For the first time in waters surrounding New York City, the beckoning calls of endangered fin, humpback and North Atlantic right whales have been recorded, according to experts from Cornell's Bioacoustics Research Program and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

"This is an exciting time for New Yorkers. Just miles from the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and Carnegie Hall, the great whales are singing," says Chris Clark, director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "These are some of the largest and rarest animals on this planet trying to make a living just a few miles from New York's shores. It just goes to show us that there are many important and wonderful discoveries to be made about the living world right here, right in our back yards."

"With data generated by acoustic monitoring, we can better understand New York's role in the life history of these endangered whales and make more informed conservation decisions," says James Gilmore, chief of DEC's Bureau of Marine Resources. "This is especially important for the survival of right whales."

The recorders were placed about 13 miles from the New York Harbor entrance and off the shores of Fire Island. Information about the seasonal presence of whales will help New York state policymakers develop management plans to protect the whales. Knowing the whales' travel paths will help ship traffic managers avoid whale collisions in New York waters. The study also will characterize the New York water's acoustic environment and examine whether underwater noises, including shipping, affect the whales.

Acoustic monitoring was initiated in spring 2008 -- between March and June -- to record the right whales' northward migration from their calving ground off the Florida eastern coast to their feeding grounds off Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Acoustic monitoring has resumed for the whales' southern migration this fall back to the calving areas. The study will continue through February 2009 and is expected to determine which species visit New York waters in the winter months.

The Bioacoustics Research Program develops digital recording equipment, computer software and algorithms that are used by scientists around the world to study animal communication and monitor the health of wildlife populations. Last spring, the team launched a real-time listening network http://www.listenforwhales.org to reduce the collisions between whales and ships in Massachusetts Bay.