Marine Mammals – Part 2

 

The marine biologist confirmed that the passenger was indeed right and the v-shaped shower came from the blowholes on the top of the whale’s head and that he was a lone male traveling back from the Gulf of Mexico after the breeding season and feeding crustacean rich waters along the coast of Monterey.  She looked through her binoculars to confirm the species. She spotted the gray-white patterns and scars left by parasites which drop off in its cold feeding grounds and confirmed it to be a gray whale.

Gray whale is an endangered species on the west coast and there less than 200 surviving today. They travel approximately120 kms/day and cover 16,000-22,000 kms during the annual migration. They are spotted between mid-December to early January at Monterey during their journey South and found along with their calves between March and May on their journey back North.

Bio-magnification

Biopsy of Whale blubber found high levels of PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) in their body. PCBs are found in flame retardant chemicals used in lot of upholstery and home fabrics have found their way into the ocean and into the marine ecosystem. The marine biologist pointed out that whale calves were found to have high levels of PCBs in their system and many of them died young. She also confirmed that the PCB levels were found to decrease as the off springs increased. So, more the offspring better was their chance of survival.

We were in the middle of the Ocean and the marine biologist (MB) asked the captain to shut off the boat. The waves rocked the boat back and forth while the MB asked us to keep a watch out of other cousins of the gray whale. Bala found warmth under the sun, I took a nap inside, not sure if it was sea sickness or exhaustion. I suddenly woke up to a loud noise, did something happen to the boat or did they spot something exotic in the ocean? Come along...lets go deeper.

The MB spotted a humpback whale and when she pointed the crowd towards its direction the entire crowd went gaga watching the whale taking a plunge and showing off its tail fin. While we waited for another show, the MB shared more information about its social behavior and singing traits.

Unsociable but singing humpbacks

 

The humpbacks social structure is loose-knit. Typically, individuals live alone or in small, transient groups that disband after a few hours. These whales are not excessively social in most cases. Groups may stay together a little longer in summer to forage and feed cooperatively. Longer-term relationships between pairs or small groups, lasting months or even years, have rarely been observed. Some females possibly retain bonds created via cooperative feeding for a lifetime.

Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, but only males produce the long, loud, complex "songs" for which the species is famous. Each song consists of several sounds in a low register, varying in amplitude and frequency, and typically lasting from 10 to 20 minutes. Humpbacks may sing continuously for more than 24 hours. Whales within a large area sing the same song. All North Atlantic humpbacks sing the same song, and those of the North Pacific sing a different song. Each population's song changes slowly over a period of years without repeating

Before 1966, the humpsbacks were almost at the verge of extinction, and subsequent protection laws and enforcement has helped to improve their population. There are now close to 80,000 humpbacks seen along the coast of Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada and South America.

Three hours had elapsed into the trip, and by then some of the passengers were excited to catch another species in the top of the marine pyramid – the killer whale, while some passengers got sick from staying out long in the rocking boat went in for a nap. Suddenly the MB yelled 137 and pointed passengers towards eleven o’clock. What do 137 refer to? Was she referring to serial killers? Did we get a glimpse of killer whales? Come back next week.

Vist the link to view the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/108289564546757100555/MontereyBay#