The Whitehead Lab and Sperm Whales
The Whitehead Lab began collecting acoustic, behavioural, and ecological data on sperm whales off the Galápagos Islands in 1985. With data now spanning over 30 years, fascinating insights into the social behaviour and culture of sperm whales have been uncovered. Sperm whales in the region form a complex, multi-level social structure in which the broadest level--the clans--can be identified by distinct vocal dialects and characterized by different movement patterns, distributions, ecological success, and social behaviour. In 2005, we extended our geographic scope to the waters off Dominica (Eastern Caribbean), where Dr. Shane Gero (former Ph.D. student) established the Dominica Sperm Whale Project (link here). Today, the whales off Dominica are likely the most well-known and extensively studied in the world. More recently, our Lab's focus has expanded to cover much of the Lesser Antilles, revealing unexpected new details on the distribution and site fidelity of this oceanic species.
The Eastern Tropical Pacific and Caribbean sperm whale cases have served to push forward the recent recognition of culture as a key for the conservation of species whose behaviour and ecology are highly shaped by social learning. Current efforts of our Lab members are aimed at improving our understanding of how culture relates to distribution, population dynamics and behaviour of sperm whales and to elucidate the underlying structure and evolution of their complex vocal communication system.
The Eastern Tropical Pacific and Caribbean sperm whale cases have served to push forward the recent recognition of culture as a key for the conservation of species whose behaviour and ecology are highly shaped by social learning. Current efforts of our Lab members are aimed at improving our understanding of how culture relates to distribution, population dynamics and behaviour of sperm whales and to elucidate the underlying structure and evolution of their complex vocal communication system.
Current Projects
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Ana Eguiguren (Ph.D. Student): The evolution of sperm whales' social structure is hypothesized to be driven by the need to cooperatively care for their young as they roam the oceans. Leveraging a unique dataset of aerial recordings of sperm whale surface behaviour off the Galápagos Islands, I investigate the potential underlying mechanisms and proximate functions of sperm whale society in the region. Namely, I am interested in analyzing affiliative behaviours among sperm whales and their defence responses towards other odontocetes.
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Christine Clarke (Ph.D. Student): Much of what we don't know about sperm whales, especially for males, is tied to their global distribution and far-ranging movements, which make tackling big picture questions challenging. For my research, I aim to bring together data and insights from field data collected by the Whitehead Lab and other collaborators across different ocean basins to address questions of broad patterns in movement and behaviour, with a focus on male sperm whales.
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Sperm Whale Photo Gallery
Whitehead Lab
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