Whales and other cetaceans

David Lusseau , University of Aberdeen Witnessing any dolphin or whale stranding live is a deeply moving experience; particularly when you end up accompanying an individual to the end of its life. My stomach still churns remembering the time that I encountered one in Scotland. But the reasons behind such events remain mysterious. Dolphins and whales can strand together – most recently, ten long-finned pilot whales became stranded on a beach near Calais, seven of which died – but we can’t pinpoint a single reason why this happens. Instead, many different factors appear to be involved. Some mass strandings are easy to solve, because the individuals involved are similarly sick or injured. In these cases, they strand because they are pushed inshore by currents as they ail and die. Alternatively, they head for shore because they are simply too sick to swim. Harmful algal blooms, for example, have been linked to mass strandings of whales as far back as the Miocene . Epizootics – diseas...

PLOS ONE: Estimation of a Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Population’s Diet Using Sequencing Analysis of DNA from Feces : "Estimating diet composition is important for understanding interactions between predators and prey and thus illuminating ecosystem function. The diet of many species, however, is difficult to observe directly. Genetic analysis of fecal material collected in the field is therefore a useful tool for gaining insight into wild animal diets. In this study, we used high-throughput DNA sequencing to quantitatively estimate the diet composition of an endangered population of wild killer whales (Orcinus orca) in their summer range in the Salish Sea. We combined 175 fecal samples collected between May and September from five years between 2006 and 2011 into 13 sample groups. Two known DNA composition control groups were also created. Each group was sequenced at a ~330bp segment of the 16s gene in the mitochondrial genome using an Illumina MiSeq sequencing system. After sev...

Sperm whales found dead on Skegness beach may have “got lost”, says expert - Skegness Standard : "Three whales found dead on a beach near Skegness may have fallen victim to stress after they “got lost”, according to a marine expert. Sam Rees of Skegness Aquarium was commenting after the discovery of the 48ft sperm whales which are still lying dead on a beach at Gibraltar Point this evening. A team from Humber Coastguard station cordoned off the area as crowds of people came to see the whales which will be removed by East Lindsey District Council once tests have been carried out on the mammals. Another whale was found on Hunstanton beach on Friday night and Mr Rees said: “It’s a very unusual situation and one we don’t really find happening so close to each other. “The general consensus is that it’s a pod (group of whales) that has got lost and they’ve become unstuck through stress meaning that, unfortunately, they have beached themselves.”" 'via Blog this'

The dolphins who support more than 200 fishermen In this Brazilian fishing town, bottlenose dolphins and men have been working together for over 120 years Posted by The Economist on Saturday, January 16, 2016

Joint statement on whaling and safety at sea - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade : "Governments of Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States call for responsible behaviour at sea during whaling operations in 2016 in the Southern Ocean The Governments of Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States jointly condemn any actions at sea that may cause injury, loss of human life or damage to property or the marine environment during Southern Ocean whaling operations in 2016.  The Southern Ocean can be a treacherous, remote and unforgiving environment. Its isolation and extreme conditions mean that search and rescue capability is extremely limited. Dangerous, reckless, or unlawful behaviour jeopardises not only the safety of whaling and protest vessels and their crews but also anyone who comes to their assistance. Incidents during previous whaling seasons clearly demonstrated the dangers involved. We reiterate our call to the masters of al...

Australian scientists embark on wildlife mission : "A team of Australian marine scientists will set off on a mission to investigate how much the food source for whales and penguins in the Southern Ocean will decline as water temperatures rise. Chief investigator Andrew Constable will lead an international fleet that departs Hobart on Monday to study krill populations in the Kerguelen Axis, southwest of Australia. As global temperatures rise, Dr Constable expects the cool-water critter's habitat to contract towards the Antarctic, meaning less food for wildlife such as seals, whales and penguins. "This research is vital to Australia because we depend on this area for conservation and fisheries," he told reporters at the Macquarie Wharf in Hobart on Sunday." 'via Blog this'

A Spanish man has been hailed as a hero after he and a friend risked their lives to rescue a trapped whale in the Canary Islands reports The Local . Cesar Espino was on a whale and dolphin-spotting boat on January 2nd when he saw the 15-metre long whale, which was trapped in an illegal fishing net. He dived down and cut away at the net with a knife to free the creature, whose mouth and tail had become entangled. "As we approached the fishing line we saw the breathing of the whale and we realized that she was entangled in the net," Espino told Spanish reporters. "I quickly jumped into the water and let the whale see me so she knew I was trying to help her. I felt compassion for her and didn’t hesitate in freeing her from the ropes," he added. Espino worked away using only a snorkel for over an hour, finally managing to free the whale. First, he managed to free the whale’s tail from the netting, but freeing its mouth was more complicated. "The netting across h...

Fin-tech | The Economist : "New Bedford was not the only whaling port in America; nor was America the only whaling nation. Yet according to a study published in 1859, of the 900-odd active whaling ships around the world in 1850, 700 were American, and 70% of those came from New Bedford. The town’s whalers came to dominate the industry, and reap immense profits, thanks to a novel technology that remains relevant to this day. They did not invent a new type of ship, or a new means of tracking whales; instead, they developed a new business model that was extremely effective at marshalling capital and skilled workers despite the immense risks involved for both. Whaling all but disappeared as an industry after mineral oil supplanted whale oil as a fuel. But the business structures pioneered in New Bedford remain as relevant as they ever were. Without them, the tech booms of the 1990s and today would not have been possible." 'via Blog this'

The Oldest, Coldest Mammals May Be Some of the Best Prepared for Climate Change - Facts So Romantic - Nautilus : "The Arctic they grew up in is unrecognizable, but bowhead whales are oddly calm. They appear to be unexpectedly benefitting from the warmer, less icy climate that has emerged over the past decade.  Last month, it was announced that the Arctic in 2015 reached the warmest temperatures ever observed, and that it is warming twice as fast other parts of the world. It’s also losing ice at a faster rate than forecasts have predicted—and is expected to be ice-free by at most summer 2040. This means changes underwater, too.  More sunlight hitting surface water and changes in ocean circulation, fueled by warmer waters and the stronger storms associated with them, are boosting the numbers of krill and other planktons in some Arctic seas. Sue Moore, a NOAA biologist, calls this a “new normal” in the Arctic. And bowhead whales, at least in the Pacifi...