The Unique Language of

Sperm Whales
Devyn Russo, Cara Lynch,
Alaina Li, and Jayna Palumbo
Describe the Communication - Jayna
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is a marine mammal with a large
global distribution and the biggest of the toothed whales (NOAA Fisheries).
Sperm whales, especially females, tend to travel in groups, making
communications amongst these creatures are vital( National Geographic
Society). So, how do sperm whales communicate? This type of communication
is an auditory communication, where Schultz et al. explains that sperm whales
will “frequently exchange short sequences of clicks, termed codas, in social
contexts.” (Schulz et al. 2008). Thus meaning, these mammals communicate
with clicks. Where, research suggests that the clicks are “used for echolocation
purposes, the former to gather information about acoustically reflective features
and the latter to detect prey” (Jaquet et al. 2001). An important topic regarding
sperm whale communication is echolocation. Echolocation is defined as “a
physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by
sound waves reflected back to the emitter (such as sperm whales) from the
objects” (Merriam-Webster). Researchers were able to find a connection
between echolocation and communication amongst the species by using prey
distribution and distance ranges. (Fais et al. 2015) Meaning, while foraging in
groups within patches of water, sperm whales adjust their clicking rate both to
search new water distances as they turn and to match the prey distribution. (Fais
et al. 2015). Where, researchers were able to find a connection with sperm whale
communication and echolocation huntings.
 Complexity of the Communication - Devyn
The sperm whale has the biggest brain of any animal species,
weighing up to 20 lbs! The large brain size does not necessarily
mean they are highly intelligent, but it does mean it houses an
enlarged auditory system that has the capailibty uses codas to
communicate over large areas (“Sperm Whale Brain and
Intellegence” 2021). Codas are loud, complex clicking sounds that
whales use to communicate. They can vary is length, duration, and
number of clicks. The different patterning of these codas allows
sperm whales to formulate a unique language that communicates
behavior, social activities, and even clan identity. These codas are
complex because they can indicate different sperm whale clans. For
example, a study in the Journal of Mammalogy observed different
sperm whale clans near Japan off the Kumano and Ogasawara
coasts. They found that these two clans used different and unique
coda repertoires. They also found that these codas are acquired
through social learning (Masao et al. 2014). They use their enlarged
auditory systems in order to listen to the environment and other
clan members around them, and then are able to imitate the click
sounds in order to communicate. This is why inner-clan linguistic
learning and communication is so unique because it is environment
dependant.
Learning to Communication that Way- Cara
As mentioned in the section before, Sperm Whales have enormous brains
that house a complex auditory system. The neocortex area is an enlarged
part of the whale brain that is involved in sensory perception, conscious
thought, and language. Whales have the ability to mimic new sounds,
called vocal production learning (Putka, Sophie). Shortly after birth, whales
begin to babble; very similar to newborn babies babbling to mimic human
language around them. Young whales are known to “whisper” to their
mothers to avoid potential predators. Sperm whales also do not have
vocal cords. They produce sound by squeezing air through the larynx and
other air sacks to produce the clicks. However, eventually around 1 year
old, whales pick up a dialect that distinguishes them in a particular vocal
clan (Lunau, Kate). Families of sperm whales that use similar sounds form
clans with other families. These clans are culturally different pods and
have social differences.

To see if there was genetic differences in the pods, researchers extracted

DNA from the skin of 194 sperm whales from 30 different social groups.
They found that whales with different repertoires of codas had genetic
similarities. This research concluded that genetic differences do not tell
much about clan formation(“Study Finds”).
Function of the Communication - Alaina
For some time, biologists heard the sounds of what could only be described as
“carpenter” noises or smashing sounds and believed other boats were responsible for
such sound. Upon investigation, these biologists learned that this sound was in fact
coming from the whales nearby and they were not smashing things, they were
creating the sound themselves. (Lunau) These seemingly random patterns of noise
were found to be actually far from random. As discussed in previous sections, “codas”
are these sequences of clicks made by whales, but the question here is, why do the
whales make these sounds? These sounds are not just for simple socialization, but
are crucial to the function of the clans of whales around the ocean. Scientists had
found that the whales clicking noises were not only specific per clan, but were
specific per whale. These clicking noises were the whales version of calling each
others names. (Putka) An example of this noise is action could be for hunting. One of
the sperm whales food of choice is squid and using these specific clicks, the animals
detect a single “squid less than a foot long more than a mile away, and schools of
squid even farther away” (Wagner). Without the use of these distinct codas, these
sperm whales would not have any kind of reference as to who is being called. Sperm
whales from other clans could end up astray when following a coda that was not
intended for them. These codas are crucial in identifying who the communication is
intended for. Supporting Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, these whales have adjusted theyʼre
being to these codas and the sound of them being made largely influences the way
sperm whales behave and socialize with each other.