"The Great Australian Bight is a haven for whales, boasting the world's most significant southern right whale nursery as well as many humpback, sperm, blue and beak whales," director Peter Owen said.
While other species such as the humpback, sperm, and blue whale also sing, it is the bowhead that appears to have the greatest number and diversity of songs.
At stake is the future of the blue whale, the fin whale, the humpback, the sperm whale and the minke.
Humpback and sperm whales had surfaced near the ship; a red-throated frigate bird had perched on the foremast for most of the day.
Humpback and sperm whales slap the surface of the water to communicate over great distances, and killer whales have been recorded slapping shoals with enough ferocity to leave fish stunned.
At Whitby, 30 miles north, a minke whale once entertained August bank holiday crowds for several hours, and sightings are on the increase, especially of larger species like fin, sei, humpback and sperm whales.
Novices can gain confidence in the series of shallow and sheltered tidal lagoons that lie just a short boat ride from most beaches, while more experienced divers can head out to the deeper, exposed drop-offs beyond the reefs to watch for dolphins and humpback and sperm whales.
In their introduction, they describe the knowledge gained from early accounts of termite fishing in chimpanzees up through recent studies of singing in humpback and sperm whales, providing a brief but vivid outline useful for teachers of biology, psychology, and anthropology.
Some of the animals covered by the rule are endangered fin, humpback, and sperm whales, common bottlenose dolphins and endangered leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles.
Eight species of marine mammal have been found in the Bowie Seamount area, including Steller sea lions, orca, humpback and sperm whales, along with 16 varieties of seabirds.
Whales in offshore waters are rare, but can include right whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, fin whales and sei whales, all of them endangered.
