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To: Journey North
From: Anne Smrcina
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Greetings from Plymouth, Mass. Spring seems to have sprung here in New England, although we hear that the weather forecast is for more cold temperatures later this week. But right now, it's sunny and warm -- a welcome relief after this snowy winter.
The right whales seem to be attracted to the area too. Marilyn Marx of the Center for Coastal Studies called in to report that they're seeing about 25 whales or more. Still only one mother-calf pair have been sighted-- "Slalom" and her calf as mentioned last week. This is still a bit early for mother-calf pairs, the earliest sighting up until this year was March 25 so other pairs are probably still on their way).
The whales the researchers are spotting appear to be a mix of adults and juveniles, with somewhat more female adults than males. The whales are now doing a lot of surface skim feeding (and just below the surface) as opposed to the deep fluking dives they were engaged in earlier this month. Marilyn reports continued social activity (rubbing, nudging) and "Admiral" continues to raise her tail in a "sail-like" behavior. The researchers are checking with their counterparts in South America (Patagonia) to see if these actions are similar.
Here's a CHALLENGE QUESTION for you.
Challenge Question # 56:
"What might the whales be eating that would cause them to change their feeding styles?"
(Please follow the instructions at the end of this report to respond to this Challenge Question.)
Center for Coastal Studies researchers have been taking tow samples to determine exactly what the whales are eating while on their whale observation and identification trips. I hope to have a report for you next week on these studies.
Chris Slay reports from Florida that the whales are gone, except for "Aphrodite" and her calf. However, the U.S. Navy has asked the aerial survey team to stick around for another week or two to make absolutely sure that all the animals are gone and that there is no danger of a possible vessel-whale collision at this point in the season.
In answer to last week's Challenge Question about identifying right whales -- here's the word. "Callosities" are the defining marks. Unlike humpbacks who have distinctive markings on their flukes, right whales all have similar solid colored (black) tails. But they do have these callous-like patches on their heads (in areas where humans tend to have hair -- like on top of the head, above the eyes, around the mouth, on the chin, alongside the sides of the head, etc.) I got to take a close-up look at a callosity on the whale carcass that washed up on the Cape Cod beach. It resembled a well- used sponge with some high spikes, low ridges, and pits of varying sizes (all of a gray-black color).
This would be very difficult to identify on a swimming whale -- except for one thing. On a live whale these callosities are filled with whale lice (small amphipod crustaceans -- not insects). The lice (cyamids) are usually white, yellowish-white or pinkish-white. This solid pack of cyamids gives the callosity color -- and since each whale has a distinctive callosity pattern, the scientists have developed a method of cataloging the animals. Sometimes the lice move and change the pattern a bit, giving the researchers fits, but for the most part they cover the entirety of the callosity with a very firm grasp (if they were to let go and get washed away it would mean certain death unless they came across another whale, an unlikely possibility). The lice are believed to clean off dead skin from the whale's surface and not cause any harm. Each whale is identified by its distinctive callosity pattern. "Aphrodite" has a heart-shaped callosity (or island) on the upper part of her head.
For those of you who are curious about "Metompkin" (the satellite- tagged whale) but have been unable to access the WhaleNet world wide web site , here are the most recent coordinates:
Feb. 23 39.8N 61.8W
Feb. 24 40.0 61.6
Feb. 25 40.7 60.1
Feb. 27 40.3 58.7
Feb. 29 39.9 55.8
Mar. 3 39.5 54.3
Mar. 5 38.8 53.6
Mar. 7 39.0 52.3
Mar. 8 39.6 50.4
Mar. 9 39.6 50.3
Mar. 10 39.3 49.6
Mar. 12 38.6 49.1
Mar. 14 35.6 48.2
Mar. 17 37.1 47.1
Mar. 19 37.1 46.9
Mar. 21 36.8 46.8
Mar. 24 37.3 46.6
Chris Slay reports that every time he gives up on the data, and thinks that the tag has become detached, something strange happens with the satellite reports. Which days seem to have unusual readings? What might be happening? For a tracking map of this data, see WhaleNet's home page.
That's it for this week. Check out the comet if you haven't already (nothing related to whales but a really neat sight) and happy spring.
Anne Smrcina
P.S. There's a cleaner version of the blubber glove experiment -- I did made this one at home and then used it with 250 pre-school and second grade students with no mess.
Take two Daisy Seal-a-Meal (TM) or other similar type food storage bags (one large and one medium, same width). Fill the larger bag half full with solid vegetable shortening (like Crisco). Turn the smaller bag inside-out and insert in the big bag making sure to keep the edges of the bags clean. Use the heat sealing system to seal the bags together (by turning the inside bag inside-out you get bag to bag seals, otherwise the inside bag would seal itself). Once the bags are sealed together you can knead the bags to get the shortening evenly spread out. The students can put their hands in the inside bag without touching the shortening -- no muss and no fuss. (You can also do this with two Zip-Lock-type plastic bags and tape to ensure closure.) The student's other hand can go into the ice water with or without a bag.
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How to Respond to Challenge Question # 56:
1. Send an e-mail message to: jn-challenge@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line write: Challenge Question #56
3. In the Body of your message, give the answer to this question:
"What might the whales be eating that would cause them to change their feeding styles?"
The Next Right Whale Migration Update Will be Posted on April 3, 1996.
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