whales & other cetaceans

8/8/2019 Whales & Other Cetaceans

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The Grandest of Lives:

Eye to Eye with Whales

Douglas H. Chadwick

Sierra Club Books, 2008 - 288 pages

link

The largest creatures ever to inhabit the Earth, whales have long inspired awe in humans. But because

they spend virtually all of their time beneath the ocean surface, little has been known about their lives.Now, with advances in technology, new facts and stunning discoveries are coming to light about these

magnificent mammals. In "The Grandest of Lives," wildlife biologist Douglas H. Chadwick takes readers

inside the world of modern-day scientific whale observation, from gathering data to weathering storms to

spirited scientific debate. Chadwick, who has followed and reported on whales for more than a decade,

paints detailed portraits of five species -- the humpback, northern bottlenose, blue whale, minke whale,

and orca -- that represent a cross-section of the forms and behaviors of cetaceans worldwide. All move

seamlessly between natural history and more personal observations, vividly expressing Chadwick's

fondness and admiration for these amazing creatures, as well as the sheer joy of being among them.

From Publishers Weekly (amazon)

Wildlife biologist Chadwick's fascination with whales began when he found himself floating nose to nose

with an inquisitive humpback off the coast of Maui. Since that heady experience, he has traveled the seas

with whale researchers, becoming ever more enchanted with these great mammals. In this compelling

book, he records what he has learned and observed of five whale species, including the humpback,

described by Melville as "the most gamesome and light-hearted of all the whales"; the bottlenose, an

exceptionally intelligent whale that can dive to great depths; and the orca, misnamed the "killer" whale,

a very social whale that does not attack humans. As he observes the whales' habits and listens to the

sounds they use to communicate with each other, Chadwick (The Fate of the Elephant) struggles to

remain objective. But this is difficult. Whales have such a complex assortment of lifestyles, cultures

and social relationships, it's hard to avoid anthropomorphizing them, especially since they seem to be

as curious about humans as humans are about them. The author's enthusiasm for these extraordinary

creatures effectively draws the reader into the whales' underwater environment and makes a powerful

case for increased efforts to preserve that environment.

Preview
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2/41

Dolphin Mysteries:

Unlocking the Secrets of Communication

Kathleen M. Dudzinski,ToniFrohoff, Marc Bekoff

Yale University Press, 2010 - 256 pages

link

Dolphins have fascinated humans for millennia, giving rise to an abundance of stories and myths about

them, yet the actual details of their lives in the sea have remained elusive. In this enthralling book,

Kathleen M. Dudzinski and Toni Frohoff take us into the dolphins aquatic world to witness firsthand howthey live their lives, communicate, and interact with one another and with other species, including people.

Kathleen M. Dudzinski and Toni Frohoff are scientists who have collectively dedicated more than 40

years to studying dolphins beneath the oceans surface, frequently through a close-up underwater lens.

Drawing on their own experiences and on up-to-the-minute research, the authors show that dolphins are

decidedly not just members of a group but distinct individuals, able to communicate with one another and

with humans. Dudzinski and Frohoff introduce a new way of looking at, and listening to, the vocabulary

of dolphins in the sea, and they even provide an introductory dolphin dictionary, listing complex social

signals that dolphins use to share information among themselves and with people. Unveiling an intimate

and scientifically accurate portrait of dolphins, this book will appeal to everyone who has wanted a closer

glimpse into the hearts and minds of these amazing creatures.
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3/41

Between species:

celebrating the dolphin-human bond

ToniFrohoff, Brenda Peterson

Sierra Club Books, 2003 - Juvenile Nonfiction - 361 pages

link

Dolphins and humans have always been curious about each other, and since ancient times the kinship

between our species has been celebrated across cultures and continents in myth, art, literature, and

science. Only recently, however, have we gone beyond our own view of this interspecies connection and

begun to ask: What might this bond look like from the dolphins' perspective?

Now, Between Species brings together for the first time eminent scientists and gifted writers to help

shed light on this intriguing question. Edited by wildlife researcher Toni Frohoff and nature writer Brenda

Peterson, the text selections range from tales of transforming dolphin encounters to views on how to

protect cetaceans and their habitats, and from poems honoring dolphins to provocative critiques of swim-

with-the-dolphins programs and acoustic pollution. Pieces include Diane Ackerman's essay on "deep

play" with a wild dolphin; Marc Bekoff's ethical questions concerning our intrusion in dolphins' lives; and

the late Dr. John Lilly's call for a "Cetacean Nation."

This groundbreaking anthology not only explores the depths and beauty of the dolphin-human bond

but encourages new generations to respect the complexities and responsibilities inherent in such

interspecies kinship. Dolphins and humans have always been curious about each other, and since

ancient times the kinship between our species has been celebrated across cultures and continents inmyth, art, literature, and science. Only recently, however, have we gone beyond our own view of this

interspecies connection and begun to ask: What might this bond look like from the dolphins' perspective?
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4/41

links!

meet the whales

gray whales

cetaceans

bc cetaceans

the evolution ofwhales

the oceania project

Whales, dolphins and porpoises

Whale communication and culture

science!

A Crude Awakening

Sperm Whales in the Gulf of Mexico

By Cloe Waterfield, Twentyfifty, for Conscious Breath Adventures

May 2010
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://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oceania.org.au%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEd76Bg5O5qhW7tOEUVGdBBujU1Zghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.edwardtbabinski.us%2Fwhales%2Fevolution_of_whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFWX1hBvdhCyDT3MU6Ajj2KpkuvFghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwildwhales.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D56&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHRHKAP8TYVq2HU4Za6CoEJ6Xdk9ghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwildwhales.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D56&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHRHKAP8TYVq2HU4Za6CoEJ6Xdk9ghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwildwhales.org%2F%3Fpage_id%3D56&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHRHKAP8TYVq2HU4Za6CoEJ6Xdk9ghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.acsonline.org%2Ffactpack%2Findex.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEKUpZ_pZ_jsAn6WoaZT1QuT3GZrwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learner.org%2Fjnorth%2Fgwhale%2Findex.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFdUt_GNeIGVr0pIlyasTfYcGQIWQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learner.org%2Fjnorth%2Fgwhale%2Findex.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFdUt_GNeIGVr0pIlyasTfYcGQIWQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learner.org%2Fjnorth%2Fgwhale%2Findex.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFdUt_GNeIGVr0pIlyasTfYcGQIWQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Ftv%2Fwhale-wars%2Fmeet-the-whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDnkWmw-pVa3lERNfCBNxvqDKhxAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Ftv%2Fwhale-wars%2Fmeet-the-whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDnkWmw-pVa3lERNfCBNxvqDKhxAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Ftv%2Fwhale-wars%2Fmeet-the-whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDnkWmw-pVa3lERNfCBNxvqDKhxAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Ftv%2Fwhale-wars%2Fmeet-the-whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDnkWmw-pVa3lERNfCBNxvqDKhxAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fanimal.discovery.com%2Ftv%2Fwhale-wars%2Fmeet-the-whales%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDnkWmw-pVa3lERNfCBNxvqDKhxA


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Sperm whales are the largest of the world's toothed whales, have the biggest brain in the animal

kingdom, and can dive to nearly two miles.

Infamous as Moby Dick and also known as the cachalot (who was, ironically, caught a lot), is the

sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalis. They are the largest of the worlds toothed whales, have the

biggest brain in the animal kingdom and can dive to nearly two miles. In short, they are really cool!

Life is not so cool right now though for a resident population, numbering around 140, just off the mouth

of the Mississippi, where crude oil has been gushing into the Gulf of Mexico from a pipe ruptured when

the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 26th, 2010. As Gulf States prepare for clean up activities

on-shore and commence the census of shorebirds, turtles, fish, dolphins, invertebrates and plant

communities lost, we consider the sperm whale.

Their elusive, deep water nature means there is a lot we still dont know. Recently, scientists confirmed

that whales in the northern Gulf were genetically and vocally distinct from other sperm whales. They

are slightly smaller and form smaller social groups. These whales are unique! They take advantage ofthe pelagic food chain bonanza which spins off the rich waters pouring from the Mississippi, and deep

nutrient pulses which spiral up from the depths here, at a narrow zone in the Outer Continental Shelf.

Their turf is also, as we now painfully know; prime real estate in the petroleum business.

Oil and marine mammals do not mix. Both the oil and especially the dispersants, contain persistent toxic

chemicals that get dangerously concentrated higher up the food chain. Research on dolphins showed

that they can identify and swim away from heavy oil, but not a light sheen: about 4,000 square miles of

cetacean habitat in the Gulf is affected. Noxious fumes from the volatile, light fraction of crude oil will be


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concentrated at the sea surface, and so in every breath.

White crosses show locations of 19 groups of whales in a 200-2001 survey. Red is the approximate

location of the incident.

The incident brings to the fore bigger issues associated with our thirst for oil. Drilling activities, and the

omnipresent search for new deposits, converge in the sperm whales deep water habitat. Like most

cetaceans, sperm whales navigate, feed and communicate using sound. It is cruelly coincidental that we

crudely copy their skill; hammering the seabed with pulses of sound waves to pick up the characteristic

echo of oil. The impact of this round-the-clock seismic exploration has been the focus of long term studiesto determine the effects on whales. The clicks and buzzes as a whale locates a soft bodied fish or squid

must surely be drowned out by us blasting through 5,000 feet of water deep into solid rock. Sound has

been implicated in strandings, hearing loss and tissue damage.

In 2008 a synthesis of six years of study on the impacts of seismic exploration on sperm whales was

published by the Minerals Management Service. Six years, 15 authors, 345 pages and 9 million dollars

and the results? Inconclusive. Is this a joke, perhaps you ask? Not at all. They did find out a lot about

our whales, but this industry-funded piece stated that they needed more research in order to give any

definitive conclusions.


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Which begs the critical question why is the fox guarding the henhouse? The Minerals Management

Service (U.S. Department of the Interior) grants permits to oil companies to drill. They are also

responsible for ensuring the activities are safe and to do so, dish out donations from oil companies

to various universities to carry out the research. So the outlook for sperm whales and other marine

mammals in the Gulf of Mexico is, fundamentally, at the mercy of whats in the best interests of the oil

industry.

At least one U.S. senator, Bill Nelson, D-Fla, has, in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon incident, called

for an investigation into the extent to which the oil industry has influenced the agencys rulemaking

process. Two former directors of the agency have moved smoothly into leadership positions at an

organization called the National Oceans Industries Association. Its mission; "to secure reliable access

and a favorable regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation'svaluable offshore energy resources.

For sperm whales and countless species in the northern Gulf of Mexico it might sadly be too late. For the

rest of us, lets hope its a wake up call.

Key Facts:

28 species of cetaceans occur in the Gulf of Mexico, along with the West Indian Manatee.

All are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Seven species, including the sperm whale, are further protected by the Endangered Species Act.

There are thought to be around 1,665 sperm whales throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

Very little is known about their deep water prey, which includes the giant squid.

Males average 35 feet long, females 28 feet. Elsewhere males can reach 67 feet in length. They can live over 70 years.

Social structures are complex: historically they were targeted by whalers because of their habit offorming protective rings around calves.

About 4,000 oil rigs dot the northern Gulf with 30 or so of them in depths of 5,000 of water.


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Whales Might Be as Much Like People as Apes Are

ByBrandon Keim
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pw


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known about the whales social behavior, which involves wide variations in group formation, hunting and

child-rearing. Groups even appear to communicate in their own unique dialect.

Based on what we know, Id guess that cetacean culture is intermediate between humans and

chimpanzees. Not in material culture, but in most other respects, said Whitehead.

Culture is an especially important measure of personhood in whales, since its difficult to administer the

sorts of tests that have found chimpanzees to be capable ofbasic math, altruism, laughterand complex

communication, the latter of which can be neurologically imaged in real-time.

But if cetaceans cant take these tests, they have met one critical laboratory benchmark of higher

cognition: self-recognition. With Wildlife Conservation Society cognitive scientist Diana Reiss, Lori Marino

showed that bottlenose dolphins can use mirrors to investigate marks hidden on their bodies. When they

look in the mirror, theyre saying, Thats me, said Marino. They have a sense of self through time.

And in a much-celebrated first documented example of tool use in marine mammals, a family of dolphins

in Australia uses sponges to hunt.

Cetaceans even surpass most primates in their use of sound. Weve known for some time now that the

communication systems of these animals is more complex than we can imagine, said Marino. People

are starting to use some interesting statistical methods to look at their vocal repertoires, and theyre

finding structural complexity that suggests there may be something like grammar, syntax, even

language.

Fueling the evolution of cetacean communication is an ability, observed in dolphins, humpback whalesand sperm whales, to pass songs and codas between generations and individuals.

One of the ways in which dolphins are unusual among mammals is their ability to imitate sounds.

Most apes are barely able to modify the sounds that they make vocally, based on what they hear, said

PeterTyack, a biologist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. To be able to learn sounds and

incorporate them is really important for human communication.

According to Tyack, the individually distinctive calls of dolphins may even be equivalent to names. Thats

an open research question, he said.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Findex.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHNCNHZ_e42_uaLoBJdo-aSfyV8xQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2007%2F12%2Fare-you-smarter%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFBU6s3w_VjskDqu0w-DTdUHOsZLAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2007%2F12%2Fare-you-smarter%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFBU6s3w_VjskDqu0w-DTdUHOsZLAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2007%2F06%2Fchimps-follow-t%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNENXO-AZVga_SR8mTG7t5gEg2ErOghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fevolutionlaughter%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHo_6SFQ_y81Xswtk4mpe_z5rGUoAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2008%2F02%2Fhumans-and-chim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFzv7vXl-yJl6ufoD_WJGTPE_c1VQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2008%2F02%2Fhumans-and-chim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFzv7vXl-yJl6ufoD_WJGTPE_c1VQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2008%2F02%2Fhumans-and-chim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFzv7vXl-yJl6ufoD_WJGTPE_c1VQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2008%2F02%2Fhumans-and-chim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFzv7vXl-yJl6ufoD_WJGTPE_c1VQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emory.edu%2FLIVING_LINKS%2Fpdf_attachments%2Fmarino_dolphin_MSR.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGl_jurWbs2GcfLaZx5jbXlsmbFPAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emory.edu%2FLIVING_LINKS%2Fpdf_attachments%2Fmarino_dolphin_MSR.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGl_jurWbs2GcfLaZx5jbXlsmbFPAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emory.edu%2FLIVING_LINKS%2Fpdf_attachments%2Fmarino_dolphin_MSR.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGl_jurWbs2GcfLaZx5jbXlsmbFPAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whoi.edu%2Fprofile.do%3Fid%3Dptyack&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGZfWZzGGbeeVDBGSbn5uMrmf3f3Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosone.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003868&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEQptVfjOgQ0N4I-TxKnTtOYRT4uwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emory.edu%2FLIVING_LINKS%2Fpdf_attachments%2Fmarino_dolphin_MSR.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGl_jurWbs2GcfLaZx5jbXlsmbFPAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emory.edu%2FLIVING_LINKS%2Fpdf_attachments%2Fmarino_dolphin_MSR.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGl_jurWbs2GcfLaZx5jbXlsmbFPAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emory.edu%2FLIVING_LINKS%2Fpdf_attachments%2Fmarino_dolphin_MSR.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGl_jurWbs2GcfLaZx5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In addition to cultural evidence, researchers whove studied cetacean brains many of which are among

the largest in the animal kingdom have found highly developed analogues to humanstructures.

Whale brains appear to have undergone massive growth about 30 million years ago, a process linked in

primates to the development of complex cognition and culture.

The parts of the brain that are involved with processing emotion and social relationships are enormously

complex, and in many cetaceans even more highly elaborated than in the human brain, said Marino. If

we assume that the limbic system is doing what its doing in all mammals, then something very high-levelis going on.

As for the nature of a whales inner life, its difficult to say but possible to speculate.

My strong suspicion is that a lot of sperm whale life revolves around social issues, said

Whitehead. Theyre nomadic, live in permanent groups, and are dependent on each other for everything.

Social structure is vital to them. The only constant thing in their world is their social group. Id guess that a

lot of their life is paying attention to social relationships.

These relationships would be interestingly different from ours, for a variety of reasons, continued

Whitehead. Theres nowhere to hide, they can use sound to form an image of each others insides

whether youre pregnant, hungry, sick. In a three-dimensional habitat, its probably much harder to say

something is mine, or yours, whether its a piece of food or a potential mate.

Tyler Schulz, another researcher in Whiteheads lab, recently refined a method for linking sperm

whale codas to the individual who composed them. That should help researchers get an even better

appreciation of personal traits.

He found that in one group, most of the animals had a similar repertoire of calls, but the mother of a baby

had a different one, said Whitehead. As we analyze the data, well be able to figure out whether that

was the mothers originally vocabulary, and she was a weirdo, or if maybe that was just baby talk. We all

know women who change their vocabularies when they have babies.

Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/whalepeople/#ixzz0zAG4ukp8

Hidden Whale Culture Could Be Critical to Species Survival

ByBrandon Keim
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosbiology.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050139&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFJmAs9dTDV9vVnqiE8U9O9kUE8fwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosbiology.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050139&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFJmAs9dTDV9vVnqiE8U9O9kUE8fwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosbiology.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050139&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFJmAs9dTDV9vVnqiE8U9O9kUE8fwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosbiology.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050139&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFJmAs9dTDV9vVnqiE8U9O9kUE8fwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plosbiology.org%2Farticle%2Finfo%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.0050139&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFJmAs9dTDV9vVnqiE8U9O9kUE8fwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orcanetwork.org%2Fnathist%2FMarinoetalBiolRev.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHu9pq9qG3X6VW0pLXdF0nTdLN-HQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orcanetwork.org%2Fnathist%2FMarinoetalBiolRev.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHu9pq9qG3X6VW0pLXdF0nTdLN-HQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orcanetwork.org%2Fnathist%2FMarinoetalBiolRev.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHu9pq9qG3X6VW0pLXdF0nTdLN-HQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orcanetwork.org%2Fnathist%2FMarinoetalBiolRev.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHu9pq9qG3X6VW0pLXdF0nTdLN-HQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.orcanetwork.org%2Fnathist%2FMarinoetalBiolRev.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHu9pq9qG3X6VW0pLXdF0nTdLN-HQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Fhw%2FSchulz_et_al_2008.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFhryRs5-Mgm8tY_8fpA3Qwyqirbghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Fhw%2FSchulz_et_al_2008.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFhryRs5-Mgm8tY_8fpA3Qwyqirbghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Fhw%2FSchulz_et_al_2008.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFhryRs5-Mgm8tY_8fpA3Qwyqirbghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Fhw%2FSchulz_et_al_2008.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFhryRs5-Mgm8tY_8fpA3Qwyqirbghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Fhw%2FSchulz_et_al_2008.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFhryRs5-Mgm8tY_8fpA3Qwyqirbghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwhitelab.biology.dal.ca%2Fhw%2FSchulz_et_al_2008.pdf&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFhryRs5-Mgm8tY_8fpA3Qwyqirbghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2Fauthor%2Fbrandon9keim%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEkKN8U_Fdy4fIucHg45oWWuQx_pwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhalepeople%2F%23ixzz0zAG4ukp8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG__HVm6OnhtPe5XHBiDLEMeaeC_whttp://www.google.com/url?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io.0050139&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFJmAs9dTDV9vVnqiE8U9O9kUE8fw


12/41

Though it sounds at first like a marine biologists take on political correctness, respecting the cultural

diversity of whales may be essential to saving them.

Scientists are accustomed to thinking of whale populations in terms of genetic diversity. But even when

they share the same genes, groups of whales can live in very different ways, raising the possibility that

species might be saved even while individual cultures vanish. The tragedy of cultural extinction aside,

cultural diversity may sustain the long-term health of Earths cetaceans.

We have no idea whats going on. As we mess up the world, it goes off in all kinds of weird directions,

said biologist Hal Whitehead of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. The more diversity thats out there,both genetic and cultural, the more whales can deal with it.

That whales could even have culture is a relatively new scientific proposition. It was not unil the late

1960s that recordings of humpback whale songs provided a glimpse of the unexpectedly complicated

and beautiful world of cetacean communication. The songs dont appear for now to reach the level

of language, but theyre clearly a form of learned communicative behavior common across the cetacean

realm. And as researchers spend more time with whales, theyre realizing just how much their learned

behaviors differ.


13/41

One of the best-known example of marine culture comes from killer whales (which, technically, are

dolphins, but theyre mentioned in the same breath as whales by biologists). Pods of killer whales have

highly varied dialects and ways of life, even while sharing the same habitat the aquatic equivalent of a

neighborhood populated by two different ethnic groups.

Over the last decade, two pods found off North Americas west coast and known to researchers as the

Northern and Southern residents became the focus of an international conservation battle. Scientists

showed that the pods had different dialects and feeding habits. The Southern Residents, their numbers ata fraction of historical levels, often ranged south through Puget Sound and into waters off the California

coast. Theyre more threatened than their Northern counterparts by shipping collisions and depleted

salmon populations.

In 2004, Canadas environmental officials declared the Southern Residents both distinct and endangered,

but U.S. officials insisted on treating the two pods as a single, genetically similar and unendangered

group. The next year, following outrage among scientists and environmentalists, the United States

acknowledged the Southern Residents as unique and endangered.

Their decision was promising, but cultural considerations are otherwise absent from U.S. government

conservation plans and the agenda of the International Whaling Commission. To some extent, the

absence reflects the state of cetacean science. Most species have not been extensively studied at the

cultural level. But with pollution, noise, global warming, overfishing and intermittent hunting threatening

the recovery of creatures nearly hunted to extinction by the early 20th century, it might be time to expand

the focus.

If I take all the sperm whales in the North Atlantic, can I consider them as one population? If I can, I can

apply all kinds of theoretical results to it. But if there are factors that might break the population apart,

thats going to impact the way I can use the models to manage the populations, said Luke Rendell, a

postdoc biologist at Scotlands University of St. Andrews. Once you realize that these sorts of things are

going on, that has to be taken into account.

Rendell is a specialist in sperm-whale vocalization and learning patterns of sperm whales. Over the last

decade, he and Whitehead and other researchers have painstakingly analyzed acoustic recordings of the

whales, linking them to observations and biological samples, ultimately cobbling together an unexpectedly

complex picture.

Sperm whales live in small social units linked by maternal lineage, and form larger groups only with other

units from the same clan. In the Pacific, these groups are large and tightly linked. In the Atlantic, theyre

small and loosely distributed. Vocalizations vary widely between groups, as do their habits, from hunting

patterns to babysitting. Yet their genes are extremely similar.

In the Pacific, warming waters produced by El Nio fluctuations appearto affect clans differently, said

Whitehead. In normal temperatures, one of the clans does better, he said. And when El Nio strikes,

the clan that was doing worse does better than the other clan. The clan that was doing well is in trouble.

That has implications for global warming, because its going to make conditions more like El Nio. You

can see how maintaining the diversity of clans in sperm whales makes it more likely that theyll survive.

Whether other cetacean species possess equally rich cultures is largely unknown, but mostly because

so little research has been conducted. Its notoriously difficult to collect hard evidence about whats

going on, said Rendell. Its not like a bird or a bat or a chimpanzee that you can bring into the lab and

investigate how they behave.But given the abilities seen in the cetaceans that have been studied, and the socialization patterns

obvious in other species even when they havent been rigorously studied, researchers say cultural

diversity is likely common.

My guess is that there are all kinds of complicated social conventions. We know some from the killer

whales, but I bet theyre in lots of other whale species as well, said Whitehead.

New research is giving us a window into really complicated societies, said Rendell. You get a much

better appreciation of the complexity. Ten or 20 years ago, it was just, Theres a bunch of whales over

here.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEl_Ni%25C3%25B1o&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHGOlUvBLtisR5FIhoVbyvJmbqBQw


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Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/whaleculture/#ixzz0zAGxXYRU

Lady Humpback Whales Make Friends & Meet up for SummerReunions

Scientists have long thought humpbacks loners. New

research shows this isnt so: Researchers have observed some female whale form friendships that last

for years. The behavior has only been observed in lady humpbacks of similar age, with the whales going

their separate ways during the breeding season, but reuniting in the open ocean each summer. These

bonds can be quite strong: the longest association endured for six years.

The study appears in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, and it also found that the whales

with the longest-lasting associations gave birth to the most calvesanother animal kingdom example that

friendship is beneficial.The whales are probably improving their feeding efficiency, suggests lead author

Christian Ramp.

Staying together for a prolonged period of time requires a constant effort. That means that they feed

together, but likely also rest together. So an individual is adapting its behaviour to another one. [BBC]

When categorizing fraternal sea animals, scientists used to make a dental distinction: tooth-sporting

sperm whales, dolphins, and orcas make friends, but baleen whales like the humpbackthose whales that

use stringy baleen to strain their food out of the waterwere thought less social. Says Ramp:
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wired.com%2Fwiredscience%2F2009%2F06%2Fwhaleculture%2F%23ixzz0zAGxXYRU&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNG2mN0Fu-NyI9EWB2W87uAZb-jrnAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fspringerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fk364t21v221524jq%2F%3Fp%3De44f417ce7444fdfb9f07a1dae894ba2%26pi%3D12&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEJHHVwibwEQjXe-YTiY1wAEuo3vghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fearth%2Fhi%2Fearth_news%2Fnewsid_8722000%2F8722626.stm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH1eTJG4B74ahu-HqfUdpPyfMm8Jwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fearth%2Fhi%2Fearth_news%2Fnewsid_8722000%2F8722626.stm&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNH1eTJG4B74ahu-HqfUdpPyfMm8Jwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fdiscovermagazine.com%2F1996%2Fmar%2Fthegrayingofthet716%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHZN9lzp5Hxk34Q_ak1HBxzBMUeAAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fspringerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fk364t21v221524jq%2F%3Fp%3De44f417ce7444fdfb9f07a1dae894ba2%26pi%3D12&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEJHHVwibwEQjXe-YTiY1wAEuo3vghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fspringerlink.com%2Fcontent%2Fk364t21v221524jq%2F%3Fp%3De44f417ce7444fdfb9f07a1dae894ba2%26pi%3D12&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEJHHVwibwEQjXe-YTiY1wAEuo3vghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-whales-make-friends-meet-up-for-summer-reunions%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGOhwsQB7N_jIKwfoX1PX7eWQwV_Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.discovermagazine.com%2F80beats%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Flady-humpback-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I was very surprised by the prolonged duration. I was expecting stable associations within one season,

not beyond. I was particularly surprised by the fact that only females form these bonds, especially

females of similar age. [LiveScience]

Snapping pictures of yearly whale visits to the Gulf of St. Lawrence off Canadas coast since 1997,

scientists including Ramp recorded the familiar groupings. As for where the summering whales meet up

and how they recognize their old friends, those things are still mysterious.Ramp wonders whether whaling has made humpbacks social pairings increasingly rare since traveling

together might make them easier targets, though he says he would need more research to make this

conclusion.

Studies Shed New Light on Blue Whales and Their Calls

February 27, 2007

Using a variety of new approaches, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are

forging a new understanding of the largest mammals on Earth.

In one recently published study on blue whales, Scripps researchers used a combination of techniques to

show for the first time that blue whale calls can be tied to specific behavior and gender classifications. In

a separate study, researchers used recordings of blue whale songs to determine the animal's population

distributions worldwide.

While the specific function of songs and calls produced by whales remains a mystery to a large degree,

the sounds are thought to mediate social interactions between the animals.

The first study, led by Scripps postdoctoral researcher Erin Oleson and Scripps scientist John Hildebrand,

describes the behavioral context of calls produced by eastern North Pacific blue whales. Few researchers

have attempted to link sound production with specific behaviors or environmental conditions to attempt to

determine the significance of whale calls.

This is the first study that has been able to study the calls by directly observing the animal while it is

calling and gathering key information such as depth and body orientation-getting a sense of what the

animal is doing underwater, said Oleson. Once you understand the context of specific types of sounds,

then you can use those sounds to infer something about what they are doing when you are not there to

actually see them doing it.

Using a blend of approaches that included attaching miniature acoustic recording tags to whales, Oleson

and her colleagues were able to find clear patterns tied to whale behavior, sex type and group size

with specific call types. The tags included the National Geographic Crittercam, an integrated video-

camcorder and data-logging system, and the B-probe, an electronic data-logging tag attached to the

animal via suction cup. Those data were supplemented with analysis of whale tissue samples and visual

observations from ships.

The researchers found that only males produced sounds known as AB calls while D calls were heard
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.livescience.com%2Fanimals%2FFemale-Whales-Lasting-Friendships-100608.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDN0JbIPzmfRVJNeD-Sg6YKHbzYQhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.livescience.com%2Fanimals%2FFemale-Whales-Lasting-Friendships-100608.html&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHDN0JbIPzmfRVJNeD-Sg6YKHbzYQ


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from both sexes, typically during foraging. The researchers note in the paper, published in the January 25

issue of the Marine Ecology Progress Series journal, that the sex bias evident in AB callers suggests that

those calls probably play a role in reproduction.

Oleson hopes such call and behavior information will eventually be used for better understanding whale

habitats and calculating species abundances.

The second study, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Cetacean Research Management,

describes the first attempt at determining worldwide blue whale populations by analyzing nuances of their

songs.

Hildebrand and his colleagues used acoustic recordings from around the world, including data from his

own instrument deployments and recordings from other scientists and the U.S. Navy, to create a new

map that geographically categorizes blue whale species types into nine regions around the world based

on their song dialects.

While certain regional designations are concentrated in areas close to one coastal area, such as the

map's type 1 classification primarily off the North American coast, others, such as type 4, are spread

over broad areas, in this case throughout the Northern Pacific Ocean.

The blue whale saw its numbers dwindle dangerously before whaling moratoria were enacted. Now the

new study may become a tool for representing its true population stocks. The paper suggests that the

stock structures of blue whales, traditionally based on Internatio

whales & other cetaceans

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