Bowhead whale migration changes driven by declines in sea ice

As the Arctic warms four times faster than the rest of the planet, visual, acoustic, and satellite tagging evidence suggests bowhead whales might be changing their migration patterns. We analyzed 11 years of recordings of bowhead whale calls and songs to explore relationship between migration timing and sea ice in the Chukchi and Bering Seas.
Complexity, diversity, and dynamics of bowhead whale song

Bowhead whales produce one of the most complex songs in the animal kingdom. These hierarchically structured acoustic displays — with notes nested in phrases, phrases in songs, songs in song bouts, and song bouts in song sessions — are thought to be produced by males in mating contexts (Figure 1; Stafford 2022).