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

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!

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!

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

'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:

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.

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