Whale research suggests older lovers may have the best tunes

Research at the University of St Andrews studied two decades-worth of data gathered from humpbacks breeding in the waters off the Pacific island of New Caledonia.

The data, resulting  from monitoring conducted by the NGO Operation Cetaces, covered a period of recovery in the species which had previously been heavily targeted by whalers for centuries.

Writing in Current Biology, the international team headed by St Andrews’ Sea Mammal Research Unit said they were able to overcome the previous challenges to observing the whales’ elusive mating behaviour.

?Relying upon a small section of whale skin, they used genetic analyses to?identify?paternity with the aid of an ‘epigenetic?molecular clock’ to estimate the age of individual parents.

This revealed that while initially whale paternity was dominated by young males, as overall humpback numbers grew, a more even distribution emerged between older and younger parents.

Furthermore, as?older individuals became more common, they became?increasingly successful at siring offspring?compared to younger male said the researchers.

A key weapon in their courtship armoury appears to be the humpbacks’ propensity for elaborate songs.

The complexity of the sounds could mean that male humpbacks need time to learn and refine their singing and other competitive tactics, suggest the scientists.

This and the possibility that a larger population of suitors makes female whales more selective, could tip the balance to seniors’ advantage.

Senior author of the study,?Dr.?Ellen Garland?of?the Sea Mammal Research Unit, said:?“Mating behaviour,?and who was successful at mating,?changed with these shifts in age structure. As the population recovered, there were more older males?than expected?singing, escorting?females,?and successfully?fathering calves?compared to younger animals

Pic: Operation Cetaces (Claire Garrigue)