It was done with the help of algorithms. This is how the phonetic alphabet of sperm whales was revealed. This revealed sophisticated structures similar to human phonetics and communication systems. The publication is in Nature Communications.
Sperm whale codas are short bursts of clicks that they use to communicate. They vary significantly in structure depending on the conversational context. It is a much more complex communication system than had previously been considered.
Vast alphabet
Nine thousand codas were collected from sperm whale families in the Eastern Caribbean. They were observed by the Dominica Sperm Whale Project. It is the starting point to discover the complex communication system of these creatures. A combination of algorithms was also used for pattern recognition and classification. It turned out that the sperm whales’ communications were neither random nor simplistic. They were structured in a complex and combinatorial way.
The researchers thus identified the phonetic alphabet of sperm whales. There are several elements that researchers call “rhythm”, “tempo”, “rubato” and “ornamentation”. They interact to form a wide range of distinguishable codas. Whales would systematically modulate certain aspects of their codas depending on the conversational context. They can add additional ornamental clicks. But there is something more surprising. The basic components of these codas could be combined combinatorially. Thus they can build a vast repertoire of different vocalizations.
The researchers found that individual sperm whales could emit several coda patterns in prolonged exchanges. They don’t just emit repetitions of the same coda. These patterns are nuanced and include detailed variations that other whales also produce and recognize. The phonetic alphabet of sperm whales is vast.
Complex communication
«We are venturing into the unknown. “We hope to unravel the mysteries of sperm whale communication without any real pre-existing data.” Daniela Rus said it in a statement. She is a professor of electrical and computer engineering (EECS) at MIT.
“Using machine learning is important to identify the characteristics of their communications and predict what they will say next. Our findings indicate the presence of structured information content. “They challenge the prevailing belief among many linguists that complex communication is unique to humans.”
«Other species have levels of communication complexity that have not been identified until now. “Our next steps aim to decipher the meaning behind these communications.”
