Whew! For those of you who have been paying attention to the subject of right whales in the news, you know that the past few months have kept researchers on their toes! Let's dive in and get everyone up to speed, first with the Southeast Season. Stay tuned for our Spring season update next!

WINTER (SOUTHEAST) SEASON:

Each winter, pregnant females (along with others) swim to the shallow waters off Florida and Georgia to give birth. To photo-document and to alert mariners to the presence of these particularly vulnerable mother and calf pairs, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Sea To Shore Alliance, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Marineland Florida flew aerial surveys. Additionally, FWC, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Duke University, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Florida Atlantic University, and NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center conducted research from vessels. Finally, Marine Resources Council had a team of volunteers searching for right whales from land. Pretty impressive list of teams, right?

Catalog #4094 and her one day old calf swim off the coast of Georgia. Photo: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, taken under NOAA research permit #15488.

This year, the teams documented 14 calves between the first of December and the end of March. The first calves were discovered on December 10th and the last on February 17th. Four of the mothers were first timers including a precocious six-year-old whale, Catalog #4094 (right whales give birth to their first calf on average at 10 years of age; the youngest was five). There were also some older, experienced mothers such as Punctuation (#1281- at least 34 years old, seen with her eighth known calf) and #1233 (at least 42 years old, seen with her sixth calf). Overall, it was a quiet season with only 20 different whales identified (not including the calves) and no young juveniles seen. In the 2000’s, most of the younger juveniles were seen annually in the region, and the total number of whales documented ranged from 150 to 200. Quite a difference!

The general public had the opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of a mother calf right whale without ever squeezing into a tiny plane like observers do, thanks to Clipper (#3450) and her calf’s two-day excursion into the Indian River near Sebastian, FL. In early February the pair made their way into the inner coastal water way where they remained for over 24 hours. Word spread and many people were able to see them from land. When they finally made their way out of the Indian River the following day, some lucky spectators were able to watch from the Sebastian Inlet Bridge as the pair passed under the bridge and back out into the ocean.

Clipper and her calf swim along the bank of the Sebastian Inlet. Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA research permit #15488.

The joy of seeing young whales born into to the population was tempered by seeing two adult females in very poor health: Cherokee (#3670) and Quatro (#1968). Cherokee, born in 2006 to Piper (#2330), had first been seen with her injuries a year earlier- massive wounds on her head and tail from an entanglement, with a portion of her right lower lip torn off. She was seen in the Southeast just once in December 2015, looking thin and with extensive skin lesions.

Cherokee showing extensive damage to her right lip. Photo: Sea to Shore Alliance, taken under NOAA research permit #15488.

Quatro was born in 1989. We're all quite familiar with her as she is a regular visitor of the major habitats. We were shocked when she was seen in January and February, emaciated and with baleen sticking out of her closed mouth. As there were no gross signs of injury visible, it is unknown what exactly happened to her, though the unusual protrusion of baleen hints that maybe something happened to her jaw or head. Sadly, the prognosis for both whales is poor.

Quatro was last seen on February 23, 2016. Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA research permit #15488.

On a happier note, many of the mothers and calves successfully made their way to the northern feeding grounds this spring. Look for an update on them and other whales in our next blog.

-Philip Hamilton

In case our readers are curious why we have been so quiet recently, check out this article on the "fog monster" that has descended on both the Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin. Although the fog is beautiful, and perhaps would be welcomed by our friends in the heat wave further south, it makes finding whales very difficult!

Philip and Brigid on the bow in the fog hoping to hear or see a whale. The RADAR was on for safety so we had to sit on the deck to avoid its harmful radiation.

The fog is a common issue here in the Bay of Fundy; we had particularly long bouts of it in 2008 and 2012. Our fingers are crossed for a change in the weather pattern that has kept this moisture around for days now.

Philip

After our office was all set up and we had completed most of our on-land training, the weather finally improved and we headed out to sea on Friday. Even though I have been doing this work for 29 years, I am still astounded by how much equipment and gear we take each day!

The first day at sea each year is always particularly exciting as we have no idea what we might see. It was a beautiful day with calm seas and clear skies. An hour into the survey, we had our first large whale sighting near Grand Manan island-  a minke whale lunging through the water and surfing in our wake. Little is known about these small (30 feet), enigmatic whales and it was a great way to start the day.

We found no right whales that day, but had some interesting sightings of other animals throughout the day including a fin whale, 3 humpback whales, a large basking shark, and great looks at an ocean sunfish (Mola mola). This odd animal came close enough that we were able to plunge our Nikon CoolPix into the water and get the video below:


This is what the scene looked like from above water!

Observing the mola. Photo: Sam Emmert

While out in the Bay, we talked with our colleagues from the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station who did a plankton tow recently and they reported very little plankton in the water column. No plankton means no right whales. But conditions can change quickly out there, so we are hoping the plankton resource will improve and right whales will come into the Bay soon.

As we approached shore at the end of the day, we received a report from our colleagues at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center that they had seen 25 right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence- the first aggregation of right whales reported since they left Cape Cod Bay in May!

It is a dynamic ocean and conditions are frequently changing. Soon, our team will split up and begin the search for right whales in different areas than BOF. Although sad to see our colleagues go, we are all excited to see what they will find.

Philip

As I type, we are settling in to our field station in Lubec, Maine. Seasonal staff and interns are arriving, we are setting up our equipment and readying our boats. The weather looks bad for a few days, but we are hoping for our first day at sea after that. We are all excited and curious to see what is out in the Bay of Fundy.

Setting up our field station can take a few days!

But I am writing now to share some happy news! Back in January of 2013, the right whale community was stunned when a well known right whale, Wart (Catalog #1140), gave birth in or near Cape Cod Bay. Wart had the right time of year, but a very different location for most calving females who calve off Florida and Georgia. We were all concerned that the cold northern waters would be too much for the newborn. We knew the calf survived for at least several months as we reported on the Aquarium blog. But how would this little one do once separated from its mom?



Well, recently we discovered that Wart's 7th calf is doing just fine! It was seen on January 5, 2014 in Cape Cod Bay, and then several times on April 25th, 2014 still in Cape Cod Bay. It was feeding and looks very healthy.

Amid all this activity we got an email from our colleague Laurie Murison at the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station that right whales are in the Bay of Fundy, and in numbers like the old days! We have had a few years of scarce right whale sightings in the Bay and it is exciting to hear this news.



So as our first full day here as a team comes to a close, the equipment is all stacked by the door, food is purchased, the boat fueled, and the researchers eager. The weather is calling for light winds, but patches of fog and rain- the question is how big are those patches?? Keep your fingers crossed for clear weather on Wednesday.

Philip

As the end of March approaches, the few right whales that remain down on the calving ground off Florida and Georgia begin heading north along the coast to their feeding grounds off Massachusetts. Southern survey teams (FWC, GDNR, the Marineland Right Whale Project, Sea-to-Shore Alliance, UNCW, and others) report a relatively quiet season this year with only 50-60 whales seen and 10 calves documented. Although the number of whales seen the year before was roughly the same, the number of calves this year is half of what was born last year. Sadly, this relatively low calving count was made even smaller by the loss of #1301's calf (read about the unusual history of this whale from this previous blog). Similar to two years ago, #1301's calf looked thin at its last sighting and then #1301 was later seen without it.

Mono (#1321) with her adorable 2014 calf.  Photo: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA Research Permit #15488.

We hope the remaining calves fair better- many were born to experienced moms such as Naevus (#2040) [pictured above], Mono (#1321) [pictured below], Couplet (#2123), and Boomerang (#2503). You can see photos and sighting histories of these whales and all the others in the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog at the Catalog web site.

Three other females that have calved in previous years were seen in the area, but never with a calf. It is possible that they did calve but were simply missed afterwards. We'll be looking for these three up north to see if they have a young one in tow. There were also a few females who have likely reached reproductive age but have not calved previously. One of them, Caterpillar (#3503), had the right whale community concerned. She was named for a large propeller scar on her side that looks like the tracks from a Caterpillar tractor.


Although she has seemed in good health since she received the wound, we were concerned that if she were pregnant and her girth increasing, the wound could further open and become infected. This happened to the right whale Lucky (#2143), proving that even if a right whale survives the initial propeller wounds, those wounds can still cause problems later in life.Caterpillar was only seen once, so we are hoping she made a quick visit to the area and is safely feeding somewhere up north.

We wish this year's calves and their moms a safe migration and eagerly await their arrival on the feeding grounds. You can keep tabs on their progress by going to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center interactive sighting map- if you zoom in on the area near Cape Cod and see the symbol of a small fluke next to a larger fluke- you'll know the mom and calf pairs have arrived!

Philip

On June 27, 2010, a right whale was found floating dead and entangled off the New Jersey coast by the U.S. Coast Guard. Over the next several days, the carcass was towed to a site in Delaware Bay where it could be fully necropsied (an animal autopsy). By the time it made it to the beach, there was very little skin left on the animal and virtually no detectable features left to help identify him to a whale in the Catalog. A skin sample was collected from him, but until recently his identity remained unknown.

Tips' left fluke tip photographed on September 9, 2009 (Amy Kennedy/New England Aquarium) and after his death on June 27, 2010 (U.S. Coast Guard).

That is until 10 days ago. While reviewing some images in preparation for the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium meeting, I found one image taken by the Coast Guard that showed some distinctive scars on a fluke tip that had been overlooked. I knew those scars. With a sinking feeling, I called up comparable images from the Catalog and had my suspicions confirmed - those marks belonged to an old friend- "Tips" (Catalog #1124).This match was further supported by looking at the head of the carcass with this potential ID in mind, and by looking at his sighting history which showed he had not been seen since January of 2010. The genetic sample is still being processed, but the preliminary results are also consistent with this identification.

Tips in the Bay of Fundy on September 8, 2009 (Philip Hamilton/New England Aquarium).

Tips was first seen in 1980 and his fluke tips were already scarred way back then (thus earning him his name)- so he could have been an old whale at his death. He was known for a couple of particularly interesting behaviors. He had been seen frequently close to land up in an unusual area in the Bay of Fundy- close to land and north of the usual distribution. He was seen repeatedly in this area near "The Wolves" in 1980, 1981, and 2009. He was also known for swimming circles around boats, blowing bubbles under water as he did so. Most right whales ignore boats (or avoid them)- so this behavior was unexpected. We may never know why he did this.

Tips' skeleton will be maintained as part of the Smithsonian's research collection in Suitland, MD. Every right whale death is sad, but this one is more poignant to many of us because of Tips' rich history. He will be missed.

Tips off The Wolves in August 18, 1981 (Scott Kraus/New England Aquarium).

Representatives from the Cambridge Rindge and Latin Marine Conservation Club (MMC) recently came to the Aquarium to present the Right Whale Research Project with a hefty donation! The MCC is a student run organization whose goal is to raise awareness about ocean issues within their school and throughout the wider Cambridge community. This year, they focused their considerable attention on the plight of the right whale. They produced a very professional video summarizing some of the issues right whales face, and putting the future of the species squarely in the viewer's hands. The MMC also has initiated a variety of fundraising events to raise money to support the right whale work we do at the Aquarium. 

On June 5th, representatives from the club, along with their teacher Paul McGuiness, came to the Aquarium to present us with a check to support our research and conservation efforts. It is so heart warming to see such passion and dedication from this generation. Others have noticed this dedication too- the club was recently nominated for, and awarded, an Ocean Stewardship Award by the Aquarium. It will be exciting to see what these energetic young people go on to do next in the coming years!

We had another good survey day yesterday- great visibility and calm seas- and found no right whales. The arrival date for right whales in the Bay of Fundy has changed quite a bit from past years to more recent years. In the 1990's, they frequently arrived in early July. In the 2000's, they reverted to what we think of as their usual pattern of arrival- early August, with a few appearing in late June or July. Even though we know the arrival date will vary, whenever we find few to no whales, we begin to wonder: Why aren't they in the Bay? If they're not in the Bay, then where are they?



One thought about the first question is that the sea surface temperature has been quite a bit warmer this year- 58-59 degrees F compared to the more usual 46-52 degrees F. The plankton that right whales depend upon require specific conditions that may well have changed. Also, a recent study discovered dramatic reductions in phytoplankton in the Gulf of Maine in recent years. Phytoplankton, or plant plankton, is the very base of the food chain and is dinner for the copepods that right whales feed on. So with warmer water temperatures and reduced volume of phytoplankton, it's possible that there's been some shifts in the food resource for right whales- perhaps the copepods are available in a different location than usual, or at a slightly different time of year.

Assuming that right whales are responding to these or other environmental variations, changes in their distributions may actually be a positive sign. It may be demonstrating their ability to adapt to what will likely be an increasingly changing environment. While some people still try to deny the evidence of climate change, animals around the world are already highlighting the environmental changes by altering their normal ranges--from birds and butterflies to whales. For example, are the conditions that have made the Bay of Fundy favorable to sperm whales in the last three years unfavorable for right whales?

As to the second question of where the right whales may be, there are several possibilities. The NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center's aerial surveys in July had right whales on the northen edge of George's Bank and near Cashes Ledge- all south of the Bay of Fundy (see map from their interactive web site below).

Each year, some right whales migrate south to the waters off the southeastern U.S. Some go there to calve, but increasing numbers of juvenile and adult male whales have also been seen there in recent years. The New England Aquarium is contracted by the National Marine Fisheries Service to provide near real-time right whale identification support for the many teams surveying right whales in this region. These teams include the Associated Scientists at Woods Hole, Duke University, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Marine Resource Council, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Pennsylvania State University, Sea to Shore Alliance, and University of North Carolina- Wilmington. In recent years, matching has been a challenging job with over 200 whales seen in some years.



This year has been much quieter. Although the surveys are still underway and will continue until the end of March- with some in the mid Atlantic going into April, we have identified just six mother/calf pairs and 61 other whales. The calf count so far is markedly lower than it has been in 12 years. The right whale population has shown remarkable fluctuations over the 32 years we have been monitoring them. Such fluctuations are somewhat expected in any small population (called stochasticity), but can be heart breaking to witness for all who care about this species survival. The most challenging time previously was in the late 1990’s when whales looked to be in poor health (thinner and with deteriorated skin condition) and the calf count steadily declined for three years from the average of 13 to only five, four and one in 1998, 1999, and 2000 respectively. Having recently seen some whales presenting unhealthy skin, and unusually low numbers in the Bay of Fundy in 2010, a number of us are concerned that the population may be heading into another hard time. Their skin has not looked as bad as it did in the late 1990’s, so I am hopeful this will be a shallower and shorter dip in calving. Time will tell.

Half Note and her calf during their last sighting off the Florida coast January 10, 2012. Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, NOAA Research Permit #15488.

Sadly, one of the six known moms has already lost her calf. This whale, known as Half Note (Catalog #1301), gave birth to her 5th calf this last December, but the calf had died by January 24th. When last seen, the calf looked quite thin, suggesting that something was hindering its feeding. This mom has had a history of reproductive trouble. She lost her previous two calves while on the calving ground in 2008 and 2006 and her first calf from 1989 seems to have only survived for two years- though no carcass was ever discovered. The cause of this reproductive trouble is unknown.


Interestingly, after she lost her calf this year, she started associating with an old friend. She was seen with whale #1158, another adult female who has a poor reproductive history. This pair was seen together for eight months in 1997/1998 and for seven months in 2000/2001. In both cases, they were seen off the southeastern U.S. in years when Half Note could have given birth (but this was never witnessed) and they had migrated north to the feeding grounds off of Massachusetts. Such long term associations are very rare in right whales (other than mothers with their calves) and make us wonder more about what role relationships play in the right whale community. Will these two be seen together off of Massachusetts in the spring? Will many more calves be born later in the season, or discovered on the feeding grounds? Stay tuned for the answers. 

Now the really exciting news- almost all the whales we saw that day were reproductive adults. All seven females have given birth before and should be getting pregnant now (they have had at least a year of rest since they weaned their last calf).



And most of the males were big old males (some dating back to the early 1980's or before) that have sired calves previously (we know this only thanks to the good work of the geneticists at Trent and St. Mary's Universities in Canada). In most habitats, we see a mix of juveniles and adults and, with more than a third of the population being juveniles, we expect to see quite a few young animals in most habitats. The fact that we saw almost none means the habitat we surveyed is a resource fit only for adults; sounds like mating to me!


We covered quite a bit of ground that day and ended up near Cashes Ledge- 80 nautical miles from the dock at Southwest Harbor, Maine. We are excited about our findings and eager to get back out there next year- funders willing. There is still more to do in the area- especially the detailed documentation of their courtship behavior (we saw none on this particular trip) and the collection of poop for hormone assessments to see how the levels in both males and females change during the time of peak conception. We will be lucky to observe either of these and simply need to be in the right place at the right time. Until we are able to retun to the area, we will have to wait to see what the females we saw do. In 12 months, we hope to see many of them off the southeast US with young calves! Stay tuned.

Philip using the field catalog to match right whales (Photo: Moe Brown)

Philip