Marine Mammals
Pandemic Quiet Means We Can Eavesdrop on Rare Australian Dolphins
According to Laela Sayigh, from WHOI, who is not involved in the Burrunan research, identifying which dolphin in a pod is vocalizing at a particular time is key to deciphering their communication systems.
NOAA Live! Webinar: Dolphin Tales – Stories and Facts about Dolphins and Marine Mammal Strandings in the Southeast US
Blair Mase, NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center Sponsored by: NOAA and Woods Hole Sea Grant This will be held…
Read MoreNew Technology Can Save the Whales from Ship Collisions
In a bid to reduce the number of whale deaths, researchers Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and collaborators worked together to develop Whale Safe, a new detection system provides mariners with up to date information about whales present in shipping lanes.
TECHNOLOGY Whale ‘roadkill’ is on the rise off California. A new detection system could help
Launched on September 16, Whale Safe is the result of a collaboration between the Benioff Ocean Initiative and several U.S. universities and oceanographic organizations, including the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of California Santa Barbara, and the Unive
Whale watching and learning
Whales aren’t the only large creature in the ocean; there’s also cargo ships. When the two collide, it’s fatal to whales and barely noticeable to large ships cruising through the Santa Barbara Channel.
Want to Save the Whales? Eavesdrop on Their Calls
“Moorings are typically made from chain, so they clank a lot,” says Mark Baumgartner, whale ecologist and senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who helped develop the technology. “And that’s not really good when you’re trying to hear animals that are many miles away making sounds.”
Scientists and fishermen team up to film seals in fishing nets
Seals find ease in taking a meal already ensnared in wall-like gillnets cast by fishermen, but at what cost? WHOI biologist Andrea Bogomolni works with the fishing community to record and observe this behavior with the hopes of mitigating marine mammal bycatch
Read MoreMC&G Department Virtual Seminar: Insights Into Host-Microbe Specificity, Co-Evolution and Interactions from Marine Mammals
Amy Apprill, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department This will be held virtually. Event address for attendees: https://whoi.webex.com/whoi/onstage/g.php?MTID=e88c0080aecf0a91ac8e9f9e5e422c8f5 Password: chem
Read MoreFishing less could be a win for both lobstermen and endangered whales
A new study found that New England’s historic lobster fishery may turn a higher profit by operating with less gear in the water and a shorter season, which could also benefit endangered North Atlantic right whales.
Read MoreA win for lobstermen and right whales
A study from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found a win for New England’s historic lobster fishery and for endangered right whales. Researchers Hannah Myers and Michael Moore show that even with less gear and a shorter season, fishers in Canada, Maine and Massachusetts caught about the same number of lobsters with much less effort. A change in regulations could protect whales and make the lobster fishery more profitable in the long term.
Read MoreNorth Atlantic right whales ‘could be extinct within 20 years’ as krill they eat migrate away due to climate change and commercial fishing impacts their habitat
A comprehensive new study of North Atlantic right whales has found the species is significantly smaller and less healthy than southern right whales and could be wiped out in the next 20 years without intervention.
Endangered North Atlantic right whales return to Canadian waters
For North Atlantic right whales as individuals, and as a species, things are going terribly wrong,” said Michael Moore from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
In another significant ruling for right whales, a federal judge rules that Massachusetts is violating the Endangered Species Act
Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at WHOI, lauded the ruling, saying the “judge understands the simple truth that if there is rope in the water column, and whales come and go in the region, entanglement risk is real, and significant in terms of mortality and morbidity, especially for reproductive success.”
North Atlantic right whales are in much poorer condition than their Southern counterparts
New research by an international team of scientists reveals that endangered North Atlantic right whales are in much poorer body condition than their counterparts in the southern hemisphere.
Read MoreWHOI joins effort to accelerate marine life protection technology
WHOI has teamed up with Greentown Labs and Vineyard Wind to launch the Offshore Wind Challenge. The program, which is also partnering with New England Aquarium, calls on entrepreneurs to submit proposals to collect, transmit, and analyze marine mammal monitoring data using remote technologies, such as underwater vehicles, drones, and offshore buoys.
Read MorePop-up pots and the search for ‘whale-safe’ gear
Mark Baumgartner, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, has talked about the entanglement issue with Porter and believes ropeless fishing can work, and that it may be the best option for enabling fishermen and whales to share the same waters.
Special Virtual Biology Department Seminar: Drivers of Echolocation and Biosonar-Based Foraging in Social Cetaceans
Frants Jensen, WHOI Sponsored by: Biology Department This will be held virtually over Webex. If you wish to view the…
Read MoreSpecial Biology Department Seminar: The Role of Sociality in Cetacean Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation
Amy van Cise, Cascadia Research Collective Sponsored by: Biology Department This will be held virtually over Webex. If you…
Read MoreAs North Atlantic right whales slide toward extinction, a desperate search for hope
For the species to survive, they need to be producing closer to 29 calves a year, said Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Oases in Sea Ice Are Essential to Life in Antarctica
This video explains the key physical, biological and ecological processes in oases on the Antarctic icy coast — polynyas. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the University of Delaware are trying to unveil crucial connections among the physical and biological components in the polynyas and to understand how the Antarctic ecosystem responds to changes in the large-scale environment.
Read MoreWhale Blow Microbiome
Researchers from WHOI, NOAA Fisheries Southwest Science Center, SR3 Sealife, and the Vancouver Aquarium analyzed whale blow samples collected via drone to identify a core group of bacteria in the respiratory tract of healthy whales.
Read MoreWhale Biopsy Collection
A team gathers skin samples from healthy humpback whales in waters off the Western Antarctic Peninsula. Researchers obtain samples by releasing a biopsy-collecting dart, which bounces off the whales’ skin and into the water. The team then retrieves the floating dart and brings it back to a lab for analysis.
Read MoreGirls in Science Program: bioacoustics
August 2019: Woods Hole Sea Grant has teamed up with Earthwatch Institute on the Girls in Science Fellowship. This fellowship aims to promote diversity and expose young women to a variety of marine careers in STEM. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Research Specialist Laela Sayigh is the principal investigator working with the fellows analyzing marine mammal bioacoustics data.
Read MoreClassification of Marine Mammal Vocalizations in Seismic Environment
Thomas Guilment, University of Louisiana, Lafayette Sponsored by: AOP&E Department
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