Ocean Science Class 26

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SMSSMS--100 Class 26 Thurs., Dec. 4, 2014100 Class 26 Thurs., Dec. 4, 2014

Cetacea:Whales, dolphinsand porpoises

In Big Trouble

In Big Trouble

In Big Big Trouble

In Some Trouble

In Trouble

Recovered

Mycyticetes(Baleen Whales)

Unaffected

Doing OK?

Odontocytes(Toothed Whales)

Whale Breathing:

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Sperm Whale: Blow hole

Atlantic white‐sided dolphin:1

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4

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Six movie frames, elapsed time = less than 1 second

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1-2 hoursSperm Whale

Fi Wh l10-15 min Fin Whale

Dolphin

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Dive Time (min) SpermWhale*

Dive Depth (m)* See notes

October 26, 2006 Issue of Nature

“Reliable” deep diving record?:  The Beaked Whale

Deep Diving Record? The Beaked Whale 

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How do they do it? How do they hold their breath so long, and dive so deep?

1. Can exchange 90% of O2 in each breath, vs. only 20% for humans;

2. Have higher Red Blood Cell Count, and more Hemoglobin;g

3. Can slow heart rate during a dive;

4. Reduce blood flow to extremities; redirect it to heart and brain;

5. They don’t get “The Bends”.

3 & 4 = Mammalian Diving Response

Atlantic white‐sided dolphins spot our ship… and join us…

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Echo Location: All toothed whales? 

Cetacean Intelligence:  & Comparative brain sizes… 

Some examples:River Dolphin: 200 gramsSperm Whale: 9000 gramsCommon Dolphin: 2000 gramsHuman Being: 1200 gramsGorilla: 600 gramsChimpanzee: 350 grams

RepresentativeMysticetes

(Baleen Whales)

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Identifying Whales at Sea: 

Markings on Northern Right Whale Flukes: Examples

Individual Markings

Baleen Whales: The Rorquals

Ventral Furrows

Baleen Plates

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Rorqual Feeding: 

Fin Whale: A Rorqual

Sei Whale: A Rorqual“Lunge” Feeding on a School of Herring

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Fin Whale Stomach Contents:  Krill

Humpback Whale:  “Bubble feeding”

Bowhead Whale: Baleen Plates

(Pelvis)

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Right Whale: Skim Feeding

Photo ©Mason Weinrich, Whale Center of New England

Whale Migrations: Couple examples

Whales and Whaling:  A Long History

Whaling by Europeans, late 1600s; Ludolf Backhuysen, (Dutch, ca. 1631-1708);

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Whales and Whaling:  A Long History

Sieuwert "van der" Meulen (Dutch, 1699)

Whales and Whaling:  A Long History

Battling a sperm whale; by William Heysman Overend (American,1851-1898).

Decline of the Great Whales off Antarctica,1900 to 1980

(100

0s)

From: Evans (1987)

Popu

latio

n

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1868:  Invention of the Harpoon Gun

1925:  The “Modern” Factory Ships…

Sperm Whale:Growth Curve

Male

Female

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Member nations of the International Whaling Commission(fi t f d i 1946)

Argentina Hungary Panama  Antigua  Guinea  NicaraguaAustralia India Portugal  Benin  Iceland  NorwayAustria Ireland San Marino  Cameroon  Japan  PalauBelgium Italy Slovakia  China  Kiribati  RussiaBrazil Luxembourg South Africa  Cote d'Ivoire  Korea  SenegalChile Mexico Spain  Denmark  Mali  Solomon IslandsCzech Rep Monaco Sweden  Dominica  Mauritania  St. Kitts and NevisFinland Netherlands Switzerland  Gabon  Mongolia  St. LuciaFrance New Zealand United Kingdom  Gambia  Morocco  St. Vincent and the GrenadinesGermany Oman United States  Grenada  Nauru  Suriname

 Togo Tuvalu

Anti‐Whaling Nations Pro‐Whaling Nations

(first formed in 1946)

As of 2008

Whale Harvest Antarctic: 1900 to 1980

of W

hale

s

Source: "International Whaling Statistics" http://www.env.go.jp/en/wpaper/1995/eae240000000040.html

No.

o

Whale Harvest for All Oceans:  1900 to 1980

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Whaling in Japan today…Whaling in Japan today…

Faroes (Denmark) & White-sided

Dolphins

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

“Small-whales”

Norway: Landings of GreatWhales and “Small whales” (Minke)

01970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Source: Statistics-Norway (http://www.ssb.no/english/)

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Take of Great Whales in 2009: As reported by the IWC, June 2010

Fin

Humpb

ack

Sei

Bryd

e's

Minke

Sperm

Bowhe

ad

Gray Operation

North AtlanticDenmark  (West Greenland) 10 164 Aboriginal subsistence  (East Greenland) 4 Aboriginal subsistenceIceland 125 81 Whaling under reservationNorway 484 Whaling under objectiony g jSt. Vincent & the 1 Aboriginal subsistence   Grenadines

North PacificJapan 101 50 165 1 Special PermitKorea 16Russia 116 Aboriginal subsistenceUSA 38 Aboriginal subsistence

AntarcticJapan 1 507 Special Permit

New Species of Great Whale Discovered…in 2003!

The Vaquita (Gulf of California Porpoise)One of the two most endangered cetacean species in the world today:

Only 245 left (as of 2011); taken accidentally in gill net fishery

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The Chinese River Dolphin(Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin)

Incidental takes in gill nets and trawls

Believed Extinct in 2007, but one spotted later that year…

The North Atlantic Right Whale: Eubalaena glacialis

a.k.a. the Northern Right Whale

There are three species of Right Whales:

• North Atlantic Right Whale: Eubalaena glacialis• North Pacific Right Whale: Eubalaena japonicas• Southern Right Whale: Eubalaena australis

Eastern Atlantic population now thought to be

The Northern Right Whale:  Historical Distribution

thought to be extinct…

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Sightings in 1997

Critical Habitats

Northern Right Whale:  Habitats

Kraus and Rolland 2007

Northern Right Whale:  Historical “Take”

Northern Right Whale: Births and Deaths

Births

“Reported”Deaths

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The two major sources of human-induced fatalities:• vessel strikes & entanglement in fixed fishing gear.

Between 1970 and 2006: 73 known fatalities documented. Of th

Northern Right Whale: 

Of these:• 8 caused by entanglement;• 27 were due to vessel strikes;• 21 were of undetermined causes;• 17 fatalities were of calves, cause unknown

In addition, from 1986 to 2005: • 61 confirmed reports of entanglements, including the 8 above

9 75% of all right whales have scars from entanglements or vessel strikes, and scarring rates are believed to have increased in last 20 yrs.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada. 2007. Recovery potential assessment for right whale (Western North Atlantic population). Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat Science Advisory Report 2007/027.

Canadians moved their 

shipping lanes in 2003: 

U.S. still considering moving the Boston shipping lanes:

Calanus

The Northern Right Whale:  Its favorite Food:

Calanuscopepods

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Whale Entanglements

Rescue Techniques

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Entangled Right Whale reported in Sept 1999;reported in Sept. 1999;

Satellite tag attached;

Attempts to free it were unsuccessful;

Story ends in October, on a beach in New Jersey.

The Fin Whale

The Humpback Whale

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The Blue Whale:

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The Sperm Whale:  The largest Odontocete (toothed whale)

The Sperm Whale:worse off than once thought?