By now, most of our blog readers know that the waters off Amelia Island where we fly our aerial surveys are the only known calving grounds for the North Atlantic right whale and we often use this forum to provide updates on our latest mother-calf sightings. In a previous entry, Karen mentioned that the distinctive callosity patterns of right whales are not present at birth. That is, they develop over time, stabilizing after about a year into a topography that can be used for the purposes of identification. Given that these callosities are the primary means by which we identify individual whales, you may be wondering how we keep track of calves as they mature.

In this blog, examine for yourself the development of one individual's callosity in the series of images posted here; first, in the waters off the coast of Georgia, as a calf of a little more than one month in age (above); second, about 6 months later in the Bay of Fundy (below); and third, at 11 months of age with a distinctive callosity, seen back here in the calving grounds still with its mother (bottom).

As Kelly mentioned in her last blog entry, we lucked out on a recent survey and witnessed a first-time mother, Skittle (she's #3260 if you want to search for her in the Right Whale Catalog) with her newborn calf. Karen did a fantastic job of spotting her from over 3 miles away but when we approached the vicinity, we were initially alarmed by the whale's behavior. She was swimming in tight circles, occasionally head-lifting, frequently diving just below the surface and repeatedly thrashing her peduncle and flukes in and out of the water. Karen examined the photographs and saw no evidence of entanglement or injury, and so we continued to circle in the plane above looking for clues.

More than once, we wondered aloud whether there was a second whale with her but given the white water produced by the whale's behavior, it was a while before we were able to spot the tiny calf right next to her. Skittle kept her calf on the inside of the circle (see photo) and although we witnessed the calf swimming on its own, we also saw the mother diving just below the surface and lifting the calf on her back out of the water! This rarely witnessed behavior, thought to occur only shortly after birth, has only been seen once before in a North Atlantic right whale in 2005 by Jess and Monica who were fortunate enough to observe the full birthing event (see the associated Q&A here). We are happy to report that we video-taped this recent occurrence and hope to share it with you in the near future.

- Suzie

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This is the first in a series of blog entries about our talented and dedicated pilots. Without them, our Central EWS surveys would not be possible. If you're interested in the aerial aspect of biology-based field work, this is your chance to ask the more technical questions about flying or just learn a little something new. As always, please feel free to address your queries in the comments section. Thanks to Karen's insightful questions (and bribes of cookies!), we are happy to introduce you all to Pilot Mike Vigus:

How long have you been flying?
I took my first lesson in 1980 but couldn't afford to continue flying. I began training again and soloed in 1985. Then, I received my first paid flying job in 1990 flying skydivers.

How long have you been flying with NEA? How did you start working for NEA? What do you think of the job? Favorite aspect of the job?
I flew for the Florida team in 2000, and then in 2004 long-time NEA pilot Ron Salmon recruited me to fly with him on the NEA contract. I love flying marine mammal surveys; I wish it was a year round job. There are many facets of the job that I enjoy. One aspect of the job is working with the observers; they are intelligent, humorous and have interesting experiences and knowledge to share. Also, their enthusiasm and commitment to their work is admirable. Another is seeing the whales do what they do. It's amazing to see mom/calf interactions, or a group of whales sagging (i.e., in a surface active group), or seeing a whale breach. Another is feeling like I'm a small part of something that makes a big difference, like the part the aerial team plays during a disentanglement effort or preventing a ship strike. It's very rewarding.

How did you become interested in becoming a pilot?
It was pretty natural for me; I built model planes as a kid, and have always been interested in mechanical things. I took my first flying lesson a week after graduating high school, then it just took me a while to figure out a way to fund the remainder of the training.

What is the most interesting job you ever had?
What, do you mean like the time I was Demi Moore's "cabana boy"???

Any other interesting flying jobs?
Year round I fly for the City of Jacksonville Mosquito Control Division. There I fly planes and helicopters in an effort to minimize the spread of infectious diseases by reducing mosquito populations and breeding.

Any other biology related jobs?
The mosquito control work has a lot of biology in it. Many of the products we use are not poisons, some are bacteria that specifically attack mosquito larva, and some are growth regulators that disrupt the mosquitoes life cycle. Not all mosquitoes are active at the same time, so we time the application of pesticide to the specific species of mosquito for maximum effectiveness, to minimize the amount of pesticide released in the environment. Sometimes we take no action on a mosquito breeding site based on the number of predators living in the site like pollywogs, fish, and dragon fly larva knowing that they will keep the number of mosquito larva at the site from getting out of hand.

Anything else worth mentioning?
It's not flying related, but years ago I was a lumberjack in the Sahara forest.

-Karen

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We have referred often in this blog to data collection and taking data points, so I thought it wise to give a brief explanation of what exactly we mean. Though we collect both computer- and paper-based data during our flights, the majority of our "effort" data (data about the route of our survey and the conditions that affect our ability to sight whales) is collected via a computer program called Logger 2000, a prevalent software program developed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) specifically for cetacean research (read more about Logger 2000 here).

We use the paper data only for right whale sightings, jotting down notes about the whales we're seeing and making a basic sketch of the callosities. We also keep track of which photographs taken correspond to a given whale; in this way, the paper data is instrumental when it comes time for photo analysis. (See photo of whale data sheet.)

In order to collect our electronic data, we connect our research computer to our main GPS in the plane, which sits in front of the pilot. Every ten seconds during the flight, Logger 2000 automatically downloads the plane's exact position in latitude and longitude and the time, tracking our every move. However, when we have an event we need to record manually, like the position for a whale, shark or ship, we force the computer to record a specific data point using the computer mouse which sits on the wall of the plane near the left-seat observer.

When we click the mouse we take a blank data point marking the time and location of the plane at that instant. We then make a voice recording detailing the information needed to make sense of the point; for example, that there is a cargo ship heading west three nautical miles to our north. All of these locations are automatically downloaded into a Microsoft Access database, and at the end of each survey, we manually enter all the information contained in each voice recording into its appropriate data point in this database.

This process allows us to record data points for all the commercial and military ship traffic (see a great diagram of the shipping channels in this archived blog), right whales, and other marine life, such as rare turtles, cetaceans, and sharks, we see in our survey area. Additionally, we take data points for any changes in weather, cloud cover, visibility, or sea state, and whenever anything unusual happens during the survey; in this way, we ensure that our data collection is as controlled and complete as possible.

All data is proofed for errors and then submitted to the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) effort data curator at the University of Rhode Island where a complete quality control check is run. The data then becomes property of the NARWC and is made available to researchers for various studies upon approval by NARWC board members.

- Kelly

I recently had the opportunity to assist a boat-based team of researchers from NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Georgia DNR) with biopsy sampling of a right whale calf. Biopsy darting is performed in the Southeastern U.S. each year as a collaborative effort between researchers in the U.S. and Canada.


Photo Credit: New England Aquarium, Karen Vale


Obtaining a biopsy sample (i.e., a sample of skin and blubber) provides genetic information, which can help scientists determine characteristics and relationships such as reproductive success, sex ratio, genetic diversity (loss of genetic diversity can be detrimental, particularly for a critically endangered population with so few individuals), identity of individuals and genetic relationships (e.g., paternity and maternity), etc. Much of my day was spent anxiously waiting on a 20 ft. inflatable boat named the R/V Hurricane (see photo) for the aerial survey team to locate cow/calf pairs.

Late into the day, we finally got the call from Kelly and Suzie in the plane - they located whale #1701 (Aphrodite) and her calf. We quickly headed toward the coordinates provided by the aerial team. Once on scene, the boat was carefully maneuvered into position to obtain photographs and a biopsy sample. Clay George, a researcher with Georgia DNR, readied a crossbow equipped with a modified arrow. Instead of the typical sharp tipped arrow, our arrow is modified with a hollow cylinder tip which allows for collection of a small piece of skin and blubber. The biopsy darting trip was a success and the genetic information of Aphrodite's calf will soon be added to the genetic databank. [read more about biopsy darting with this post from the Bay of Fundy blog.]

-Karen

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The headlines say it all: "Cold stuns sea turtles", "Cold weather killing off fish",and "Brr! Florida manatees warm up at power plant hot tub"! It could be argued that, as a Canadian-born Alaskan resident who works in the Arctic, I might not be the best judge of what constitutes cold weather but that doesn't mean I was unaffected by the recent cold spell here in Florida. Or so, that's the excuse I'm using for momentarily confusing everyone during a recent survey when I slipped up and said "break track right, I have a bowhead whale at 3 o'clock", one of the species I survey for in Arctic waters. Of course, I meant to say 'right whale' but, in point of a fact, the species are more similar than you might imagine. As another observer commented, bowheads look a lot like 'naked' right whales; that is, bowheads are devoid of the distinctive head callosities that we use to identify right whales with, as can be seen in the attached photo.



Unless you spend time around Arctic or sub-Arctic waters, you will likely never see a bowhead whale but it's remarkably similar to the North Atlantic right whale. In fact, they are all in the same family, Balaenidae. The two genera in this family are Eubalaena which include the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern right whales, and the Balaena which consist of the bowheads. The size, and body shapes of all in this family are remarkably similar. They do not have throat grooves, lack a dorsal fin, and also produce a v-shaped blow like the right whale.



There are, however, some interesting differences between bowheads and right whales. Notably, bowheads are closely associated with sea ice, and they avoid their only known predators, killer whales and humans, by retreating under ice. Amazingly, thanks to the heavy bone structure of their skulls, they are able to break holes through ice that is 2 feet thick! There are many superlatives that can be applied to the bowhead: they have the largest mouth and head in the animal kingdom (about one third of their body length); their baleen plates are the longest of any whale (up to 14 ft long and 12 ft wide); and they may well be the longest lived mammal on Earth, with some individuals reaching 150 - 200 years in age! Despite these unique characteristics, the commonalities between bowhead and right whales is remarkable and I feel privileged to observe both species. No doubt, this summer I will find myself momentarily stunned by some Arctic sunshine, and will again slip up and call out 'right whale' when I mean to stay 'bowhead'.

-Suzie

Photo credit: Gary Miller, collected under NMFS permit SRP 518.

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My reasons for pursuing a career as a wildlife biologist, such as a deep respect for the natural world, an innate sense of curiosity, and an affinity for science, are probably common motivators among many individuals in my field. I grew up on the coast of Massachusetts and spent much of my childhood near the ocean, so it's not surprising that many of my career choices have placed me in, on, or above the sea.

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A couple of days ago, Kelly and I were scheduled to fly together as a team for the first time. We flew a survey covering most of the central EWS area and what a busy day it was! We had a SAG of 5 adult right whales, an individual adult right whale, and a cow/calf pair as well - one of each group type! It was amazing to see the calf exhibiting head-lifting behavior, raising up out of the water exposing its rostrum and chin.

-Karen

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The calving ground is hopping with a number of juvenile whales and one of them has an interesting history. Catalog #3617, known as Salem, was born in 2006 to whale #1817, known as Silt. While most calves are weaned by the end of their first year of life, Salem stayed with Silt for at least 17 months through May - five months longer than most calves. Its first sighting on its own was in the harbor in Salem, Massachusetts- a very unlikely place for a right whale (or any whale for that matter) to be. Ironically, a team of right whale researchers had steamed out of Salem harbor that very morning looking for right whales offshore!

One of the great aspects of being new to right whale aerial surveys is that everything I am seeing down here is novel for me, especially this early in the season. And so, I was pretty excited to spot the first mother-calf pair of the season in our area during our December 22nd survey. Jess estimated the calf to be about 2 or 3 days old, based on it's size, lack of cyamid coverage and light grey coloration.

The coastal waters of Florida and Georgia are the only known calving grounds for the North Atlantic right whale and as such, this area has been designated as a Critical Habitat Area by NOAA. This area is also busy with vessel traffic, including freighters, tankers, dredges, naval ships and LOTS of recreational boats. Thus, as we circled the mother-calf pair so Jess could photograph the pair for identification purposes, we all kept a look-out on three nearby recreational boats.


Photo Credit: New England Aquarium, Jessica Taylor
Taken under a Scientific Research Permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA.

Two of these boats were stationary and well beyond the 500 yards mandatory approach limit established by NOAA in 1997, but the third vessel was underway and had changed course a number of times. All attempts to hail this vessel on marine channel 16 to warn them of the nearby whales failed and we watched with increasing dismay as the vessel headed straight toward the pair! Fortunately, the recreational boat did not hit either mother or calf, but they were definitely too close for comfort. NOAA has established several regulations to reduce ship strikes in this area, one of which is that vessels 65 ft or longer must travel at 10 knots or less. However, it is strongly recommended that smaller boats also slow down and post a look out while traveling through the calving grounds. Also, if they monitored VHF Ch 16 then perhaps we could avert future violations of the 500 yard closest approach rule - it sure is a 'first experience' I would prefer never to witness!

-Suzie

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