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Scientists Use Marine Robots to Detect Endangered Whales

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2013Environment, Natureacoustic research group, baleen whales, bar harbor, ben hodges, callosities, cinar, dave fratantoni, detect, detection system, digital acoustic monitoring, dmon, dynamic management area, ecologists, endangered species, endangered whales, endeavor, fin, gliders, gps position, gulf challenger, gulf of maine, hearing the whales, hole, humpback, instrument, interactions, knowledge gap, marianna hagbloom, marine robots, mark baumgartner, mark johnson, nefsc, new england aquarium, new hampshire, nick woods, noaa, north atlantic, northeast fisheries, ocean going robots, oceanographic institution, outer fall, passive, portsmouth, profile, research vessel, rhode island, right whales, salinity, science center, scientists, sea surface, sei, sofie van parijs, temperature, tiny crustaceans, tom hurst, transmit data, university, use of technology, whoi, woods, zooplankton

Two robots equipped with instruments designed to “listen” for the calls of baleen whales detected nine endangered North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of Maine last month. The robots reported the detections to shore-based researchers within hours of hearing the whales (i.e., in real time), demonstrating a new and powerful tool for managing interactions between whales and human activities.

The team of researchers, led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists Mark Baumgartner and Dave Fratantoni, reported their sightings to NOAA, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the Marine Mammal Protection Act. NOAA Fisheries Service, in turn, put in place on Dec. 5 a “dynamic management area,” asking mariners to voluntarily slow their vessel speed to avoid striking the animals. (more…)

First Satellite Tag Study for Manta Rays Reveals Habits And Hidden Journeys of Ocean Giants

By Guest PostMay 15, 2012Naturebaleen whales, brenden j godley, caribbean sharks, chinese medicinal trade, dan w castellanos, devilfish, ecological needs, fish eggs, francisco remolina, gill rakers, government of mexico, howard rosenbaum, iucn, lucy a hawkes, manta ray, matthew witt, Mexico, mysterious ocean giant, mythic fish, plankton, rachel graham, sara maxwell, satellite telemetry, satellite tracking technology, university of exeter, whale sharks, Wildlife Conservation Society, yucatan peninsula, zooplankton

Using the latest satellite tracking technology, conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the University of Exeter and the Government of Mexico have completed a ground-breaking study on a mysterious ocean giant: the manta ray.

The research team has produced the first published study on the use of satellite telemetry to track the open-ocean journeys of the world’s largest ray, which can grow up to 25 feet in width.

Researchers say the manta ray—listed as ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—has become increasingly threatened by fishing and accidental capture and now needs more protection. (more…)

Ancient Whale Skulls and Directional Hearing: A Twisted Tale

By Guest PostAugust 25, 2011Nature, Scienceaaron wood, archaeocetes, asymmetric skulls, baleen whales, basilosaurus isis, biological sonar, ct scans, echolocation, fossil, julia fahlke, modern whale, mysticetes, national science foundation, nsf, odontocetes, paleontologist, philip gingerich, richard lane, robert welsh, signs of artificial deformation, skewed skulls, symmetrical skulls, terrestrial mammals, three dimensional digital model, three dimensional torsion, toothed whales, twist, university of michigan

*Skewed skulls may have helped early whales find direction of sounds in water*

Skewed skulls may have helped early whales find the direction of sounds in water and are not solely, as previously thought, a later adaptation related to echolocation.

Scientists affiliated with the University of Michigan and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) report the finding in a paper published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Prey-tell: Why Right Whales Linger in the Gulf of Maine

By Guest PostApril 27, 2011Nature, Sciencealgae eating copepod, baleen whales, behavior of the whales, calanus finmarchicus, dramatic impact, endangered animals, gulf of maine, mark baumgartner, nantucket, north atlantic, sand lance, sei whales, vertical migration, vertical migration behavior, whale population, whales, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

As they might with most endangered animals, scientists consider the whereabouts and activities of right whales extremely important. “It is helpful to know where they go, why they go there and what they do when they’re there,” says Mark F. Baumgartner of the biology department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Baumgartner and his colleagues studied the behavior of right whales and sei whales—both endangered species of baleen whales—in the waters of the Gulf of Maine to the east of Nantucket. They found that the location, the length of stay, and perhaps the very abundance of the whales may be dependent on an interesting vertical migration pattern by the copepods on which the whales feed. It seems to be a case, he said, of “how the behavior of the prey influences the behavior of the whales.” (more…)

Tag Archives: baleen whales

Scientists Use Marine Robots to Detect Endangered Whales

First Satellite Tag Study for Manta Rays Reveals Habits And Hidden Journeys of Ocean Giants

Ancient Whale Skulls and Directional Hearing: A Twisted Tale

Prey-tell: Why Right Whales Linger in the Gulf of Maine