DOCSLIB.ORG

Physeter Macrocephalus – Sperm Whale

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Physeter Macrocephalus – Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus – Sperm Whale Assessment Rationale Although the population is recovering, commercial whaling in the Antarctic within the last three generations (82 years) reduced the global abundance of species significantly. As commercial whaling has ceased, the species is evaluated under the A1 criterion. Model results revealed a 6% probability for Endangered, a 54% probability of Vulnerable, and a 40% probability of Near Threatened. Thus, the species is listed as Vulnerable A1d based on historical decline in line with the global assessment. Circumpolar surveys estimate around 8,300 mature males, which is extrapolated to around 40,000 Peter Allinson individuals in total. Within the assessment region, the historical depletion may have created a skewed sex ratio, which may make this species more vulnerable to minor Regional Red List status (2016) Vulnerable A1d* threats. For example, systematic surveys from the National Red List status (2004) Vulnerable A2bd Antarctic showed no significant population increase between 1978 and 1992. Recent modelling results Reasons for change No change corroborate the Sperm Whale’s slow recovery rate, where Global Red List status (2008) Vulnerable A1d a small decrease in adult female survivorship could lead to a declining population. Ongoing loss of mature individuals TOPS listing (NEMBA) (2007) None from entanglement in fishing nets and plastic ingestion CITES listing (1981) Appendix I could be hindering population recovery in certain areas. Furthermore, marine noise pollution may be an emerging Endemic No threat that could suppress population recovery, but results *Watch-list Data are ambiguous. The effects should continue to be monitored. Overall, the overexploitation of Sperm Whales There is an unexpected similarity between the has ceased and they usually remain fairly far from social composition of Sperm Whales and African anthropogenic effects due to their deep sea distribution, Elephants (Loxodonta africana), where the basic and the large-scale commercial fishing industry does not social unit consists of mixed adult females and their target major Sperm Whale food sources. However, given young, with mature males joining the group during their historical depletion, their slow growth rate (possibly the breeding season (which, in the southern only 1% per year) and their modelled sensitivity to hemisphere, peaks between October and disturbance, current abundance and population trend December) (Whitehead 2003). estimates are urgently needed and this species should be reassessed once such data are available. Regional population effects: Sperm Whales are highly migratory and wide-ranging. There are no barriers to Taxonomy dispersal, thus rescue effects are possible. Physeter macrocephalus (Linnaeus 1758) ANIMALIA - CHORDATA - MAMMALIA - Distribution CETARTIODACTYLA - PHYSETERIDAE - Physeter - Sperm Whales have a broad geographic range (Rice macrocephalus 1989), and may be present in nearly every marine region from the tropics to high latitudes. Typically they are Synonyms: Physeter catodon (Linnaeus 1758) located in deeper waters or along the continental slope, Common names: Sperm Whale, Cachelot, Pot Whale, avoiding waters shallower than 300 m. Their geographic Spermacet Whale (English), Potvis (Afrikaans) range also includes a number of enclosed or partially- enclosed areas, including both the Mediterranean and Taxonomic status: Species Baltic Seas, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Gulf of Mexico. Taxonomic notes: Although Physeter catodon is still Their distributions vary according to sex and size, where occasionally used in the literature, P. macrocephalus is males have been observed closer to inshore areas than recommended (Rice 1989). Both names are listed on the females (Best 1999). Additionally, females and their young same page of the original description by Linnaeus (1758), are often restricted in their range to regions between 40°N and priority is unclear. However, P. macrocephalus is and 40°S, while males may migrate as far as 70°N and 70°S preferable because it is used much more frequently, and in summer, and larger males appear to extend further this will support nomenclatural stability. north or south than smaller individuals. Sperm Whales are known to travel substantial distances, with one individual reported to have covered a straight-line distance of Recommended citation: Elwen S, Findlay K, Meÿer M, Oosthuizen H, Plön S. 2016. A conservation assessment of Physeter macrocephalus. In Child MF, Roxburgh L, Do Linh San E, Raimondo D, Davies-Mostert HT, editors. The Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. South African National Biodiversity Institute and Endangered Wildlife Trust, South Africa. The Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland Physeter macrocephalus | 1 Figure 1. Distribution range for Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) within the assessment region (IUCN 2012) 7,400 km (Ivashin 1967). Although some overlap in estimate the population decline between 1700 and 1999 geographic distribution is known to occur between (Whitehead 2002). This model includes only the threat of northern and southern hemisphere stocks, populations legal commercial whaling and does not consider any are thought to be genetically isolated because seasonal other anthropogenic threats to this species, such as ship breeding periods occur six months apart. strikes, illegal whaling in the North Pacific and Antarctica, climate change, pollution, entanglement in fishing gear, or The International Whaling Commission (IWC) recognises the persistent effects of social disruption and sexually- nine Sperm Whale divisions for the southern hemisphere, skewed population structure. These factors may limit which have been based more specifically on data population recovery in many areas. This model postulates available from commercial whaling, rather than actual that Sperm Whale populations have shown a substantial biological factors (Donovan 1991). Although Sperm recovery since commercial whaling of this species was Whales migrate long distances, and exhibit low genetic largely prohibited, but may, in fact, be an overestimation differentiation between ocean basins (Lyrholm et al. 1999; of current Sperm Whale recovery trends. On the other Mesnick et al. 1999; Drouot et al. 2004a), some studies hand, some factors (such as the use of a relatively low infer a high degree of geographic structure among rate of population increase) suggest that this model may populations across many regions (Bannister & Mitchell result in an underestimation of population abundance. 1980; Kasuya & Miyashita 1988; Rendell & Whitehead However, despite these uncertainties, this model remains 2003; Whitehead 2003). This is corroborated by recent the most accurate means of estimating recent population molecular analyses that suggest females show site fidelity trends. The estimated global pre-exploitation population of to coastal basins while males disperse widely for breeding 1.1 million Sperm Whales is thought to have declined by (Engelhaupt et al. 2009). Within South African waters, 29% by 1880 due to “open-boat” whaling operations, and Sperm Whales are present across the majority of the then by 67% of the original population (to around 361,000) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), frequently in deep by the 1990s as a direct result of modern whaling waters off the west coast, and excluding shallow regions (Whitehead 2002). Their global population in 1999 (10 along the continental shelf. Records from Durban (30°S) years after the end of commercial whaling) was estimated and Donkergat (33°S) found that males and females reveal at 32% (95% CI: 19–62%) of its original abundance, thus at varied seasonality where large males were often caught in approximately 352,000 individuals. Following the trajectory this region in spring, while juvenile males and females (used in Whitehead 2002), the model was modified slightly were more frequently caught earlier in winter. to extend the endpoint to 2003 (Taylor et al. 2008). This produced a population estimate in 2003 of 44% of the Population 1921 population. Indeed, of 1,000 model runs, 6% gave populations in 2003 of < 30% of that in 1922, 54% gave a Using historical trajectories, an abundance model for 2003 population between 30–50% of that in 1992, and global Sperm Whale populations was developed to Physeter macrocephalus | 2 The Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland 40% suggested depletion levels of less than 50% over this recovery rate, a recent population model revealed that time (Taylor et al. 2008). Thus, the species remains Sperm Whale populations grow slowly and are potentially Vulnerable under the A1 criterion. sensitive to survivorship rates of adult females, where a slight decline in survivorship could lead to a declining Two major global Sperm whaling operations were driven population (Chiquet et al. 2013). by the high commercial value attached to this species: the primitive “open-boat” hunt from 1712–1920 (Best 1983), Current population trend: Stable and the modern whaling expeditions from 1910–1988 Continuing decline in mature individuals: No (Tønnessen & Johnsen 1982). Modern whaling operations did not, however, impact all Sperm Whale populations. Number of mature individuals in population: c. 8,300 For example, populations in the western North Atlantic from circumpolar surveys. remain at reasonably high densities, and show evidence of successful reproduction (Gordon et al. 1998). After the Number of mature individuals in largest
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE CASE AGAINST Marine Mammals in Captivity Authors: Naomi A
    s l a m m a y t T i M S N v I i A e G t A n i p E S r a A C a C E H n T M i THE CASE AGAINST Marine Mammals in Captivity The Humane Society of the United State s/ World Society for the Protection of Animals 2009 1 1 1 2 0 A M , n o t s o g B r o . 1 a 0 s 2 u - e a t i p s u S w , t e e r t S h t u o S 9 8 THE CASE AGAINST Marine Mammals in Captivity Authors: Naomi A. Rose, E.C.M. Parsons, and Richard Farinato, 4th edition Editors: Naomi A. Rose and Debra Firmani, 4th edition ©2009 The Humane Society of the United States and the World Society for the Protection of Animals. All rights reserved. ©2008 The HSUS. All rights reserved. Printed on recycled paper, acid free and elemental chlorine free, with soy-based ink. Cover: ©iStockphoto.com/Ying Ying Wong Overview n the debate over marine mammals in captivity, the of the natural environment. The truth is that marine mammals have evolved physically and behaviorally to survive these rigors. public display industry maintains that marine mammal For example, nearly every kind of marine mammal, from sea lion Iexhibits serve a valuable conservation function, people to dolphin, travels large distances daily in a search for food. In learn important information from seeing live animals, and captivity, natural feeding and foraging patterns are completely lost.
    [Show full text]
  • Beaked Whale Strandings and Naval Exercises Angela D’Amico,1 Robert C
    Aquatic Mammals 2009, 35(4), 452-472, DOI 10.1578/AM.35.4.2009.452 Beaked Whale Strandings and Naval Exercises Angela D’Amico,1 Robert C. Gisiner,2 Darlene R. Ketten,3, 4 Jennifer A. Hammock,5 Chip Johnson,1 Peter L. Tyack,3 and James Mead6 1Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, 53560 Hull Street, San Diego, CA 92152-5001, USA; E-mail: [email protected] 2Office of Naval Research, P.O. Box 3122, Arlington, VA 22203, USA 3Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Biology Department, 266 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1049, USA 4Harvard Medical School, Department of Otology and Laryngology, 243 Charles Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA 5Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, MCR 163, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA 6National Museum of Natural History, 10th and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20560, USA Current Address: Marine Mammal Commission, 430 East-West Highway, Room 700, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA (RCG) Abstract Key Words: stranding event, mass stranding event, mid-frequency active sonar, MFAS, beaked Mass strandings of beaked whales (family whale, Navy sonar, Ziphiidae Ziphiidae) have been reported in the scientific liter- ature since 1874. Several recent mass strandings of Introduction beaked whales have been reported to coincide with naval active sonar exercises. To obtain the broad- Several articles have suggested that naval sur- est assessment of surface ship naval active sonar face ship’s use of mid-frequency active sonar operations coinciding with beaked whale mass (MFAS) cause mass strandings of beaked whales strandings, a list of global naval training and anti- (family Ziphiidae) (Frantzis, 1998, 2004; Evans submarine warfare exercises was compiled from & England, 2001; Martín Martel, 2002; Brownell openly available sources and compared by location et al., 2004; Freitas, 2004; Martín et al., 2004).
    [Show full text]
  • The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, Signed at Washington Under Date of December 2, 1946
    1946 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE REGULATION OF WHALING Adopted in Washington, USA on 2 December 1946 [http://iwcoffice.org/commission/convention.htm] ARTICLE I ................................................................................................................................. 4 ARTICLE II ................................................................................................................................ 4 ARTICLE III ............................................................................................................................... 4 ARTICLE IV ............................................................................................................................... 5 ARTICLE V ................................................................................................................................ 5 ARTICLE VI ............................................................................................................................... 6 ARTICLE VII .............................................................................................................................. 7 ARTICLE VIII ............................................................................................................................. 7 ARTICLE IX ............................................................................................................................... 7 ARTICLE X ...............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Crowdsourcing Modern and Historical Data Identifies Sperm Whale
    ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 15 September 2016 doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00167 Crowdsourcing Modern and Historical Data Identifies Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Habitat Offshore of South-Western Australia Christopher M. Johnson 1, 2, 3*, Lynnath E. Beckley 1, Halina Kobryn 1, Genevieve E. Johnson 2, Iain Kerr 2 and Roger Payne 2 1 School of Veterinary and Life Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia, 2 Ocean Alliance, Gloucester, MA, USA, 3 WWF Australia, Carlton, VIC, Australia The distribution and use of pelagic habitat by sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) is poorly understood in the south-eastern Indian Ocean off Western Australia. However, a variety of data are available via online portals where records of historical expeditions, commercial whaling operations, and modern scientific research voyages can now be accessed. Crowdsourcing these online data allows collation of presence-only information Edited by: of animals and provides a valuable tool to help augment areas of low research effort. Rob Harcourt, Four data sources were examined, the primary one being the Voyage of the Odyssey Macquarie University, Australia expedition, a 5-year global study of sperm whales and ocean pollution. From December Reviewed by: 2001 to May 2002, acoustic surveys were conducted along 5200 nautical miles of Clive Reginald McMahon, Sydney Institute of Marine Science, transects off Western Australia including the Perth Canyon and historical whaling grounds Australia off Albany; 60 tissue biopsy samples were also collected. To augment areas not surveyed Gail Schofield, Deakin University, Australia by the RV Odyssey, historical Yankee whaling data (1712–1920), commercial whaling *Correspondence: data (1904–1999), and citizen science reports of sperm whale sightings (1990–2003) Christopher M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans J L Bannister,* C M Kemper,** R M Warneke***
    The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans J L Bannister,* C M Kemper,** R M Warneke*** *c/- WA Museum, Francis Street, Perth WA 6000 ** SA Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5000 ***Blackwood Lodge, RSD 273 Mount Hicks Road, Yolla Tasmania 7325 Australian Nature Conservation Agency September 1996 The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Commonwealth Government, the Minister for the Environment, Sport and Territories, or the Director of National Parks and Wildlife. ISBN 0 642 21388 7 Published September 1996 © Copyright The Director of National Parks and Wildlife Australian Nature Conservation Agency GPO Box 636 Canberra ACT 2601 Cover illustration by Lyn Broomhall, Perth Copy edited by Green Words, Canberra Printer on recycled paper by Canberra Printing Services, Canberra Foreword It seems appropriate that Australia, once an active whaling nation, is now playing a leading role in whale conservation. Australia is a vocal member of the International Whaling Commission, and had a key role in the 1994 declaration of the Southern Ocean Sanctuary. The last commercial Australian whaling station ceased operations in Albany in 1978, and it is encouraging to see that once heavily exploited species such as the southern right and humpback whales are showing signs of recovery. Apart from the well-known great whales, Australian waters support a rich variety of cetaceans: smaller whales, dolphins, porpoises and killer whales. Forty-three of the world’s 80 or so cetacean species are found in Australia. This diversity is a reflection of our wide range of coastal habitats, and the fact that Australia is on the main migration route of the great whales from their feeding grounds in the south to warmer breeding grounds in northern waters.
    [Show full text]
  • Sharing the Catches of Whales in the Southern Hemisphere
    SHARING THE CATCHES OF WHALES IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE S.J. Holt 4 Upper House Farm,Crickhowell, NP8 1BZ, Wales (UK) <[email protected]> 1. INTRODUCTION What historians have labelled modern whaling is largely a twentieth century enterprise. Its defining feature is the cannon-fired harpoon with an explosive head, launched from a motorised catcher boat.1 This system was first devised about 1865 by Svend Foyn, the son of a ship-owner from Tønsberg, in Vestfold, southeast Norway. Foyn believed that “God had let the whale inhabit the waters for the benefit and blessing of mankind, and consequently I considered it my vocation to promote these fisheries”. He has been described as “...a man with great singularity of vision, since virtually everything he did ...was dedicated to the profitable killing of whales”. Foyn’s system allowed for the first time the systematic hunting and killing of the largest and fastest swimming species of whales, the rorquals, a sub-class of whalebone whales (Mysticetes spp.). The basic technology was supplemented by significant developments in cabling, winches and related hardware and in processing. Powered vessels could not only tow the dead rorquals back to land bases quickly and thus in good condition for processing, but could provide ample compressed air to keep them afloat. Modern whaling could not, however, have become a major industry world-wide, without other technological developments. Other kinds of whales had already been killed in enormous numbers, primarily for their oil, for over a century.2 In 1905 it was discovered that oil from baleen whales could be hydrogenated and the resulting product could be used in the manufacture of soap and food products.
    [Show full text]
  • Estimates of the Current Global Population Size and Historical Trajectory for Sperm Whales
    MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES Vol. 242: 295–304, 2002 Published October 25 Mar Ecol Prog Ser Estimates of the current global population size and historical trajectory for sperm whales Hal Whitehead1, 2,* 1Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax B3H4JI, Nova Scotia, Canada 2Max Planck Institute for Behavioural Physiology, PO Box 1564, 82305 Starnberg, Germany ABSTRACT: Assessments of sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus abundance based on invalid analyses of whaling data are common in the literature. Modern visual surveys have produced popu- lation estimates for a total of 24% of the sperm whale’s global habitat. I corrected these assessments for whales missed on the track line and then used 3 methods to scale up to a global population. Scal- ing using habitat area, plots of 19th century catches and primary production produced consistent global population estimates of about 360 000 whales (CV = 0.36). This is approximately 20% of the numbers reproduced in current literature from invalid whaling-based estimates. A population model, based on that used by the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific Committee, and which con- siders uncertainty in population parameters and catch data, was used to estimate population trajec- tories. Results suggest that pre-whaling numbers were about 1 110 000 whales (95% CI: 672 000 to 1512 000), and that the population was about 71% (95% CI: 52 to 100%) of its original level in 1880 as open-boat whaling drew to a close and about 32% (95% CI: 19 to 62%) of its original level in 1999, 10 yr after the end of large-scale hunting.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rms – a Question of Confidence?
    THE RMS – A QUESTION OF CONFIDENCE? - Manipulations and Falsifications in Whaling A review by Dr. Sandra Altherr, Kitty Block and Sue Fisher - 2 - RMS: A Question of Confidence? – Manipulations and Falsifications in Whaling Content 1. The RMS Process in 2005 and Remaining Questions ................................................................................ 3 2. RMP................................................................................................................................................................. 4 2.1. Tuning Level ............................................................................................................................................. 4 2.2. Phasing in the RMP.................................................................................................................................. 4 2.3. Current RMS Discussion on the RMP....................................................................................................... 4 3. Catch Verification through International Observers................................................................................... 5 3.1. Misreporting and Underreporting in Past Whaling Activities ..................................................................... 5 3.2. Manipulations of Sex Ratio and Body-Length Data .................................................................................. 6 3.3. Hampering of Inspectors and Observers .................................................................................................. 7 3.4.
    [Show full text]
  • Whales and Whaling in the Western Pacific
    "Fast fisk!" is the cry as the harpoon goes home unvisited by the Nantucket and New Bedford whalers, who reached their hey­ day in 1846 with no less than 730 vessels engaged in this trade and taking £1,400,000 worth of whale products in that one year alone. The ultimate effect of this immense onslaught on the whale population will be dealt with later. Because of the annual arrival of large numbers of the Southern right whales in Tasmania and New Zealand, there de­ veloped so-called "bay" or "shore" whaling in these countries in which the whales were captured only short dis­ tances from the coast. Types of Whales Hunted Only three species were hunted on a really large scale; the sperm, Southern right, and humpback whales. The sperm or cachalot (Physeter catodon) reaches a length of 60 feet in the male but only 30 to 35 feet in the female and has a very narrow sledge-like lower jaw with from 20 to 25 pairs of teeth, which pro­ vide the "ivory" described later. In the head also were the gummy, fatty sperma­ ceti from the lower or "junk" part and Whales and Whaling in the very valuable sperm oil from the "case" in the upper portion. This sperm oil was the source of the spermaceti candles from which the original unit of the Western Pacific light, "candle power," was calculated. It is interesting to note that the term "sperm whale" is derived from the odd By R. J. A. W. Lever idea of the old-time whalers that the spermaceti was actually the creature's sperm—the French were less imaginative The literature of whaling deals either with the early efforts and used the word "cachalot." The average quantity of oil obtained from in the Arctic with the hand-harpooning of Greenland whales one whale was six tons but a figure of from open boats or tvith the much later campaigns in 15 tons was sometimes reached.
    [Show full text]
  • Melville's Copy of Thomas Beale's the Natural History of the Sperm
    Melville’s copy of Thomas Beale’s "The natural history of the sperm whale and the composition of Moby-Dick" The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Olsen-Smith, Steven. 2011. Melville’s copy of Thomas Beale’s "The natural history of the sperm whale and the composition of Moby- Dick". Harvard Library Bulletin 21 (3): 1-78. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37363364 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Melville’s Copy of Tomas Beale’s Te Natural History of the Sperm Whale and the Composition of Moby-Dick Steven Olsen-Smith erman Melville’s copy of Thomas Beale’s Te Natural History of the Sperm Whale, discovered in the 1930s and then owned by successive Hprivate collectors until Houghton Library acquired it in 1960, contains the closest evidence available to the lost manuscript of Moby-Dick and illuminates more fully than any other archival resource Melville’s use of source materials in his writing. Howard P. Vincent frst consulted Melville’s copy for Te Trying-out of Moby-Dick (1949), where he observed that most of Melville’s marginalia had been erased from the book. Judging “not many words were erased,” Vincent expressed hope for “a future examination of the markings under infra-red rays.”1 But in Melville’s Marginalia, Walker Cowen deciphered many of Melville’s erased markings without technical assistance, and although he did not recover many of Melville’s erased words, Cowen showed that the book had once been heavily annotated.2 With fnancial support from the William Reese Company and Boise State University, technical assistance at the Fogg Art Museum, and support from staf at Houghton Library, I worked collaboratively with Dennis C.
    [Show full text]
  • Productivity and the Decline of American Sperm Whaling George W
    Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review Volume 2 | Issue 2 Article 7 9-1-1972 Productivity and the Decline of American Sperm Whaling George W. Shuster Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/ealr Part of the Environmental Law Commons, Law and Economics Commons, and the Natural Resources Law Commons Recommended Citation George W. Shuster, Productivity and the Decline of American Sperm Whaling, 2 B.C. Envtl. Aff. L. Rev. 345 (1972), http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/ealr/vol2/iss2/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PRODUCTIVITY AND THE DECLINE OF AMERICAN SPERM WHALING By George W. Shuster'*' But still another inquiry remains; one often agitated by the more recondite Nantucketers .... whether Leviathan can long en­ dure so wide a chase, and so remorseless a havoc; whether he must not at last be exterminated from the waters, and the last whale, like the last man, smoke his last pipe, and then himself evaporate in the final puff. -Herman Melville, Moby Dick) 1851 INTRODUCTION Ever since man discovered he could learn by his mistakes, the analysis of failures has proved to be as productive as the analysis of success. Santayana stated that those who have no knowledge of history are condemned to repeat it. Thus a necessary function of the economic historian has always been the study of prior declines and falls.
    [Show full text]
  • Acarology, the Study of Ticks and Mites
    Acarology, the study of ticks and mites Ecophysiology, the study of the interrelationship between Actinobiology, the study of the effects of radiation upon an organism's physical functioning and its environment living organisms Edaphology, a branch of soil science that studies the Actinology, the study of the effect of light on chemicals influence of soil on life Aerobiology, a branch of biology that studies organic Electrophysiology, the study of the relationship between particles that are transported by the air electric phenomena and bodily processes Aerology, the study of the atmosphere Embryology, the study of embryos Aetiology, the medical study of the causation of disease Entomology, the study of insects Agrobiology, the study of plant nutrition and growth in Enzymology, the study of enzymes relation to soil Epidemiology, the study of the origin and spread of Agrology, the branch of soil science dealing with the diseases production of crops. Ethology, the study of animal behavior Agrostology, the study of grasses Exobiology, the study of life in outer space Algology, the study of algae Exogeology, the study of geology of celestial bodies Allergology, the study of the causes and treatment of Felinology, the study of cats allergies Fetology, the study of the fetus Andrology, the study of male health Formicology, the study of ants Anesthesiology, the study of anesthesia and anesthetics Gastrology or Gastroenterology, the study of the Angiology, the study of the anatomy of blood and lymph stomach and intestines vascular systems Gemology,
    [Show full text]