Whale Nerds Unite

Victoria Tourism Companies Join Forces for April 22, 2010 Earth Day and TLC!

2010-04-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

Five Star Charters the whale watching company that three of us whale nerds have worked for in past years has joined forces with Adrena Line Zip Tours to donate their earnings on April 22, Earth Day 2010, to The Land Conservancy's Wild Hills and Beaches Campaigns help purchase Western Forest Products lands in the Jordan River and Sooke Hills area.

'Transient' mammal eating ecotype of killer whale off Sheringham Point, just down the coast from Jordan River, Vancouver Island

Five Star Charters will be running a special 'Earth Day' cruise at 2 pm this coming Thursday April 22nd and all the proceeds from that cruise will be donated to TLC's campaign. In addition to donations from cruise earnings there will be a donation box in Five Star's office at 651 Humboldt Street (how to get there) for the duration of this week. Adrena Line Zip Tours will donate 20$ of each zip line sold on Earth Day.

'Transient' cartwheel just offshore of Southern Vancouver Island...the habitat offshore of areas like Jordan River is important for marine mammals and what we do onshore affects these animals

Links

TLC's announcement of this joint venture to fundraise money for their Wild Hills and Beaches campaign
To check out TLC's Wild Hills and Beaches campaign go here
Five Star Charter's blog post about their participation in this Earth Day fundraiser
To donate to TLC's campaign online go here or call 1-877-485-2422.
To contact Adrena Line Zip Tours phone: 250-642-1933 or toll-free: 1-866-947-9145

Earth Day – April 22, 2010 Tips for an Earth Friendly Garden in Honour of Spring

2010-04-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

Earth Day commences April 22, 2010 and is a day that has been designed to raise awareness and appreciation of the planet and the environment. It is unique in that this day transcends all national borders and promotes unity of the world’s population to respect the earth, which we all call our home. The celebration of Earth day is only the first step of the journey to respecting the environment and the resources that it supplies us with. The important thing is to try making eco-conscience choices everyday, such as reusable coffee mugs for your morning java for all you coffee junkies out there including us “Whale Nerds” or using cloth bags instead of plastic bags for your weekly groceries. The simplest eco-friendly changes to your daily routine such as using biodegradable shampoo and condition, i.e. Kiss My Face or JASONS, will assist our planet’s health in the long run. There is truth to the statement “THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL”, for if everyone on the planet acts locally in their own backyard then a global change will occur.

Now, into the backyard we go. Earth day usually occurs in the spring for the North Hemisphere…which is the time of the year that gardening commences. A green garden would be great symbol for the go green revolution.

Tips for an Earth Friendly or in our case “Killer Whale” Friendly Garden:

(1) KEEP IT REAL – eliminate the “chemically-laden” fertilizers, pesticides and weed killers. These chemicals will either be washed away by rain water into the ocean or local lakes and build up within the food web, or will leach into the local water table…and into your drinking water supply. Instead, get healthy: use those muscles and your relaxing pass time as a work out by digging up those weeds by the root. Additionally, use an all-natural compost and promote insect warfare…it’s what Mother Nature has been doing for a long time.

(2) MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST – kitchen scraps are the perfect tool to compost like a champion. You’ll reduce the amount of waste being trucked off to a landfill and provide your garden with the boost of energy that it desires. Compost enriches soil by providing it with nutrients that plants love as well aeration and the ability to retain water longer (less chance of wasting the precious resource of water).

(3) GO NATIVE – plant a variety of native and indigenous plants found in your area, which promotes the visitation of your pollinator pals. Native plants are easier to grow and maintain for they are already adapted to the local conditions. Additionally, they will general require less fertilizer and water.

(4) HARVEST RAINWATER & WATER WITH CARE – adding a rain barrel is an inexpensive way to capture mineral- and chlorine-free water for watering lawns, yards, and gardens. The water can also be implemented in washing cars or rinsing windows, but use biodegradable cleaning detergents. A screen on your rain barrel will help keep out insects, debris and bird’s aerial missiles, and don’t forget to make frequent use of your water to keep it aerated. The rainwater will help you save on the water bill, but also reduce erosion that can occur with storm-water runoff, plus if you live in the Pacific Northwest like us Whale Nerds….its a chance to take advantage of your winter. However, to maintain your water supply during the drier summer season: remember to compost/mulch which helps retain water in the soil much longer, and that the best place to soak your plants is directly on the thirsty roots.

Enjoy your eco-friendly lawn and garden this spring and summer from “recycled lawn furniture”. And don’t forget to enrol in Earth Day 365 days a year by making eco-conscience choices.

Upcoming Events!

2010-02-24T11:59:00.000-08:00

Hi all!
There are some neat things happening in Victoria in March...

Wednesday, March 3 at 7:00pm
Alanna Mitchell, author of the amazing book "Sea Sick", will be speaking at UVic. Check out the Sierra Club website for all the information.
http://www.sierraclub.bc.ca/events/informative-and-passionate-look-at-the-ocean-with-alanna-mitchell

Saturday, March 6th at 11:00am (until 3:00pm)
FINAL Public viewing of the Blue Whale Project, 211 Harbour Road (Island Plate and Steel building). Project information can be found at: sites.google.com/site/bluewhaleproject

Monday, March 29 at 7:30pm
MARINE NIGHT
Using Seabird Diets to Track How Climate Change is Affecting Arctic Ecosystems
University of Victoria Masters student, Jennifer Provencher, studied the effects of climate change on seabirds in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Using historical and current data, she examined changes in the diet of Thick-billed Murres in the low, mid, and high Arctic. She collected samples in the summer and spent winters in the lab sorting and identifying fish bones, zooplankton, squid beaks, and some unnatural objects such as plastic and bird shot. By comparing her results with similar studies done in the 70’s and 80’s, she has tracked how their diets have changed through the years as the ice cover has moved. Meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 159 of the Fraser Building. Everyone is welcome.

Educating Students on the Blue Whale “Blues”

2010-01-19T16:42:00.000-08:00

The Blue Whale project is near completion and will be the twenty first completed Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) skeleton in the world. The completed skeleton will be hanging the University of British Columbia (UBC) Beaty Biodiversity Museum, which will be opening early this year. The biodiversity museum will be displaying the “richness” of British Columbia’s natural environment, with the 26 meter Blue whale being one of the “big” exhibits.

The 26 meter female Blue whale was found beached in Prince Edward Island in 1987. She was buried and basically forgotten until twenty years later. In 2007, the Blue whale project was initiated with the removal, transportation, cleaning and articulation of the whale. The articulation is occurring in a building donated by Ellice Recycling, which has had multiple open houses and school tours. The early spring announces the completion of the Blue whale, which will be transported over to its permit housing in the museum. Therefore, the Blue whale project has a few more open houses scheduled for the evenings and weekends, and the remaining school tours are occurring every Thursday until March.

On January 14, I was able to assist fellow whale nerd Natalie Bowes in the first school tour of 2010. Cedar Hill sent two grade eight classes for a tour of the articulated Blue whale. The class was split into three groups (for Jesse, Natalie and I) to tour the three major articulated areas: the skull, the ribs and spinal column, and the pectoral fins. The physiological features for living in the water were discussed, such as the ability for the ribs to collapse to deal with the pressure as the whale dives under the water.

The Blue whale skull was casted by the Royal Tyrrell Museum because the whales skull was in fragmented pieces.

Nat talking about the "food falls in technique" of the baleen whales.

Students of Cedar Hill near the tail region of the articulated Blue whale.

The importance of the school tours is for students to get an opportunity to see the multiple stages of large project such as this for exhibits. In addition, the plight of the Blue whales’ marine environment is discussed, such as the increase in noise pollution, which makes it difficult for the loudest animal on our planet to find mates. This is significant for the Blue whale is listed as an endangered species due to over-whaling, with the population dropping to a couple of thousand from a pre-whaling population of 350,000. The current estimated population is 4,500 individuals, which indicates a slow increase. The increase in noise pollution indicates an raise in ship traffic, which can result in ship strikes and likely the death of this particular female Blue whale in P.E.I.

Jax’ Highlights of the 18th Biennial Marine Mammal Conference in Quebec City, Canada

2009-11-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

The whale nerds were all able to attend the 18th Biennial Marine Mammal conference in Quebec City. The conference provided each whale nerds an opportunity to pursue workshops, presentations and view posters that interest them.

Here are a few of my highlighted moments from the marine mammal conference:

1) Global Warming and Arctic Marine Mammals Workshop - “Knowing how polar ecosystems change with global warming will help to develop strategies for conservation and species management. A reference collection of samples from the complete food web is being developed to build a model of trophic interactions from marine mammals down to nutrients and phytoplankton.

This symposium is relevant to the Society of Marine Mammal Mammalogy's 18th biannual conference. Participants will present and review research results and progress from 2007 and 2008 field activities and discuss how to organize research findings into collaborative science capable of providing an adaptive assessment of climate change effects on Arctic marine ecosystems.”

The interdisciplinary research from the International Polar Year (2007 – 2008) was presented during this workshop. The 2007 – 2008 International polar year (IPY) was the largest collaboration of scientific research based in the Arctic and Antarctic, with more than 60 nations participating around the globe. The Global Warming and Arctic Marine Mammals (GWAMM) research was to look at what “we” need to know to help conserve Arctic marine mammals (approximately 7 species). Therefore a variety of scientific methods were utilized to study the arctic marine ecosystems to create the platform information to examine the impacts of environmental change.

Key Point: Conservation of a unique marine ecosystem requires multiple scientific techniques and collaboration from both local Arctic communities and international nations.

2) Video Evening

The video evening provide a unique insight into the underwater environment of whales and dolphins or the frigid environment of the polar bears. The footage collected was filmed via divers with underwater video cameras or via the animals themselves with a National Geographic crittercam . Pieter Folkens footage of a humpback whale calf nursing and bubble net feeding provided an amazing window into the intimate interaction between a cow and calf.

3) Plenary Session – “The Calvin Project, Endangered Species Recovery Through Education”; William T. McWeeny, Meredith Houghton, Madison Koos

The Calvin Project of Adams School is a unique after school program that raises awareness on the plight of the Endangered Northern Right Whale. The Calvineers utilize their scientific knowledge to put together educational presentations for other students, politicians and even researchers to assist in the recovery of the Northern Right Whales. Education is proving to be a valuable to key in promotion of conservation and international policy decisions about the marine environment. The future of the marine environment relies heavily of the education of both children and adults.

Of course, the whale nerds made sure to take advantage of time together:

1) Tadoussac whale watching – each adding a new species or more to their
marine mammal list.

2) Ghost tour – why not when you are in one of the oldest cities in Canada.

3) Wine in the hostel via “paper cups.”

4) Opportunity to explore the city and for those with the later flights…a chance to go to the Aquarium du Quebec.

Note: I apologize for the lack of photos in this blog posting but I lost my pictures from the trip. Please refer to prior post to enjoy the photos from the trip.

October 12 to 16 The Whale Nerds go to the 18th Biennial conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Quebec City

2009-10-25T09:32:00.000-07:00

Monday October 12 was the first official day of the 18th Biennial conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals at the Quebec conference centre…and the Whale Nerds were very excited to be attending. There were many pre-conference workshops over the weekend and we all participated. Kyla went to the workshop on Ecological Modelling for Marine Mammalogists and Mer, Nat and Jax went to the Global Warming and Arctic Marine Mammals workshop.

Welcome sign to the 18th Biennial conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals

At the Ecological Modelling workshop there were talks on topics including: the basics of the ecological modelling of marine mammals, modelling with presence only data i.e. from ‘platforms of opportunity’ such as whale watching boats and ferries, recent work on movement studies using tags and the challenges associated with ecological modelling of marine mammals.

The following describes the workshop from the SMM website:

“There is tremendous interest in applying statistical modeling techniques to the quantitative assessment of marine mammal distribution and habitat use, and our workshop seeks to explore both traditional and the latest methodologies. Our goal is to bring together practitioners that can share their experience with various approaches to ecological modeling by addressing topics ranging from collecting data, selecting the appropriate model, evaluating the model's results, and applying those results in a management scenario.”

And Mer, Nat and Jax learned about the following at the Global Warming and Marine Mammals workshop:

“Knowing how polar ecosystems change with global warming will help to develop strategies for conservation and species management. A reference collection of samples from the complete food web is being developed to build a model of trophic interactions from marine mammals down to nutrients and phytoplankton.

This symposium is relevant to the Society of Marine Mammal Mammalogy's 18th biannual conference. Participants will present and review research results and progress from 2007 and 2008 field activities and discuss how to organize research findings into collaborative science capable of providing an adaptive assessment of climate change effects on Arctic marine ecosystems.”

The nerds at the conference: Me, Jax, Mer and Nat

After a weekend of workshops the conference began Monday October 12 and ran until Friday October 16th. There were many many talks on a variety of topics including: Biologging (tagging) and New Technology, Genetics, Communication, Ecology, Management and Law, Behavioral Ecology, Passive Acoustics, Evolution and Systematics, Conservation, Noise Effects, Physiology, Habitat preference, Genetics, Population Monitoring and Abundance, Distribution among many more.

Most days there were also plenary sessions which included the following talks:

“A purview of marine mammal molecular ecology and the prospects for conservation genomics in the 21st century” – David W. Coltman
“Combining evolutionary and ecological approaches to make sense of pelagic ecosystems from phytoplankton to whales” – by Victor Smatecek
“Big habitats, big studies: Lessons learned from international cooperative studies of wide-ranging large whales” – David Mattila
“The Calvin Project, Endangered Species Recovery Through Education” – William McWeeney, Meredith Houghton and Madison Koos
“F.G. Wood Award Winner: Determination of steroid hormones in whale blow: It is possible” – Carolyn Hogg

In addition to a multitude of talks during the week the daily poster sessions included over 800 posters of marine mammal research all over the world. We were all very inspired by this week full of thought provoking and inspiring presentations and it gave us many ideas to take home with us!

During this week we also enjoyed some of the sights of Quebec City including a "ghost" tour of the Old Town (which is given by a ghost rather than being about ghosts!) a couple of nights at the pub (we enjoyed Saint Alexandre) and wandering around the Old Town.

Here are some pictures of highlights from our stay!

The lovely private room four of us shared at the Hostel International in Quebec City. It was only 500 m from the conference centre with great staff, facilities and breakfast included

Hotel in the Old City

The Fairmont Hotel 'Le Chateau Frontenac' where we had hot chocolates after the chilly 'ghost' tour

View over the Old City

Jacx, Mer and Nat on the 'ghost tour

Cannon on the wall surrounding the Old City

Playing with photos at night

The narrowest street in Canada...according to our guide

...and an even narrower alleyway

The alleyway was called Sous le Cap or the 'Passage de Chien' (the dog passage)

Ahh...fall decorations!

Quebec street by night

The church in the main square

At the end of our tour with our 'ghost' guide

And we had some pub time as well! (From left to right: Mer, Jax, Mallard and Kyla)

And then we got joined by some more...the Washington State crowd!

Mark and the ladies (from left to right: Kyla, Nat, Mark, Kari, Nick and Nic)

Kyla, Nat and Mark

Jax and Rhonda looking cute

One of the three conference rooms for all the talks

The main hall of the Quebec Conference Centre

The poster session room

Jax checking out a poster

Kyla learning from one of the 800 posters!

On the wall surrounding the Old City

A nice sunny Quebec day

The wall and view of the city

Old City buildings

Local troublemakers...or budding photographic artists?

Some nice Quebec architecture

The beautiful plant covered planters. Don't worry we didn't crush any flowers!

The beautiful architecture at night!

The outdoor skating rink just outside the gates to the Old City

October 10, 2009 Pre-conference whale watching in Tadoussac...gray seals, minke whales, fin whales, beluga whales and...a BLUE WHALE!

2009-10-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Prior to the start of the 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals the whale nerds went to Tadousssac (map) to check out whale watching in another part of Canada...along the St. Lawrence! It took us a couple of hours to drive there from Quebec City and we arrived just a few minutes before the 1330 big boat departure. We discussed going by zodiac but decided to go on the big boat with its heated cabin and hot food...especially the hot chocolate which is a necessity for whale watching anywhere in Canada in October!

Merina in the co-pilots seat (check out her website here)

Jax (see her profile here)

Kyla (website is here...apologies as it needs to be updated. I've been too busy blogging!)

Our pilot Nat (see her site here)

Enjoying the fall colours on the road to Tadoussac

'Signs' of whale activity!

Heading across on the ferry to Tadoussac

The ferry terminal on the Tadoussac side

Super happy because there was already a sighting of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the ferry!

Now that's a different looking lighthouse!

One of many Gray seals (note the 'Roman nose', Halichoerus grypus) we saw on our way to the whales

We were very lucky during this trip because we saw so many animals! We saw beluga whales (but unforunately coudln't get photos), minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and...a BLUE WHALE (Balaenoptera musculus)! Blue whales are fairly common to see on a whale watching trip here but Jax and Kyla had never seen them before and Mer and Nat have only seen them once off the coast of California :-)

Above 3 photos: Blue whale surfacing

...and the blue whale swimming away from us

Above 2 photos: a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) kept popping up while we were waiting for the blue whale to surface

Above 4 photos: The scenery in the St Lawrence also makes it worth coming whale watching

Above 2 photos: nerds having fun on the bow of the boat...it was VERY COLD!

The wind picked up as we were heading back towards the harbour. Fortunately we saw belugas earlier as they would've been more difficult to pick out of all the whitecaps!

Above 2 photos: coming back to the Tadoussac shore and the beautiful little village itself

When we returned to the harbour we tried to go to the marine mammal interpretive center in Tadoussac but were too late we arrived just 10 minutes before closing. We did enjoy the artwork in the parking lot outside and the gift shop though.

Whale painting on the parking lot outside GREMM

Nice painting at the entrance to the interpretive centre

OOOH and we did get one really good look at a beluga...just kidding! This was a photo of a beluga at the centre. Gorgeous!

2009-09-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Where have the Whale Nerds gone?

Summer is not only a time of camping and fine weather, it is also the busiest time of year for biologists- field season. So what have the whale nerds been doing with these lovely warm days?

Merina and Jacklyn are both working for Archipelago Marine Research, as a data technician and fisheries observer respectively. Kyla is at sea working as a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) onboard the Langseth which is conducting seismic work on the Endeavour Ridge. They are attempting to map the magma plumbing of the ridge and gain new insights into offshore earthquakes. Check out this link to read about the project.

Natalie (me, seen here with my new friend ROPOS of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility) is also at sea and at one point passed within a few miles of Kyla (the Langseth was a mere dot on the horizon). She is onboard the R/V Thompson which is engaged in the deployment of the instruments for the deep sea oceanographic network, Neptune Canada. This project has been in the works for over a decade and after all that planning and engineering the pieces are finally going into the water. It is a truly momentous journey that will change the way people think about the ocean. The data being collected will be available to anyone, anytime, anywhere, steamed live over the Internet. If you would like to know more about the cruise the Neptune Canada Wiki hosts the blog and you can also follow the project on Twitter.

In terms of whale-nerdiness the wildlife seen from the cruise was pretty awesome both above the water and at 2700m depth. Check out these photos!

ROPOS, the deep sea remotely operated vehicle, with an instrument platform (IP) attached to its base. The tripod-looking thing on the side of the IP is a hydrophone.

A sea pig, weird-looking relative of the sea cucumber, at 2660m below sea level.

A sunfish (Mola mola)

A black footed albatross takes off

Baird's beaked whale (my first time seeing them)

Lags were regular visitors of the R/V Thompson. They were often accompanied by right whale dolphins who lack a dorsal fin and are very difficult to photograph.

JULY 6, 2009 50 WAYS TO SAVE THE OCEAN #2 Get married on a wild beach

2009-07-06T08:14:00.000-07:00

'The places we associate with love are the places we seek to conserve'

Although I am not married and don’t know if I ever will be I always imagined I would get married on a beach. I always imagined I would be married somewhere wild and beautiful like East Sooke Park near my home of Victoria, Vancouver Island. When I was younger my parents took my brothers and I on many hikes and barbeques in this park…and many of the gorgeous spots overlooking the ocean would be perfect for a wedding!

East Sooke Park (Photo source)

In 2006 I spent nearly a year working on a project studying the dolphin populations off the south coast of Kenya. Just prior to leaving for Kenya my parents and I went for dinner with their friends who had lived in Kenya many decades earlier. This amazing couple filled me in on life in Kenya during the pre-Lonely Planet days and told me about a beach, Tiwi Beach, where they had spent their honeymoon years earlier. It was great to hear their story and I grew excited anticipating the life I would live on the other side of the world in a very different country.

The white sandy beaches of Kenya

During my time in Kenya I put Tiwi Beach and their honeymoon to the back of my mind…that is until I decided to spend a weekend away there and also ended up having a very memorable romantic evening on this same beach. Tiwi beach is a gorgeous white, sand beach on the southeast coast of Kenya. Shortly after we arrived and set up camp my friend Sara and I went snorkelling in the coral rag tide pools typical of this part of the African coastline.

Tiwi Beach has two beautiful large tidepools; one shaped like Australia and the other like Africa. When you swim in 'Africa' you can swim into a cave and watch the bats flying overhead and then swim through a short underwater cave into another pool! It was absolutely fabulous! After a nice day on the beach my friend Sara and I decided to sit in the shallow, sun heated, tidal pools near our camp and eat cheese and crackers and drink wine.

The tidepool shaped like the African continent at Tiwi Beach, Kenya

(Photo source)

Upon returning to our camp we met up with our Austrian neighbours, two brothers who’d driven their big overland truck from Austria to Kenya. We spent the evening around a campfire with the two of them. They were living on this beautiful beach for a month while they recorded music for their band. I hit it off with one of them and our conversation next to the campfire went deep into the night with the sounds of the waves and crickets and the stars overhead as a backdrop to add the magic to the moment. It was one of those experiences that always stay with me and so will the memory of that beach. That place and the emotions attached to it will forever remain in my memory.

I have had romantic moments at the beach, ones that I will never forget, and I know that I, as would my parent’s friends who spent their honeymoon at the beach years before, would be deeply saddened if I went back to a place like Tiwi Beach and found the beach destroyed or polluted. I would feel my memory of a precious moment had also been changed or destroyed. It is these moments that give us that personal connection to the beach and drives us to protect it.

Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre Presented on June 23, 2009:

2009-07-03T15:00:00.000-07:00

A talk by Dr. Peter Ross of the Institute of Ocean Sciences on “British Columbia’s Endangered Killer Whales: Can We Improve the Habitat Quality for the World’s Most Contaminated Marine Mammals?”

The Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney, British Columbia opened their doors to the public on June 20, 2009. They then started their by-donation-to-speaker series on the 23rd starting with a wonderful presentation by Dr. Peter Ross of the Institute of Ocean Sciences. I was fortunate enough to not be out on a work rotation observing fish, and was able to attend. I, being the “whale nerd” that I am, scribbled some of the key points of Dr. Peter Ross’s talk in a notebook. These are the key elements that I believe we should all think about/take action against to help improve the habitat quality of endangered southern resident killer whales.

K21 - Member of K Pod which is part of the Southern Resident Community

The southern resident killer whales home range encompasses the Salish Sea (the water’s of Strait of Juan de Fuca and Haro Strait), which fall into two national jurisdictions. Therefore, their fate relies on the policies of the Canadian Species at Risk Act (SARA) and the United States National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS). Three major threats have been determined to influence the fate of the southern resident killer whales: (1) prey availability, (2) noise/disturbance, and (3) toxic chemicals.

Toxic Chemicals

Toxic chemicals may have a direct or indirect impact on the endangered southern resident killer whales:

Toxic spills – might result in direct inhalation or ingestion. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound demonstrated the direct impact of direct inhalation/ingestion when nine members of a unique “transient” killer whale the AT1s died after the March 24, 1989 spill. This pod only has seven remaining members of its initial twenty-two members.

“Food” contaminants – chemicals that might not directly impact the killer whales but have damaging impacts on their prey, in the case of the southern resident killer whales' Chinook Salmon. Utilization of fertilizers or chemicals that pollute or reduce oxygen quality in good fish habitat (cold, fast moving, and oxygen rich waters; spawning sites).

Chemical accumulation – persistent organic pollutants (POPs), with twelve considered the worst offenders being referred to as the dirty dozen. POPs are chemicals which persistent in the environment, bio-accumulate in the food web, and are consider toxic to the health of humans and environment. This has had a significant impact on the Northeast Pacific killer whale populations, which feed at or near the top of the food web. The southern residents are five times more polluted than the beluga whales in the St. Lawrence Seaway. The transient (mammal-hunting) are considered the most polluted marine mammal in the world, for they are the top of the oceanic food web.

The Three Most Significant Pieces of the Toxic Chemical Puzzle

Piece # 1: The Legacy

The persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are the most significant piece of the puzzle in the habitat of southern resident killer whales. Although, the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council started to examine the “Dirty Dozen” in 1995, the chemicals’ roles as a persistent polluter were already in effect. Now despite being “widely” banned, the POPs i.e. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) are still present in the Salish Sea and its inhabitants. The Southern resident killer whales have levels of PCBs well over the 17mg/kg lipid-1 threshold of immunotoxicity (toxins that suppress the immune system capabilities to defend against infections, etc.), witnessed in harbour seals.

The Northern resident community of killer whales will have to wait until 2030 for 95% of their population to fall to or below the 17mg/kg lipid-1 threshold, while the Southern resident community has until 2089. This will only occur if the “dirty dozen” remain banned and aren’t allowed to be traded to or utilized by developing nations. However due to the extreme bioaccumulation, in transient killer whales, the “legacy” of these banned chemicals might be around until the end of their existence.

Piece # 2: Dirty Backyards

The Southern resident killer whales utilize the waters off of Southern Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland area of British Columbia, and the waters of Puget Sound off of Seattle and Tacoma. However, these surrounding waters act as the recreational and sewage sites for approximately 8 million people, which is significant considering the Southern resident population is 86 animals (as of July 2009). This population fluctuates between 80 to 100 animals. Therefore, human impacts on the marine sensitive environment of the Salish Sea are quite significant, i.e. over 8 million flushes of the toilet each day or the chemicals washed down to clean our house, etc. This means that if 8 million people made the minor adjustments to their lifestyles, such as biodegradable cleaning products, low-flush toilets, “killer whale” friendly lawns (local plants/vegetation vs. exotic plants) or pulling of weeds instead of chemical poisoning and practicing green boating, would result in a significant improvement to the habitat of the Southern killer whales. Refer to the Earth Day 365 Blog Post for tips on environmental friendly lifestyles.

The Low Flow Toliet in my Place - 6 Litres/1.6 Gallons

Piece # 3: Global Village

We are part of a global village. Therefore, the chemicals that we utilize are readily moved around the planet through atmospheric processes, oceanic currents, and biological migrations (food web). The Chinook salmon migrates out into the open Pacific Ocean to feed prior to returning their natal spawning streams off the coast of Western Canada and the United States. The salmon is feeding in the North Pacific sink for the chemicals from Asia and then transports them back to the Salish Sea. Each individual killer whale consumes 250 kg (500 lbs) of salmon daily, which results in an increase of contaminants being ingested from other pollutant sources. However, due to the boom of eco-tourism (i.e. salmon/halibut fishing and whale watching), we have a platform for environmental/conservational message for the killer whales and other marine wildlife. It allows for education of the public (local and global tourists) about global connectivity and that individual choices do have an impact. Therefore, individuals leave with the message that they can do something in their own “backyards” wherever it is in the world and have a positive impact on the marine environment. As a result, a global change occurs and improves the habitat of the Southern resident killer whales.

JUNE 29, 2009 50 WAYS TO SAVE THE OCEAN #1 : Go to the Beach

2009-06-29T16:31:00.000-07:00

“When children explore tide pools, pick up and examine seashells along a golden shore, or build sand castles, they often discover a spark of wander that may inspire their life directions, bringing them to science, architecture, engineering, or a range of other callings” (50 Ways to Save the Ocean)

Edmonton, Alberta (Photo source)

I was born in Edmonton, Alberta, a city in the prairies and far from the ocean. I was 6 years old the first time I went to a beach on the ocean. My mother took my brothers and I on a trip to Victoria, British Columbia because, unbeknownst to us, she was thinking about moving us there. We instantly fell in love with this beautiful place, especially the ocean. I remember clearly, when during our visit, my mom took my brothers and me to a wishing well at the Olde England Inn, where we were staying, and we wished so hard we could move to Victoria. The wishing well worked for us because shortly after our visit my mom started planning our move to the west coast. In the fall of 1986 we found ourselves taking in the smells of the Pacific and the flowers of Victoria, our new home, as we crossed the tarmac at the Victoria airport!

My mom was very brave when she moved us to Victoria; she was a single mom in a new place with a new job and three kids. She used most of her pennies to fulfill her dream to move us here and so we didn’t have a lot. During that first year I never noticed we didn’t have much money. Life was fun…one big adventure. On most days, when school was finished, we explored the new city by foot and played at the beach just a half block from our house. We spent countless hours flipping rocks to look at crabs, exploring tide pools and chasing each other with slimy kelp fronds.

Willows Beach, Victoria

To live in a waterfront home was always a dream of my mother’s and soon after our big move to the west coast she met our step-dad and they fulfilled the dream when we moved into a house on Willows Beach in Oak Bay. How lucky we were! We absolutely LOVED living on the beach! The beach became our backyard…I ran on the sandy beach to prepare for future Olympics, constructed log rafts to travel to the South Pacific, enjoyed the accompaniment of gulls and seals, and we hit the ‘high seas’ in our stepdad’s 17’ boat to explore the nearby islands of Chatham and Discovery, fish for salmon and set crab and shrimp pots. We were very lucky because both my mom and step-dad made a point of teaching us to respect the environment and the animals living in it. If it were not for these beach adventures during my childhood I may not have the passion for the ocean I have today.

The beach makes you happy!

Now, even as an adult, I try to go to the beach to observe and explore as often as possible. In this age of information technology it is easy spend hours staring at a screen. I will never get the same inspiration about life from a computer screen; it is the wonderment of the living world that inspires me and my dreams to spend my entire life learning about and caring for the Ocean and it’s inhabitants.

JUNE 27, 2009 50 WAYS TO SAVE THE OCEAN...things we can start doing today to help whales and other ocean inhabitants!

2009-06-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

This summer I am working for Five Star Charters, a whale watching company, out of Victoria on the south end of Vancouver Island, BC. I feel blessed to do such work, to be outside on the water everyday seeing these magnificent animals and the habitat they live in.

Mount Olympus as seen from Race Rocks Marine Protected Area

This is not my first season doing this kind of work. In fact, it’s my 8th season doing marine ecotourism and I’ve also done 4 years of research locally and around the world. When guests on the whale watching boat find out I’ve been doing this as long as I have they often ask if I ever get bored of it or of seeing the animals. My answer is always ‘No, never!” because it only gets more interesting the more you are out there. They don’t realize that the one time or for the lucky ones, the 2 or 3 times, they go whale watching they only see a small fraction of what is happening out there. These whales are rarely in the same place doing the same thing but are always on the move…as I tell our guests the killer whales (Orcinus orca) can travel over 100 miles in 24 hours!

Members of K pod in the Endangered Southern Resident Killer whale community: K13 (far right) with her offspring from left to right: K20, K25 and K34

During our tours not only do the passengers enjoy watching the whales but we also tell them about their status and the environment we live in. The thing I like about our approach at Five Star Charters is that we like to talk about the entire ecosystem the animals live in. We explain why the whales are here, what oceanographic processes bring the food in that they eat which in turn brings them in to feed, socialize and breed.

Of course, it is very difficult to discuss the environment without also mentioning what has changed in the environment and what it is that has resulted in the reduced population size of many species of whale that we have today. In the Salish Sea this is especially true for the Southern Resident killer whale population which has been officially listed as Endangered in both the Canada and the US (see US listing info here, Canada designation).

This post is about what we can do as individuals, wherever we live on this great planet, to help the Southern Resident Killer Whales and other whales and inhabitants of the ocean; this includes ourselves who depend very much on a healthy ocean!

Recently I bought a great book called 50 Ways To Save The Ocean and I started to think I want to create blog posts, with full credit to the author (David Helgard of Blue Frontier) about these 50 great ideas. Whenever possible I’d like to add my own personal story of how I have incorporated these things in my life and how that has been for me. It would also be great to hear other people’s stories about taking these simple actions to help ‘save the oceans!”

So keep posted to see how I have and am increasing how I incorporate these 50 ways to save the ocean into my life!

POST #1 GO TO THE BEACH - Enjoy the sand and the water and leave it as clean as or cleaner than you found it... Go to WNU June 29, 2009 blog post

HELP SAVE THE WILD PACIFIC SALMON...sign Alexandra Morton's petition to save BCs wild salmon

2009-06-06T07:33:00.000-07:00

On March 30th this year we went to Port Townsend to the first Salish Sea Marine Naturalist Association meeting. This meeting allowed Canadian and American whale watching naturalists and scientists working in the Salish Sea, important habitat for the Endangered Southern Resident killer whale community (Endangered Species Act USA, Species At Risk Act Canada), to meet and discuss our work in this wonderful place. We were fortunate enough to learn the most recent findings from scientists studying the Southern Resident killer whale community and what these findings indicated we need to do to help this population to avoid further decline.

Members of the Endangered Southern Resident killer whale pod, J pod

The most emphasized issue in these discussions was the need to save the wild salmon stocks; the Southern Resident killer whales' main source of food. One of the presenters, a veterinarian, put it nicely...just as with your pet dog or cat, if they are well fed they should be able to deal with any other stress. If the Southern Residents have salmon they will better withstand stresses such as acoustic disturbances and toxins.

So what do we need to do? We need to seriously consider what we are doing about the salmon stocks of the Pacific coast in, not just BC, but all of North America. Just like the killer whales salmon see no boundaries so we need to work together, just as we came together at the Transboundary Workshop in March, to help the salmon.

Chinook salmon...the most important food of the Southern Resident killer whales

One of the most pressing issues related to saving the wild salmon stocks is the impact the commercial salmon farms have on wild fish. Check out and sign this petition from Alexandra Morton to make the BC government act more responsibly in their role to protect this Endangered (under SARA) whale's food...the wild Pacific Salmon!

Newspaper article in the Island Courier
Alexandra Morton's website Adopt-A-Fry

SIGN the petition !

Bike to Work Week 2009: MAY 11 - 17

2009-05-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of Bike to Work Week 2009. Biking benefits not only a reduction of CO2 emissions into the environment but also cycling for a half hour a day can increase your life expentancy by up to 4 years according to How to Reduce your Carbon Footprint: 365 Simple Ways to Save Energy, Resources, and Money. If you don't own a bike or are unable to participate due to other physical limitations, look into other ways to commute to work such as walking, public transit or carpooling to do your benefit for the environment. A healthier environment equals a healthier you.

Celebration of Mothers….

2009-05-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

And the role of mother’s in the types of marine mammals in the Salish Sea.

Mother’s day is celebrated around the world by various countries to celebrate and honour motherhood. General information of mother’s day from Wikipedia (the online encyclopaedia) indicates that it is celebrated on various days world wide; however two primary dates exist for “mother’s day”:

• The second Sunday of May, which is the larger of the two primary dates but is the more modern celebration of mother’s day. It started in the 20th century in the United States by Anna Jarvis, with many countries following suite including Canada.
• The smaller date is the fourth Sunday in Lent, which comes from the United Kingdom’s “Mothering Sunday” celebration. This tradition dates back to the 16th century.

The observance of Mother’s Day around the world is relative recent occurrence as it has evolved from North America and Europe. However, some festivals and celebrations of honouring mothers have existed prior to pre-colonization (i.e. Africa). Mother’s day gives us an opportunity to provide our mother with a little extra love and attention. The hectic-ness of life usually reduces our opportunities to spend quality time as a family and to appreciate all the things our mom (and dad) does to make our life easier. Therefore, getting together on mother’s day as a family to celebrate all that our mom has done for us i.e. driving us to practices, shopping, etc. is special and helps to improve our family relationship.

We all know the role that our mother’s have played in our lives, but what are the roles of mother’s in the types of marine mammals in the Salish Sea?

The Pinnipeds (Seals and Sea lions)

The Salish Sea is utilized by primarily four species of pinnipeds or the wing-footed mammals. Two species from the family Otaridae (eared or fur seals and sea lions) and two from the family Phocidae (true seals). The male California (Zalophus californianus) and Steller (Eumetopias jubatus) sea lions utilize the Salish Sea as winter haul out and foraging grounds. In May, the majority of the male Steller sea lions have staked out and defend key breeding territories on remote rookies in Northern British Columbia and Alaska. The females arrive later giving birth to their pups that they carried for 11 ½ months, and then proceed to lactate for up to 3 years. The majority of the pups are weaned after a year, which allows the female to start nursing the next pup which was conceived 11 to 14 days after the birth of the other pup. The male California sea lions proceeds south in the spring to breeding colonies off of California and Mexico. The females give birth to their pups from late May through July, which they’ve carried for 9 months, and remain ashore with their pups for up to ten days. The females then return to sea on foraging forays that may last up to 3 days; however the females will return to the shore for a day to nurse their pup. The pups sometimes join their mothers on foraging events, but majority remain on shore in large social groups. After six months, pups are abruptly weaned and abandoned (goodbye mom and thanks for life). The female California sea lion will be ready to mate twenty to thirty days after the birth of their pup, but has the ability to delay the implantation of the fertilized egg by three months. As a result, the female sea lion is not pregnant for only one month out of the year. Could you imagine being pregnant for the majority of your life span?

The phocids or true seals in the Salish Sea utilize the area either year round or for the majority of the year. Harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) are found in the Salish Sea year round. The Harbour seals are quite territorial of haul out sites from sandy and pebbly beaches to intertidal rocks and ledges, which they tend to, forage and feed off of. The female Harbour seals haul out to give birth to their pups in the summer months June through August. The pups are able to swim and dive immediately, but usually hitch a ride on mom’s back using their fore flippers. The pups are nursed for three to four weeks, then abruptly weaned and abandoned by their mother. The females then mate shortly after the weaning process. Mommy! The three week nursing period is similar for the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), except the female remains ashore on the sandy beach, fasting and defending her pup from other females and pups. After the three weeks is up, the pup is weaned by desertion. However, the female mates with the dominant bull elephant seal whose territory she’s given birth in just prior to the weaning of her current pup. Although, the majority of the northern elephant seals are breeding off the coast of California and Mexico, utilizing the Salish Sea for the majority of the year as foraging sites and molting sites. The first witnessed birth of a Northern elephant seal occurred at Race Rocks Marine Protected Area. Although, three weeks seems incredibly short, the phocids lactation period ranges from 4 to 50 days within the various species. The pups may not receive long periods of motherly love but thankfully the milk is richer than any other marine mammals from 45 – 60% fat.

The Mysticetes (Baleen Whales)

Although the Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is the most common and widely distributed of baleen whales, very little is known about the Minke whales reproduction and breeding. Hein bank in the Salish Sea is an incredibly productive summer feeding ground for the Minke whales, however, no mother-calf pair sightings have occurred at this feeding site. This indicates that weaning might occur prior to arrival at summer feeding grounds. The locations of Minke whale calving grounds for the Minke whales that forage in the Salish Sea are still a mystery for the whale referred to as the commoner. Unlike the Minke whale, the other baleen whales that utilize the Salish Sea as summer feeding grounds arrive with their offspring.

The Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) calves are independent of their mothers just prior to the fall migration back to the warm, breeding lagoons off the coast of Baja California. However, the migration to the northern feeding grounds of the Salish Sea is filled with perils for the Gray whale cow-calf pairings, with attacks from Southeast Alaskan transient killer whales. Gray whales defend their calves from these attacks, indicating a strong cow-calf connection, although not every mother is successful (BBC Blue Planet Disc 1 – Ocean World footage).

In recent years (late-1990s), cow-calf pairings of Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are being seen in the Salish Sea, which means the Humpbacks are recognizing and teaching their calves that this is part of their summer feeding grounds. Humpback whales were hunted and removed from British Columbian waters, with the last whaling station in Coal Harbor closing their doors in 1968. Therefore, new humpback calves are learning to utilize this area prior to the return to the warm tropical breeding waters off of Mexico, Hawaii and even as far away as Japan. The return to these breeding grounds is the end of the cow-calf pairing, for the mothers have now taught them the official migration route from the breeding grounds to feeding grounds and back again. The majority of baleen whales experience a birthing interval of two to three years, with a twelve month pregnancy. However, the Minke whale might be an exception giving birth annually.

The Odontocetes (Toothed Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises)

The Salish Sea is incredibly unique that it is part of the home range of the largest oceanic dolphin, the killer whale (Orcinus orca) . It’s utilized by two different ecotypes of killer whales, transients (mammal-hunting) and residents (fish-hunting). The Northeast Pacific killer whales are some of the longest studied marine mammals since the early 1970s, with the Centre for Whale Research being set up to study the Southern resident community of killer whales. The research of Northeast Pacific killer whales has revealed a complex social structure in these animals. The social structures of killer whales are incredibly unique because it has reviled that killer whales are cultural based mammals. These culture traditions such as hunting techniques and language are taught by the females, for killer whales are a matriarchal society. The base social level of killer whales is the matriline, which is made up of a female and her offspring (both juvenile and adult male and females). A killer whale pod consists of several related matrilines that contain a common maternal ancestor. The clan is the next level in the social structure of killer whales, which indicates the relatedness of pods through the vocal dialects that they speak. Similar dialects of clan members reflect the common matrilineal heritage of the pods. The community is the last level of the social structure, and is made up of pods that associate with one another quite regularly. Therefore, killer whales demonstrate one of the most significant maternal connections in marine mammals. What’s an empty nest? Killer whales also experience the longest gestation of any marine mammal ranging between 15 to 18 months, and calves may not be weaned until two years of age.

Two of the six porpoise species, forage and reproduce in the Salish Sea. The Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is highly elusive around vessels but huge foraging associations are witnessed in highly productive areas in the Salish Sea. The breeding season for the harbour porpoise appears to be late summer in the Salish Sea. The male harbour porpoise breeds with multiple females due to their weighty advantage of largest testes-to-body size ratio. Sexually mature females are able to give birth annually; therefore the females are under nutritional stress for most of their adult lives, due to overlapping periods of lactation and pregnancy. Due to the elusive nature of the harbour porpoise, mother-calf pairings are a rare sight. Unfortunately, my first sighting of a mother-calf pairing of a harbour porpoise ended with the calf being utilized/consumed as a teaching tool for T100D a young transient killer whale by his or her mother T100. It was AWESOME! During the productive summer months in the Salish Sea, the male Dall’s porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) escort and breed with a single female since they aren’t as “ballsy” as the harbour porpoises. The following summer months, after nearly a year gestation period, a new calf is born. However, the new calf surprisingly might not be only a Dall’s porpoise but a hybrid between a Dall’s and a Harbour porpoise. Those harbour porpoises are definitely “ballsy” mating with one of the fastest cetacean species. Similar to the Harbours the Dall’s females in their prime probably give birth annually, but might not be a stressed due to a shorter lactation period of two months to eight months.

National Audubon Society: "Guide to Marine Mammals of the World" 2002 Chanticleer Press, Inc.

Enrol Earth Day 365

2009-05-04T17:23:00.000-07:00

Prerequisite: Human Being

Up, down, slight tilt to the port and then a roll to the starboard with an aroma of “fish”, this is how I spent Earth Day 2009 working as an observer onboard a fishing vessel to promote sustainable fishing practices. Earth day is unique in that it is a global celebration that transcends national borders and promotes unity of the world’s population to respect the planet that we all call home. As human beings, we are as every bit dependent as other species for nature to supply us with clean air, water, soil and energy. Therefore, it is our responsibility to treat our home with reverence, so that it continues to supply us with all that we need.

The celebration of earth day is just the first step in respecting our planet’s resources. Therefore, it is more important for us to implement earth day 365 days for the rest of our lives and teach this to the next generation. The unique thing I learnt on my last observer rotation is that you don’t have to believe in climate change to believe that we as a species are wasteful and should be doing something to be less wasteful, i.e. turn off the lights. Simple changes to be less wasteful in your own personal life will result in a “healthier” environment. Therefore, turn off the lights when you leave a room, utilize cloth bags for purchases, clean with nature friendly products, and practice the three R’s (reduce, reuse, and recycle). If everyone enrols in Earth Day 365, it will help to ensure that nature will be able to keep supplying us and other wildlife (i.e. whales) with clean air, water, soil and energy.

Supplemental Readings for Earth Day 365:
A guide book to green living (i.e. How to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: 365 Simple Ways to Save Energy, Resources and Money by Joanna Yarrow or The Green Guide by David Suzuki) – http://www.amazon.ca/
Earth Day Network – http://www.earthday.net/
The David Suzuki Foundation – http://www.davidsuzuki.org/
Method: Home Care and Personal Products – http://www.methodhome.com/

What do marine mammals of the Salish Sea do for Easter?

2009-04-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

So this weekend many of us celebrated Easter but what of the whales and other creatures in the sea? What is the significance of this time of the year for marine mammals in the Salish Sea?

Well, first let's have a brief look at how Easter is significant to us. According to a synopsis in the UK's online paper, The Independent, some general facts about Easter and why we celebrate it include:

Easter is oldest and most important Christian festival marking the death (Good Friday) and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Today! Easter Sunday)
Many customs associated with this time of the year are derived from combination of Jewish lore, pre-Christian and pagan practices
Named after Eostre, the goddess of fertility and birth, and worshipped by first-century pagans...they believed she blessed both their families and crops
Falls on the first Sunday after the Full Moon that occurs on or after the spring Equinox (March 21)
Some symbols of Easter...the Lamb, Rabbits and Eggs
The lamb is associated because Christ became known as the "lamb of God". As well the older idea of the "sacrificial lamb" came from the fact that doors of Israelites were marked with the blood of a lamb to prevent the Angel of Death from "passing over" and killing their first born
Eggs are associated with Easter because they are ancient symbols of fertility and have also been associated with the rebirth or resurrection of Christ
And where did the Easter bunny come from? The hare which is another ancient, pre-Christian symbol of fertility associated with spring. AND in Anglo-Saxon mythology Eostara changed her pet bird into a rabbit to entertain a group of children and the it retained the ability to lay brightly coloured eggs for the children!

So what about marine mammals of the Salish Sea and Easter? The Pagan goddess Eostre, the goddess of fertility and birth, appears to have a role to play in the lives of many marine mammals at this time.

Here's what the marine mammals inhabiting the Salish Sea are up to as the goddess of fertility and the Easter bunny visit us:

Killer whale (Orcinus orca)

At this is the time of year the Southern Resident 'fish eating' Killer Whales begin spending more time foraging in the waters of the Salish Sea. In spring the main prey of these whales, the Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), start returning to their natal streams (Fisheries and Oceans Canada Chinook) in preparation for spawning. By May or June all three pods are in these waters foraging and socializing...and socializing means breeding! Killer whales travel in extensive matriarchal families so don't breed when one pod is together but once pods join together this activity happens. So Easter is the start of increased killer whale social and breeding activity!

Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)

The goddess of fertility visits the gray whales a little earlier than other species of marine mammals. In the spring Gray whales are just arriving to their northern feeding grounds after spending the winter months, from late December to late March, mating and calving in the warmer waters of the lagoons of Baja California Sur, Mexico. After a winter of fasting they must return to the productive waters of Washington and British Columbia up to Alaska to bottom feed on amphipods and tube worms or mysid shrimp in the water column.

Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

There is not a lot of evidence to show that minke whales have the same strong north-south migration that other baleen whale have but they still tend to be found in southern latitudes in the winter and northern latitudes in the summer. Easter for the minke whale is likely to be a time of movement into increasingly productive northern feeding areas. In the Salish sea sightings of minke whales start to increase during the spring (or are we just looking more?). This is especially true in the shallow bank areas where there is upwelling and good productivity. In known feeding areas of the Salish Sea, such as Hein Bank in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, congregations of more than 5 foraging minke whales can be seen!

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

As with the Gray whale, Easter is a time when the humpback whales are returning to the rich northern feeding areas from Vancouver Island to Alaska. Until only a few years ago the humpback whales were a fairly rare sight in the inland waters of the Salish Sea. In the recent years sightings of this species has been increasing...initially sightings were increasing during the fall and now they are starting as soon as spring!

Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)

During Easters Dall's porpoise are not yet breeding which occurs during the summer months. Groups of Dall`s seen this time of year are feeding on a variety of prey in deeper waters of the Salish Sea including squid, other small schooling fish (herring and capelin), and the fish inhabiting the deep channel waters of the area (hake and smelt). These guys eat up to 28 - 30 pounds of food per day and do most of their foraging at night. The males would also be checking out the females; they find a single female to escort and breed with during the summer. The following summer, after a year long gestation period, a new Dall's porpoise calf is born!

Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

The harbour porpoise is the smallest cetacean in the NE Pacific (5 - 6 ft, ~2 m) and, like their cousins the Dall's porpoise, increased productivity of the waters of the Salish Sea around Easter provides food. This little species feeds on non-spiny fishes such as herring, cod, whiting, squid and pollock. Breeding in this species tends to occur in late summer. Male harbour porpoise are different from the Dall's porpoise males...they have the largest testes-to-body-size ratio which relates to their strategy of mating with as many females as possible rather than choosing to escort a single female!

Stellar sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus)

Although Stellar sea lions can be seen in the Salish Sea around Easter the majority of the males that congregate here in the winter have started their migration to the breeding rookeries of northern BC to Alaska. By May, mature males stake out and defend territories in these rookeries for up to 60 days. Females arrive later than the males, give birth to their pups which they will nurse for 1-3 years, and mating will occur in June and July.

California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)

Like the Stellar sea lion, California sea lion males spend the winter hauled out in areas of the Salish Sea, such as Race Rocks Marine Protected Area. Unlike the Stellar sea lions, who travel north to breed, these sea lions travel south to the breeding colonies off California and Mexico. These sea lions will ferociously defend harems of up to 40 females. All sea lions have the ability to delay implantation meaning the female won't actually get pregnant until up to three months after breeding and the gestation period is 9 months.

Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris)

Starting in December, northern elephant seals breed in the south in waters off California and Mexico. The pups are born just prior to breeding and then a female is ready to mate 24 days after the pup is born! By mid-March most adults have left the breeding colonies with the pups being weaned quite abruptly by desertion. By Easter the pups have been weaned, have started to swim and head to sea going northwest to feed in areas, such as the Salish Sea, off the coast of northern Washington and Vancouver Island. These young animals don`t usually appear on land again until September...they live off the fat reserves they packed on during the short nursing 4 week nursing period!

Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina)

Harbour seals are non-migratory displaying only some local feeding and breeding movments. During early spring and Easter harbour seals are likely spending most of their time foraging because they tend to breed and have their pups during the summer months of July and August. Studies have indicated that harbour seals feed on a variety of small fish around rocky reefs including sculpins, small flatfishes and rockfishes, greenlings, smelts and perches. Happy Easter dining harbour seals!!

April 7 & 8 evening and early morning navy sonar activity in Haro Strait

2009-04-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Anybody listening to the OrcaSound hydrophone last night would've heard some pretty strange sounds including an 'electronic' sounding voice saying serials of numbers and then pinging. According to Jeane Hyde's report on her blog Whale of a porpoise the sounds continued for over 8 hours (check out the entire play of events on her blog).

Bellingham Coast Guard confirmed that the sounds last night likely came from a U.S. Navy submarine similar to this one

Initially there was the electronic voice reading a series of numbers, then silence and then the pinging began. Nobody was aware that a navy exercise was supposed to be happening and no ships were seen in the Strait at the time. It is likely it was a U.S. Navy Submarine and when Jeane finally got in contact with the Bellingham Coast Guard this was confirmed.

Orca Sightings network listserv email reported many marine mammals in the area throughout the day inluding Transient killer whales (Orcinus orca), a minke whale (Baleanoptera acutorostrata), 1 or 2 gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) and porpoise (likley both Dall's, Phocoenoides dalli or harbour, Phocoena phocoena). Maybe we should be concerned?

Related blog and web posts

Whale of a Porpoise - Jeane Hyde's blog with sequence of events

Postcards from Friday Harbour - Post with info on Navy's plan to increase training around San Juan Islands

Orcinus Orca collective - with edited film of sounds from last night

Beam Reach - blog post from the organization that runs OrcaSound

John Boyd's compilation of April 7 sounds

MARINE NIGHT: How I Stopped Worrying About Global Fisheries

2009-04-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

Monday, April 27
Do you suffer from “doom overload”? Does science have the answers? What can one person do? Biologist and writer Brian Harvey will present an entertaining talk and slide show about his experiences “taking science on the road” to aquatic biodiversity hotspots from British Columbia to Brazil. Brian is author of The End of the River, which The Globe and Mail describes as “a brilliant and instructive book, alive with the author’s seditious intelligence”. Everyone is welcome. 7:30 p.m. Room 159, Fraser Building, University of Victoria.

Thank you to the Victoria Natural History Society for putting together another great season of talks and field trips! To learn more about this great group check out their website: www.vicnhs.bc.ca

Children and nature awareness option!

2009-04-07T22:18:00.000-07:00

We received notice of this upcoming kids camp...Whale Camp! Wish they had this when I was younger!

Here's the info forwarded to us from the Salish Sea Association of Marine Naturalists (SSAMN i.e. sounds like salmon!)

WHALE CAMP
August 16-21, 2009
at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA
For youth ages 12-14

Spend an exciting week on Puget Sound with marine scientists and visual artists who will take you into the world of these wonderful animals.
Examine our new orca skeleton
Help design a new exhibit
Conduct hydrophone research
Assemble a gray whale skeleton
Create your own sounds and movements based on your observations
Take to the water on an orca whale-watching cruise and visit the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor
Create large marine sculptures

Housing is in the dormitories at Fort Worden State Park, with supervision by experienced counselors. Meals are at the Fort Worden Commons, where food is fresh, organic and local.

Tuition, room and board for Whale Camp is $865, and scholarships are available.

Deadline for application is May 15.
Learn more and register online at www.centrum.org/youth or call Martha Worthley at 360-385-3102 X120

And a PDF of the flier for this cool looking camp!

Link to post about moulting elephant seal hauled out in Victoria Harbour yesterday!

2009-04-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

Go to Maiacetus...WNU member post about this elephant seal!
http://maiacetus.blogspot.com/

April is Children and Nature Awareness Month!

2009-04-06T12:13:00.000-07:00

We've all heard that the future is in the hands of children so what will the future hold?
Nature-deficit disorder is a term that has been coined to describe the increasing numbers of children who have little to no unstructured playtime in the natural environment. Richard Louv, award-winning author of "Last Child in the Woods", writes:
"Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses."
Playing outside without structure and supervision allows kids to develop common sense, problem solving skills, and wonderful imaginations. They also build a life-long relationship with nature that will last a lifetime and give them the desire to live a more active lifestyle and reduce their chance of suffering from depression.
There are many ways for everyone to encourage kids to get outside!

Parents can give kids their own garden plot, take them on hikes, encourage walking and riding bikes to school, and support (or start) initiatives by teachers and schools to increase outdoor education.
Teachers can incorporate the outdoors into every aspect of the curriculum (in elementary and secondary schools), encourage community involvement by the students, start a school garden or stream restoration project, and lead by example- conserve water and power, recycle in the classroom, compost.
Citizens can volunteer their time with kids groups like scouts and guides, start a community garden, engage with the local rec centre to lead nature walks, and get involved in mentoring.
Everyone can get involved in "Leave no Child Inside" initiatives!

Get started learning about this issue at these websites:

Children and Nature Network
Child and Nature Alliance (a British Columbia based initiative)
Richard Louv (author of "Last Child in the Woods")
EKOS Communications (Richard Louv Podcast)
The Centre for Ecoliteracy

2009-04-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

This information is taken from the PRESS RELEASE

Alexandra Morton, registered biologist, author and marine researcher, will be speaking and showing slides on Saving Wild Salmon at two venues in the Victoria area in April.

Saturday, April 18 at 7:30 PM at St. Ann's Academy Auditorium, 835 Humbolt, Victoria. Donations gratefully received at the door. Sponsored by the Sierra Club.

Sunday, April 19 speaking at the 10:30 AM service at Victoria Unitarian Church at 5575 West Saanich Road, in Saanich, north of Hartland Ave. (across from the Red Barn). Slide presentation and forum at 12:15 after church service. Donations optional and gratefully received.

An activist for wild salmon, Alexandra Morton established the Raincoast Research Foundation soon after moving to the Broughton Archipelago in the mid 1980s, where she studies whales and the effects of fish farming on wild salmon. She started "Adopt a Fry Program" http://www.adopt-a-fry.org of Pacific Coast Wild Salmon Society, and also directs the work of the Salmon Coast Field Station in Echo Bay, which houses research scientists working on the enhancement of wild salmon ecosystems. See http://www.salmoncoast.org

Alexandra has written many books, articles and scientific papers and has received many awards. In June 2005, Alexandra filed a legal action under the Fisheries Act for illegal release of sea lice into fish habitat, which has recently been decided in her favour. The court ruled that the province has no jurisdiction over fish farms and that they are the mandate of Federal Fisheries and Oceans. For more information see: www.raincoastresearch.org

SAVING LUNA is on CBC this Sunday April 5 and Tuesday April 7!!

2009-04-03T22:10:00.000-07:00

Get your box of tissues handy! This is a great documentary about orphaned L pod whale, L98 (aka Luna), who ended up on his own in Nootka Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in 1991. This young killer whale was a long ways from his family with whom he should have spent his entire life had things gone normally. Instead, he was 200 miles away from his home waters and having to forage and entertain himself...and ended up causing a lot of controversy in this quiet part of the world!

Luna and a friend at the dock in Nootka Sound (Source: OrcaSightings Network)

Luna tried incredibly hard to make contact with humans resulting in heated debates about whether this contact should be allowed and how to deal with him. The government attempted to move him closer to his family and First Nations did their best to prevent them from moving the 'spirit' of their recently deceased chief...and so things got very intense in Nootka sound!

This is a great documentary which ended up receiving 17 international awards and many more nominations. Definitely recommended viewing!

Get some more info about Saving Luna from CBC Saving Luna page:

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/thelens/2009/savingluna/#

View the preview on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik-UDAjBCaw

Read more about Luna`s life on Orca Sighting`s network Luna page:
http://www.orcanetwork.org/news/luna.html

Whale Nerds Unite are blogging!

2009-03-25T18:17:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the first post on the Whale Nerds Unite blog...Yipee!

Whale Nerds Unite are four experienced marine researchers and educators dedicated to promoting the conservation of the coastal ecosystems of the waters around southern Vancouver Island in the Salish Sea through rigorous research and public education activities (yep...that was our mission statement!).

Sunset over the Strait of Juan De Fuca near Victoria

So what exactly is it we do? Well here's an outline of what we're about:

Our Work

...is to initiate and conduct scientific research on marine mammals in the Salish Sea (waters of the Strait of Juan De Fuca and Haro Strait, around southern Vancouver Island) to improve understanding of their role in the Salish Sea marine ecosystem and promote conservation of this ecosystem through research, interpretation, education and action.

Our Approach

...emphasizes the use of up-to-date marine mammal research methodologies and technologies...for example, to assess abundance and distribution of marine mammal species in the Salish Sea. Through public presentations and display we aim to improve the general public's access to both historical and contemporary findings on the ecosystem of the Salish Sea.

Our Vision

...is to establish long-term, scientifically sound marine mammal research in the waters of the Salish Sea. This will be used to help develop a more informed and involved public in the communities of southern Vancouver Island that may directly influence or be influenced by the health of the Salish Sea.

And why are we blogging? Well, the goal of this blog will be to:

Track, for ourselves and anybody interested, the exciting things a whale nerd does while working in different capacities in the marine environment.

Share contemporary issues and topics on marine mammals and the ecosystems that support them.

Give you more info about activities we are doing and what you can do to help protect marine mammals and their ecosystems!

So, if you’re interested in WHALES (and other associated marine life!) and want to know more about activities and thoughts of the whale nerds…stay tuned!