We are getting ready to begin our aerial survey field season in the southeastern United States. On December 1st, we will be 1000 feet in the air scanning the endless waters off Georgia and Florida's coastline for right whales, especially mothers with their new born calves! There have already been reports of right whales off the coast of South Carolina by the Wildlife Trust aerial survey team! To follow the whales down to the warmer waters off the east coast U.S. click on the link to our Aerial Survey Blog and don't forget to bookmark! It's sure to be an exciting season!

Photo Caption: A mother and her calf interacting with a pod of dolphins in the southeast U.S. Photo taken by Gabriel Munoz.

- Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Aerial Survey Blog, Jonathan, Right Whale

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Labels: 2008 Season, Biopsy Darting, Jonathan, Right Whales

Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, Right Whale Consortium

On September 25th, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. hosted a gala for the opening of their new permanent exhibit, the Sant Ocean Hall. Suspended from the ceiling above the center of the Hall is the focal point of the exhibit--a full size model of a North Atlantic right whale. It's an actual replica of a cataloged individual, a female named Phoenix. You can see photos and a history of Phoenix on the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, search for catalog #1705.

Since 2004 Amy Knowlton and I have been working with the Smithsonian to make sure the model, and every other detail of information about right whales, is as accurate and up-to-date as possible. Because of that long relationship helping to develop that aspect of the exhibit Amy and I were invited to the black tie event, along with New England Aquarium Vice President of Research (and our fearless leader) Scott Kraus.

It was a great evening to see Phoenix and read all the information about right whales that we had spent years reviewing, and also to be the first (along with 1500 other guests) to see the exhibit. The Sant Ocean Hall is 23,000 square feet of fun facts and education about the world's most precious resource: the oceans that cover 71 percent of the earth's surface. The exhibit includes more than 650 marine specimens ranging from microscopic plankton to giant squid (and Phoenix, of course!) There are state of the art inter-active exhibits, video displays, and so much more than we could possibly see in the three hours we were there. We whale researchers, typically most comfortable in jeans, had to dress up and rub elbows with the elite of Washington. For some reason, we weren't featured in the New York social diary (scroll past first article) but as you can see we managed to look presentable!


Caption to group photo: The right whale group at the Smithsonian Ocean Hall opening. From right to left: Amy Knowlton, Bill McWeeny, Roz Rolland, Scott Kraus, Marilyn Marx and Jon Alberts (Marilyn's husband) photographer: Karen Steuer

Coming in our fall sponsorship newsletter we'll have an article about the creation of the model and our involvement in the project, as well as more about the opening itself. If you want to read more about it, here's the link to our sponsorship program.

For further information about the exhibit including images of Phoenix, check out the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall page and read event reviews from the New York Times and the Washington Post.

-Marilyn

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Labels: 2008 Season, Marilyn, Phoenix, Right Whale, Smithsonian

Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, Right Whale, Sponsor a Right Whale

We are extremely pleased to report that the Final Rule (pdf) to implement Operational Measures of the North Atlantic Right Whale Ship Strike Reduction Strategy has passed the final hurdle in the rulemaking process and will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, October 10.

The rule will go into effect in 60 days--early December--just in time for the start of the winter calving season in the southeast United States. The crux of these measures will be the requirement to slow ships to 10 knots or less within 20 nautical miles of port entrances and in other major right whale habitats.

Labels: 2008 Season, Amy Knowlton, Right Whales, ship strikes, vessel speed

Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Moira, Roseway Basin

Hi, Jess Taylor here. I've flown aerial surveys with the NEAq team for 3 years now. I took a year off last year when I was traveling around Australia. I've always wanted to go to Australia so it was great! I did some humpback research over there on the west coast, dived the great barrier reef, and saw a few blue whales on an aerial survey, but I really missed right whales and am very excited to be back.

I have spent the last month here at the field station in Lubec, Maine. It has been great getting to see some of these familiar whales in close proximity. I got to see a very special whale, Catspaw that I haven't seen since 2005. I saw her on one of my first ever flights, when I was still learning how to take pictures whilst leaning out of a window, spinning in a plane at 1000 feet! So I was particularly nervous when we realized that the whale I had to photograph was giving birth! An event that had never been witnessed before. I was very happy to see her up in the Bay of Fundy with her 2008 calf, right on schedule giving birth every 3 years.


Whale Catalog #1632, Catspaw, with her second calf, #3532, male, named Resolution.
Taken January 5, 2005, four days after the calf was born. Photo: Jessica Larson / NEAq

It has been a really good experience to work from a boat in comparison to a plane down south. We have seen so many whales every day that we have been out, it's very hard to keep track of which whales we already photographed that day. It is as disorienting as being in the plane when there are no points of reference (like land) and trying to keep track of which whales were already photographed. It is a real skill to keep track of the directions of all the blows you see in the distance. I am also very lucky to have had the opportunity to work with the New England Aquarium team, who have been working with these whales since the early 80s, they are real pros. There is a whale watcher who is designated to ID all of the individuals in a group that we work and remember which whales we have seen throughout the day, this is a really important job. The way that they recognise the individuals in the field so quickly is remarkable.

We have been extremely lucky with the weather since I arrived on the 8th of September and it turned out to be an excellent month. I was able to get out on the water eight days, there was a window of good weather when we managed to get out three days in a row. On the 23rd we couldn't get back to the dock because we kept seeing more whales on our way home! They were just off of the lighthouse on Grand Manan, and eventually we had to leave them before it got dark. During that time we saw over 50 whales on each day! I have felt totally overwhelmed by all that I am learning, and we have had lots of unique experiences out on the water. There have been a few times that we were approached by a curious calf; I have heard whales mooing; and saw SAGs of over 15 animals all rolling, flipper slapping, making noises and underwater exhalations.

With a little more time on our hands, Cyndi and I visited a local preschool group to talk to some four-year-olds about right whales. Seeing how excited they were that they lived next to such fascinating creatures, re-iterates from a child's point of view just how amazing these mystical creatures are.

Now, with the boat safely hauled out for the winter and the field station packed away, we are ready to head back to Boston. I am glad i had the opportunity to work with such a passionate and affable group of people. We are all sad to leave the bay knowing that on our last day on the water, Sept. 25th, we saw 44 whales. We are all confident that the whales are still in the area, but do to the increasing weather conditions and deteriorating funding we cannot afford to stay in the area to help protect them. As we all return home, we say our goodbyes. The right whale team is spread out across the country, so the next time we will all be together again will be at the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium in November.

I hope the whales have a safe migration south. I look forward to seeing what whales show up and meeting the new additions to our population.

Although our field season is officially over there is still information we would like to make available to you. So keep tuning in to find out more about our efforts to protect one of the world most endangered marine mammals.

- Jess

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Labels: 2008 Season, Catspaw, Jess Taylor, Right Whale

Thanks to an extended good-weather window, we were able to get out on the water three days in a row- Sept. 23-25! Although working three 14 hour days in a row was exhausting, the data collected made it well worth it. We sighted more than 40 whales each day we were out.

We are now processing the data collected and identifying the whales we photographed in the bay these past few days. As of right now, we have identified over a dozen whales that were seen for the first time this season. Some of the whales have not been seen since 2006.

Many of the whales we saw were engaging in Surface Active Groups (SAG). On both Sept. 23 & 24, we came across SAGs comprised of more than a dozen right whales! With the exception of Meridian (Eg #1403) most of the whales in one SAG were not in the other.

There are currently a lot of right whales in the Bay of Fundy (more than 130 identified so far). The past three days allowed us to document that, but we know there are more whales in the bay that we have yet to photograph - some we have seen in the distance but have no photographs to prove it. This is frustrating given that the remnants of hurricane Kyle are at our doorstep and coming in without an invitation. We are all hoping that Kyle's rain and strong winds will be short lived and we will be able to get a few more days on the water before our season ends in early October.


Video of a 12 animal SAG on Sept. 24th. The whale with the wrapping entanglement scar around its head is Meridian.

Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Jonathan, Right Whale, SAG

We finally had two great days in a row on the water. The R/V Nereid went out the 20th and 21st and our other vessel, the R/V Callisto, also went out on the 20th. The result of this effort was a fairly comprehensive picture of right whales in the Bay of Fundy. They are spread out over a very large area with at least two different aggregations--one to the northeast and another to the southwest. Yesterday, we started the day with a small SAG off Swallowtail Light House within a stones throw of Grand Manan Island.

Labels: 2008 Season, callisto, nereid, Philip, Starry Night

- Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, Right Whale Researchers

Almost a full week had gone by before we were able to get back out on the water. After hearing reports of right whales near the northern end of Campobello Island, we began our morning by searching for right whales as we passed East Quoddy light. Although we didn't find any right whales at this northern latitude, we came across the first humpback whales of the season! Humpback whales also raise their flukes when they dive, but they have distinctive patterns on the ventral side of their flukes while the flukes of a right whale are completely black. Humpback whale researchers use the pattern on the ventral side of the fluke, along with the shape of the dorsal fin to identify individuals.



Continuing our survey into the Bay, we found that the right whales had moved a few miles to the east. Throughout the day we found that most of the whales were solitary even though they were spatially very close to each other. We photographed over 35 individuals including 12 engaged in a SAG! The whales in the middle of the SAG rolled slowly around the female, stroking her with their flippers. Other whales who weren't positioned next to the female patrolled the edges of the SAG, as if waiting for the perfect opportunity to slip in next to her. The SAG held a surprise for us although. One of the whales had a dorsal fin! Somehow a humpback whale had ended up in the middle of the SAG! The humpback only remained with the SAG briefly though. As the SAG broke up for a few minutes and then reformed three hundred meters away, the humpback whale headed in the opposite direction. As the afternoon progressed, the tide turned to become poised against the low winds. We turned west and spent the rest of the day photographing whales that we passed on our way back to Lubec.

Top photo: Flukes of a humpback whale. Photographer: Philip Hamilton, NEAq
Bottom photo: Two right whales engaged in a SAG. Photographer: Moira Brown, NEAq

- Cyndi

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Labels: 2008 Season, Cyndi, humpback, Right Whale

Over the past two years we have had the pleasure of working with National Geographic writer Douglas Chadwick and photographer Brian Skerry as they prepared an article on right whales for National Geographic magazine. Doug and Brian have put hours into learning about the plight of the North Atlantic right whale and their article was just released in the October issue of National Geographic. We would like to applaud Doug and Brian for using their talents to teach the world about these magnificent creatures and their struggle for survival.

Check out their featured article and photographs on the National Geographic website!

- Cyndi

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Labels: 2008 Season, National Geographic, photos, Right Whales

Since the weather is keeping us on land, we thought we could take this opportunity to tell you a bit about the area we call home for 2 months a year.

Lubec, Maine, is the easternmost town in the United States and literally a stone's throw from Canada (Campobello Island, New Brunswick). It sits atop a hill overlooking Passamaquoddy Bay, and has stunning views in every direction. The natural beauty of the area--rocky coastlines, misty islands, and rolling hills covered with blueberries--never fail to wow first-time visitors. The woodlands are lush and mysterious, thick with moss and lichens. Bald eagles frequently soar overhead and seals frolic in the Lubec Narrows (the channel between Campobello Island and Lubec that turns into a rushing river of salt water at the peak of the incoming or outgoing tide).

Labels: 2008 Season, Lubec, Marilyn, photos

On Aug. 30, Bill Lang from the National Science Foundation accompanied us as a guest on the Nereid. These are his photos:



Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bill Lang, Jonathan, Right Whale

We were able to get on the water on Friday, Sept. 5, before the effects of hurricane Hanna reached the Bay of Fundy. It was the first time we had been on the water in a week and it was well worth the wait! We spent two hours of our day photographing a Social Active Group (SAG) of about 20 whales! It was truly one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen!

From over a mile away, we spotted a few whales rolling at the surface of the water causing a lot of commotion. As we headed toward the whales, our approach was accompanied by 6 other whales all traveling in sync with one another. They raced towards the forming SAG, all breathing and diving in unison. We arrived to find that the SAG now included 20 whales! The amount of activity there was astonishing. The whales were all cavorting around the focal female, caressing her with their flippers, and rolling and lobtailing as they jostled each other to get closer to her. More then once a penis was observed and we even witnessed intromission! All this was accompanied by the potent smell of whale defecation.

The whale watcher, Marylin Marx, quickly identified the focal female as Sonnet (Eg #1123), a mother this year, and found her calf mingling in the aggregation. All other whales that were identified were males, Meridian (Eg #1403), Gemini (Eg #1150), Glidden (Eg #1428), and Manta (Eg #1507) to name a few. You can find photos and sighting history for each of these whales in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog.

Social aggregations of this size have only been seen in Roseway Basin (South of Nova Scotia) and the Bay of Fundy.



Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Jonathan, SAG

On the boat there are several jobs that we rotate through during the course of a long day at work. While we always have a licensed captain on board, we all are experienced at piloting the research vessel. This is an important skill as the U.S. permit we work under allows us to approach these highly endangered whales.







But never fear, the "whale watcher" is there to clear up the confusion. The "whale watcher" is responsible for knowing which whales we have seen in a day (to minimize photographing duplicates) and which whale the photographers are currently photographing. To organize whales within a day we letter them from A to Z and you will hear the researchers yelling letters back and forth as they try to track which whales they are photographing while working a large SAG. Many times the "whale watcher" will recognize the whales on sight and record their catalog number while in the field. Several of the researchers on our team have worked with this population for over 20 years and recognize many of the whales on sight.




These five positions are always filled while we work whales here in the Bay of Fundy. There are many other tasks that pop up throughout the day such as collecting biological samples or matching whales with our field matching book. Everyone on our team is trained to work in each role and we take turns wearing these different hats!





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Labels: 2008 Season, Cyndi, research vessel, Right Whales, SAG, whale watcher

Watch researchers as they photograph a mother with her calf. Listen to hear the whale watcher, Monica, inform the photographers, Dan and Cyndi, of the different body parts that need to be photographed.
*video taken by Jonathan

Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, mother and calf pairs, Right Whale

Labels: 2008 Season, Amy Knowlton, Right Whales, ship strikes, vessel speed

The Eagle Is Down, But Not For Long

While the Calvineers were on the Island Cruises Whalewatch from Campobello Island, NB, they witnessed the rescue of an eagle that was stranded in Cobscook Bay. See the previous entry, # 17, Calvineers Visit, Day 2, for a detailed account of the whale watch that day. The following is an account of the Campobello Whale Rescue Team's (CWRT) efforts to rescue a distressed bald eagle.

The news of an eagle that was in the water and unable to fly off came to Mackie Green, captain of the whale watch boat, Mister Matthew, over his VHS radio from another whale watch boat. They had unsuccessfully tried to help the eagle and knew that Mackie was part of the CWRT. Mackie took us to the struggling eagle and he and Robert tried to get a large life ring under the bird. Each time the eagle insisted on jumping off the life ring. After three tries they tried one of Meredith Houghton's suggestions, which was to tow a large log floating in the debris to the eagle so it could get on something natural. Good idea but the eagle would have nothing to do with it.

Meredith Olivari explained the event, "When we saw the poor eagle in the water I became sad, I felt so bad for it; trying to lift it's tired wings out of the water and swim back to the far-off shore. Meredith and I had some great ideas about how we could save the eagle and we were a little annoyed that the crew wasn't trying our ideas. Finally they tried one but it did not work."

Meredith Houghton gives an account of the rescue: "...we were lucky enough to witness something that hardly ever happens to a whale watch group! We heard over the radio that a bald eagle was stranded in the water, its feather's waterlogged and couldn't fly! We named it Perry, and it was trying desperately to swim to shore, but with the strong current, the eagle wasn't making much headway. Captain Mackie sped over to see what we could do to help the distressed animal. After trying many different methods, including a life ring, a log and a winter jacket, the CWRT came over to help. They got the eagle out of the water and ended up putting him on a beach where they could keep an eye on him until he flew away. It was so amazing to see the scientists and rescue crew at work, and it was such a good feeling when they saved the eagle, because we knew that it would be safe now."

As the eagle was rejecting the log the CWRT rescue zodiac came into view. When it was close enough to see the driver Meredith Houghton exclaimed, "Look! It's Moe Brown from the Whale House!" Moira (Moe) Brown is trained in all sorts of marine rescues and handles a boat expertly. As soon as Moe maneuvered the boat alongside the eagle her two colleagues put a bag over the eagle's head to calm it down and then carefully hoisted the disheveled animal into the rescue boat. Everyone cheered and there were a couple of tears noticeable also. The eagle did not have any broken bones and seemed quite vigorous. It was let go on a deserted beach where it walked up to some ferns and spread its wings to dry. The student scientists experienced yet another event that showed them how exciting being a scientist could be. Not only that, they were learning that woman scientists are very good at what they do. There is absolutely no reason why they, too, could not become a scientist who does great work in the field as well as the office.

Photo Captions:

1) Struggling Eagle
2) First Rescue Attempt
3) Moe and the CWRT Rescue Team

All Photos taken by Bill McWeeny

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Labels: 2008 Season, animal rescue, Bill, Calvineers, CWRT, eagle, Moira

Video of a right whale breaching multiple times in a row!!
*video taken by Jonathan

Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Breaching, Jonathan, Right Whale

We've had two more days on the water since last we reported. August 22nd was an exciting day because yet another new mother for the year was discovered! Whale #1123, "Sonnet," was seen for the first time this year, and she was with a calf. At age 27, this is Sonnet's fourth calf.

The discovery of two new mothers for the year in the Bay of Fundy hasn't happened since survey effort on the calving ground in the southeast intensified in the early 1990's. (See this blog entry on the first mom discovered here this year.)




At the young age of 8 months or so, Sonnet's calf (at left) already bears the scars from an entanglement in fishing lines that had been wrapped around her head, a grim reminder of the peril these animals face. Click on the picture to see the injuries up close.








Another exciting sighting was that of whale #1208 (shown at left), a reproductive female that has only been seen in the Bay of Fundy three times in two different years. In both years she was with a calf. Could she also have a calf this year? Only time (and better weather!) will tell.







Besides our occasional trips to sea, our lives at the whale house have been busy on land as well. Several colleagues from Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario came to meet about future research and funding opportunities for right whales. They have been using DNA analyses to unravel many of the mysteries of this species including paternities and the potential role the small gene pool is having on reproduction. Three and half days of meeting resulted in many thorough and thoughtful discussions and hypotheses. We are often all so busy that we don't have time to think about the big picture and we all found it very rewarding.

-Philip

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Labels: 2008 Season, Calving, Entanglement, Trent University

Team members Amy Knowlton and Moe Brown were up before 5:00 AM checking the weather but the forecast for heavy winds forced them to cancel the Nereid's surveying efforts for the day. Because the Nereid did not go out the two Merediths got to sleep in until 7:30. After breakfast, which is "on your own" at the Whale House, the student scientists and Mr. McWeeny drove into Canada to Campobello Island to go on the Island Cruises Whale Watch with Mackie Green. In addition to running the whale watch boat, Mister Matthew, Mackie is on the Campobello Whale Rescue Team (CWRT). "Not only will we see whales and other sea creatures but we just might hear some stories of rescued whales." Meredith Olivari said hopefully. She was not disappointed. Robert, Mackie's first mate and fellow CWRT teammate, told us all about a rescue they did two years ago of a right whale caught in some fishing gear up near St. John, New Brunswick. "The work sounds exciting and dangerous, " Meredith Houghton commented thoughtfully.

The boat ride took us out past East Quoddy Lighthouse on Campobello's North Head. (East Quoddy Lighthouse has a red cross on it and should not be confused with the red striped West Quoddy Lighthouse in the United States.) The wind was light but Cobscook Bay was all churned up with the incoming tide running very strong around all sorts of islands, rocks and jetties. Harbor porpoise fed skillfully in the eddies using a bubble feeding technique to round up their prey while swarms of screeching gulls snatched up scraps of fish left over at the surface. Soon enough we were upon a couple of minke whales. Here is Meredith Olivari's account:

"Whale watching off Campobello Island was awesome and we saw three Minke whales. Meredith and I named all the whales we saw. The first whale was Jacqueline and her smaller friend Brady. It seemed that if we gave the whales names we would have a stronger connection with them, almost like a human connection, and that way we kind of remember them better like people we meet or like new friends. When we moved to a different part of the bay we spotted a large Minke and for some odd reason the name Lars immediately popped into my head, Lars the Swedish Minke. I told Meredith and together we came up with this whole story about Lars like he came from Swedish waters and, since he was quite playful, was enjoying the "warm" Canadian bay. Lars came right up by the boat and we could see him very well, he was smooth and slick and we admired him while we could but in just a couple seconds he was gone, into the ocean again."

Meredith's "game" of naming the whales has some very practical uses in the world of science. Jane Goodall named her chimps with very descriptive names (David Gray Beard) and could tell immediately which family an individual was from by the first letter in its name. The Right Whale Research team has named many right whales with descriptive names (Crescent, Stumpy, Stripe) and some names that describe a whale's behavior like Shackleton for a right whale that explored the Delaware River up to Philadelphia. The student scientists intuitive act of naming the whales they saw may come in handy if they become scientists and if they learn to use descriptive and not just "cute" names.

The highlight of the whale watch was the rescue of a creature in grave danger. An eagle had fallen into the water and was unable to fly. It could swim for a while but would eventually die if it were unable to reach land. The description of the event will appear in a subsequent posting entitled "Calvineers Visit: The Rescue".

Back in Lubec, at the Whale House, the Calvineers had left over pastas for lunch. During lunch they had quite a story to share with the scientists who had been working at their computers all morning. After lunch the student scientists learned how to match right whales. The image coding they had been doing would now pay off by helping them find matching images of unknown pictures of whales. Each series of pictures of a whale taken during a survey day (there can be 30 or 40 or more sightings each survey day) has to be matched to a known picture of the same whale. This is the beauty of DIGITS. The program saves hours of searching by using the coded images. Meredith Houghton explains, "Matching was definitely much harder than coding, but we managed to match a whale with Mr. McWeeny and Amy's help. We correctly identified the whale as Eg #2360! The next whale we tried to match did not go so well, and after looking through over 1000 pictures, we found one that was almost exactly the same, and marked it as an unsure match. It felt so awesome to be sitting behind a computer, doing the same exact things that the scientists here do everyday!

The student scientists spent a good two hours matching just two animals and gained an appreciation for the amount of work that goes into maintaining the data base for the scientific community. Meredith Houghton wished that we could stay in Lubec for another week helping the team.

The day was coming to an end and soon the two, would be scientists would be on their way back to Castine, ME. They both thought the experience was one they would always remember, and Meredith Olivari had this final thought: "Well, if anything, I certainly learned that there is one thing these scientists and whales really have in common; they each have HUGE appetites!"


You can match whales to with the new right whale matching game!

Stay Tuned for the Calvineers' description of the exciting eagle rescue by the Campobello Whale Rescue Team.

Photo Captions:
1) Mackie Green shows the Calvineers what it's like to be a captain.
2) The Calvineers in front of East Quoddy Head
3) Struggling Eagle

All photos taken by Bill McWeeney

Bill

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bill, Calvineers, DIGITS, Right Whales, The Calvin Project

This summer The CALVIN* Project's Calvineers were invited to experience right whale research first hand at the New England Aquarium's Right Whale Research field station in Lubec, Maine. Two Calvineers, 7th grader Meredith Houghton and 8th grader Meredith Olivari, were able to take advantage of the unique invitation, spending two days and a night at the field station called "The Whale House." The following is an account of the first day of their experience working and living with the scientists.





They were in bed by 10:00 PM but set their alarm for 5:30 AM because they wanted to help the scientists load the Nereid in the morning for a survey effort.


* Students in Adams School's "The CALVIN Project" are called Calvineers. The Calvineers have been active in educating the public about the plight of the North Atlantic Right Whale for four years. Not only have they given many PowerPoint presentations in public, but they have also written letters to the president and legislators and the two Merediths spoke at Senator Olympia Snowe's Senate Subcommittee meeting last February. Preparing for presenting, letter writing and speaking took a lot of study and hard work over the years. In addition to the classroom studies, Calvineers have observed right whales in the Bay of Fundy and attended two North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium Meetings in New Bedford, MA. To date, fourteen students have taken part in The CALVIN Project.

1) The Cavineers hard at work in the Lab
3) The Meredith's recreate whale #2791 in chocolate

All photos taken by Bill McWeeney

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bill, Calvineers, DIGITS, The Calvin Project

The recent north winds blew out the fog and then calmed down nicely this morning, giving us our first good weather window in two weeks. Excited to be out on the water again, we awoke at 4:15 this morning to check the weather, put on lots of layers, ate breakfast and loaded the boat with equipment. By 5:30 we were off the dock and headed out to find the whales!

We went to the eastern part of the Bay as we had heard that whales were recently seen there. After a few hours of surveying we found our first whale and quickly began to see others. As we photographed each whale, we would head over to photograph the next one that surfaced and soon found ourselves so far east that we were sitting in the middle of the outbound shipping lane! Keeping a keen eye out for ships (although we didn't see any all day) so we could be quick to move out of their way, we photographed four mother and calf pairs and six other individuals. Four of these individuals were involved in a surface active group (SAG).

We photographed the whales as they energetically rolled and twisted around each other. The female in the SAG was a well known whale named Morse (go to the right whale catalog and search for #1608). Morse was born in 1986 and was given her name because a few white scars on her head reminded researchers of Morse code. After a good day with the whales, it will be a quite night at the "Whale house" as we all head to bed early in hopes that we will be woken by a subtle knock and the words "we're good to go."


We were able to get out on the water today for a brief window. Here is some footage of researchers Yan, Dan, Cyndi, Monica and Erin Burke (Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries) hard at work documenting a mother and calf pair. The mom's name is Arpeggio (go to the right whale catalog and search for #2753). Listen and look closely and you will hear the sounds of camera shutters clicking as researcher describe the scene and see the distinctive propeller scar on the right flank of Arpeggio.

Photo of Morse (EG #1608) taken by Erin Burke.
Video of Arpeggio (EG #2753) and her calf taken by Jonathan Cunha.

- Cyndi/Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Cyndi, Jonathan, mother and calf pairs, Right Whales, SAG

One of the terms we frequently use when describing right whale behavior is surface active group (SAG). A SAG has a fairly broad definition--two or more whales within a body length interacting at the surface--but typically, the SAG is comprised of one female and a number of males competing with each other in order to mate with her. Some SAGs are extremely active, with a lot of rolling and white water, whereas others are more sedate. The number of animals in a SAG can range from two or three to more than 40!

For years researchers presumed that the primary reason for a SAG was mating. However, conception is thought to take place in the winter (since gestation is about 12 months and right whales usually give birth between December and February), yet SAGs occur year round. Recent analyses of the composition and seasonality of these SAGs indicate that actually only about half of them include females able to reproduce. Thus, SAGs are not just for mating purposes.

Some have been documented to be all male, or all female, or all youngsters. Our colleague, Dr. Susan Parks from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, wrote a paper about SAG behavior in collaboration with Aquarium researchers (see below). She hypothesizes that, in addition to conception, SAGs may serve a variety of different roles including practice, play and social bonding.

Studying the behavior of marine mammals such as right whales is much more difficult than that of terrestrial species, because we get just a glimpse of these animals when they're at the water's surface. But the long-term photo-identification aspect of the Aquarium's program has enabled researchers to answer some very basic and important questions. To see video of a SAG see entry #11 Behavior Video (SAG).

Top photo: Taken by Monica Zani in the Southeast U.S.
Bottom photo: A typically boisterous SAG in the Bay of Fundy. Photo taken by Moira Brown

Parks, S. E. et al. 2007. Occurrence, Composition, And Potential Functions Of North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) Surface Active Groups. Marine Mammal Science 23(4): 868-887.

Marilyn

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Labels: 2008 Season, Behaviors, Marilyn, Right Whales, SAG

The fog and wind finally let up enough for us to return to the Bay of Fundy to search for right whales. We saw several of them today, but we were only able to photograph one individual. Each opportunity we have to return to the Bay is exciting in its own way, and each whale we encounter presents its own challenges – some of the whales seem to say "let me pose for the photograph," while others say "catch me if you can!" In the latter case, we're usually waiting for the right whale to surface from a feeding dive (typically lasting 10 minutes). When the right whale is surfacing, it will let out a deep and powerful breath. The sound of the breath is a good clue to the animal's position on foggy days like today.

Food is thought to be one of the primary reasons right whales visit the Bay of Fundy. Just what does a 70-ton right whale eat? What else, but rice-grain sized crustaceans known as copepods. Right whales eat by swimming forward with their mouths open, capturing copepods that are too slow or oblivious to get out of the way. Rather than chew their food with teeth, these whales trap their prey with fine comb-like strainers, known as baleen, that hang from the roof of the whale's mouth.

It takes a lot of copepods to satisfy the appetite of a whale, and it takes tons of energy (pun intended) to propel such a large animal forward with its mouth open. To make up for the extraordinarily large number of calories expended in the feeding process, right whales must find and forage in areas containing many thousands of copepods per cubic meter of water. In the Bay of Fundy, these dense concentrations usually occur 100+ meters below the surface.

The sight of the whale's tail (a.k.a. flukes), like a wave goodbye as the whale begins its dive, tells us that if we want to see it again we need to keep our eyes on our watch and our ears tuned to the telltale "blow" of the whale when it resurfaces.

Dan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Dan, Feeding, Right Whales

Well, today it's a combination of wind and fog that is keeping us on land, but for days it was just fog. If you've ever seen a horror movie called "The Fog" you'll understand when I tell you that the fog in Lubec could have played a starring role in that film. We have serious fog here. Sometimes it's a persistent mass that hangs over the area for weeks, only to be cleared when a dry northerly wind blows it away (warm southwest air holds the most moisture and that moisture condenses into fog as it is blown over the water). Other times, when the wind is light, the fog comes and goes with the tide. It may be perfectly clear in Lubec while the tide goes out but when it turns, wraith-like fingers of fog creep up our street from the Lubec Channel. Soon the water completely disappears from view (it's only two blocks away) and we hear the distant, mournful tones of the West Quoddy Lighthouse. Often the fog carries with it so much moisture that the sound of water dripping from the trees fills the air.

The Lubec fog comes in many forms, from delicate wisps to impenetrable walls, but it almost always prevents us from going out to sea. As of today, the fog has kept us landbound for 10 of the past 13 days! Because we use visual cues to find right whales (a tail lifted in the air or their distinctive V-shaped spout), we need to have good sighting conditions in the Bay of Fundy. So unless we expect the fog to clear by mid-morning, we just stay in, working on data and hoping for better weather tomorrow.

And when tomorrow rolls around one or two of our team members will check the weather, as we do every morning at 5 a.m. It involves a) looking out the window and b) checking a few weather websites for the day's forecast. We're looking for clear weather--no fog (for visibility) or rain (for camera and computer equipment)--and light winds. Ideally that means 10 knots (11.5mph) or less, but we often have to work in winds stronger than that. However, if winds are above 15 knots (17mph) it becomes too difficult to take photos (and hang on at the same time). This is especially true when the wind is against the strong Fundy tides, causing even higher seas.

Labels: 2008 Season, fog, Lubec, quoddy light house, weather

This is a video of a Surface Active Group (SAG) of North Atlantic Right Whales in the Bay of Fundy. Stay tuned for more information about right whale behaviors!

Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Jonathan, Right Whales, SAG

This morning was another quiet one as the fog rolled in from the Bay of Fundy to form a solid gray blanket over the town of Lubec, Maine. This kind of weather sure makes getting up at 5:00 a.m. difficult, but with two days on land we were all itching to get back to sea. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, so again we find ourselves on land.

However, the days on land give us the opportunity to get to work on processing all the data we've collected. From the two and a half days we've worked in the Bay of Fundy we already have over 1300 photographs of right whales to process! The processing will take many hours because each image can hold a wealth of information and must be carefully reviewed for its content. Not only can we discover the whale's individual identification from a photograph, but also it's behavior, association with other whales, the overall body condition, the presence of new scars or wounds from human impact and much, much more. As our blog continues we hope to touch upon some of these topics in greater detail, so please stay tuned!

As we begin to process images we start to recognize or identify more and more whales. While working out on the water we often get just a few quick glimpses of a whale before it dives, so although some whales are recognized on the spot others may not be identified until the data processing phase begins. However, whether it happens on the boat or days later when looking at an image on a computer screen, it's always exciting when we identify a whale. It's often like bumping into an old friend on the street or in the grocery store.

Seeing a particular individual often conjures up memories. For instance, seeing a whale might make me remember the first time I photographed a right whale, or my first day working in the Bay of Fundy. I can remember the whale I first identified from the air (while conducting aerial surveys for right whales in their winter calving ground of the southeastern U.S.) and I can remember the first whale I matched to the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog. So when I heard that the right whale named "Resolution" was photographed on our first day working in the Bay of Fundy this summer (August 6th), I was very excited. Why am I so excited about Resolution? Because I saw him being born! Not only that, but it was the first documented North Atlantic right whale birth!



Photograph taken by Jessica Taylor of Resolution swimming next to his mother (Catspaw) moments after the birthing event on New Years Day, 2005.

Resolution (#3532) was born off the coast of Florida on January 1, 2005. On that New Year's Day morning over three years ago, I was an observer aboard a New England Aquarium aerial survey plane (from December through March we conduct aerial surveys for right whales on the calving ground off the southeast U.S.). When we first sighted his mom, Catspaw (#1632), thrashing at the surface of the water with a large amount of blood surrounding her, we thought she was badly injured. I had no idea I was about to be part of a team who would be the first and only four people to document a right whale birth! It took us a few minutes to realize what we were seeing...truth be told it was not until the small calf appeared at the surface that we realized what had just happened. Catspaw lifted the small calf to the surface with her body and soon the pair began to swim side-by-side and the remaining blood in the water dissipated. If we had arrived on the scene moments later we never would have known what had just occurred. And in case you haven't guessed it yet, he was named for a New Year's resolution.

It's exciting to know that both Resolution and Catspaw, are in the Bay of Fundy this summer, and that Catspaw is a mom again this year (healthy right whales can have a single calf every three years). Unfortunately, I was not on the water on the 6th of August (the team's first day on the water) so I missed seeing Resolution in person. But just hearing that he is in the Bay of Fundy makes me even more eager to get back out on the water so I can see him for myself!


Resolution in the Bay of Fundy on August 6, 2008. Photo taken from the research vessel Nereid by Jonathan Cunha.



-Monica


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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Monica, mother and calf pairs, Right Whales

After another two days out in the Bay of Fundy, we are all thoroughly exhausted! Thursday shaped up to be another amazing day full of right whales. Many of these whales we had seen on the previous day, but we documented the presence of a few whales that we had not seen before. Within two days, we documented at least 53 right whales in the Bay of Fundy. Not bad for two days of work!

Today (Friday), we woke up bright and early and headed out into the Bay expecting to have yet another whale-filled day. After fueling the boat, we decided to head north, around the northern point of Campobello Island (known as East Quoddy Head). During the past two days on the water we continued to see whales to the east of us that we didn't have time to get to. In an attempt to find the eastern-most whales, we began our search for right whales by heading south-east. We soon found one right whale, who declared her presence by breaching. As we approached the whale started to "log." Logging is a resting behavior that is frequently seen and we describe it as "lying still at the surface of the water." From a distance, a resting whale can look like a log in the water, hence the term "logging."


Along with the callosity, this whale was identified as #2791 in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog by a distinctive scar on her flukes. She is a female who last calved in 2006. As we resumed heading to the southeast, the seas slowly began building and we started to see lots of white caps. The wind was light, but coming from the northwest and the tide had started coming in. In the Bay of Fundy, having even a light breeze against the powerful tide can ruin your day!

The Bay of Fundy has the highest vertical tidal range in the world. This dynamic body of water sitting between Canada's New Brunswick and Nova Scotia can rise, at high tide, to just over 50 feet. Approximately 115 billion tons of water flood in and out of the Bay during each tide cycle. While folklore claims that these tides are caused by a giant whale splashing water into the Bay, oceanographers have another explanation. The tide of the ocean at the mouth of the funnel shaped Bay of Fundy creates a wave of water the builds as it travels up the Bay. Other factors such as storms, atmospheric pressure and position of the moon can influence the height of the Fundy tide. Unfortunately we decided that this wind vs. tide effect would cause the sea to be too rough to find and photograph right whales and so we turned towards home early today.

- Cyndi

Top photo taken by Bob Bowman. The research vessel Nereid heading for home as Monica and Jon stand on the bow searching for marine life and debris to record.

Lower photo taken by Marilyn. the distinctive flukes of right whale # 2791.

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Cyndi, research, Right Whales

We were only able to get out for half a day today, but we did collect a right whale fecal sample. The fecal samples are analysed by Dr. Rosalind Rolland of the New England Aquarium for health and reproduction analysis of right whales.
*photo taken by Claudia

-Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, Right Whales, Rosalind Rolland

Yesterday was our first day on the water, and it was great! Because it takes us about 2 hours to get from Lubec to our survey area in the Bay of Fundy, we left the dock aboard our research vessel Nereid at 6:15 a.m. The crew consisted of Amy, Philip, Marilyn, Cyndi, Yan, Jonathan and two guests: Bill and Claudia. The weather was fine--winds were light and sky partly cloudy. By 9:15 we had found our first whales and the hours flew by as we worked one after another. By "worked" I mean we gathered all the information possible for each whale--the time of its sighting and its location (latitude and longitude), photographs of the head (for the callosity pattern) and the body and flukes (for any scars or marks), behaviors, and associations (whether it was alone or with other whales).

It was good to be back on the water, and we all fell into the various jobs without too much trouble. We took turns photographing, driving and recording the data. One person is the designated "whalewatcher" and that person has to let the rest of us know which whale we're photographing, whether it's a new whale for the day or not, and what information we need from it. It's actually just about the toughest job on the boat--a lot of pressure and no breaks! Yesterday, Philip was whalewatcher, and, as always, he knew many of the whales on sight.

In the eight hours we were on the Bay, we photographed 36 individuals, including four mothers with calves! We also saw three calves without their mothers, but that's not unusual for this time of year in the Bay of Fundy. Calves are getting older and a bit more independent, so although they're still nursing, they may go off exploring on their own for hours at a time while mom is feeding. They reunite when one calls for the other.

The highlights of the day were the curious approaches from three different calves. Just like other baby mammals, right whale calves are curious about their surroundings, and it's not unusual to see a calf lifting seaweed onto its head or playing with a log. Sometimes it's the boat that interests calves and they have been known to spend many minutes swimming underneath and all around our boat, looking at it (and us?) from all angles.


After many hours on the water we finally began heading in at 5:00 returning to the dock at 7p.m., nearly 13 hours after we left! But our day wasn't finished yet. After a quick dinner (thanks, Monica!), we still had to process the data (all the information we entered into the computer for each sighting), upload images from the digital cameras (more than 700!), wipe down the equipment (salt air is tough on electronics), and prepare for the next trip out. Exhausted, none of us had any trouble getting to sleep.

Marilyn

First image caption: Hard at work: Marilyn recording data, Jon checking his photos, Philip ready for the next whale. Photo taken by Claudia

Second image caption: One of the curious calves.

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Marilyn, Right Whales

Here's a video of a right whale ... we saw a lot today!



To see more pictures from our first day out go to our web albums.
Here are some of those images:

Yan photographing a right whale.

A fluke recorded during the expedition. Flukes are one of the many features used to identify individual whales.

- Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, Right Whales, sightings

Click here to see more pictures from the field station.

Jonathan
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Labels: 2008 Season, food, Jonathan, Lubec, photos

Monica Zani (left) and Amy Knowlton (right) examining a buoy that holds a satellite transmitter. The buoy is used to help track entangled large whales making it easier for the Atlantic Large Whale Disentanglement Network to respond to the distressed animal.

-Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Entanglement, Jonathan, nereid, Right Whales

We have been here for 4 or 5 days now and the weather has been uncooperative. First thick fog, then rain, then rain and fog. We need good visibility to find the whales and dry conditions and relatively calm seas to use the equipment we need to work (cameras, video, computers).

So we have been spending our time setting up the office, reviewing research protocols, and remembering how to live co-operatively in a large house with 10 to 15 people. Although there is plenty to do to set up and plenty more to do to process back-logged data, we are all growing antsy--a feeling which is magnified by the knowledge that right whales have been seen in the Bay of Fundy.

Laurie Murison, our colleague from the Grand Manan Whale and Research Station, made several trips into the Bay before the weather turned bad and reported 20 to 30 right whales. Knowing of our particular interest in mothers with calves of the year, she forwarded some excellent photographs she took. Low and behold, she had documented a new mother for the year! Most of the mothers and calves are first seen off the coast of the southeast U.S., but a few are first seen further north. This whale, #3115, is a 7-year-old female that gave birth to her first calf this year.










Photo of #3115 from Laurie Murison's July 28th sighting in the Bay of Fundy.
See more pictures and sighting history on the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog web site.

This brings the calf total for the year up to at least 21. The weather does not look good for the next few days (in fact, we just had torrential rains and lightening that knocked out the power twice), but we will keep our fingers crossed for a change so we can see some of these youngsters for ourselves.

And for those of you in the sweltering summer heat, you may be surprised to hear that it is cold in Lubec. All of us already bundled in our sweaters and wondering if it is too early to turn on the heat!

-Philip

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Lubec, Philip, Right Whales

Weather conditions have not improved. We are all fogged up!! You can see how bad the visibility is by comparing the above image of the Nereid to the image taken yesterday from the same spot. The bridge is disappearing!

- Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Bay of Fundy, Jonathan, Lubec, Right Whales

Hi all. It is August 1st, the time of year when right whale researchers at the New England Aquarium and other organizations gather in Lubec, Maine for an annual field season. It's our 29th year in a row! We are about to head out to the Bay of Fundy on our research vessel Nereid in hopes of finding right whales. Earlier this week, there were reports of as many as 20 right whales in the Bay of Fundy already, including several mother calf pairs that have migrated over 1,500 miles to get here from the calving grounds off Florida! Record numbers of right whales were reported on the calving grounds in the Southeastern United States this past winter and on the feeding grounds in Cape Cod Bay this spring. We are hoping for record numbers of whales into the summer months in the Bay of Fundy.

The weather today is not conducive for surveying. We woke up at 5 a.m. to check the weather conditions and saw there was rain and fog in our survey area. We looked at the weather radar and it appeared that the rain was moving to the northeast of us. We were optimistically hoping that the rain would pass allowing the sun to shine through the clouds and burn away the fog making it a beautiful day for surveying. We checked the weather again at 6:15 a.m., but no such luck. It was still raining. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for tomorrow!

We will be here until October so stay tuned for photos of who was sighted and stories from other right whale researchers about their days spent in the Bay of Fundy.

From the field,
Jonathan

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Labels: 2008 Season, Jonathan, mother and calf pairs, nereid, Right Whales, season start