Chaos Theory Sheds Light on Weird Behavior of Vulnerable Narwhals

Scientists discovered something amazing as they used chaos theory in their quest to understand the weird behavior of endangered narwhals.

Narwhals are enigmatic marine mammals, fascinating humans with their unique appearance and secretive lifestyles under the Arctic sea ice.

Even though there is still much to learn about narwhals, including how to protect some endangered or vulnerable populations from humans, researchers have recently made a few significant discoveries.

Narwhals

The narwhal's movements through the oceans are a tricky business to follow because of their remarkable deep dives to almost two kilometers below the surface and reliance on sea ice for their life cycle.

Researchers have now been able to explain what initially appeared to be irregular everyday behavior in the movements of narwhals with a little help from chaos theory.

Evgeny A. Podolskiy, a geoscientist from Hokkaido University in Japan, said that animal-borne ocean sensors are developing and gathering more data, but there aren't enough tools to analyze records of unusual behavior.

Podolskiy is also the first author of the new study.

To change that, Podolskiy collaborated with Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, a marine biologist from the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, to create a novel approach to uncover patterns in the narwhals' seemingly erratic behaviors.

Chaos Theory

Chaos theory is the study of seemingly unpredictable behavior that is subject to well-defined rules.

It's a case of reliable physics piling up in ways that no system can keep track of, much like the butterfly in the proverbial story that starts a hurricane with a flap of its wings.

Similar to many animals, the narwhal's meanderings don't make sense to our human brains as they go about their daily business.

The adult male narwhal that provided the new understanding of narwhal behavior had its movements tracked for 83 days using satellite-linked time-depth recording equipment attached to its back.

Chaotic Behavior Plus Dynamic Settings

Podolskiy and Heide-Jorgensen created a method that uses mathematical strategies taken from chaos theory to gain an understanding of chaotic behavior in dynamic settings by combining their respective expertise in signal processing and biology.

According to the researchers, these methods can reveal "attractors," or hidden states that chaotic systems are known to gravitate toward.

They can aid researchers in identifying elusive patterns in certain complex processes, such as the mysterious behavior of narwhals.

For this narwhal, the tools of chaos theory helped reveal a secret daily pattern that included novel information about how the habits of the mysterious creatures can be influenced by factors like seasonal change.

New Details and Behavior

Around noon, the tagged narwhal is inclined to rest closer to the surface, but when he did dive, he dove particularly deep, according to the researchers.

The researchers reported that dives at dusk and night happened in shallower waters but also became more intense, possibly because the narwhal was on the lookout for squid.

The researchers noted that he not only decreased his surface activity when sea ice was more prevalent but also showed more intense diving behavior patterns.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature does not list narwhals as an endangered species, but human activities like ship traffic, water pollution, and climate change are still thought to be a threat to them.

There may be a threat to some populations.

Narwhals' survival depends on the sea ice, which is disappearing quickly due to climate change, so understanding their behavior may help to keep them safe.

According to the researchers, applying chaos theory to a broader study of animal behavior could be beneficial.

Although this method is still in its infancy, it might aid in comprehending the obstacles experienced by other Arctic wildlife as a result of rising temperatures and receding sea ice, for instance.

Since the new study is based solely on the attitudes and behaviors of one individual, more research and narwhals will be required.

However, the researchers noted that it does cover "an unusually long period" of almost three months, noting that similar records frequently only go back a few days.

According to the authors, their method is fairly easy to use.

Their method can map and label long-term data as well as identify differences between the behavior of each animal and that of different species.

In addition, it can also detect behavioral perturbations brought on by shifting external influences, Science Alert reported.