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Tag, You’re It

April 17, 2013

WHOI biologist and Marine Mammal Center director Michael Moore recently traveled to New Zealand to study the sperm whales off the coast of the Kaikoura Peninsula. The team he assembled sought to understand the physiology, health, and behavior of whales that gather to take advantage of the biological diversity associated with a deep underwater canyon in the area. Members of the team deployed in small boats from the research vessel Alucia and used a long carbon fiber pole to place non-invasive digital tags (Dtags) that record the movements and sounds of individual whales. (Photo by Luis Lamar, Advanced Imaging & Visualization Lab, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution under New Zealand Department of Conservation Permit 35604-MAR)