Two decades of whale song just mapped where Omura's whales love to live

Some whales are so elusive that science knows them mostly by their voices. A Curtin University study used nearly two decades of underwater recordings from 35 sites off northwest Australia to learn where Omura's whales — a species so data-poor it has no firm conservation status — like to be: warm, food-rich waters. The study, published in Marine Mammal Science, gives conservation planners a first reliable map of the habitat this mysterious whale depends on. 'Long-term datasets such as these are particularly valuable because they help reveal patterns that would otherwise remain hidden,' the researchers note — in this case, patterns that can guide protection where human activity and whales meet.

SDG 14 · Life below water — Mechanism: tech innovation