Wild Cetacean News

Beluga whales use ‘acoustic name tags’ to identify themselves within pods, research says

Beluga whales use “acoustic name tags” to identify themselves to family members and other individuals in the wild, new research suggests, an indication not only of the animals’ complex social structure but also of the dangers posed by human-generated marine noise.

These vocal signatures have only been documented in two other mammals: humans and dolphins. Beluga whales are social and intelligent animals that form lifelong relationships. They rely on echolocation and communication sounds, in the form of chirps, clicks, whistles and squeals for almost all of their social interactions, to find food and to navigate.

Because the Arctic waters are often dark and the waters of the St. Lawrence River murky, beluga whales use sound to navigate and communicate with each other, said Valeria Vergara, a research scientist with Ocean Wise, Vancouver Aquarium’s conservation program.

https://www-theglobeandmail-com.cdn...-sounds-to-differentiate-between-individuals/
 
Petition Seeks Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation filed a petition today to protect Southern Resident orcas under the Oregon Endangered Species Act. As of the most recent census, just 73 Southern Resident orcas remain, divided among three family groups.

“Southern Resident orcas are icons of the Pacific Northwest, yet Oregon has lingered on the sidelines of recovery efforts,” said Quinn Read, Oregon policy director at the Center. “It’s time for Oregon to step up and acknowledge its critical role in saving these incredible orcas and the Chinook salmon they depend on for survival.”

Petition Seeks Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas
 
Energy giant Santos accused of Australia dolphin deaths

An energy giant has been accused of covering up the severity of an oil spill which allegedly killed dolphins off Western Australia (WA) last year.

A whistleblower's statement read out in parliament this week alleges dead dolphins were found floating near the oil slick caused by Santos last March.

Santos has previously denied the deaths were connected to the spill from its Varanus Island facility.

The Australian firm is yet to respond to request for comment.

https://www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-64671695.amp
 
Whales ingest millions of microplastic particles a day, study finds

Blue whales consume up to 1bn particles over a feeding season with as-yet-unknown impacts on health.

Filter-feeding whales are consuming millions of particles of microplastic pollution a day, according to a study, making them the largest consumers of plastic waste on the planet.

The central estimate for blue whales was 10m pieces a day, meaning more than 1bn pieces could be ingested over a three- to four-month feeding season. The weight of plastic consumed over the season was estimated at between 230kg and 4 tonnes.

In highly polluted areas, or if plastic pollution continues to rise in the future, the whales could be eating 150m pieces a day, the researchers warned. The data was collected in the coastal waters of California, but the scientists said other parts of the world were more polluted.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...s-of-microplastic-particles-a-day-study-finds
 
Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) have regularly stranded around the UK for centuries.

The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) coordinates the investigation of all cetaceans, marine turtles and basking sharks that strand around the UK coastline.

Since the inception of the CSIP in 1990, data on over 17,850 stranded cetaceans have been recorded in the UK and nearly 4,300 necropsies have been carried out, producing one of the world’s largest research datasets on strandings and causes of mortality.

17,850 stranded cetaceans have been recorded in the UK since the inception of the CSIP in 1990.

APPROX 4,300 necropsies have been carried out since the inception of the CSIP in 1990.

UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) | ZSL
 
Noise pollution messes with beluga whales’ travel plans

A new tracking study shows just how far belugas will go to avoid loud ship traffic.

Beluga whales are incredibly sensitive to noise. Social animals that live in the Arctic, belugas use their keen sense of hearing to communicate over long distances, find prey, and elude crafty predators like killer whales. But all is not quiet on the Arctic front. As the Arctic warms and the ice melts, ship traffic is on the rise, suffusing these once-tranquil waters with the throbbing thrum of propellers and engines.

Scientists have known since the 1980s that beluga whales’ sharp senses can pick up boat noise from up to 80 kilometers away. But this noise is much more than a nuisance—it can divert belugas away from feeding, nursing, or resting grounds, cause stress, and interfere with their ability to hear each other and perceive important information about their environments, like how deep the water is or where to locate prey. In a new study, scientists led by Morgan Martin, a zoologist at the University of Victoria in British Columbia and the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, reveal in unprecedented detail how belugas will flee, dive, and otherwise rush to escape the distressing din.

https://www-popsci-com.cdn.ampproje...nment/beluga-whale-noise-pollution-ships/?amp
 
The Unseen Threat: Noise in the Arctic Marine Environment

Increasing levels of underwater noise threaten Arctic whales, seals, fish and other species. A new report offers an opportunity for Arctic nations to lead on the issue.

In recent years we’ve experienced a growing awareness that the noise generated by humans in the world’s oceans affects life beneath the waves. That noise comes from a variety of sources — including acute sounds associated with military sonar, oil exploration, mining and seabed construction — but the most common and widespread source is the chronic noise made by ships as they travel.

This chronic noise affects a variety of marine species, including fish and invertebrates, but it can be particularly disruptive for mammals like whales and seals that use sound to communicate — sometimes over vast distances — and to detect prey.

The Unseen Threat: Noise in the Arctic Marine Environment • The Revelator
 
UngulateNerd92 said:
Beluga whales use ‘acoustic name tags’ to identify themselves within pods, research says

Beluga whales use “acoustic name tags” to identify themselves to family members and other individuals in the wild, new research suggests, an indication not only of the animals’ complex social structure but also of the dangers posed by human-generated marine noise.

These vocal signatures have only been documented in two other mammals: humans and dolphins. Beluga whales are social and intelligent animals that form lifelong relationships. They rely on echolocation and communication sounds, in the form of chirps, clicks, whistles and squeals for almost all of their social interactions, to find food and to navigate.

Because the Arctic waters are often dark and the waters of the St. Lawrence River murky, beluga whales use sound to navigate and communicate with each other, said Valeria Vergara, a research scientist with Ocean Wise, Vancouver Aquarium’s conservation program.

https://www-theglobeandmail-com.cdn...-sounds-to-differentiate-between-individuals/
Click to expand...

Belugas turn tail from ship noise

University of Victoria researchers document ships nearly 80km away disrupting beluga behaviour
Beluga whales face many threats, including increasing underwater noise pollution from ship traffic—and new research shows that increasing ship traffic in the Arctic Ocean could have enormous impact on the species. In a recently published paper, UVic biology postdoctoral researcher Morgan Martin details how the behaviour of nine satellite-tagged Pacific-Arctic belugas changed due to ship encounters—sometimes at extreme distances of nearly 80km.

Belugas turn tail from ship noise - University of Victoria
 
Swire bulk deviates vessels around southern Sri Lanka’s waters to protect endangered whales

Swire Bulk is deviating its vessels from the Southern waters of Sri Lanka with immediate effect. The area off Southern Sri Lanka is one of the busiest shipping lanes globally, and also serves as a feeding ground for many cetaceans. This voluntary move by the company aims to decrease the number of ship-strikes against whales, which has been identified by researchers to be the leading cause of death for whales around Sri Lanka’s waters.

Swire Bulk’s vessels will now pass at least 15 nautical miles south of Dondra Head traffic separation scheme and avoid sailing through marked out as “no go areas”. This directive will apply to all ships transiting to the south of Sri Lanka, excluding ships calling Galle OPL and ports within marked areas. Any vessels calling Galle will reduce speed to 8 knots as a way to reduce the likelihood of ship-strikes.

Swire Bulk deviates vessels around Southern Sri Lanka’s waters to protect endangered whales - Swire Bulk
 
Last edited:
Petition Seeks Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas

“The southern residents play an important role in Oregon’s ecosystems. They need and deserve every protection we can give them”

Kathleen Callaghy, Northwest representative with Defenders of Wildlife.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and Whale and Dolphin Conservation filed a petition today to protect Southern Resident orcas under the Oregon Endangered Species Act. As of the most recent census, just 73 Southern Resident orcas remain, divided among three family groups.

“The Southern Residents play an important role in Oregon’s ecosystems. They need and deserve every protection we can give them,” said Kathleen Callaghy, Northwest representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “Their population hasn’t increased in over five years. There is no time to waste.”

Petition Seeks Oregon Endangered Species Protection for Southern Resident Orcas
 
The first great energy transition: how humanity gave up whaling

The modern oil industry was born in 1859, yet it would take more than 100 years – and the near-extinction of a species – before it replaced blubber. As we now seek to replace oil in turn, are there lessons to be learned?

Humpback whales can rhyme. Their songs are made up of individual themes, phrases and sounds – many of them ending similarly. These are repeated in patterns that create rhythms and structures. To human ears, the songs are a series of grunts, groans, sighs, burps and squeaks. But they are arranged by the whale in a highly elaborate manner.

The songs change over time, too: themes develop and are replaced, and phrases shift until every few years a completely new song emerges. Whales also adopt the songs of other whales – like a pop hit that everyone starts singing.

What’s more, whale songs migrate. In Australia, researchers found that a particular song that was initially sung only on the west coast made its way to the east coast. In deep waters the songs can be heard over long distances, so the animals listen to each other. Over a few years, the Australian song was adapted over half the Pacific, from Fiji to Tonga, American Samoa, the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.

It is the same in the Atlantic. The songs spread over months and years. And while the hits of the previous years are still being sung in the east, the whales in the west are already working on new ones. The songs always travel from west to east, never in the opposite direction. No one knows why.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...nergy-transition-how-humanity-gave-up-whaling
 
Drones gather new and useful data for marine research, but they can disturb whales and dolphins

Drones have changed the way researchers study whales and dolphins. While we were once confined to the decks of boats and observation platforms, glimpsing the backs of surfacing animals, we can now watch them from above. Gaining a bird’s eye view of whales and dolphins has already taught us so much about their physiology and behaviour.

However, there is a darker side to drone use in marine research.

My doctoral research investigates the behaviour of beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary. I have hundreds of hours under my belt as a drone pilot, flying over these amazing and endangered animals. As a PhD student at the University of Windsor, I use drone footage of these whales to help us better understand their behaviour and social structure, particularly differences between males and females.

Drones gather new and useful data for marine research, but they can disturb whales and dolphins
 
Big pods and ‘fearless mums’ among the dolphins of Kwinana Shelf

A dolphin with a distinctive white flash and a female bearing the scars of a shark bite, likely suffered while protecting her calf, were among about 120 individual dolphins recorded by researchers in the Kwinana Shelf area last year.

Dr Delphine Chabanne, from Murdoch University’s Harry Butler Institute, is leading the project which forms part of the WAMSI Westport Marine Science Program and involves monitoring dolphin distribution from Woodman Point to James Point within Cockburn Sound.

The dolphins that were recorded included 24 calves under two years of age.

The research team did the surveys from a boat travelling along parallel lines, 500 metres apart.

Big pods and ‘fearless mums’ among the dolphins of Kwinana Shelf – Western Australian Marine Science Institution
 
Hope for critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise as population increases for first time

Yangtze finless porpoise numbers up 23%
After decades of seemingly irreversible decline, results from the latest census conducted by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs show that the population of critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoises has risen from 1,012 to 1,249 over the past five years - the first increase since records began.

The census found that the population has increased by over 23 percent - proving that concerted conservation efforts to save the world’s only freshwater porpoise from extinction are making a real difference.

Hope for critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise as population increases for first time
 
Minimum viable whale: Antarctic minke whales may be as small as a krill-eating filter feeder can get in our modern oceans

Meagre giants hide in the ice-covered bays and fjords of the Antarctic peninsula. Antarctic minke whales spend their summers foraging in these waters, devouring the dense and abundant krill that feed and grow underneath the sea ice.

These sleek and subtle predators are the smallest members of the rorqual family, which includes some of the largest animals known to have existed, such as blue, fin and sei whales. Minke whales are much smaller than their giant relatives (only about one-twentieth the mass of a blue whale), but a typical minke still weighs about five metric tonnes. That’s equivalent to 18 large grizzly bears or 45 Arnold Schwarzeneggers.

Despite their size, remarkably little is known about the behaviour of minkes or their role in rapidly changing Antarctic ecosystems. So, in the summers of 2018 and 2019, my colleagues and I from Stanford University, UC Santa Cruz and Duke Marine Labs teamed up to study minke whale foraging ecology.

Our team, led by David Cade, made an amazing discovery: minke whales are huge (by human standards), but they are about as small as a whale that feeds by filtering large numbers of tiny prey out of the water can be.

Minimum viable whale: Antarctic minke whales may be as small as a krill-eating filter feeder can get in our modern oceans
 
Reduced genetic diversity: another challenge facing the Southern Resident killer whales?

A new study links inbreeding with risk of mortality in the Southern Residents.

As charismatic mega-predators, killer whales have no equal. Historically feared, respected, in some cultures revered, we now know them to be intelligent and highly social. They also have fascinatingly strong ideas about what constitutes food, with different populations having vastly different preferred prey.

Reduced genetic diversity: another challenge facing the Southern Resident killer whales? | Raincoast Conservation Foundation
 
Gray whale population on the rise in Baja California Sur

Gray whale numbers have risen dramatically in Baja California Sur, say Mexican conservation agencies.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) revealed that a recent census of the whales — taken from December 2022 to mid-February 2023 — has revealed a total of 1,364 in the El Vizcaíno Biosphere, located in Mulegé, Baja California Sur.

Gray whale population on the rise in Baja California Sur
 
UK fishing vessels ‘underreporting’ whale, dolphin and porpoise bycatch

Only 19 cases of cetacean bycatch reported under Defra scheme, but experts say figure much higher

Only a handful of instances of accidental bycatch of whales, dolphins and porpoises have been recorded under the UK government’s self-reporting initiative, despite the likelihood that hundreds are being caught by fishing vessels.

Fishers have been encouraged to voluntarily record the bycatch of marine mammals in an attempt to reduce the accidental catch, which would benefit the fishing industry and the health of the seas.

https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.amp...underreporting-whale-dolphin-porpoise-bycatch
 
Year's first North Atlantic right whale mother and calf arrive in Cape Cod Bay

The first North Atlantic right whale mother and calf pair of the season have been spotted in Cape Cod Bay, the Center for Coastal Studies said.

On March 18, the CCS’s Right Whale Ecology Program team saw a whale named Porcia and her 2023 calf. Porcia, a 21-year-old right whale, was first seen with her new calf in late December off the coast of Georgia.

https://www-wcvb-com.cdn.ampproject...ther-and-calf-arrive-in-cape-cod-bay/43365783
 
Another Animal That Speckles with Age: Dolphins

Scientists can now predict how old Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are based on their speckled bellies.

As humans age, our bodies are often graced with fine lines, gray hairs, and flecks of hyperpigmentation on our skin known as age spots. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins get spots with age, too. And as scientists have revealed in a recent study, the onset of dolphins’ speckling is so predictable it can be a noninvasive way to gauge the dolphins’ age.

Age is a crucial metric for understanding dolphin populations. Many ways of calculating a dolphin’s age exist, such as counting the layers of dental material in their teeth or analyzing DNA from a skin sample. But they’re all somewhat invasive. That’s why developing a model for estimating age by simply looking at dolphins’ dots is so interesting.

Ewa Krzyszczyk, a dolphin researcher at Bangor University in Wales who was not involved in the study, says the new technique “is a really useful tool.” By estimating a dolphin’s age, Krzyszczyk says, scientists can answer important questions, such as when a dolphin stops weaning, when it reaches sexuality maturity, or when a dolphin shows signs of deterioration from old age. “It gives a more well-rounded idea of what’s going on in your population that can then help with conservation,” she says.

Another Animal That Speckles with Age: Dolphins | Hakai Magazine
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top