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Understanding the structure of humpback whale songs (L)
Eduardo Mercado1, Stephen Handel
1Department of Psychology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260, USA. emiii@buffalo.edu
Abstract:
Structured sound sequences produced by humpback whales are described in the literature as hierarchically organized songs. Despite the prevalence of such descriptions, there is no direct evidence that humpback songs are hierarchically structured. It is suggested here that songs may instead be heterarchically structured, in which case traditional approaches to analyzing songs may obscure their organizational and acoustical features. An alternative framework for characterizing patterns within songs is presented, derived from models of humpback whale sound production, that characterizes rhythmic and sequential regularities in the sound sequences produced by singing whales in terms of interacting cycles of breathing and internal air recirculation.
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