Mongabay Newscast29 Apr 2025

How the sounds of whales guide conservation efforts

Biological oceanographer John Ryan joins Mongabay's podcast to discuss his team's multiyear study that examined vocalizations of baleen whales, including blue (Balaenoptera musculus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), and how this science is critical for understanding their feeding habits, and thus informing their conservation.

The study found that these whales' songs rise and fall with their food supply, which provides valuable insights into how changing ocean conditions can affect their health and guide management measures.

"Some of the research we did tracking the movement and ecology of blue whales helped our sanctuary [to] act on this long-term concern about ship strikes, and to join a program that is called Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies," the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) researcher says.

Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Mongabay's East Africa editor, Ochieng' Ogodo. Read here about his life, legacy and achievements.

Audio credit: Blue and humpback whale calls featured in this episode are courtesy of MBARI and John Ryan.

Image credit: A humpback whale dips back beneath the surface of the ocean. Image courtesy of Cristina Mittermeier/SeaLegacy.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Marine heatwaves and their impact

(06:33) Analyzing whale songs

(12:30) A change in tune

(20:13) Interspecies communication?

(25:16) The reason behind the heat

(27:36) Informing conservation

(36:52) Credits

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