Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Environmental DNA Sampling from Whale-Watching Vessels for Cetacean Monitoring
Published on: April 10, 2026
Frequency synchronization of blue whale calls near Pioneer Seamount
Michael D Hoffman1, Newell Garfield, Roger W Bland
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, California 94132, USA.
Abstract:
Vocalizations of blue whales were recorded with a cabled hydrophone array at Pioneer Seamount, 50 miles off the California coast. Most calls occurred in repeated sequences of two-call pairs (A, then B). The B call is a frequency-modulated tone highly repeatable in form and pitch. A model of this sound is described which permits detecting very small frequency shifts. B calls are found to be aligned in frequency to about one part in 180. This requires very fine pitch discrimination and control over calling frequency, and suggests that synchronizing to a common frequency pattern carries some adaptive advantage. Some possibilities for acoustic sensing by whales requiring this fine frequency resolution are discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Convergent Evolution
Standing Waves
Marine Microbial Ecology
Deep Sea Microbial Ecology
Atomic Nuclei: Larmor Precession Frequency
The Fossil Record

