These dolphins are shouting

Pilot whales now need to shout to be heard over the rumble of ship traffic in the Strait of Gibraltar, the narrow strip of water between Morocco and Spain. Researchers looked at near and long-distance communication between long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas), which are actually a species of large dolphin. They found the mammals were able to increase the volume of their calls used for short distances, but long-distance calling was more challenging, according to their recently published study. The dolphins may not be able to overpower noise pollution in the Strait of Gibraltar when calling pod mates far away, raising concerns that they could become lost and isolated from the group, the researchers said. Roughly 60,000 ships pass through the Strait of Gibraltar each year. Study: Hegeman, M., Macfarlane, N. B. W., Verborgh, P., Gauffier, P., Esteban, R., de Stephanis, R., Tyack, P. L. and Jensen, F. H. (2026). Vocal compensation to noise in long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas). J. Exp. Biol. 229, jeb251217. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.251217 Credits Topics