Humpback whales have their tricks when they need to find a snack on the ocean floor, even in total darkness. How do they find food in the middle of the night, when there is not a hint of light? This remains a mystery to science, but a team of biologists have been studying their eating habits for some time and are beginning to unravel the enigma.
Susan Parks, professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, in collaboration with a team of researchers, has led this project, emphasizing the importance of the acoustic signals emitted by these creatures as they search their prey in the deep sea.
According to their article, titled Evidence for acoustic communication among bottom foraging humpback whales , and published in Scientific Reports , these cetaceans are known to collaborate with others to corner prey near the surface , but the new study reveals that they could also cooperate to hunt when feeding on prey that lives at greater depths or even on the ocean floor.
Parks and his team have conducted their investigations off the coast of Massachusetts. To track the whales, they used special underwater locators, capable of detecting and recording acoustic signals related to successful foraging attempts on the ocean floor. The results revealed that males make a sound similar to “tick-tock” when hunting together in the dark, but remain silent when prowling alone.
His favorite menu is the fish that move in the sandy environment of the ocean floor , of the type of eels, which are capable of burying themselves in the sand to hide. According to Parks, the vocal roars of male humpback whales could serve to stir up that sand and bring the fish out of hiding to eat. They could also work to alert other whales in the vicinity that dinner is about to come.
