, very little else is known about cetacean communications, but Project CETI wants to see what else they can discover using machine learning. Researchers are still in listening mode as much more information is needed to better understand the variances in the tempo and rhythm of the clicks. Once they have further studied these audio-based details, scientists can start to see how that communication plays out in sperm whale social structure and daily lives out in the ocean.
From deciphering the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt to decoding sperm whale clicks, science is no stranger to language and communication.
Here's one other interesting thing to keep in mind: this type of research is the closest we’ve gotten to studying an alien language. After all, we have about 8.7 million species on Earth. If we want a shot at understanding potential alien languages in the future, we may want to attempt to understand the various Earthly communications all around us, from birds to our pets to whales.
Mom was right, communication is key to life.
