Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 28, 2005



A whale song is the collection of sounds made by whales to communicate. The word "song" is used in particular to describe the pattern of predictable and repetitious sounds made by certain species of whales (notably the humpback whale) in a manner that to cetologists is reminiscent of human singing. The biological processes used to produce sound vary from one family of cetaceans to another. However, all whales, dolphins, and porpoises are much more dependent on sound for communication and sensation than their terrestrial cousins because the absorption of light by water makes sight difficult and because the relatively slow movement of water compared to air decreases the effectiveness of the sense of smell. Increased ambient noise in the world's oceans due to shipping gives rise to environmentalists' concerns that humans are destroying this important feature of the marine habitat.

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