Overview

• The study, published July 31 in Scientific Reports, analyzed 1990s analog recordings of 26 male leopard seals off eastern Antarctica.
• Each seal uses the same five foundational calls but arranges them into a unique sequence that functions as an individual acoustic signature.
• During the spring breeding season, males cycle two minutes of underwater song with two minutes of surfacing for air, continuing for up to 13 hours per day.
• Information-theory analysis reveals their songs achieve entropy levels similar to human nursery rhymes, optimizing long-distance communication.
• Researchers plan follow-up work to map regional song variations, detect emerging call types and investigate the role of occasional female vocalizations.