SCIENTISTS have possibly identified the first species other than humans to use unique sounds as building blocks for complex communication.
Considered to be highly social animals, whales are known to communicate with each other by producing different combinations of clicks.
Researchers recently compared the phenomena — observed in sperm whales in the Caribbean — to how people use a set number of sounds (represented by letters) to compose words into an endless combination of sentences.
Scientists shared their fascinating findings in a paper published by Project CETI, a conservation and research nonprofit.
"Sperm whale vocalizations are more expressive and structured than previously believed," lead researcher Pratyusha Sharma of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote in the paper.
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"Our findings open up the possibility that sperm whale communication might provide our first example of that phenomenon in another species," they said.
The discovery emerged thanks to an analysis of sperm whale vocalizations from about 60 animals that were recorded between 2005 and 2018.
Researchers examined the whales' sounds to look for similarities and patterns and ultimately found several repeated, 2-second-long 'codas' — the basic units of speech.
They found thousands of instances of unique sets of codas, or what could be considered words in human communication.
Scientists noted that the sets of sounds used by the sperm whales in the study varied by context.
The cetaceans sometimes altered the rhythm and tempo of the sounds too, they said.
Such patterns and repetition have never been witnessed outside of humans, Sharma and her colleagues said.
"Sizable combinatorial vocalization systems are exceedingly rare in nature; however, use by sperm whales shows that they are not uniquely human, and can arise from dramatically different physiological, ecological, and social pressures," the paper said.
MORE RESEARCH NEEDED
But researchers were careful not to label the discovery as whales using language as we know it quite yet.
The findings offer "steps towards understanding how sperm whales transmit meaning," they wrote.
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The other closest example of human combinatorial communication skills in the animal kingdom comes from insects.
Bees use movement instead of sound to communicate, however.
They have been observed using different dance steps to convey complex meanings about where food is located, for example.
For now, CETI researchers have said that their study was intended to serve as a starting point for more research.
They analyzed sounds and codas, not 'semantics' — or the cetacean communication system that might compose whale 'words' into 'sentences,' they said.
The researchers added that they hope their study leads to "future research" that includes "interactive playback experiments with whales in the wild."
"It is necessary to have a deep understanding of the structure of the communication system" before making bigger conclusions about this foundational research, they wrote.
Still, these limitations do not take away from the discovery.
"Our findings open up the possibility that sperm whale communication might provide our first example of that phenomenon in another species," researchers wrote in conclusion.
