Marine Mammals
Sea Life Is Accumulating Pathogens
An unprecedented survey of seabirds, marine mammals, and sharks on the U.S. East Coast has revealed that marine wildlife contains…
Read MoreCheetahs of the Deep
A new study has revealed that pilot whales are “the cheetahs of the deep sea,” making high-speed, all-or-nothing dives to…
Read MorePilot and Beaked Whales off the Canary Islands
Tagging the whales to study their behavior
Pilot Whales the ‘Cheetahs of the Deep Sea’
Scientists tag whales and find they sprint-dive to forage, hunting like undersea cheetahs.
Read MoreNew Whale Detection Buoys Will Help Ships Take the Right Way through Marine Habitat
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have teamed up with an international energy company and federal regulators to listen for and help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales in New England waters.
Read MoreMining the Origins of Life
The Sound of Sonar and the Fury about Whale Strandings
Eight years ago, several U.S. Navy destroyers used sonar in the Bahamas during routine training exercises. Within 36 hours, 17…
Read MoreShould Every Stranded Dolphin or Seal Be Saved?
A sick or injured seal or dolphin is found stranded on a beach. Should limited marine mammal protection funds be…
Read MoreStranded Marine Mammals Stir Tough Decisions
A seal, sick or injured, is found stranded on a beach. What should be done? That depends on whom you…
Read MorePut the D-tag on the Manatee
When boats hit manatees, the outcome is often grim. Bones are broken and skins sliced. Despite regulations designed to prevent…
Read MoreNovel digital device is used to help prevent boat collisions with manatees
Searching for better ways to protect this endangered species, a team of researchers from Florida turned to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for help in understanding how the animals behave underwater.
Read MoreOld Whale Oil Tells Tale of New Pollution
It was the scientific equivalent of finding fine wine in an old cask. Analyzing whale oil from the whaling ship…
Read MoreEavesdropping on Whales’ Mealtime Conversation
Like a knife slicing through denim, the black dorsal fin broke the surface of the icy water quickly, and then…
Read MoreFollowing Whales Up a Creek
Michael Moore is accustomed to working solo (or nearly so) in remote places, but this was a very public endeavor.…
Read MoreThe Deepest Divers
For years, sperm whales and elephant seals were thought to hold world records for holding their breath under water. But…
Read MoreWhat Does It Take To Break a Whale?
The ship hit the whale with a force that snapped her 14-foot jawbone like a toothpick and left a 4-foot-long…
Read MoreWhales
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Read MoreWHOI Scientists Provide Congressional Testimony
Susan Humphris, chair of the Geology and Geophysics Department, testified May 4, 2006, before the House Committee on Resources, one…
Read MoreAbandoned Walrus Calves Reported in the Arctic
Researchers on an oceanographic voyage in the Arctic Ocean report, for the first time, baby walruses unaccompanied by mothers in areas far from shore and over deep water, where they likely could not survive. The phenomenon was coincident with movement of warm water into Arctic basins and subsequent melting of the sea ice that walruses normally utilize as resting platforms.
Read MoreMass Strandings Keep New Marine Mammal Facility Busy
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s new Marine Research Facility (MRF) opened its doors just in time for a terribly busy winter…
Read MoreCaught in the Middle of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
A law designed to protect animals sometimes hinders research that could help them March 29, 2006 Conservation biologist Peter Tyack…
Read MoreCaught in the Middle of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
In the past few years, several research projects have been halted because of conflicting interpretations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Energy, shipping, and naval interests claim the MMPA hampers their ability to work in the sea. Environmentalists and animal rights want the act strictly enforced. In between are scientists.
Read MoreWhat Brings the Food that Brings the Whales?
Watching the gray, pitching ocean from the beach in Barrow, Alaska, Carin Ashjian, a biologist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution…
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