Amazing nature, amazing photo

This incredible image, taken by wildlife photographer Tommy Hatwell, portrays a killer whale (Orcinus orca) attacking a false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) and her calf in New Zealand waters.

"I have never known anything like this before to be captured on film. This is Mother Nature at its most brutal, a rare occurrence that it was seen by humans, and even more rare that it was captured on camera”, commented an excited Hatwell.

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7532131/Killer-whale-attacks-dolphin-in-front-of-tourists.html

Peroni and Tethys

The Italian brewing company ‘Peroni’ donated 3000 cans of beer to Tethys.

Volunteers participating in Tethys field courses will surely enjoy such a refreshing drink on the patio of the Galaxidi field station, or on the deck of the Pelagos boat.

We are grateful to Peroni for their contribution to our field activities.

SB

Fish2Fork

Had you ever wondered which is the best restaurant to eat sustainable fish, Fish2Fork may be the answer.

After The End of the Line, Fish2Fork is Charles Clover’s new conservation idea: the first online restaurant guide to highlight best and worst seafood places.

With a specific rating system, Fish2Fork evaluates restaurants in terms of food quality, impacts on marine life, and whether they provide information about fish or shellfish species served on the menu.

Unfortunately, Fish2Fork covers only the U.K. and the U.S.A. - a disappointing bias.

http://fish2fork.com/apps/welcome

SB

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (in the Pliocene)

Four million years ago a Pliocene dolphin Astadelphis gastaldii died. Its skeleton was recovered, then stored in an Italian museum where it lied unstudied for more than a century... until some researchers decided to have a deep look at it. The result was amazing.

Carved into the old dolphin bones, researcher Giovanni Bianucci and his colleagues from the University of Pisa, Italy, found visible shark bite marks. By carefully studying the morphology and disposition of the tooth marks, the authors managed to attribute the bites to the predation of a single shark, most likely a Cosmopolitodus hastalis.

Then Bianucci and colleagues reconstructed what probably happened during the attack:

"… the shark attached from below, biting into the abdomen. Caught in the powerful bite, the dolphin would have struggled, and the shark probably detached a big amount of flesh by shaking its body from side to side. The bite would have caused severe damage and intense blood loss, because of the dense network of nerves, blood vessels and vital organs in this area. Then, already dead or in a state of shock, the dolphin rolled onto its back, and the shark bit again, close to the fleshy dorsal fin".

This study reveals how much can be inferred from skeletal remains, and offers a glimpse on ancient animal behaviour.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Drawing: Attack sequence as hypothesized by Bianucci et al.
A) the shark approached the prey; B) the shark bitted the abdomen of the dolphin; C) the dolphin, mortally injured, rolled to the left and the shark bitted adjacent to dorsal fin area.

For more information:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316142519.htm

Bianucci G., Sorce B., Storai T., Landini W. 2010. Killing in the Pliocene: shark attack on a dolphin from Italy. Palaeontology 53(2):457–470.
Abstract - Shark bite marks, including striae, sulci and abrasions, in a well-preserved fossil dolphin skeleton referred to Astadelphis gastaldii (Cetacea, Delphinidae) from Pliocene sediments of Piedmont (northern Italy), are described in detail. The exceptional combination of a fossil dolphin having a significant part of the skeleton preserved and a large number of bite marks on the bones represents one of the few detailed documentations of shark attack in the past. Most bite marks have been referred to a shark about 4 m long with unserrated teeth, belonging to Cosmopolitodus hastalis, on the basis of their shape and their general disposition on the dolphin skeleton. According to our hypothesis, the shark attacked the dolphin with an initial mortal bite to the abdomen from the rear and right, in a similar way as observed for the living white shark when attacking pinnipeds. A second, less strong, bite was given on the dorsal area when the dolphin, mortally injured, probably rolled to the left. The shark probably released the prey, dead or dying, and other sharks or fishes probably scavenged the torn body of the dolphin.

Bernd and Melany Würsig in Galaxidi

In these days Bernd and Melany Würsig are visiting the field station of Tethys in Galaxidi (Gulf of Corinth, Greece), spending a few days with researchers Silvia Bonizzoni and Giovanni Bearzi.

Bernd and Mel are good friends, long-time advisors and a bright example of commitment to cetacean science and conservation. They have done incredible work, and managed all that with much generosity, never taking themselves too seriously and always willing to share the fun.

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Bernd Würsig is regents professor at Texas A&M University, and chair of the Marine Biology Graduate Program. Melany Würsig is curriculum instruction specialist at Cloverleaf Elementary School in Houston, Texas. Bernd has been senior advisor to 65 graduate students since 1981, and authored or co-authored approximately 150 research papers and six books, including the second edition of the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2009, with Bill Perrin and Hans Thewissen). Bernd and Melany co-authored The Hawaiian Spinner Dolphin (1994, with Ken Norris and Randy Wells) and The Dusky Dolphin: Master Acrobat off Different Shores (2010).

Fishing bans do work

Many are against fishing bans, or think that are useless. A study proved this kind of regulation works.

Australian researchers showed that strict fishing prohibition has helped to regenerate wildlife and coral on one-third of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Laurence McCook, the lead author of the study, commented "The results are actually quite impressive. Having a higher proportion of protected areas is good for marine life, it's good for fish and it's good for people who rely on the reef for a living".

McCook and colleagues demonstrated no-take zones have less damaged coral, more and bigger fish (including sharks) in both reef and non-reef habitats, with benefits for fisheries as well as biodiversity conservation.

SB

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Photo: the Australian Great Barrier Reef

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7290755/Fishing-ban-regenerates-Australias-Great-Barrier-Reef.html

The article:
L.J. McCook, T. Ayling, M. Cappo, J.H. Choat, R.D. Evans, D.M. De Freitas, M. Heupel, T.P. Hughes, G.P. Jones, B. Mapstone, H. Marsh, M. Mills, F.J. Molloy, C.R. Pitcher, R.L. Pressey, G.R. Russ, S. Sutton, H. Sweatman, R. Tobin, D.R. Wachenfeld, D.H. Williamson. 2010. Adaptive management of the Great Barrier Reef: a globally significant demonstration of the benefits of networks of marine reserves. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909335107

Abstract - The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) provides a globally significant demonstration of the effectiveness of large-scale networks of marine reserves in contributing to integrated, adaptive management. Comprehensive review of available evidence shows major, rapid benefits of no-take areas for targeted fish and sharks, in both reef and nonreef habitats, with potential benefits for fisheries as well as biodiversity conservation. Large, mobile species like sharks benefit less than smaller, site-attached fish. Critically, reserves also appear to benefit overall ecosystem health and resilience: outbreaks of coral-eating, crown-of-thorns starfish appear less frequent on no-take reefs, which consequently have higher abundance of coral, the very foundation of reef ecosystems. Effective marine reserves require regular review of compliance: fish abundances in no-entry zones suggest that even no-take zones may be significantly depleted due to poaching. Spatial analyses comparing zoning with seabed biodiversity or dugong distributions illustrate significant benefits from application of best-practice conservation principles in data-poor situations. Increases in the marine reserve network in 2004 affected fishers, but preliminary economic analysis suggests considerable net benefits, in terms of protecting environmental and tourism values. Relative to the revenue generated by reef tourism, current expenditure on protection is minor. Recent implementation of an Outlook Report provides regular, formal review of environmental condition and management and links to policy responses, key aspects of adaptive management. Given the major threat posed by climate change, the expanded network of marine reserves provides a critical and cost-effective contribution to enhancing the resilience of the Great Barrier Reef.

Extinct and quickly forgotten

Many species became extinct because of us, but our impact on Planet Earth continues to be forgotten as we lose track of environment changes.

This is the conclusion of a recent study led by Dr. Samuel Turvey.

In 2006, Turvey participated in a Yangtze River expedition to asses the baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) population. The species was later declared ‘extinct’. Turvey returned in 2008 to interview locals about their knowledge of the baiji. The result was quite depressing: memories of this tremendous loss are quickly fading away.

Younger informants were less likely to know what a baiji was. While older people were aware of the historical decline of the baiji, younger fishermen from the same communities not only had never seen this animal, but had never even heard of it.

Soon, people will forget about the former existence of this cetacean species - once common in their environment. Progressively degraded environmental conditions and low biodiversity will come to be seen as normal.

"These shifts in community perception typically mean that the true level of human impact on the environment is underestimated, or even not appreciated at all, since the original environmental baseline has been forgotten” - Turvey commented.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Drawing by Giovanni Bearzi

The article:
S.T. Turvey, L.A. Barrett, H. Yujiang, Z. Lei, Z. Xinqiao, W. Xianyan, H. Yadong, Z. Kaiya, T. Hart, W. Ding. 2010. Rapidly shifting baselines in Yangtze fishing communities and local memory of extinct species. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01395.x

Abstract - Local ecological knowledge can provide a unique source of data for conservation, especially in efforts to investigate the status of rare or possibly extinct species, but it is unlikely to remain constant over time. Loss of perspective about past ecological conditions caused by lack of communication between generations may create "shifting baseline syndrome," in which younger generations are less aware of local species diversity or abundance in the recent past. This phenomenon has been widely discussed, but has rarely been examined quantitatively. We present new evidence of shifting baselines in local perception of regional species declines and on the duration of "community memory" of extinct species on the basis of extensive interviews with fishers in communities across the middle-lower Yangtze basin. Many Yangtze species have experienced major declines in recent decades, and the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) and Yangtze paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) may have become extinct during the 21st century. Although informants across all age classes were strongly aware of the Yangtze ecosystem's escalating resource depletion and environmental degradation, older informants were more likely to recognize declines in two commercially important fish species, Reeves' shad (Tenualosa reevesii) and Yangtze pufferfish (Takifugu fasciatus), and to have encountered baiji and paddlefish in the past. Age was also a strong predictor of whether informants had even heard of baiji or paddlefish, with younger informants being substantially less likely to recognize either species. A marked decrease in local knowledge about the Yangtze freshwater megafauna matched the time of major population declines of these species from the 1970s onwards, and paddlefish were already unknown to over 70% of all informants below the age of 40 and to those who first started fishing after 1995. This rapid rate of cultural baseline shift suggests that once even megafaunal species cease to be encountered on a fairly regular basis, they are rapidly forgotten by local communities

For more information:
http://news.mongabay.com/2010/0223-hance_shiftbaiji.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8530965.stm

The early ADP in Losinj, Croatia

One more video (Italian narration) bringing back memories of the early Adriatic Dolphin Project in Losinj, Croatia.

In the good old days

One more video from the good old days, posted by Drasko Holcer.

It features Tethys researchers working with 'eco-volunteers' back in the mid 1990s.

(Italian narration)

If you are interested in attending ongoing research courses by Tethys in Italy and Greece, please check:
http://www.tethys.org/tri_courses/courses_index_e.htm

Adriatic Dolphin Project video

Drasko Holcer, President of Blue World, posted a video collage with bits of history of the Adriatic Dolphin Project:

http://vimeo.com/9883799

There is a short part at the beginning which relates to the 14-year period (1987-2000) when the project was managed by Tethys.

Additional information about the Adriatic Dolphin Project can be found at:

http://www.tethys.org/projects/VDP/vdp_home.htm

Should killer whales not kill?

Killer whale kills SeaWorld trainer

Orca uccide addestratrice del SeaWorld



Why not let orcas kill their own prey in the wild, instead of using these top predators as toys and then be shocked if some of them, sometimes, behave as wild animals?

Giovanni Bearzi

Foodball team

Some cetacean species - bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, dusky dolphins, killer whales etc. - are famous ‘fish ball’ hunters.

They gather together, circle around a school of fish, squish the fish into a ball, and then take turns swimming into the bait ball and eating the fish.

A new study suggests that sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) can probably do the same. Thanks to special tags attached to the animals, researchers could study movement, time and depth recorded during dives of several individuals within the same group.

‘We're speculating that the animals are herding a ball of squid’ said Professor Bruce Mate who led the study, and added: ‘Some whales appeared to guard the bottom of this bait ball, preventing the prey from sinking to unreachable depths, while other animals in the group took advantage of the centre of the ball’.

The sperm whale food-ball theory is not yet proved but researchers are working to better understand what happens when these giants feed at 1,000 m depth.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Photo: a fish ball, at http://www.sea-way.org/blog/Beneath14.JPG

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8530116.stm

Whale funeral

A few days ago, a 16-m long dead whale was spotted along the Vietnamese coast and local fishermen hauled it ashore.

In Vietnam's fishing culture whales are considered sacred and the dead animal is attracting people from throughout the region. Fishermen are burning incense in its honour and they are planning to build a temple at the burial site.

Whales are named 'ngai': the honorific title used for kings, emperors and esteemed leaders.

SB

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Photo: dead whale dragged ashore (by The Associated Press)

For more information:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/02/23/1494845/thousands-give-last-rites-to-dead.html

Bottlenose dolphins as human-health sentinels?

Study bottlenose dolphins to better understand human diseases: this was the topic discussed during the session ‘Decoding the secret pathologies of dolphins: significance for human and ocean health’ held at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in San Diego.

Diseases found in bottlenose dolphins are similar to those found in humans (including diabetes, papilloma virus and RNS-based virus disease) and dolphins diet includes much of the same seafood we consume. All this prompted some researcher to think that these animals can help us discover health effects associated to contaminated coastal water or seafood.

“Our ecological and physiological similarities make dolphins an important ‘sentinel species’ to not only warn us of health risks, but also provide insight into how our health can benefit from new medical discoveries” said Carolyn Sotka of the NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative and lead organizer of the session.

Researchers are now investigating whether coastal dolphin populations and human communities sharing the same seafood resources experience similar exposures.

SB

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For more information:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100218_dolphins.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218173114.htm

WDCS Species Guide

WDCS The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society has recently launched a new online species guide.

The guide comes in three languages (English, Deutsch and Spanish), and provides information about appearance, distribution, behaviour, classification and threats for each cetacean species. It also features 80 maps and over 400 images.

Have a look at the WDCS Species Guide.

Monk seal birth filmed

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus), one of the world’s most endangered marine mammals, has been observed giving birth for the first time in the eastern Mediterranean.

Thanks to an automatic 24-h infrared monitoring system installed in one reproductive cave at Kimolos island, Greece, researchers from MOm (Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal) were able to document two births as well as the postpartum behaviour.

The videos highlighted two threats related to the lactation period. In one occasion, bad sea conditions deteriorated so much that one pup was repeatedly washed away from her mother. Nothing happened to the pup thanks to the mother’s care: she moved the pup to a safer part of the cave and used her body to 'brake' the incoming waves.

The second threat occurred when a person entered the cave. A mother was so frightened that, in an attempt to escape, she trampled over her newborn pup. Fortunately the pup was not injured but the mother left it alone for seven hours.

Temporary mother-pup separation due to bad weather conditions or human disturbance, is the main cause of death for young Mediterranean monk seals. Work by MOm will help design more effective conservation measures.

SB

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Photo: a monk seal mother with her male newborn (from Karamanlidis et al. 2010)

Karamanlidis A.A., Paravas V., Trillmich F., Dendrinos P. 2010. First observations of parturition and postpartum behavior in the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) in the Eastern Mediterranean. Aquatic Mammals 36(1):27-32.

For more information:
http://www.monachus-guardian.org/library/karam09c.pdf

Looking for trawlers: the new seabird’s lifestyle

Fisheries can affect seabird movements and behaviour. This
is the result of a recent study conducted in the Balearic islands, south of Spain.

Researchers analysed and modelled satellite tracking data of 10 foraging trips of breeding Balearic shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus) and 26 trips of breeding Cory’s shearwaters (Calonectris diomedea). By relating the birds movements with trawling activities, an interesting link was found.

When trawlers were active, the birds tended to concentrate in certain high-resource density area where the fishing boats were operating. When trawlers were inactive - during weekends, holidays or trawling moratorium days - the birds engaged in more widely spread and long flights.

Birds were probably attracted to the fish discarded by trawlers, as this represents an easy meal which does not require spending too much time and energy. Availability of discards may improve the breeding performance of Mediterranean seabirds but it may also decrease their fidelity to certain areas.

It’s unclear whether this may be good or bad for the birds in the long run, but it’s obvious how human activities are continuously impacting on nature.

SB

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Photo:
trawler and pelagic seabirds http://www.twooceanssportfishing.com/pelagic-birding

For more information:
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(09)02160-5

Bartumeus F., Giuggioli L., Louzao M., Bretagnolle V., Oro D., Levin S.A. 2010. Fishery discards impact on seabird movement patterns at regional scales. Current Biology 20:215–222.
Summary - Human fishing activities are negatively altering marine ecosystems in many ways, but scavenging animals such as seabirds are taking advantage of such activities by exploiting fishery discards. Despite the well-known impact of fisheries on seabird population dynamics, little is known about how discard availability affects seabird movement patterns. Using scenarios with and without trawling activity, we present evidence that fisheries modify the natural way in which two Mediterranean seabirds explore the seascape to look for resources during the breeding season. Based on satellite tracking data and a mathematical framework to quantify anomalous diffusion phenomena, we show how the interplay between traveling distances and pause periods contributes to the spatial spreading of the seabirds at regional scales (i.e., 10–250 km). When trawlers operate, seabirds show exponentially distributed traveling distances and a strong site fidelity to certain foraging areas, the whole foraging process being subdiffusive. In the absence of trawling activity, the site fidelity increases, but the whole movement pattern appears dominated by rare but very large traveling distances, making foraging a superdiffusive process. Our results demonstrate human involvement on landscape-level behavioral ecology and provide a new ecosystemic approach in the study of fishery-seabird interactions.

Slow conservation

Why conservation is a slow process?

A (small) part of the problem could be that it takes longer for conservation biologists to submit scientific papers than it does for other experts. This, at least, is the result of a recent study published in Conservation Biology.

After data collection, the average conservation biologist waits nearly two years to submit a paper. For a taxonomist it takes about 20 months, 17 for a behavioural scientist, and only 6 for an evolutionary biologist.

One of the challenges is therefore trying to submit a bit earlier, hoping this will encourage a ‘greener’ management.

Indeed, journal Editors also may play a role in delaying publication of conservation-oriented work.

SB

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Photo by Nciri Khaled at http://photo.net

For more information:
http://journalwatch.conservationmagazine.org/

O’Donnell R., Supp S., Cobbold S. 2010. Hindrance of conservation biology by delays in the submission of manuscripts. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01424.x
Abstract - Timely dissemination of scientific findings depends not only on rapid publication of submitted manuscripts, a topic which has received much discussion, but also on rapid submission of research after the research is completed. We measured submission delay (time from the last date of data collection to the submission of a manuscript) for every paper from 14 journals in 2007 and compared these submission delays among four fields of biology (conservation, taxonomy, behavior, and evolution). Manuscripts published in leading journals in the field of conservation biology have the longest delays in publication of accepted manuscripts and the longest intervals between completion of research and submission of the manuscript. Delay in manuscript submission accounts for more than half of the total time from last date of data collection to publication. Across fields, the number of authors was significantly negatively correlated with submission delay, but conservation journals had the second highest number of authors and the greatest submission delay, so submission of conservation manuscripts was not hindered by a shortage of collaboration relative to other fields. Rejection rates were greater in conservation journals than in behavior and evolution, but rejection times were faster; thus, there were no obvious net differences among fields in the time papers spent waiting to be rejected. Publication delay has been reduced significantly in the last 7 years, but was still greater in conservation journals than in any of the other three fields we studied. Thus, the urgent field of conservation biology is hindered in both preparation and publication of manuscripts.

Amazing photos of beluga whales

Remarkable and curious underwater photos of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) as ‘stars’, have been taken in the northern Russia White Sea.

Capturing these images was not so simple. Before each dive the photographers had to create holes in the three-foot-deep ice using a hand saw, to have access to a cold, cold sea.

While divers were enjoying the company of beluga whale, someone else had to stay above the ice — and wait in the wind at temperatures of up to -30°C (!) — to make sure the ice hole didn’t freeze over and trap the underwater group. BRRR!

SB

To see the photos:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1244149/What-doing-Amazing-underwater-photos-beluga-whales-meeting-divers-Arctic-rehabilitation-farm.html

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Photo: a beluga's close approach, by Franco Banfi

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7019127/Inquisitive-beluga-whales-take-an-interest-in-scuba-divers.html

Thinking science

A scientist who is deeply preoccupied with the solution of a problem will find not so much that he allocates special times to thinking about it but rather than reflection upon the problem is the equilibrium state or the zero point on the dial to which his mind tend automatically to return when it is not occupied by anything else.

-- P.B. Medawar in Advice to a Young Scientist (1979)

Mud-ring feeding

The bottlenose dolphin is one of the most adaptive cetaceans. Numerous studies of its behaviour highlighted various and different feeding strategies to have a food-full belly.

Thes dolphins are able to surface-feed, patrol fish-farms looking for wild fishes around the cages, take advantage of various fishing gear, ‘crater-feed’, ‘beach-feed’, use sponges to ferret prey from the sea floor, and prepare their meal by removing the ink and the calcareous bone from cuttlefish.

The ultimate hunting trick is ‘mud-ring feeding’.

By beating the tail down hard and swimming in tight circles, they create a wall of mud around shoaling fish. Inside of these rings, scared fishes try to escape by jumping out of the water but... they end directly into a dolphin's mouth!

This strategy has been caught by video and showed in the first episode (Challenges of Life) of the new BBC series Life.

Silvia Bonizzoni

No reason to kill minke whales

Some think Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) are more numerous than usual, that they compete for food with larger whales and they are preventing them from recover after decimation by industrial whaling. Therefore, culling of minke whales was proposed as a valid management solution to allow blue, sei, fin and humpback whales to increase in numbers.

A recent study published on Molecular Ecology confuted this theory. Based on analyses done on samples of minke whale meat purchased at Japanese markets, researchers proved that numbers B. bonaerensis have not increased unnaturally in the wake of industrial whaling. No way. Their numbers are close to historical ones.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Image: Four main species of baleen whale hunted in the Southern Ocean in the early 1900s (from Ruegg et al. 2010)

For more information:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114104935.htm

Ruegg K., Anderson E., Baker C., Vant M., Jackson J., Palumbi S. 2010. Are Antarctic minke whales unusually abundant because of 20th century whaling? Molecular Ecology 19(2):281-291.
Abstract - Severe declines in megafauna worldwide illuminate the role of top predators in ecosystem structure. In the Antarctic, the Krill Surplus Hypothesis posits that the killing of more than 2 million large whales led to competitive release for smaller krill-eating species like the Antarctic minke whale. If true, the current size of the Antarctic minke whale population may be unusually high as an indirect result of whaling. Here, we estimate the long-term population size of the Antarctic minke whale prior to whaling by sequencing 11 nuclear genetic markers from 52 modern samples purchased in Japanese meat markets. We use coalescent simulations to explore the potential influence of population substructure and find that even though our samples are drawn from a limited geographic area, our estimate reflects ocean-wide genetic diversity. Using Bayesian estimates of the mutation rate and coalescent-based analyses of genetic diversity across loci, we calculate the long-term population size of the Antarctic minke whale to be 670 000 individuals (95% confidence interval: 374 000–1 150 000). Our estimate of long-term abundance is similar to, or greater than, contemporary abundance estimates, suggesting that managing Antarctic ecosystems under the assumption that Antarctic minke whales are unusually abundant is not warranted.

Narwhals can be photo-identified

Photo-identification is a simple tool: you have a camera and an animal, and you take a photo of the natural markings and peculiar features that may help identify an individual.

It is a widespread technique used by cetacean researchers worldwide. Dorsal fins, flukes and body pigmentation are often used to tell one dolphin or whale from another. For some species, however, it gets more difficult and the narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an example.

Until recently, photo-identifying these gentle creatures was considered too difficult, mainly because they do not have a dorsal fin, and body pigmentation changes over time.

But some researchers did not give up and found out that narwhals can be identified. Researchers noticed that narwhals have nicks and notches on the dorsal ridge, located at the posterior half of the back, and this part of the body is always visible during breathing. Although the dorsal ridge isn't an ‘obvious’ dorsal fin, natural marks are found on more than 90% of the individuals, and they differ in location, numbers, shape and size.

Now researchers hope to better understand the narwhal’s ecology, and investigate their population abundance as well as social organisation and migrations through the analysis of photo-identification data.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Photo: dorsal ridge’s narwhal, by Marie Auger-Méthé.

Auger-Méthé M., Marcoux M., Whitehead H. 2009. Nicks and notches of the dorsal ridge: promising mark types for the photo-identification of narwhals. Marine Mammal Science. DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00369.x
Abstract - The narwhal is a hunted species for which we have many knowledge gaps. Photoidentification, which uses photographs of naturalmarkings to identify individuals, is widely used in cetacean studies and can address a broad range of biological questions. However, it has not been developed for narwhals. The marks used for other cetaceans are inappropriate for this species either because narwhals lack the body part on which these marks are found or because the marks are known to change with time. We investigated the marks apparent in photographs of narwhals. Nicks and notches on the dorsal ridge are the mark types most promising for photo-identification. They are found on 91%–98% of the individuals, thus allowing the identification of a large part of the population. They can be used to differentiate between individuals, in part because they are variable in their location, numbers, shape, and size. Although our results suggest that nicks and notches are relatively stable over time, rates of change should be formally measured to assess the probability of photographic matches over multiple years. However, we are confident that these marks can be used in studies spanning at least a field season.

Guinness migrations

Speaking about the ‘Guinness World Records’ I thought grey whales (Eschrichtius robustus) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) were the animal with the longest migration ever recorded, with approximately 16,000-20,000 jm on their annual journey.

But I had failed to consider the avian world and so, I was completely wrong.

A recent study found out that a little bird weighing less than 125 gr, the Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea), is the winner in this "competition".

Thanks to tiny devices attached to 11 Arctic terns, researchers were able to track their routes and find out exactly where they went during a full-year of migration. From the breeding to the wintering grounds and back again, travelling between 280 and 670 km per day, they did a pole-to-pole migration totalling 70,900 km!

Never overlook a tiny little bird!

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Photo: Geolocation tracks of 11 Arctic terns, from the Egevan et al. article.

Egevang C., Stenhouse I.J., Phillips R.A., Petersen A., Fox J.W., Silk J.R.D. 2009. Tracking of Arctic terns Sterna paradisaea reveals longest animal migration. PNAS. 4pp.

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8451908.stm

Whales and dolphins in Salento

Today, January 22nd, Giovanni Bearzi gave a 2-hour lecture at the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy), centred around research done by the Tethys Research Institute in the Mediterranean Sea over the past 25 years.

The event, organised by Dr. Paolo Guidetti - one of the foremost experts on marine protected areas - took place in the prestigious University for a selected group of teachers, researchers and students.

Dr. Guidetti kindly introduced the work done by Bearzi and colleagues and presented Tethys as an Italian centre of excellence for cetacean research.

Bearzi’s seminar, titled "Twenty years of cetacean research in the Mediterranean: what for?", started with an overview of the work done by Tethys in several parts of the Mediterranean, to proceed with presentations on research projects focusing on population abundance estimates, interactions between dolphins and fisheries, and today's conservation challenges.

Bearzi also showed the Disappearing Dolphins documentary and then closed with a presentation on the recent mass stranding of sperm whales in Apulia, reporting on the amazing changes occurred in the public perception of these animals.

Silvia Bonizzoni

Divergence in killer whales

Two different types of killer whales Orcinus orca inhabit UK waters, according to an English-Dutch research team.

A study based on morphological aspects, isotopes and genetic analysis provided evidence for differences between two sympatric killer whale kinds (called ‘type 1’ and ‘type 2’).

‘Type 1’ is characterised by eye patch with parallel orientation, worn-out teeth at adult stage, 12 teeth in the lower jaw, and a catholic diet ranging from fish to seals.

‘Type 2’ has eye patch with angular orientation, 11 teeth in the lower jaw and less worn-out, greater body size with adult males almost two metres larger than the other adults, and a more specialised diet, probably focused on whales and dolphins.

"They seem to have occupied completely different ecological niches and have started to diverge morphologically " commented Andrew Foote, leader of the study. Will this divergence bring the killer whales to divide in different sub-species?

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Photo: Adult Type 1 (top) and Type 2 (down) mandibles, by Andrew Foote

Article:
Foote A.D., Newton J., Piertney S.B., Willerslev E., Gilbert M.T.P. 2009. Ecological, morphological and genetic divergence of sympatric North Atlantic killer whale populations. Molecular Ecology 18(24):5207-5217.

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8440000/8440002.stm

Cetacean records in the northern Adriatic Sea

A study encompassing 20 years of cetacean sightings in northern Adriatic waters has just become available.

The study intends to complement existing knowledge and it is based on sightings made during visual survey conducted by Tethys in collaboration with CNR-ISMAR (Institute of Marine Sciences) as well as records collected opportunistically by a variety of observers, including biologists and pleasure boaters.

The only cetacean species observed between 1988 and 2007 was the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

Encounter rates of bottlenosed dolphins in this part of the Adriatic are also reported, and were thought to be generally low as well as highly variable.

SB

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Bearzi G., Costa M., Politi E., Agazzi S., Pierantonio N., Tonini D., Bastianini M. 2009. Cetacean records and encounter rates in the northern Adriatic Sea during the years 1988-2007. Annales Ser. hist. nat. 19(2):145-150.

Manatees must choose between bad and less bad

Researchers observed that the Amazonian manatee Trichechus inunguis, an elusive and pacific marine herbivore who lives in the Amazonian River, mysteriously performs periodical movements from shallow to deep water areas. The reason was unknown, but a recent study found out that this migration is meant to avoid predator attacks during the low-water season.

These manatees live in quiet lakes formed within Amazonian river flood plains during the high-water season (May-June) then, during the low-water season (October-November), they start to migrate as the water level drops. The main reason could be that it’s too dangerous to remain in shallow water: animals can strand and be attacked by predators such as caimans, jaguars, and also humans.

This migration it’s not safe. During the journey, manatees have to pass through narrow channels where they are exposed to illegal hunters (their meat is appreciated). "Amazonian manatees migrate to a habitat that doesn't offer easy living conditions in order to flee from a habitat that becomes inhospitable" - commented Eduardo Moraes Arraut, first author of the study - "When you have two options that are not good, you choose the one that is less bad”.

Researchers warn that these gentle animals are in a greater danger than previously thought: they are vulnerable to hunters but also to climate change, as the flooding regime of Amazonian rivers is strongly related to large-scale climatic phenomena.

Silvia Bonizzoni

Photo credit: SeaPics.com

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To read the article:
Arraut E.M., Marmontel M., Mantovani J.E., Novo E.M.L.M., Macdonald D.W., Kenward R.E. 2009. The lesser of two evils: seasonal migrations of Amazonian manatees in the Western Amazon. Journal of Zoology: doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00655.x

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8426000/8426287.stm

Sea Shepherd’s trimaran collision

On January 6th, the high-tech carbon fibre trimaran ‘Ady Gil’, belonging to the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd, was destroyed after a collision with a Japanese vessel.

The Ady Gil was designed to run on low-emission renewable fuels and was built with peculiar materials to reduce the probability to be detected by the radars of whaling vessels. Its goal was to intercept and physically prevent ships from slaughtering whales, and at least reduce the illegal whaling occurring in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

After only one month from its official departure, however, the Ady Gil was crashed by the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru 2, the boat used by whalers to "protect" the Japanese fleet.

All six crew members of the Ady Gil were rescued, but there are no chances to save the trimaran.

Despite this catastrophic damage, the anti-whaling group is not giving up. As the Sea Shepherd’s captain, Paul Watson, said: "If they think that our remaining two ships will retreat from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in the face of their extremism, they will be mistaken.”

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Photo by: AFP/GETTY

For more information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6939571/Anti-whaling-ship-sinks-after-collision-with-Japanese-vessel.html
http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-100105-4.html

Ancient toothed whale shows Charles Darwin was right

Mammalodon colliveri was a 3 m long animal who lived 25 million years ago. New research by Eric Fitzgerald, a paleobiologist from the Victoria Museum in Melbourne (Australia), revealed that this ancestor of a baleen whale still had teeth and it had not yet evolved the baleen plates.

According to Fitzgerald, it was a bottom-feeding mud-sucker that may have used its tongue and short snout to suck small prey from sand and mud on the seafloor.

Charles Darwin's, in his book ‘On the Origin of Species’, speculated that some of the earliest baleen whales may have been suction feeders and that their mud grubbing served as a precursor to the filter feeding of the modern mysticetes. This was back in 1859. And as usual, Darwin was perfectly right.

Silvia Bonizzoni

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Painting by Brian Choo (Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia)

For more information:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8430402.stm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091222105055.htm

Fitzgerald E.M.G. 2010. The morphology and systematics of Mammalodon colliveri (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00572.x

ABSTRACT - Mammalodon colliveri is an unusual toothed archaic mysticete (Cetacea) from the Upper Oligocene Jan Juc Formation of south-east Australia. The morphology of the holotype skull and postcrania are described in detail. Superimposed on the generally plesiomorphic archaeocete-like morphology of Mammalodon are subtle mysticete synapomorphies. Derived features of Mammalodon include a short and bluntly rounded rostrum, reduced premaxillae, and anterodorsally directed orbits. Within Mysticeti, this suite of features is unique. The aberrant rostral morphology of Mammalodon suggests specialization for suction feeding. Janjucetus hunderi is placed in an expanded family Mammalodontidae. Phylogenetic analysis corroborates the monophyly of Basilosauridae, Neoceti, Odontoceti, and Mysticeti, and yields a novel hypothesis of toothed mysticete relationships: a basal clade of undescribed toothed mysticetes from South Carolina, a Llanocetidae + Mammalodontidae clade, and monophyletic Aetiocetidae are posited as successive sister taxa to edentulous baleen whales (Chaeomysticeti). Toothed archaic mysticetes clearly employed diverse prey capture strategies, with exaptations for filter feeding evolving sequentially in stem group Mysticeti. A stratigraphically calibrated phylogeny implies that the initial diversification of Mysticeti occurred during the Late Eocene.