SYDNEY, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A study led by Australian researchers found that male whales along Australia's eastern seaboard are changing their way to attract a mate to avoid potential competitors as the number of the mammal is recovering from near extinction.
The research has been published in the journal of Communications Biology on Thursday.
A previous study conducted by University of Queensland professor Michael Noad found that the whale population grew from approximately 3,700 to 27,000 between 1997 and 2015.
The researchers used this dataset, collected off Queensland's Peregian Beach, to explore how the big change in whale social dynamics could lead to changes in their mating behavior, and found that male whales are giving up singing to attract a mate, switching instead to fighting their male competition.
"In 1997, a singing male whale was almost twice as likely to be seen trying to breed with a female when compared to a non-singing male," said Rebecca Dunlop, associate professor from School of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland.
"But by 2015 it had flipped, with non-singing males almost five times more likely to be recorded trying to breed than singing males."
"It's quite a big change in behavior so humans aren't the only ones subject to big social changes when it comes to mating rituals."
The researchers believed that the change has happened progressively as populations recovered, because when the populations grow larger, the mating tactic of singing may attract other males which could out-compete the singer for the female.
"By switching to non-singing behavior, males may be less likely to attract competition and more likely to keep the female," said Dunlop.
"With humpbacks, physical aggression tends to express itself as ramming, charging, and trying to head slap each other. This runs the risk of physical injury, so males must weigh up the costs and benefits of each tactic."
"Singing was the dominant mating tactic in 1997, but within the space of seven years this has turned around," she said.
"It will be fascinating to see how whale mating behavior continues to be shaped in the future." ■
