Happy Birthday Fin Whale

by oceansadminWhalesPosted on One Comment

We love fin whales.

Fin whale in British Columbia
A few years ago, this photo of a fin whale was taken on Rob’s birthday during a series of surveys he initiated with Raincoast.  The surveys for marine mammals in British Columbia coastal waters yielded an abundance estimate for fin whales (corresponding to an area that’s roughly the PNCIMA region) of 496 whales.  There is a lot of uncertainty associated with that estimate, because there weren’t many sightings, so there’s lots more work to do on the species.  Here are more details about the study.
Next, we assessed where fin whales might encounter marine debris and where they are most likely to be hit by transiting ships like this fin whale.  Turns out the south end of Queen Charlotte Sound turned out to be one of a few regions where we should be on the lookout for fin whale ship strikes.  Fin whales are endangered in the United States and in Canada. Many populations are still depleted from commercial whaling and their recovery could be slowed by ship strikes and chronic ocean noise from marine traffic.
If you want to learn more about fin whales, Rob wrote a neat encyclopedia entry about fin whales in the Antarctic.
Our next work on fin whales is acoustic.  We’re screening our recordings for fin whale calls, and estimating how much acoustic masking fin whales may experience from shipping noise.  So, watch this space for more information.  Until then, please enjoy the pretty picture of a birthday fin whale.

The Little Boat That Could…

by oceansadminAcoustics, DolphinsPosted on No Comments
Our amazing boat getting ready for a pop-up mission

It’s amazing what you can accomplish from a little boat! Here’s a photo of Rob preparing a pop-up hydrophone (a microphone that listens underwater) for deployment.   Our colleagues at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology invented these amazing hydrophones that sit on the sea-bed and record all the sounds in the ocean including whales, dolphins and ships.  Click here for one of our Pacific white-sided dolphin calls.  We have now deployed 12 along the coast of British Columbia and have successfully retrieved every single one! Learn more about this project and our Quiet Ocean Campaign.

This month, we are taking part in the August Break and posting one photo each day for the whole month.

Big Skye Country

by oceansadminDolphins, Habitat, Women in SciencePosted on 2 Comments

In the summer, you can you usually find Rob, Wishart (the dog) and me doing field work in our little boat with whales and dolphins in British Columbia, Canada.  This year’s different.

We’re in a new country.  Scotland.  I’m finishing my PhD on dolphin ecology and Rob is in the middle of his Marie Curie Research Fellowship (researching ocean noise), both at the University of St Andrews.

This is the first time in over a decade that we are away from the Pacific Northwest and sitting a summer out.  There’s no denying it:  we are homesick.  Wishart’s actually homestick (there is way less driftwood on these beaches than at home!).

We find ourselves fighting the urge to pack our camera equipment, binoculars, field notes and dog biscuits into the boat.  We’re restless.  We are constantly gazing out into the waves, hoping for a marine mammal to emerge.

Wishart the dog's field equipment

Wilderness was required.  We needed to increase the probability of a dolphin sighting.  A road trip was in order.  So, we packed up and headed to the Highlands, to the stunning Isle of Skye to visit a friend, Deirdre.  (Truth is, we needed a doctor’s signature on a form, but any excuse for a road trip.  We also miss long Canadian drives.)  So we did what you do before any pilot field study:  we asked around for traditional ecological knowledge.  Fortunately, here at the world renowned Sea Mammal Research Unit, you don’t need to go far to find an expert on sea mammals.  Our good friend and colleague, Lindsay Wilson, conducts amazing research on seals and their diet all over Scotland.  Lindsay handed us a map, pointed out some hotspots, and away we went!

Wishart is an incredible dolphin-spotter.  But this trip was going to be exclusively shore-based.  However, he did mange to spot some wildlife for us along the way.

Highland Cow on Skye

When we reached our destination the first night, we spotted a pod of about 20 common dolphins swimming past our hotel as we parked the car!  Mission accomplished.   Unless we start seeing bottlenose dolphins in St Andrews Bay, that glimpse may have to tide us over until the fall, when Rob and I will be presenting our work at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference in Vancouver.  Rob will present his work on ocean noise, killer whales and salmon.  I’ll present on dolphins.  We will travel to the conference thanks to generous donations of frequent flyer miles to our charitable pooling account with Aeroplan.  If we can raise enough cash to put fuel in our boat, we will also be able to spend two weeks conducting conservation-minded research on Pacific white-sided dolphins.  Learn more about our dolphin study here, and if you’re interested, you can help support our dolphin field work here.  Thanks very much!

Happy summer,

Erin +Rob