Whales change their tune regularly in order to keep it simple for their pod to remember

Every few years the songs performed by the humpback creatures are ditched in favour of more basic alternatives, according to Daily Mail.

Experts say this is the mammal’s version of a re-set button and ensures that the anthemic melodies remain easy for their community to remember.

Scientists from the University of Queensland and St. Andrews University, Scotland, call this ‘a cultural revolution’ after studying the species for 13 years.

Focusing on 95 male humpbacks, the research revealed that gradual song changes naturally stem from individual creatures but are quickly learned by the rest of the group.

 This, experts say, is partly because they animals have a limited learning capacity.

Moreover, it’s easier for them to gradually amend and re-learn existing melodies as opposed to creating and reciting brand new ones. 

Lead researcher Dr Jenny Allen, from Australia’s University of Queensland, said: ‘We examined two measures of song structure, complexity and entropy [a tendency to become more disordered]. 

‘Complexity increased as songs evolved over time. No correlation between complexity and entropy suggests [it would] allow males to stand out amidst population-wide conformity.

‘The consistent reduction in complexity during song revolutions suggests a potential limit to the social learning capacity of novel material in humpback whales.’ 

The data comes just five months after scientists claimed that whales sing as a form of echolocation – rather that to attract a mate.

The team, led by Eduardo Mercado III, said that – contrary to popular scientific opinion – animals are actually ‘building up a picture’ of their nearby surroundings by analysing the audio. 

‘They’re trying to create a scene that would not be there otherwise. When they create these echoes it’s like shining a searchlight in the dark,’ Mercado said.

N.H.Kh