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Cetacean Institute

LXCL:To foster and fund novel, speculative research on cetaceans in their natural habitats by providing research grants and other awards to individuals who don't otherwise have institutional funding sources. To encourage multidisciplinary collaboration among people working in diverse fields, including but not limited to marine mammal science, bioacoustics, astrobiology, the arts, and philosophy.

Help the Cetacean Institute foster and fund novel, speculative research on cetaceans in their natural habitats, while encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration.&nbsp;

Help the Cetacean Institute foster and fund novel, speculative research on cetaceans in their natural habitats, while encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration.

The Humpback Whale Missed Signals Project (HWMSP) is dedicated to probing the intelligence of humpback whales by examining human perceptual limitations and the hypothesis that critical whale biosignals have gone undetected or misunderstood. By identifying where and why these signals may be missed, we seek to expand how intelligence, communication, and cognition are recognized beyond human‑centered frameworks. The insights gained are applied both to improving cetacean conservation strategies on Earth and to informing the search for life and intelligence elsewhere in the universe. For centuries whalers listened for the &ldquo;explosive&rdquo; spouts of their quarry. Today, Whale researchers also make note of these aerial sounds (&ldquo;plosive whooshes, trumpet blasts and purrs) as part of the conservation and scientific study of these amazing creatures. The full function of these sounds remains elusive, yet &ldquo;purposeful in-air wheezing&rdquo; among baleen whales has been linked to &ldquo;excitement, social significance, and whale meeting behavior&rdquo;.&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 517.062px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 517.062px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> In the summer months, humpback whales congregate in large numbers to feed in Frederick Sound, Alaska where their breathing sounds permeate the air. &nbsp;They gather by the hundreds to dine on abundant fish and krill. The historic Five Finger Lighthouse towers above, providing a unique, minimally invasive site for the study of these magnificent beings.&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 517.062px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 517.062px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> You can support this scientific research team as we record, catalog and analyze these sounds, including some that are new to science. Our growing aerial library is intended to inspire further conservation research into numerical sampling, distance estimation, and the link between aerial expressions to underwater vocalization. In addition, these aerial sounds and their relationship to whale health and excitation levels can help responders safely approach entangled, live-stranded or entrapped whales. Furthermore, our examination of humpback whale signals that have previously gone undocumented by science (Missed Signals) helps inform the astrobiologists of the SETI Institute with their ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence and signals that may be going unnoticed. The HWMSP was recently awarded a small STRIDE seed grant from the SETI Institute. This grant covers equipment costs for our Whale EM experiment where we will test for the presence of electrostatic and electromagnetic signals from humpback whale exhalations during our 2026 field season. The STRIDE grant also covers some labor and travel to conferences for our SETI Institute collaborators, but not for our core HWMSP team. Therefore, we need funds for our transportation to Petersburg, Alaska where we then travel by private boat to the Five Finger Lighthouse in Frederick Sound to perform our research. We also require funding for equipment costs for our ongoing humpback whale aerial and underwater acoustics research at the lighthouse. Additionally, we need to raise enough funds to provide stipends to our dedicated team of researchers, who have been volunteering our time on this work over the years, and who are all finding it increasingly difficult to continue this work for free.&nbsp; Your contributions are tax deductible. &nbsp;Thank you and please share with those who love cetaceans, SETI, and science.<p fr-original-style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 517.062px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 517.062px; margin: 0px; line-height: 1.5; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Roboto; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: 0.25px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"> For more detailed information about our project, please visit our <a fr-original-style="" href="http://www.missedsignals.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: currentcolor; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">website</a>. 85% of your donations go directly to paying for this project&#39;s expenses.

The Humpback Whale Missed Signals Project (HWMSP) is dedicated to probing the intelligence of humpback whales by examining human perceptual limitations and the hypothesis that critical whale biosignals have gone undetected or misunderstood. By identifying where and why these signals may be missed, we seek to expand how intelligence, communication, and cognition are recognized beyond human‑centered frameworks. The insights gained are applied both to improving cetacean conservation strategies on Earth and to informing the search for life and intelligence elsewhere in the universe.For centuries whalers listened for the “explosive” spouts of their quarry. Today, Whale researchers also make note of these aerial sounds (“plosive whooshes, trumpet blasts and purrs) as part of the conservation and scientific study of these amazing creatures. The full function of these sounds remains elusive, yet “purposeful in-air wheezing” among baleen whales has been linked to “excitement, social significance, and whale meeting behavior”. In the summer months, humpback whales congregate in large numbers to feed in Frederick Sound, Alaska where their breathing sounds permeate the air. They gather by the hundreds to dine on abundant fish and krill. The historic Five Finger Lighthouse towers above, providing a unique, minimally invasive site for the study of these magnificent beings. You can support this scientific research team as we record, catalog and analyze these sounds, including some that are new to science. Our growing aerial library is intended to inspire further conservation research into numerical sampling, distance estimation, and the link between aerial expressions to underwater vocalization. In addition, these aerial sounds and their relationship to whale health and excitation levels can help responders safely approach entangled, live-stranded or entrapped whales. Furthermore, our examination of humpback whale signals that have previously gone undocumented by science (Missed Signals) helps inform the astrobiologists of the SETI Institute with their ongoing search for extraterrestrial intelligence and signals that may be going unnoticed.The HWMSP was recently awarded a small STRIDE seed grant from the SETI Institute. This grant covers equipment costs for our Whale EM experiment where we will test for the presence of electrostatic and electromagnetic signals from humpback whale exhalations during our 2026 field season. The STRIDE grant also covers some labor and travel to conferences for our SETI Institute collaborators, but not for our core HWMSP team. Therefore, we need funds for our transportation to Petersburg, Alaska where we then travel by private boat to the Five Finger Lighthouse in Frederick Sound to perform our research. We also require funding for equipment costs for our ongoing humpback whale aerial and underwater acoustics research at the lighthouse. Additionally, we need to raise enough funds to provide stipends to our dedicated team of researchers, who have been volunteering our time on this work over the years, and who are all finding it increasingly difficult to continue this work for free. Your contributions are tax deductible. Thank you and please share with those who love cetaceans, SETI, and science.For more detailed information about our project, please visit our website.85% of your donations go directly to paying for this project's expenses.

Cetacean Institute

Cetacean Institute

Cetacean Institute

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Project 001 - Humpback Whale Missed Signals Project

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Cetacean Institute

More ways to support us

Donate now

Donate to the Cetacean Institute!

Donate now

Project 001 - Humpback Whale Missed Signals Project

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Cetacean Institute