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Scientists Identify Core Skin Bacterial Community in Humpback Whales

By Guest PostApril 2, 2014Naturealaska, american samoa, amy apprill, bering sea, bugs, caroline albertin, clifton ragsdale, core, eleni panagopoulou, hawaii, hox genes, Humpback whales, mammals, marathousa, michael labarbera, michael moore, nicholas thompson, north atlantic, north pacific, oceanographic institution, octopus bimaculoides, octopus genome, South Pacific, tracy mincer, two spot octopus, vangelis tourloukis, whoi, woods hole

Results Could Aid Future Efforts to Monitor Health

Bacteria are invisible to the naked eye, but they reside on nearly every surface humans encounter—including the skin. Uncovering the role these microorganisms play in human health is a major focus of research in skin microbiology, but little is known about the identity or function of skin bacteria in other mammals.

In a paper published in the open access journal PLOS ONE, researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues identified a core skin bacterial community that humpback whales share across populations, which could point to a way to assess the overall health of these endangered marine mammals. (more…)

Killing Whales by Design and Default

By Guest PostFebruary 23, 2014NatureCCS, commercial fishing gear, commercial whaling, dolphins, harpoon technology, Iceland, ifaw, Japan, katie moore, killing whales, marine biologist, marine mammal center, michael moore, noaa, north atlantic, norway, porpoises, right whales, robert rocha, sharon young, whoi

While countries such as Japan, Norway, and Iceland often are criticized for their commercial whaling practices, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) marine biologist Michael Moore points out how the majority of nations are also complicit in killing whales by deploying commercial fishing gear.

Moore cites scientific literature, necropsy reports, and individual case studies in an editorial essay addressing the ethics of whale entanglement and commercial whaling published in ICES Journal of Marine Science. (more…)

Dolphins Assist Scientists Studying Effects of Data-logging Tags

By Guest PostOctober 24, 2013Nature, Scienceandreas fahlman, carbon dioxide level, data logging tags, dolphin, dolphin quest, kahala hotel, marine mammal, micah brodsky, michael moore, optimal hydrodynamic design, rae stone, resort in oahu, respiratory flow rate, tamucc, vmd consulting, whoi

For scientists studying marine mammals in the wild, data-logging tags are invaluable tools that allow them to observe animals’ movements and behaviors that are otherwise hidden beneath the waves much of the time. The tags, which temporarily attach to animals using suction, record sounds and gather information about animals’ pitch, speed, and depth. But what effect do the tags have on the animals?

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) are working with dolphins and their trainers at Dolphin Quest at The Kahala Hotel and Resort in Oahu to answer that question, among others. (more…)

Study reveals how fishing gear can cause slow death of whales

By Guest PostJune 16, 2013Environment, Natureaerial survey, Christmas day, device, diving, dtag, eg 3911, fishing gear, florida, jacksonville, julie, marine mammals, michael moore, mmhsrp, noaa, north atlantic, oceanography, patient monitoring, paxarms nz, right whale, suction cupped, swimming behavior, van der hoop, whale, whoi

Using a “patient monitoring” device attached to a whale entangled in fishing gear, scientists showed for the first time how fishing lines changed a whale’s diving and swimming behavior. The monitoring revealed how fishing gear hinders whales’ ability to eat and migrate, depletes their energy as they drag gear for months or years, and can result in a slow death.

The scientists in this entanglement response suction-cupped a cellphone-size device called a Dtag to a two-year-old female North Atlantic right whale called Eg 3911. The Dtag, developed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), recorded Eg 3911’s movements before, during, and after at-sea disentanglement operations. (more…)

New Research Consortium Brings Scientists, Fishermen, and Managers Together to Address Seal Issues in the Northeast

By Guest PostNovember 21, 2012Natureandrea bogomolni, atlantic seal research, cape cod, consortium, data, ecological role, fisheries interactions, grey seals, habitat use, marine mammal center, michael moore, natural world, northeast, northwest, owen nichols, recreational fishermen, seal, seal issues, seal population, shore, united states, whoi

Goal is to Understand the Ecological Role of Seals in North Atlantic Waters

People come from miles away to see the seals off the shores of Cape Cod and surrounding regions, but the animals are creating some challenges for local fishermen. Recent increases in local seal abundance have led to concerns about fisheries interactions. The urgency of documenting, understanding, and mitigating these interactions has become more apparent.

These and other issues and challenges presented by seal populations have led to the creation of a new effort to improve our understanding of the ecological role of seals in the northeast United States. “This encompasses all issues: how they live, where they go, what they eat, their health and illnesses, and interactions with the world—including us—around them,” says Andrea Bogomolni, a Research Associate at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). (more…)

Tag Archives: michael moore

Scientists Identify Core Skin Bacterial Community in Humpback Whales

Killing Whales by Design and Default

Dolphins Assist Scientists Studying Effects of Data-logging Tags

Study reveals how fishing gear can cause slow death of whales

New Research Consortium Brings Scientists, Fishermen, and Managers Together to Address Seal Issues in the Northeast