評論
打印
When Lady Gaga releases a catchy new single, it quickly goes around the world. Now scientists have discovered the same thing happens with the songs of another exotic creature – the humpback whale. The mammals become fixated on new tunes just like people do, and the most popular original whale songs spread globally like hit singles. Number one artist? Humpback whales become fixated on new tunes. The most popular original whale songs spread around the world like hit singles
當“聞名遐邇”的音樂奇才嘎嘎小姐發行自己的又一張新專輯，再一次“輕而易舉”地將自己的音樂享譽全球的時候，科學家驚喜地發現同樣的音樂天才不僅僅局限于人類這個物種，在海底的鯨魚也同樣有“發行音樂專輯”并“唱歌”的權利。科學家還證實，這一類哺乳動物(座頭鯨)可以像人類一樣“有音調” “帶感情”地唱歌，據悉，座頭鯨是鯨類中最大者，成體平均體長雄性為12.9米，雌性為13.7米，體重25～35噸。其前緣具不規則的瘤狀突如鋸齒狀，口大，進食時上下頜間特殊韌帶結構可使口張開90度的角度。
The discovery has stunned marine experts who say it is the first time such a large, ‘population wide cultural exchange’ has been seen in the animal kingdom. Male humpback whales are famed for the loud, long and complex songs they make during the mating season. Scientists are unsure why the males sing. Some believe it is a way of advertising themselves to females, others that it allows migrating whales to stay in contact。
這一發現徹底震驚了很多海洋專家，讓他們“大開眼界”，對于鯨魚發行音樂專輯事宜，他們認為這是在生物物種，不同生物之間最大的一次 “文化交流”活動。雄性座頭鯨以“嗓門大”“身型長”“擅長復雜歌曲”聞名于世界。專家稱，特別在交配季節的雄性座頭鯨們可以更能展現、展示他們的“歌唱才華”。然而，對于鯨魚為什么會唱歌的原因，科學家至今還未能總結出個什么結論，有一些人是認為這是雄性座頭鯨為了吸引雌性座頭鯨做出的“雄性荷爾蒙舉動”，也有一些人認為這是為了與“遷徙”舉家搬遷的“移民鯨魚”聯系感情的一種方式。
Each song lasts for ten to 20 minutes and the males can sing continuously for 24 hours. At any one time, all the males in a population sing the same song. But a study, published in the journal Current Biology, shows that this song changes over time and spreads around the oceans. Dr Ellen Garland, of Queensland University, said: ‘Our findings reveal cultural change on a vast scale. Songs move like cultural ripples from one population to another, causing all males to change their song to a new version.’
據悉，鯨魚們唱歌課不輕松，一首曲子至少能維持20分鐘，而且雄性座頭鯨常常能唱歌長達24小時。科學家發現，在任何時間，雄性座頭鯨都會“演唱”同一首曲子。在一本期刊《當代生物學》發表的研究上指出，這首座頭鯨唱的曲子在全世界通用，在任何海域都能聽得到。可謂在鯨魚界“不分地域”“享譽全球”的曲子。有專家Dr Ellen 說：“我們的研究目的是表明一個道理，那就是文化交流是在任何一個物種之間都存在的。”
