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Humpback Whale Migration Update: March 14, 2001
Today's Report Includes:
- Greetings from the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
- Every Whale Needs a Name
- What's In a Name, Anyway?
- A Name is Worth A Thousand Words!
- Challenge Question #10
- Journey North (You!) Represented at Workshop
- Summertime Scatters Silver Bank Whales: Challenge Question #11
- Sargasso Sea Is Unusual: Discussion of Challenge Question #9
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Humpback whale researchers are awaiting the return of their subjects to the Gulf of Maine as this year's long winter finally comes to a close. A nor'easter last week and other less severe weather kept the Center for Coastal Studies from completing their monthly sanctuary patrols. Hopefully, March (which has started like a lion) will go out like a lamb and we'll get some fair skies and calm seas.
Every Whale Needs a Name
In preparation for the return of the whales, researchers have scheduled the annual whale-naming workshop in which new humpback whales from 2000 (adult whales not seen before and new calves) are given names. This annual session is sponsored by the Cetacean Research Unit, the Center for Coastal Studies, and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The naming party will be Sunday, March 25, 2001.
What's In a Name, Anyway?
Rules for humpback whale naming are relatively simple. You already know that humpback names are usually based on the patterns that appear on the whale's fluke.
1. Names should be one word (but occasionally can be two part, like "Cat's Paw" or "Tic Tac").
2. Names should be genderless (nothing like "Tom" or "Sally" since researchers usually don't know the sex of the animals they are naming, and it would be confusing to name a whale "Bob" and have it later be discovered the whale is a female).
3. Whales should not be named after a person (no "Smith" or "Jones").
4. Names should be based on some recognizable mark on the flukes or the trailing edge of the tail. The best marks are scars (white on black flukes and black on the white part of the flukes); large blotches of color sometimes change as the whale matures ("7" was named for a mark that looked like the number).
5. The name should not be one that has been used before.
For a list of names previously used:
A Name is Worth A Thousand Words!
Take a look at the pictures of some of the new whales.Want to give a whale a name? Look at the marks on the flukes, spark up your imagination and give them a name. Remember, naturalists and research scientists often get only a quick look at the tail as the whale dives, so the mark should be something distinctive to this particular whale. Be creative! Can you defend your name? But be sure to explain fully why you came up with the name you suggest. Tell me if the mark is near an edge or at the center of the fluke, or other noteworthy distinctions. Have fun! I'm looking forward to reading your name suggestions. Good luck!
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0006 |
0018 |
0023 |
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0024 |
Bungee's calf |
Fan's calf |
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Foggy's calf |
Inland's calf |
Palette's calf |
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Pepper's calf |
Now answer this:
Challenge Question #10:
"Based on the fluke pictures of the year 2000 whales, what distinctive name fits each whale? You may give a name to as many whales as you like, but be sure to explain fully why you came up with the name you suggest."
(To respond to this question, please follow the
instructions below.)
Journey North (You!) Represented at Workshop
Journey North will forward all of your proposed names to me here at the Sanctuary. The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is serving as an official sponsor of the naming program, and I will be attending the workshop and representing Journey North.
Summertime Scatters Silver Bank Whales
The Silver Bank Marine Sanctuary grounds attract about 3,000 breeding and calving humpbacks each year. It is quite probable that many of the whales that visit Stellwagen Bank spend their winters at Silver Bank. However, the Caribbean calving and breeding grounds attract more than just the Gulf of Maine humpbacks. Whales from all over the North Atlantic head there- whales from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from Greenland, from Iceland, from Norway.
Challenge Question #11
"Why would all of the whales go to one large breeding ground but separate out for feeding during the summer?"
(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions
below.)
Sargasso Sea Is Unusual: Discussion of Challenge Question #9
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Its warm waters are exceptionally clear and blue, and filled with seaweed. Early navigators becalmed in the sea's still waters mistakenly believed their ships were tangled in the seaweed. They named the sea "sargaco", the Portuguese word for grape, after the seaweed's bulbous floats.
The Sargasso Sea is also known as "the floating desert". Although about one-third of the Atlantic's plankton is produced here, the Sargassum lacks the nutrients to attract commercially valuable fish.
Thanks to Kelly, Danielle, and Kristina for this description:
"The Sargasso Sea is off the Florida coast, north of Miami. It contains dense mats of clinging seaweed. The Sangasso Sea is the sluggish centre of a huge whirlpool that rotates slowly clockwise off the coast of Florida. Also,the sea is roughly the size of Australia, was made by the North Equatorial Current to the south, and the Gulf Stream going clockwise to the sea's west and north."
That's all for this report. This is Anne Smrcina, education coordinator
for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, signing off.
How to Respond to Today's Challenge Question:
IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.
1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-hwhale@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #10 (or #11).
3. In the body of your message, answer the question above.
The Next Humpback Whale Migration Update will Be Posted on March 28, 2001
Copyright 2001 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
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