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Alaskan
Humpback Whale Research |
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| We apologize that this program is
not available in 2007. This is due to a re-organization of the Alaska Whale
Foundation's research prospectus. Please check back for availability in
2008. You may wish to visit Alaska Whale
Foundation's
extremely informative website and perhaps consider making a donation to
fund their continuing research. |
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| Introduction:
Researcher Dr. Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation has been
conducting a long-term study of
humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the wilderness of Southeast Alaska. The
humpback whale differs from the other baleen whales in many striking ways, but perhaps
most notable are its enormous pectoral flippers, highly social behaviors, and haunting
winter songs. But, to Fred, the most fascinating aspect of the humpback whale are its
unique foraging behaviors. For nearly a century it has been known that humpback whales
generate a variety of bubble structures while foraging on schooling fishes or krill. More
recently, it has been appreciated that this bubbling activity represents a form
of tool-using behavior as it is actually used to maneuver the prey and make it easier to
consume. An equally intriguing aspect of the humpback whale is its broadcast of low
frequency sounds while attacking herring and other bait fishes. These sounds appear to
serve as an acoustic herding device and assist the whale in chasing fish upwards towards
the water's surface. These complex feeding behaviors culminate in a spectacular explosion
of fish and foam as the whales lunge through the shoal of trapped fish. A great
introduction to the humpback whale and southeast Alaska may be found in "Voyaging
with the Whales" by Cynthia D'Vincent and Fred Sharpe, published in 1989 by
Boulton Publishing Services of Toronto, Canada. This beautiful book is based on their
years of research in the area and is graced by hundreds of amazing color photographs,
taken mainly by the authors. We recommend it very strongly to anyone considering
participating in this volunteer vacation. You may also want to investigate Alaska Whale
Foundation's
extremely informative internet site. |
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| Importance of the Project: The humpback whale remains one of the most critically endangered marine mammals
in the world. Unfortunately, populations along the west coast of North America were still
exploited until the mid-1960's. The protected inland waters of southeast Alaska now harbor
the largest remaining feeding herd in the North Pacific Ocean. To assure the recovery of
the humpback, it is critical that we possess a better understanding of its foraging
ecology, social behaviors, and population trends. |
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| Project History
& Principal Researcher:
Dr. Fred
Sharpe began his study of humpback whales nearly a decade ago when he joined the crew of a
research vessel and made his first voyage to southeast Alaska. Over the years his interest
in humpback whales has intensified and evolved into his thesis project for a Ph.D. degree
in evolutionary biology as part of the Behavioral Ecology Research Group at Simon Fraser
University of British Columbia. He has organized a research group called the Alaska Whale
Foundation whose board of directors includes many noteworthy whale biologists, including
Dr. Roger Payne and Dr. Pieter Arend Folkens. Fred's novel approach of combining the study
of whales in the wild with modeling whale predation in laboratory environments has earned
him the internationally acclaimed Fairfield Award for Innovative Marine Mammal Research.
(Take a look at the Virtual Whale,
the basis for this award - please note that this website is under
transition at the present time. He is co-author and illustrator of several books including Voyaging
with the Whales, Birding in the San Juan Islands, and Wild Plants of the San Juan
Islands. His excellent reputation as a naturalist, educator, photographer, and
humorist have him in demand throughout the Pacific Northwest as a public speaker. If
you've ever read John Steinbeck's Cannery Row and can recall the amusing real-life
character of Ed Ricketts, the famous marine biologist, you will have some insight into the
colorful personality of Fred Sharpe. |
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| Research Objectives: An
important aspect of the project is to employ photo-identification techniques that can
assist in understanding population trends, calving rates, and individual home ranges. The
photo-identification can also provide insight into long-term associations between
individuals, the existence of dominance hierarchies, and the use of specialized foraging
strategies by individual whales. All photo-identification images of tail flukes are
contributed to the North Pacific Humpback Whale Catalog maintained by the National Marine
Fisheries Service.
The rich, protected waters of southeast Alaska
provide a wide diversity of prey types for the humpback, and consequently, this population
of whales has evolved the greatest diversity of unusual feeding behaviors documented
anywhere in the world. Through the use of both field and laboratory research, this study
is designed to provide a baseline of knowledge regarding the species' utilization of
bubble-nets, low-frequency sounds, flipper-waving, and social cooperation to capture
school prey organisms. An important goal of the study is to provide insight into the
problems associated with commercial fisheries-interaction conflicts, acoustic pollution,
and vessel disturbance. |
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Alaskan Humpback Whale Research, Alaska Whale Foundation
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