Hugh Bollinger / Monday, May 9, 2011

Whale sing-a-long

Most of us think about opera in New York City as occurring on the stages of Lincoln Center . However, an "ocean opera", performed by whales, has now been taped and makes us think more broadly about singing venues around the city. [caption id="attachment_3965" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="humpback whale recording source: file image"]

[/caption] In a gig worthy of the any world stage, researchers from the bio-acoustics labs at Cornell University have recorded the songs of six different species of whales in the waters around New York City. Among the singing whales taped were the blue whale-- the largest mammal that has ever lived on the planet -- the humpback, minke, and sei whales and the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The Cornell acoustic research is an attempt to develop ways of protecting the whales during their migrations from sonic noise pollution, encounters with ocean vessels, and other human-made obstacles. [caption id="attachment_3969" align="aligncenter" width="575" caption="Atlantic right whale source: NOAA"]

[/caption] Christopher Clark, the director of the Cornell research, commented: "Everywhere we listen, we hear a singing planet out there. We have an ocean opera going on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." However, it might prove a bit technically difficult to book the whales into Lincoln Center for a Verdi encore. WHB

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Tags: marine mammals marine conservation bio-acoustic labs Cornell University Lincoln Center New York City whale songs

Whale sing-a-long

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