http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/dolphins_and_whales/ Whales and dolphins. Whale songs, beaching, endangered status -- current research news on all cetaceans. en-us Mon, 12 May 2008 20:05:01 EDT Mon, 12 May 2008 20:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/dolphins_and_whales/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104518.htm Endangered North Atlantic right whales are safer along Massachusetts Bay's busy shipping lanes this spring, thanks to a new system of smart buoys. The buoys recognize whales' distinctive calls and route the information to a public Web site and a marine warning system, giving ships the chance to avoid deadly collisions. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401110221.htm Buoys equipped with underwater microphones and other sensors will be on duty in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts for the next 30 months, recording sounds from whales, fish, ships and other sources around the clock to help NOAA researchers develop a global monitoring network for ocean noise. Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080401110221.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318203016.htm Scientists in the North Pacific have sighted a creature of great rarity and even myth: a white whale. The white killer whale was spotted with its pod about two miles off Kanaga Volcano, part of Alaska's Aleutian Islands, on February 23. At the time, the marine researchers were assessing pollock fish stocks near Steller sea lion haulout sites. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080318203016.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303190550.htm Like many northerners who head south to warmer climates for the winter, many Northern right whales also head south in November and stay into April. Their destination is the only known calving ground for this rare and endangered population -- the waters off Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. When they arrive, NOAA scientists are there to greet them, and to take DNA samples. Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080303190550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217090219.htm NOAA Fisheries Service is looking at how marine mammals react to underwater sound. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause certain marine mammals to strand and ultimately die. Some of these strandings are associated with mid-frequency active military sonar, and most have involved beaked whales; the dominant species is Cuvier's beaked whale, but the genus Mesoplodon has also been involved. Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080217090219.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204085259.htm Researchers have been using computer models to mimic the effects of underwater noise on an unusual whale species and have discovered a new pathway for sound entering the head and ears. Since 1968, it has been believed that noise vibrations travel through the thin bony walls of toothed whales' lower jaw and onto the fat body attached to the ear complex. This research shows however that the thin bony walls do not transmit the vibrations. In fact they enter through the throat and then pass to the bony ear complex via a unique fatty channel. Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080204085259.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080115092057.htm An international research team reported in the scientific journal Conservation Biology, that the estimated population of vaquita, a porpoise found in the Gulf of California, is likely two years away from reaching such low levels that their rate to extinction will increase and possibly be irreversible. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080115092057.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226003604.htm Up to 20 meters long and weighing as much as 20 tons, its enormous size gives the whale shark its name. Listed as a rare species, relatively little is known about whale sharks. However, a new study combines computer-assisted photographic identification with ecotourism to study the rare species and suggests whale shark populations in Ningaloo, Western Australia are healthy. The study appears in the Ecological Society of America's January issue of Ecological Applications. Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071226003604.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218101131.htm People suffering from chronic mental or physical disabilities should not resort to a dolphin "healing" experience, warn two researchers. The scientists have launched an educational campaign countering claims made by purveyors of what is known as dolphin-assisted therapy. While swimming with dolphins may be a fun, novel experience, no scientific evidence exists for any long-term benefit from 'dolphin-assisted therapy.' Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218101131.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220220241.htm Scientists since Darwin have known that whales are mammals whose ancestors walked on land. But one critical step was missing: The identity of the land ancestors of whales. Researchers have now discovered the skeleton of a 48-million-year-old mammal called an Indohyus. It is a fox-sized mammal that looked something like a miniature deer and is the closest known fossil relative of whales. Because Indohyus itself is not a whale, but a close cousin, the discovery suggests that the first whales were themselves aquatic, rather than evolving aquatic habits after they took to the water. Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071220220241.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071027112213.htm There are less than 400 of them left in the world, and many of them travel to Canadian waters each year to feed. The North Atlantic Right Whale is one of the most endangered whales in the world. New research is helping ensure these whales are protected from vessel strikes when they make their annual trek to the Roseway Basin on the Scotian Shelf. Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071027112213.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070917202806.htm The Bering Sea provides critical habitat for many species of marine mammals, including seals, sea lions and whales. The predictable formation and movement of sea ice is a defining feature of this habitat, although new evidence suggests that only a few thousand years ago, during a period of cold climate known as the "Neoglacial," much more ice filled the Bering Sea and stayed around longer. Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070917202806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070913165159.htm When a whale dies and falls to the bottom in the deep ocean, it attracts a weird community of mollusks, crabs and worms that feed on its oil-rich bones. A 15 million-year-old fossilized whale discovered on Año Nuevo Island is the first fossil whale fall discovered in California, and one of the youngest and most complete fossil whale falls ever found. It shows that whale-fall organisms look for oily bones rather than large whale carcasses. Fri, 14 Sep 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070913165159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070911114747.htm An international research team, including biologists from NOAA Fisheries Service has failed to find a single Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, during a six-week survey in China. The scientists fear the marine mammal is now extinct due to fishing and commercial development, which would make it the first cetacean to vanish as result of human activity. Thu, 13 Sep 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070911114747.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070910173819.htm Gray whales in the Pacific Ocean, long thought to have fully recovered from whaling, were once three to five times as plentiful as they are now, according to a new article. A vastly reduced population of gray whales has likely exerted large changes in Pacific ocean ecosystems. Starving whales are a warning sign of problems in the food chain. Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070910173819.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070910094122.htm Orcas or killer whales may continue to suffer the effects of contamination with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for the next 30 to 60 years, despite 1970s-era regulations that have reduced overall PCB concentrations in the environment, researchers report. Other threats to orca survival include ship traffic, reduced abundance of prey and environmental contamination. Orcas, which reach a length exceeding 25 feet and weights of 4-5 tons, already are the most PCB-contaminated creatures on Earth. Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070910094122.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905143411.htm Sperm whales, dolphins and other "toothed" whales hunt squid so deep in the ocean they must rely on biosonar. Paleontologists argue for a likely evolutionary scenario that explains how these whales developed echolocation. What initially was a rudimentary echolocating ability to find hard-bodied nautiloids in surface waters 40 million years ago was perfected, as nautiloids declined, into a refined biosonar system able to find soft-bodied squid as they migrate downward during the day. Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905143411.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070901084549.htm For the first time, researchers have recorded "megapclicks" -- a series of clicks and buzzes from humpback whales apparently associated with nighttime feeding behaviors -- in and around NOAA's Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. This acoustically active species has been known to produce complex "songs" on their breeding grounds, but knowledge of sound production on northern feeding grounds has been limited. Sun, 02 Sep 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070901084549.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820095620.htm Researchers from the wildlife conservation charity Marinelife are extremely concerned about what it is NOT seeing this summer in the Bay of Biscay. The BDRP surveys have detected more than 20 species of whale and dolphin in the Bay of Biscay and counted over a hundred thousand animals. However, this summer there has been a very obvious and worrying dearth of sightings, which is significant given that the Bay of Biscay is of European importance for dolphins and other cetaceans. Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820095620.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070722173032.htm Scientists highlight the importance of noise limits for energy companies operating in Russia to protect the critically endangered western gray whale. An independent scientific advisory panel established by the World Conservation Union has expressed its concern over the effect of noise levels from offshore oil and gas activities on the western gray whale. Wed, 25 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070722173032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070721223714.htm Killer whales hold the gloomy record of being the most-polluted European arctic mammal, says a new study published in the latest issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Levels of contaminants measured in whales near Norway were among the highest ever measured in marine mammals, exceeding levels found in harbor seals, polar bears, and white whales. Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070721223714.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705094418.htm A new nature reserve has been approved for Vaigach Island in the western Russian Arctic by the Nenets Autonomous District administration. The new 243,000-hectare nature reserve will help protect threatened arctic species such as polar bears, Atlantic walrus, white-beak loon, and one of the region's largest mass nestings of waterfowls. Fri, 06 Jul 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070705094418.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070615214254.htm How does the largest animal on earth survive on a diet of the smallest of prey? By having a jaw that spans a quarter of its body length, an enormous mouth that goes from the head to the belly button, and by doing lots of "lunges," according to UBC zoology PhD candidate Jeremy Goldbogen. Sun, 17 Jun 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070615214254.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070612153205.htm Research on one of the oldest-living mammals - the bowhead whale - has helped preserve a primary food source for Eskimos in the far reaches of Alaska, and also may provide a useful tool for studying genetic variation in other migratory animals. Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070612153205.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070529184525.htm Fifteen cetacean species occur in Bristol Bay, a spectacularly rich area of marine life, including the endangered bowhead, blue, fin, sei, humpback and sperm whales. A planned lease sale area in Bristol Bay overlaps with critical habitat designated for the eastern North Pacific right. Wed, 30 May 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070529184525.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522125023.htm Whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) are facing increasing threats from climate change, according to a new report. Key issues are: Changes in sea temperature; declining salinity because of the melting of ice and increased rainfall; sea level rise; loss of icy polar habitats and decline of krill populations in key areas. Wed, 23 May 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070522125023.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516144513.htm Researchers cruising for creatures that live in the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean found a new species of sea anemone living in the unlikeliest of habitats -- the carcass of a dead whale. A marine biologist would say that discovering a new sea anemone isn't so unusual. But finding one that calls a dead whale home is what sets this new creature apart. Fri, 18 May 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070516144513.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517092309.htm A new study analyzing whale meat sold in Korean markets suggests the number of whales being sold for human consumption in the Asian country is much higher than that being reported to the International Whaling Commission -- putting threatened populations of coastal minke whales further at risk. Fri, 18 May 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070517092309.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070513165537.htm On a crossing of the English Channel on the 5th of May, a large group of approximately 30 Bottlenose Dolphin was sighted. The dolphins, which are threatened in UK waters, were recorded 4 miles off of St. Catherine's point on the Isle of Wight -- a truly rare occurrence. Mon, 14 May 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070513165537.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070426143431.htm Since 2002 there have been at least 21 reports of right whales entangled in fishing lines, and scar analyses indicates as many as 45-60 right whales become entangled each year. A sinking line can reduce the risk of entanglement of whales, but they are not mandated in more than a few localities. Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070426143431.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070410091423.htm Marine scientists recently found that humpback whales migrate over 5,100 miles from Central America to their feeding grounds off Antarctica; a record distance undertaken by any mammal. Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070410091423.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403224451.htm Mating strategies are straightforward in bottlenose dolphins, or are they? Much of the work carried on male-female relationships in that species to date show that males tend to coerce females who are left with little choice about with whom to mate. Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070403224451.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308220550.htm The sperm whale and its large prey, the jumbo squid, are among the deepest divers in the ocean, routinely reaching depths of 3,000 feet or more. Now, in a new study, a team of marine scientists reports the successful tagging of sperm whales and jumbo squid swimming together off Mexico's Pacific coast -- the first time that electronic tracking devices have been applied simultaneously to deep-diving predators and prey in the same waters. Sat, 10 Mar 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308220550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070227170949.htm 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. Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/02/070227170949.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070108121710.htm By comparing the productivity of lobster fishing operations in American and Canadian waters of the Gulf of Maine, researchers have identified ways in which cost-saving alterations in fishing strategies can substantially reduce fishing-gear entanglements of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Tue, 09 Jan 2007 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070108121710.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061223092845.htm Whale watchers on board the research icebreaker Polarstern have made a remarkable cetaceans sighting: Four Arnoux's Beaked Whales (Berardius arnuxii), observed from the helicopter. The Arnoux's Beaked Whales is one of the least known species of the Beaked Whales family (Ziphidae), itself poorly known in general. Arnoux's is one of the biggest species amongst beaked whales. The ones observed were probably 9 metre long. These deep-sea feeding whales are particularly sensitive to underwater acoustic disturbances. Tue, 26 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061223092845.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061209083959.htm Research published in the academic journal Mammal Review has uncovered the missing link in the depleting population of the vaquita. With a body less than 1.5 m long, the vaquita is the smallest living cetacean (the order Cetacea consists of whales, dolphins and porpoises). Mon, 11 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061209083959.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061127111607.htm A new study compared a humpback whale brain with brains from several other cetacean species and found the presence of a certain type of neuron cell that is also found in humans. This suggests that certain cetaceans and hominids may have evolved side by side. Mon, 27 Nov 2006 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061127111607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061019192417.htm A study of 10 beaked whales of two poorly understood species shows their foraging dives are deeper and longer than those reported for any other air-breathing species. This extreme deep-diving behavior is of particular interest since beaked whales stranded during naval sonar exercises have been reported to have symptoms of decompression sickness. One goal of the study was to explore whether the extreme diving behavior of beaked whales puts them at a special risk from naval sonar exercises. Fri, 20 Oct 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061019192417.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061013202025.htm Oceanographers worldwide pay close attention to phytoplankton and with good reason. The microscopic plants that form the vast foundation of the marine food chain generate a staggering amount of power, and now a groundbreaking study led by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla., has calculated just how much ---- about five times the annual total power consumption of the human world. Sun, 15 Oct 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061013202025.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061013105011.htm One of the last remaining New England whaling ships has provided unexpected insights into the origin of halogenated organic compounds (HOCs) that have chemical and physical properties similar to toxic PCBs and the pesticide DDT. HOCs are found everywhere and degrade slowly, but some are naturally produced and others are produced by humans. Fri, 13 Oct 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061013105011.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060929094049.htm Scientists have found preliminary evidence that narwhals, Arctic whales whose spiraled tusks gave rise to the myth of the unicorn, produce signature vocalizations that may facilitate individual recognition or their reunion with more distant group members. Mon, 02 Oct 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060929094049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060911105132.htm The unusual mollusks of oceanic cold seeps -- strange clams, mussels and sea snails that thrive in the sulfur and methane-rich environments -- are on average older than the marine mollusk community as a whole, according to a new report in the journal Science. Mon, 11 Sep 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060911105132.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060623100318.htm The government of Myanmar has established a protected area for, of all things, a partnership between fishermen and a small, gray beakless dolphin with a knack for herding fish into nets, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). Fri, 23 Jun 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060623100318.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060529103339.htm Ecologists have at last got a view of sperm whales' behaviour during their long, deep dives, thanks to the use of recently developed electronic "dtags." According to new research published in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology, sperm whales -- like bats -- use echolocation consistently to track down their prey at depth. Mon, 29 May 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060529103339.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060523092737.htm When ancient whales finally parted company with the last remnants of their legs about 35 million years ago, a relatively sudden genetic event may have crowned an eons-long shrinking process. An international group of scientists led by Hans Thewissen, Ph.D., a professor of anatomy at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, has used developmental data from contemporary spotted dolphins and fossils of ancient whales to try to pinpoint the genetic changes that could have caused whales, dolphins and porpoises to lose their hind limbs. Tue, 23 May 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060523092737.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060517180518.htm Pile driving and industrial noise may adversely affect dolphin behaviour, communication and breeding, according to a scientific paper in CIWEM's Water and Environment Journal. Wed, 17 May 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060517180518.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060428094046.htm The NOAA Fisheries Service released the final report today on the mysterious stranding event of melon-headed whales off the coast of Hawaii in July 2004. Although the exact cause of the stranding is unknown, scientists concluded that navy sonar exercises may have played a role in the stranding. Fri, 28 Apr 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060428094046.htm