Over 200 people attended the Ways of the Whales Workshop in Coupeville in January -- the largest attendance ever. This particular workshop focused on the research being done on behalf of the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs) and was a wonderful opportunity to hear the results. I have included links so that you can read further.
Howard Garrett, Orca Network, began the morning with a history of orca captures and current captivity. On average, the orcas in captivity live about 8.3 years. More aggressive behavior is being seen in captive orcas. The Orca Project http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/ raises awareness of captive orcas.
Candice Emmons, NOAA Fisheries NW Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA
www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/cbd/marine_mammal/marinemammal.cfm discussed the research resulting from the DTAGs used on the SRKWs. The tags consist of acoustic and depth sensors. The data will be used to discover what physiological effects result from sound exposure primarily from large ships. The sound level is recorded, as well as the whales’ reactions to the sounds – whether they dive deeper or stop or change their behavior. These tags are a suction type that stay on for approximately 3 to 7 hours. No location data is received from these tags. To date 14 SRKWs have been tagged. This research is part of the SRKWs recovery plan developed by NOAA.
Matt Krogh and Lindsay Taylor, North Sound Baykeeper Team, www.re-sources.org spoke of the proposed Cherry Point coal terminal. Since you have received a separate email on this, I will not elaborate further.
Jessica Lundin, Center for Conservation Biology, Univ. of Washington, http://conservationbiology.net/research-programs/killer-whales-2/ discussed her research on the SRKWs using fecal sampling. Specially trained scat detection dogs, in this case “Tucker,” are used to find whale scat. Tucker was on the Westside of San Juan all summer – sniffing away! From the feces, data is collected on DNA, hormones, diet, immunoglobulin, pathogens and the SRKWs’ exposure to toxins, metals and pesticides. In addition, the feces can also show pregnancy. DNA samples have been collected on 60% of the SRKWs.
It was interesting to note that the hormone testing revealed that when the SRKWs arrive in the early spring they are at their highest nutritional level and consequently the stress hormone level is the lowest. As the summer progresses the stress hormone level goes up or down depending on prey abundance. However, by the fall they are experiencing more stress. Her findings revealed that prey availability has more effect than boat traffic. Stress levels around boats were short term vs. long term if a lack of prey. She believes the threats to the SRKWs are 1) decreased prey, 2) excessive exposure to contaminants, 3) increased boat traffic, and 4) oil spills. In addition, she believes the availability of spring prey is very important.
Toxin levels in J and L pods were sampled. DDT was twice as evident in L pod whales vs. J pod. PCB levels were high in both pods. PBDE levels (flame retardants) were high in L, less in J. Chlorinated pesticides (lawn products) were high in both pods.
Howard Garrett, Orca Network, began the morning with a history of orca captures and current captivity. On average, the orcas in captivity live about 8.3 years. More aggressive behavior is being seen in captive orcas. The Orca Project http://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/ raises awareness of captive orcas.
Candice Emmons, NOAA Fisheries NW Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA
www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/cbd/marine_mammal/marinemammal.cfm discussed the research resulting from the DTAGs used on the SRKWs. The tags consist of acoustic and depth sensors. The data will be used to discover what physiological effects result from sound exposure primarily from large ships. The sound level is recorded, as well as the whales’ reactions to the sounds – whether they dive deeper or stop or change their behavior. These tags are a suction type that stay on for approximately 3 to 7 hours. No location data is received from these tags. To date 14 SRKWs have been tagged. This research is part of the SRKWs recovery plan developed by NOAA.
Matt Krogh and Lindsay Taylor, North Sound Baykeeper Team, www.re-sources.org spoke of the proposed Cherry Point coal terminal. Since you have received a separate email on this, I will not elaborate further.
Jessica Lundin, Center for Conservation Biology, Univ. of Washington, http://conservationbiology.net/research-programs/killer-whales-2/ discussed her research on the SRKWs using fecal sampling. Specially trained scat detection dogs, in this case “Tucker,” are used to find whale scat. Tucker was on the Westside of San Juan all summer – sniffing away! From the feces, data is collected on DNA, hormones, diet, immunoglobulin, pathogens and the SRKWs’ exposure to toxins, metals and pesticides. In addition, the feces can also show pregnancy. DNA samples have been collected on 60% of the SRKWs.
It was interesting to note that the hormone testing revealed that when the SRKWs arrive in the early spring they are at their highest nutritional level and consequently the stress hormone level is the lowest. As the summer progresses the stress hormone level goes up or down depending on prey abundance. However, by the fall they are experiencing more stress. Her findings revealed that prey availability has more effect than boat traffic. Stress levels around boats were short term vs. long term if a lack of prey. She believes the threats to the SRKWs are 1) decreased prey, 2) excessive exposure to contaminants, 3) increased boat traffic, and 4) oil spills. In addition, she believes the availability of spring prey is very important.
Toxin levels in J and L pods were sampled. DDT was twice as evident in L pod whales vs. J pod. PCB levels were high in both pods. PBDE levels (flame retardants) were high in L, less in J. Chlorinated pesticides (lawn products) were high in both pods.
No comments:
Post a Comment