RESEARCH' NEWS VOLUME 14, NUMBER 2 NOV. 2005

ssue: the Lubec Narrows--one of the last f Our Own A Dock of Our Own remaining of such structures-anchored into the bottom with wooden pilings. Sponsored Whale IJpdate By: Dr. Moira Brown and Dr. Scott Kraus When they ceased operations around North Atlantic Right Whale 1990, the owners donated the deterio- Consortium 2005 Annual Meeting 's rockbound coast and high rating structure to the New England Bay of Fu ndy 2005 tidal range have always presented a Aquarium. In the first few years of our challenge to mariners making the short ownership, there wasn't enough left of The Grealt South Ct but difficult transition from ship to the pier to use. One spring, Scott Kraus Return to ~oseway: From Fe shore. Each August, the right whales received a call from an alarmed Coast to Near . Famine return to the Bay of Fundy between Guard. The remaining shack on the end Maine and Nova Scotia, and since 1981 of the pier and the wooden pilings The Scoop on rooE7 the biologists who study them gather supporting it had lifted off the bottom The Policy Tunnel there as well. Our base of operations is during an unusually high tide following a

-I-- a- &L- located in Lubec, Maine, and for many spring storm and was last seen floating Right Whales UII ult: Web years the first order of business was down the Lubec Narrows. After many Sample C:ollection Ion the relocating the mooring stone that would adventures on the high seas and reports Southeast U.S. C:alving Grc . . anchor our research vessel in the harbor to the Coast Guard from passing ships Usina (~enetic-ID techniauh VYllIjll during our stay. Some years it was sim- of a "floating house" at sea, the shack IDis not (: ply a matter of finding the car engine- and pilings fetched up on the Canadian sized chunk of granite in the shallows Continued on page 2 Editor: where we had left it the previous Lindsay Hlall autumn. However, more often than not, the first survey of the year was a bottom utors: survey of the harbor-researchers clad Moira tjrown Scott Kra in scuba gear scouring the area to Sponsored Whale Cynthia BIrowning Kerry La! relocate the stone moved over the win- -- .. - Update Lisa Conger Marilyn n ter by storms, ice or scallop draggers. In the early years, our research vessel, Tim Frasier Heather Pettis By: Yan Guilbauit Nereid, was the only vessel moored in Yan Guilbault Beth Pike the harbor. As the years went by, many The right whale research team is back in Philip Hamilton Roz Rolland more fishing boats followed our lead so the Boston, MA, office after two months Amy Knov that by the time we arrived in late July of surveying in the Bay of Fundy and the only anchorage left was one in deep Roseway Basin. The analysis of photos water, several hundred yards from the from those surveys is still in progress, and publislhed by the New Engla~nd town pier. The long row in a little skiff but we are glad to announce that at Aquarium. We welcor ne your co~mments from pier to Nereid was seen by some least four of our six sponsored whales and suggestions! Or, if you woulId like to as romantic in the early morning hours, have been seen since last spring. hear more aaour. *- a panlcular.. . as pecr. or. our projedt, please se te our web!site. but the exposed mooring was of concern As in the previous issue of Right during autumn storms. Whale Research News, a map showing --=L In the 1980s and 1990s, we were the sightings of the sponsored whales often awakened in the early hours by for the past six months is provided to and large transport trucks loaded with fish help you locate your whale. I grinding up the hill beside our field sta- Calvin (#2223) and her calf have tion from the Stinson Icehouse at the done a lot of traveling since they were Central Wh,arf .Bostc bottom of the street. Stinson's had a sighted off the coast of North Carolina WWW. newenglanc wooden pier that stretched out into Continued on page 3 2 Right '\\rhale RESEARCH NEWS

A Dock of Our Own Continued from page 1 island of Grand Manan, where we believe it has been converted into somebody's garage. The old wooden pier had clearly become dangerous and was falling apart, so we had it removed in the spring of 2004. Since the Aquarium leases the undersea lands from the state of Maine, state law required replacement of the structure within t years, or forfeiture of the rights to use With the generous help and support of the Lubec c'ommunity a brand new dock was built. It was put into use at the beginning of our 2005 summer field season. With a beautiful backdrop of the Lubec the area for a dock. By this time, the Narrows and Mulholland Lighthouse, we celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 1,2005. Lubec Marina had also fallen apart due Photo/ New England Aquarium to winter storms and had been removed. The Aquarium's research fleet had grown In partnership with R.J. Peacock Moira W. Brown, Senlor Sclentlst to three boats, and moorings were Canning Company, the search began for Moe studied at the University of Guelph. . becoming scarce. We needed a dock! the materials needed to drive new pil- Canada. She has worked as a professor at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor Maine and ings and establish a floating dock on the served as director of Allied Whale at COA. Moe has space left by the old pier. Through an worked since 1985 with the Aquarium research team outpouring of good will and hard work in Canadian waters: she only joined the research lab from the Lubec community, and with a full time in Janua~yof 2004, after seven years of studyir~gright whales in Cape Cod Bay at the Center combination of funds donated from for Coastal Studies. Her research interests include Irving Oil, Bud Levinson, the Right Whale population biology and genetics and conservation Adoption Program and the New England measures to reduce the risk of ship strikes for right Aquarium, a new dock was built and put whales in Canadian waters. into use in August 2005. In some tides, Scott Kraus, Vlce President for Research, there are challenges docking our boats New England Aquarium as the tidal current rages through the Kraus received his B.A. from College of the Atlantic, Lubec Narrows (our new motto: "Dock or his M.S. in biology from the University of Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. from the University of Die!"), but the facility is well protected New Hampshire. He has published over 50 scientific from storm winds and we can all sleep In 1990, Stinson Icehouse of Lubec, ME donated papers on cetacean biology and comervation, and is this deteriorating wooden pier and accompanying better at night. adjunct faculty at Univ. of Mass. at Boston and the shack to the NEAq Right Whale Project. We were overwhelmed by the extraor- University of Southern Maine. Kraus ' recent Photo / New England Aquarlum research is irtcreasinglyfocused on conservation dinary efforts of Bob Peacock, Bobby issues faced by endangered species and habitats, and Hood and many members of the Lubec the dificulties of identifiing what animals need to community in constructing this facility. A survive in an increasingl)~urban ocean. dock that would have cost $200,000 was put in place for about $40,000 with a tremendous volunteer effort from busi- nesses and individuals in the town. In true right whale fashion we celebrated the efforts of more than 120 people with a dock party and a ribbon cutting cere- mony on October 1"'. Special thanks to Bob Peacock, Bobby Hood, Ricky Wilcox, Carelton Fitzsimmons, Ralph and Jessie DeWitt, Bud Levinson, John Logan, The right whale team came to terms with the demise of the donated pier when the supports Michelle Firmbach, Davis Pike and all of holding up the wooden shack at the end lifted off you who have adopted right whales over the bottom and sent the "floating house" over to The NEAq Right Whale Project Fleet: Rfls Callisto, Grand Manan Island, leaving only this ineffectual the last two years! Your support helped Nereid, and Galatea sit comfortably at the new wooden structure. photo / Davis Pike give US a dock of our own. dock, ~ugust2005. photo / Brenna ~raus Sponsored Whale Update took photographs of the pair, which contact number so that appropriate Continued from page 1 would later be identified as Calvin and protection measures can be taken as her calf. While this is a rare event, it soon as a whale is reported. Four last December. Their last sighting on the has happened before. On April 15, months later, Calvin and her calf were southeast U.S. calving grounds was on 2002, #3103 was photographed in the sighted on August 24" in the Bay of February 17". The pair then moved north Canal and on May 17, 2002; an uniden- Fundy. They were subsequently seen to Cape Cod Bay and were sighted sev- tified right whale swam from the Bourne on August 26" and September 3", 5", eral times in late March and throughout Bridge at the south end of the Canal all and 19". April. On April 29" the pair took a tour of the way to Cape Cod Bay. Although see- During a NEAq boat survey on May the Cape Cod Canal! Bill Danielson, a ing a whale in relatively confined waters 17" in the Great South Channel, local photographer, first sighted them can be an exciting event for onlookers, it Necklace (#1152) was observed skim in the early morning hours that day. He is potentially dangerous for the whales- and subsurface feeding. Necklace was had set up his camera to take some many fishing boats, recreational boats also seen on August 6" and 13" in a photos of the sunrise and was surprised and large ships use the Cape Cod Canal surface active group (SAG) in the Bay to hear the sound of a whale exhaling on a daily basis. The recent excursion of Fundy. (the blow). He looked around and saw a by Calvin and her calf has sparked the In the May 2005 issue of Right mother and calf right whale swimming development of informational placards Whale Research News we reported that through the Canal! Since his camera that will be placed along Cape Cod Piper (#2320) was seen on April 17", was already set up on his tripod, he Canal. These placards will include a 2005, in Cape Cod Bay by the

1 Sponsored Whale Sightings for February 2005 - October 2005 1

iopted vin J ripe Sno~

Many of the sponsored whales have been seen in more than one critical habitat along the east coast. Read Sponsored Whale Update to find out why there is a sighting point in Cape Cod Canal. Atlantic. Members of the Consortium are committed to the coordination and integration of the wide variety of data- bases and research efforts related to right whales, and to provide the best scientific advice and recommendations on right whale conservation to relevant management groups. This year, more than 225 individuals representing research and educational institutions; local, state and federal government agencies; shipping and fishing industries; whale watch compa- nies and conservation organizations CaMn (#2223) and her calf were seen in Cape Cod Canal during sunrise on April 29,2005. Photo / Blll Danielson were in attendance. Those of you who have kept up with Consortium activities Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies We would like to thank all the indivi- over the last few years may have noticed (PCCS) aerial survey plane. We would duals, schools and organizations that that this annual event grows steadily like to make a slight correction to that support our research with sponsorship each year (175 in 2002, 190 in 2003, information. Piper was actually seen in or donation. Your support is essential to and 200 in 2004). We are thrilled with the waters just to the east of Cape Cod, our work and is greatly appreciated! the increasing support and interest in but not technically in Cape Cod Bay. This the Annual Meeting because it indicates area is considered part of the Great Information on entangled whales was collected a continued commitment to protecting from the Center for Coastal Studies/Atlantic South Channel critical habitat. The Large Whale Disentanglement Network website. this endangered species. photos taken of her on April 17'h were The agenda for the tweday event Yan Guilbault, Research Assistant analyzed by our team here at NEAq and In 2003, Yurt earned a B.S. in Biology from McGill included 42 presentations and covered the disentanglement team at PCCS. University, , Canada Shortly thereafter; he a wide variety of topics, including popu- While the images don't provide enough began working seasonally with the right whale pro- lation biology and distribution, acoustics, information to confirm that she is free of ject in the Bay of Fund? and Florida. He recently health and physiology, management gear, her status has been upgraded to moved from Montreal and joined the research lab updates, shipping and entanglement full time. He is currently maintaining the North "minor entanglement". We are optimistic Atlantic Right Whale Consortium website as well as conflict and mitigation, and genetics. that future images will confirm that she processing and cataloging photographs. Three members of the New England is in fact free of the gear that has entan- Aquarium right whale office presented at gled her for almost three years. the meeting: Dr. Scott Kraus presented Snowball (#1131) was also seen dur- the status of the North Atlantic right ing the past few months. He was sighted North Atlantic Right whale population (including updates on in Cape Cod Bay on March 26"'. Only a births, deaths and management month earlier, on Februaty 18*, he Whale Consortium progress over the last year). Dr. Kraus was seen off the coast of Georgia, also presented his work on right whale 1,000 miles south of Cape Cod Bay. 2005 Annual Meeting reproduction that was recently published Only two of our sponsored whales, By: Heather M. Pettls in Science. Philip Hamilton presented Shackleton (#2440) and Starry Night the new digital image tracking system (#1028), have not been seen recently. The 2005 Annual Meeting of the North (DIGITS), which is now up and running. Shackleton has not been seen since Atlantic Right Whale Consortium was Finally, Dr. Rosalind Rolland presented June 6", 2004, on Georges Bank during held at the New Bedford Whaling her work on measuring and characte- an offshore National Marine Fisheries Museum in New Bedford, MA, on rizing right whale stress hormones (see Service aerial survey. Starry Night was November 2 and 3. The Consortium was The Scoop on Poop). last seen in the summer of 2004 in the formed in 1986 and is comprised of The importance of the Annual Bay of Fundy. Once photeanalysis for individuals and organizations active in Meeting to the right whale research com- our last field season is completed, we right whale research and management munity cannot be overstated. It brings may find that Shackleton or Starry Night activities. The mission of the North together people committed to right were seen in the Bay of Fundy since it Atlantic Right Whale Consortium is to whale conservation to share their work, is a habitat both whales have been ensure the long-term conservation and form new collaborations and brainstorm known to use. recovery of right whales in the North innovative ways to work towards a common goal: conserving and managing Maine, on the first of August. Our primary whales breaching, right whales doing all the North Atlantic right whale population. Bay of Fundy research vessel, Nereid, of the things that they do for as far as This year, two workshops were held in was there and waiting at our new dock you could see in every direction. It was conjunction with the Annual Meeting. (see A Dock of Our Own). On Aug. 3d we amazing! As we were photographing a The first workshop focused on evaluating had our first opportunity to get out on calf, it became curious about us. The commercial vessel traffic characteristics the water and see which of our leviathan Nereid was shut down and just floating and whale strike probabilities along the friends had arrived. One of our collea- when the calf came over to the boat and North Atlantic coastline. The second gues, Laurie Murison, had given us a started swimming around it and rolling workshop focused on the current status heads up on the arrival of a couple right over on its side to check us out. We told of acoustic detection of right whales. whale mother/calf pairs. Laurie has our guests, "People can work in the Bay Overall, the Annual Meeting of the been monitoring right whales in the Bay for years and not have a day like this. North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium of Fundy, especially during the shoulder This is really rare and special." They was a tremendous success. As always, seasons when dedicated research is not were thrilled and feeling that they it inspired all in attendance with a being conducted, for about 20 years. couldn't be any luckier ... until their next renewed sense of excitement and com- She works as the naturalist for Whales- day out, when the team observed a mitment to continue efforts to ensure n-Sails Adventures out of Grand Manan 55animal surface active group (SAG). that the North Atlantic right whale Island, NB. She was easily able to Fifty-five of the rarest large whales in the population lives on. We would like to recognize Slash (#1303) and #2413 as world were rolling around together in one extend a special thank you to the New known mothers. Laurie's first sighting of small area! A surface active group is Bedford Whaling Museum staff, whose a right whale was on July 8", so we had defined as two or more whales rolling assistance in organizing and running the high hopes that on our first trip we and touching at the surface. SAGS are meeting was much appreciated! would be seeing some of our old friends. often associated with courtship and

Heather M. Pettis, Associate Sclentlst This expectation was happily fulfilled, as mating, however scientists are still trying Heather earned her B.S. from Bates College in 1997 on our first day we encountered 16 right to uncover all of the reasons right and her Master's in Marine Biology from Boston whales, including three mother/calf whales exhibit this behavior. Uiliversity's Marine Program in 2001. She joined the pairs. Though every day on the water is Right Whale Research Teamfill time in 2000. She We had many memorable days out very special in its own way, the big currently serves as the Secretary of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium. bz addition to her on the Bay. On September 6", two visit- picture truly tells the story of this habi- work at the Aquarium, Heather teaches biology ing researchers from Florida Fish and tat. We were on the water for a total . and marine biology at a private school in New Wildlife Research Institute who had 20 days. Less than half of the photo- Hampshire. Her research interests include popula- never seen right whales before joined us graphed sightings have been analyzed to tion biology arld health condition of right whales and its e$ects on reproductive and population for a day out on the water. The seas date and we have already accounted for dynamics. were flat calm and the whales were con- at least 105 individual whales in the Bay centrated in a small area. There were of Fundy. That's at least 30 percent of right whale flukes, right whale blows, all known right whales! We had 771 pho- right whales logging at the surface, right tographed sightings. Only about a dozen Bay of Fundy 2005 By: Lisa Conger

Every year I return to the Bay of Fundy knowing that it is a spectacular and dynamic place. Yet every year, I am stunned at how beautiful it is there and how I never quite remember exactly how amazing it is until I see it again ... We were fortunate to have had another stellar season on the Bay of Fundy! We started up a bit later than in recent years simply because for the past few years we were there early, but the whales didn't arrive until later in the It is always a special event when we can get a close look at the whales we study everyday. On summer. Our full team descended upon September 6,2005 one such event occurred as this calf, probably only ten or eleven months old and the small peninsular town of Lubec, already longer than our boat, came over to the Nereid to take a look at us. photo / New England Aquarium 6 Riglit Whale RESEARCH NEWS

one of the most comprehensive, longitu- dinal photddentification databases for a marine mammal species. However, inter- ruptions in survey effort due to lack of funding, poor weather conditions, and/or remote location of habitat, can produce gaps in the sighting history of individual whales. If a whale is not seen for six years, it is classified in the sightings database as "presumed dead." This period of time was chosen because it was very rare to re-sight an animal after a six-year interval. However, it does occasionally happen. In those cases A surface active group (SAG) can be a spectacular sight as they often include rolling, flipper slapping, when a whale is seen after it's been and, sometimes, breaching. On September 13, 2005 the team witnessed a SAG of 55 animals! presumed dead, it is classified as "res- Photo / New England Aquarium urrected" in the year it was resighted. Vessel and aerial surveys in GSC of them were in or near the newly moved Lisa Conger, Associate Sclentlst began in 1979 and continued through shipping lanes. Though this is not Lisa has worked at the New England Aquarium since the '80s and early '90s. Unfortunately, perfect, it is a huge improvement from 1992, studying the North Atlantic Right Whale. She there was a gap in survey effort in the spent eight yearsflying aerial surveys for right years past. If the shipping lanes had mid-'90s due to funding constraints. whales offdd of ,the coast of ,Geomia " and Florida. Lisa never been moved, the overlap with right has also worked in the waters of the Bay of Fundy, This gap resulted in a high number of whales would have been significantly studying right whales, for the past thirteen years and presumed mortalities. In the late190s, higher and the risk of a whale/ship runs the summerfield station in Lubec, Maine. aerial and vessel surveys were resumed collision would have been much greater. by National Marine Fisheries Service Of the 28 known calves born this (NMFS), International Fund for Animal past winter, 11 of them came to the Bay The G reat South Welfare (IFAW) and Provincetown Center with their moms. These 11 animals will for Coastal Studies (PCCS), and by certainly be able to be identified in the Channel 2003, a whopping 21whales were resur- future, as their callosity patterns are By: Lindsay Hall rected! Fourteen of those whales (about stabilizing and will be mostly consistent 67%) were seen in GSC the year they throughout their lives. This enables us to The Great South Channel (GSC) critical were resurrected. Eight of those 14 were catalog these young animals with the habitat encompasses the area east of seen only once, in GSC, the year they added information of their lineage. Cape Cod out to Georges Bank. The were resurrected. If it had not been for With the beginning of October upon area is 3,234 square miles, approxi- survey effort in GSC, those eight whales us, we started to think about packing up mately ten times the size of Manhattan. would have gone unobserved and the field station and heading for Boston. Right whales use this area as their remained presumed dead. It is clear There was just one catch-there were primary feeding habitat between April from these data that GSC is not only a still a lot or right whales in the Bay of and June. They aggregate in areas with habitat that most of the population Fundy. We decided to stay a bit longer to dense patches of zooplankton, which uses, but it's a habitat used by whales see if the weather would cooperate. And roughly coincide with waters deeper than that do not visit the well-surveyed it did, for the first few days of October, 100 meters. Data from surveys in GSC habitats such as the Bay of Fundy, Cape but we soon found ourselves sitting in dating back to 1979 suggest that in Cod Bay, or the southeast U.S.calving fog and gale force winds. We decided to some years, almost the entire popula- ground. Thus, continued surveys in this pack it up and head home. We will be tion of right whales has used (or passed area are invaluable for monitoring the working for several months on data from through) the area at some time during status of this population. this summer to assess just how many the year. The Great South Channel is In 2003, the New England Aqua- whales were seen. In the meantime, obviously a very important and interes- rium's right whale team chartered a we will be preparing to head south to, ting right whale habitat! fishing vessel, F/V Rueby, so we could hopefully, another great calving season. Surveys conducted in GSC and other collect shipboard images of right whales We look forward to updating you with habitat areas by various organizations in the GSC (the majority of sightings in news from the southeast U.S. in our and scientists have allowed the North GSC have been collected from aerial next newsletter. Atlantic Right Whale Catalog to become platforms) and further document who was there. In only three days on the During a survey of GSC on May 17", ones-were sighted. Between 1980 and water that spring, our team phote 2005 we came across whale #I604 and 1992, this number of right whales on graphed at least 26 individuals. her calf. This was an exciting event due Roseway was the norm, but for those of With the enthusiasm built up from to #1604's sporadic sighting history. us who joined the project after 1992, those three good days on the water in Whale #I604 was first seen in 1986 in Roseway Basin has always been des- 2003, the NEAq right whale team made Cape Cod Bay. She had been seen only cribed as the area where right whales the decision to add another field season a few times from 1986 through 1997, used to go. The whales essentially to our year and run more frequent vessel including one sighting of her with a calf abandoned Roseway from 1993 through surveys in the GSC. We based out of our in 1993. In 2002, she was seen with a 1998, which coincided with a more than offices in Boston and, at the hint of a calf in the southeast U.S. and Gulf of twofold increase of right whales in the good weather window, we traveled down St. Lawrence (another inconsistently Bay of Fundy. to Harwichport, on Cape Cod, MA, where monitored right whale habitat where An increase in the number of sight- our chartered boat, the F/V Rueby, was most reported sightings make their way ing~reported from Roseway since 1999 kept. But, in that 2004 season, we to the Catalog via whale watch vessels). needed further investigation and led to ended up getting only five days out on We were happy this past winter when renewed survey efforts beginning in the water. It became clear that we had #I604 was seen on the calving ground 2004. Last autumn, we were excited missed good weather days by not being with her third calf and thrilled on that our surveys showed right whales based out of a town near the boat. May 17" when we had an opportunity to had returned to the area, although our This past May, the decision was genetically sample her and her calf, both field trips out to the area were arduous. made to rent a house only a few miles for the very first time. Events like these Because our surveys were based out of from the dock and schedule members make the Great South Channel field sea- our homeport in Lubec, Maine, these of our team to be on-call to base out of son very important. Through contributing trips were three or fourday excursions- Cape Cod during a possible good weather such vital information we hope to make a 12-hour transit from Maine to Nova window. This ensured that a full team the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog Scotia, one or two 14-hour survey days was ready and waiting to get on the boat as complete as possible, allowing it to (with nights spent onboard the Galatea), and go. We used several chartered ves- continue as a comprehensive research and another full-day transit back to sels for the surveys during May, but in and conservation tool. Maine. June we were able to use our own R/V Lindsay Hall, Research Assistant It was with much anticipation that Galatea. We had a total of 11 amazing Lindsay earned a B.S. in Biology from Allegheny we prepared for summer 2005 and our days out on the water and documented College in 2002. She has worked as a research assis- second survey effort on Roseway Basin 187 sightings. We obtained biopsy Sam- tant at Duke University Marine Lab and as an aerial in as many years. There were near- ples from 16 animals, including eight and shipboam' observer on marine mammal surveys. record numbers of right whales in the She joined NEAq as an aerial observer in December calves, and collected three fecal Sam- 2002. Lindsay is currently the Right Whale Project's Bay of Fundy this past August and we ples, all of which contributed to several Data Coordinator: She also works on processing and couldn't wait to see what was happening different ongoing studies (see Sample cataloging contributed photographs of right whales, offshore! We decided to rent a house on Collection on the Southeast U.S. Calving organizing NEAqjeM season data, and right whale Cape Sable Island, N.S, where our team education and outreach projects. She is the editor of Ground.. . and The Scoop on Poop). Riaht Whale Research News. could stay for an entire month rather than make several long commutes between Maine and Nova Scotia. Cape Sable Island is located at the southern- Return to Roseway: most tip of Nova Scotia and is home to From Feast to Near several small towns and communities whose inhabitants make a living from Famine fishing and boat building. Unlike the By: Beth Pike rocky shores of Maine, Cape Sable Island has beautiful, white sandy beach- Last winter's newsletter (Volume 13, es. On warm days, once the fog burned Number 2) brought news from our off over land, we often had temperatures September 2004 expeditions to in the 80s; it was a great place to be Roseway Basin, an offshore right whale caught waiting for the weather to clear habitat located 30 miles off the south up (mostly offshore fogbanks or wind). ern tip of Nova Scotia, Canada. In just Some of the team even braved the water Right whale #I604 skim feeds in the nutrient rich waters of the Great South Channel. four survey days, more than 100 right for a swim. The people of Cape Sable photo / New England Aquarlum whales-including three entangled Island were extremely friendly and 8 Right Whale RESEARCH NEWS

helpful. We enjoyed meeting new friends be assessed by measuring stress hor- and reconnecting with old ones. The Scoop on Poop mones in fecal samples. Researchers With a fantastic house and a high- By: Cynthia Browning and have found that many right whales are speed Internet connection, we were all Dr. Roz Rolland infected with diseasecausing protozoa set to begin an intensive field season. called Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Unfortunately, the right whales surprised A team of researchers led by Dr. Roz Finally, research on these samples has us. Despite eight days of survey effort Rolland returned to the Bay of Fundy this shown that right whales are exposed to on Roseway Basin, our team saw fewer summer in search of whale poop. Right significant amounts of the marine bie than 15 right whales. A cruise run by the whale poop, to be exact! While this may toxins from red-tide blooms in the Bay of National Marine Fisheries Service seem like a strange mission, Fundy that may compromise their health. through the area early in the summer researchers are finding that defecation These groundbreaking studies are giving found some animals there, but not like samples can provide an enormous researchers an important window into the numbers found in 2004. So, amount of information about the health aspects of right whale reproduction and although right whales were clearly using and reproductive status of right whales. health for the first time. the area in 2005, the increase in right Because it is impossible to capture a Dedicated searches for whale scat whales in the Bay of Fundy appeared to 40-ton right whale to take a blood sam- began five years ago in the Bay of be leading to a corresponding decrease ple, Dr. Rolland and a group of scientists Fundy. Right whales feed on dense offshore. A similar shift in habitat use in have developed a suite of studies that patches of copepods in this area, the mid 1990s indicates that right can be done on fecal (or scat) samples. making it a prime habitat for collecting whales are likely responding to changes Through genetic analysis, scat samples fecal samples (if whales are eating in their habitat, mostly likely food can be attributed to individual right they're going to have to poop!). Right related, that we do not fully understand. whales, allowing researchers to link the whale scat is usually clumped and buoy- Though there have been a number of life history of the whale to the results of ant, ranges in size from a tiny speck to studies trying to link oceanographic several studies. By measuring levels of a small brick and is often orange or red variables and prey availability data to the reproductive hormones in scat samples, in color (from the copepod zooplankton change in right whale use of Roseway, researchers can determine if the whale they're eating). However, it's not easy results are still under investigation. Even is a male or a female, immature or for a human to find whale scat out there with only a few tens of right whales on reproductively active, and whether it is in the big ocean. The pieces of scat may Roseway, it is still an important habitat lactating or pregnant. Whale health can be very small and frequently not visible area for us to survey and compare with the Bay of Fundy. We are eager to see what happens next summer. We'll be back there, and hopefully the right whales will be back too! We would like the thank the following people for making our stay on Cape Sable Island so enjoyable: Wanda Atkinson, Sable Fish Packers, West Nova Fuels, especially Jeremy and Troy, Lindsay Nickerson, Henny Nickerson, Garvin and Fawn Atkinson, and all of the fishermen at the Sable Fish Packers wharf who were incredibly helpful and genuinely interested in our work.

Beth Pike, Assistant Scientist Beth Pike earned a B.S. in Psychology/Biology from Long Island University in 1997. She joined the NEAq right whale team in 2000, moving back to her home turf ajier a few years of working on charter boats in Maui. She has worked on various hump- back and coral reef projects. She is a primary identifier of individual right whales and provides some geographic irzfonnation systems (GIS) support ~ ~ for other team members. Beth is pursuing a graduate Now a three-year veteran of the summer field season in Lubec, Fargo, handled by Dr. Roz Rolland, degree in Environmental Management and GIs. intently searches for whale scat aboard the R/V Callisto. photo / New Wand Aquarium Riglit Whale RESEARCH NEWS 9 on the water's surface until they are just have been impossible for a human to submitted to the National Marine Fishe a few yards away from the research ves- detect. He also led researchers to a ries Service (NMFS) outlining several sel. In addition, as the scat sinks, it sample over one nautical mile away! years of consultation with the shipping may be widely dispersed. And although The astounding number of fecal sam- industry and recommendations for right whale poop does have a strong, ples that dogs like Fargo help resear- regulating ship traffic along the eastern distinct odor, the human nose usually chers obtain has fueled new studies on seaboard using reduced speed and alter- doesn't detect the scent until the right whale health and reproduction. native routing options. NMFS has taken sample is relatively close to the boat. These studies will help researchers these recommendations and after inter- Knowing how valuable scat could be, answer some important questions about nal review, initiated a rulemaking Dr. Rolland teamed up with Barbara this population: Why is the calving rate process. However, more than four years Davenport of Packleader Detector Dogs so variable from year to year? Why have later, there are still no regulations in and Dr. Sam Wasser of the University of some adult females never been seen place and a proposed rule for imple- Washington to develop a new way to with a calf? What impacts are human menting regulations has not yet been find these elusive samples ... using activities in the oceans having on right published. NMFS has filed a Notice of detection dogs! whales' health? Answers to these Intent to publish a proposed rule and we Fargo is a fiveyear-old Rottweiler that questions are important both to the remain hopeful a proposed rule will be was first trained as a narcotics detection conservation of right whales, and to published in late 2005/early 2006, dog, and now specializes in finding wild understanding more about human which would ideally be followed by a life scat. When searching for right whale impacts on the oceans.. final rule a year later. poop, Fargo stands on the bow of the Cynthia Browning, Research Assistant On the fishing gear entanglement boat, sniffing into the wind. When he Cynthia graduated with a bachelor's degree in side of the issue, there have been regu- detects the scent of right whale scat, he Zoology from the University of New Hampshire in lations in place for several years aimed becomes animated, wrinkling his fore- 2003. She has since traveled throughout the at reducing the level and severity of Northeast working for various programs dedicated head and wagging his stump of a tail. fixed fishing gear entanglements, but to right whale research. Cynthia spends most of her He excitedly points his nose in the year photographing individual right whales during these have not been effective at fully direction of the strongest scent. The aerial and shipboard surveys. She joined Dr: Roz addressing the entanglement problem. researchers then follow Fargo's lead and Rolland in the summer of 2005 to assist in collecting Serious and fatal entanglements have steer the boat in the direction that he fecal samples aid to create a database contairting continued to occur for all large whale infonnatiort on sample collection and results of indicates. As the boat approaches the studies conducted on fecal samples. species, including right whales. To begin sample, the scent gets stronger, and to address this problem, a new pro- Fargo becomes even more excited. After Rosalind M. Rolland, Senior Sclentlst posed rule was published on June 21, Roz is a veterinariarz by trairting, and she received the researchers locate the sample and her DVM degree from Tufts Universiry in 1984. She 2005, which details a variety of gear Fargo pinpoints it, he anxiously awaits spent several years working with primates both in modification changes to be required his reward.... his beloved tennis ball. Africa and in the US., and then joined the World along the Eastern U.S. seaboard This was the third year that a detec- Wildlife Fund as a Conservation Scientist where she (instead of only in higkuse right whale tor dog was used in the Bay of Fundy to studied the effects of environmental contaminants on areas as defined presently). These uni- wildlife populations. Before joining the New locate right whale scat and the results England Aquarium. Roz was Science Director of the versal gear modification changes include are astounding-a record 100 samples Center for Conservation Medicine at Tufts the use of sinking groundline between were collected this year, 59 of which Veterinary School. Her current research interests lobster traps, five weak links within were found by Fargo! The rest of the include development of methods to study repro- gillnet panels, and the requirement that duction and to evaluate health in right whales. samples were collected by the other similar trap fisheries comply with Aquarium's other research vessels, these regulations. The comment period other researchers working in the Bay of for this proposed rule ended on August Fundy and whale watch boats. Fargo's 22, 2005. A final rule will likely be hard work has allowed the dedicated The Policy Tunnel published sometime in 2006. One major collection team aboard Callisto to collect issue with fishing gear entanglements By: Amy Knowlton up to 14 samples in one day. On the that still remains to be addressed is same day, the Aquarium's research Implementing effective policies for the entanglement in vertical lines (fishing team aboard Nereid collected only three protection of right whales has not been line extending from the seafloor to the samples. Results like this emphasize what one might call a streamlined, surface buoy system). This will be the how efficient a detector dog like Fargo efficient process. The need for patience focus of the Atlantic Large Whale Take can be at finding scat. Fargo's acute as the process unfolds is frustrating. For Reduction Team in the year ahead- sense of smell has led the research example, in August 2001, a report co- trying to assess effective gear modifi- team to tiny flecks of poop, which would authored by myself and others was cation options available for vertical line 10 Right Whale RESEARCH NEWS

and develop a strategy for testing and 1983. She became full-time in 1988. Amy holds a try matching right whales, and a search implementation of such modifications. Masters degree in Marine Policy from the University engine that will allow the user to search If the timelines above can be adhe- of Rhode I.sland with a focus on shipping regulations the "live" right whale Catalog and see a and protection of right whales from ship strikes. Shc red to, at long last, there may be a faint has a strong interest in meshing science ndth policy small subset of images for each whale glimmer of light at the end of this long to help develop effective protection measures for in the Catalog. The Catalog website policy tunnel. The lengthy rulemaking right whales. was funded by the National Science process is not atypical for NMFS. Though Foundation and can be found at there are many of our colleagues at www.neaq.org/rwcatalog. NMFS who have been working long and The North Atlantic Right Whale hard to develop these regulations, there Right Whales on the Consortium website has been updated are many internal hurdles within the rule- and revamped in the last six months. making process that greatly slow the Web The Consortium is made up of a number process down. Unfortunately this hap By: Yan Gullbault, Philip Hamilton and of both governmental and non-govern- pens at the expense of the animals we Kerry Lagueux mental organizations and individuals in are all trying to protect. In addition, there the United States and Canada who work is often a tremendous amount of opposi- Right whales are becoming increasingly to study and conserve North Atlantic tion to such rules by the groups that will visible on the web! In the last six months, right whales. The website was created to be impacted (including fishermen, port the New England Aquarium has worked provide information to the public on right authorities, shipping companies and the extensively on three web sites: the North whale research and conservation. Here, military), which can also slow down the Atlantic Right Whale Catalog website, the you can find more information about the process. Yet, we are cautiously optimistic North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, that if final rules can be promulgated in website and the marine GIs website. see some great images of right whales the next year or two, perhaps there will The Catalog website is a completely that are available for use for educational finally be some positive changes for right new site that is aimed towards teaching purposes, and download PDF files of whales. Hopefully this will happen in time people about right whale photo-identifi- some scientific articles. You will also for the North Atlantic right whales to cation. It includes background on phote find contact information for the partners come back from the edge of extinction. identification in general, detailed expla- of the Consortium and links to their Here at the New England Aquarium, nations of how individual right whales respective websites. The Consortium we continue to work closely with NMFS are matched to the Catalog, photo- website is www.rightwhaleweb.org. and other regulatory agencies to provide graphs and descriptions of identifying The marine GIs website has also detailed information about the status of features, maps showing where right been updated and revamped in the past right whales and the level of entangle- whales are found, and descriptions of few months. This site has a number of ment and ship strike injury and mortality. behaviors. This website has short biogra- useful links for GIs (Geographic Infor- We have also been involved in efforts to phies of some whales that illustrate mation Systems), but one of the most help develop and research effective gear what the photographic Catalog can tell exciting for those interested in right modifications, to review vertical line gear us. You'll find family trees of some right whales is a series of maps plotting right modification options, and to assess whales that were determined through whale locations. These maps include sightings data along the coast and genetic analyses at Trent University in movements of individual whales between recommend seasonal timeframes for Kingston, Ontario, illustrating how the habitats, and monthly and annual plots ship strike management measures. Our information gained from genetic studies of both survey effort and whale sight- expertise and knowledge of this species (see Sample Collection on the South- ings. To view these maps, go to the has been integral to the development of east U.S. Calving Ground.. .) is adding home page of this website and find the these proposed regulatory measures. tremendously to our understanding of link to the "Right Whale Mapping For more detail on the regulatory individuals. There is a brief description Project" under the "Right Whales" process underway for shipping, visit the of the new software that we are develop subheading. Under this subheading, we NMFS ship strike reduction website at: ing to manage the Catalog called also have information regarding how we http://www.nero.noaa.gov/shipstri ke/ DIGITS, and a bibliography of some of are using satellite remote sensing to and for fishing, visit the NMFS Atlantic the many scientific articles that have understand the oceanographic variables Large Whale Take Reduction Plan website been written using information from the in right whale habitats, how we have at: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp/o photo-identification database. But some used GIs to move the shipping lanes in of the most exciting features of this the Bay of Fundy, and maps of the loca- Amy KnowRon, Research Sclentlst Amy, after grduating with a bachelors'degree in website are still under development, tions of the sponsored whales from this Geography from Boston University in 1982, began as such as links to other related websites, past season. The GIs website is a part-time volunteer on the Right Whale Project in a simple matching game so users can www.marinegis.org. Right Whale RESEARCH NEWS 11

Yan Guilbault, Research Assistant in general. The backbone of this valu- were not photo-identified. Once the In 2003. Yan earned a B.S. in Biology fmm McGill able dataset is, of course, the long-term unknown animal is genetically matched Uttiversity, Quebec, Canada. Shortlv thereafrec he photoidentification research and the to a calf from a previous year, we can began working seasorral!y with the right tvhnle project in the Bay of Fund,y and Florida. He recenrly detailed information it provides for each then determine who its mother was by moved from Montreal and joined the research lab individual. It is this level of detail, for referring to the photographic database. full time. He is currently maintaining the North such a large portion of the species over In this way, genetic analyses can be Atlantic Right Whale Consortium website as well as such a long time period, that sets this used to compliment the photoidentifica- processing and catalogirlg photographs. work apart from most other population tion data and provide a valuable tool to Philip Hamilton, Research Scientist studies. However, there is one major aid in obtaining long-term demographic Philip Hamilton began his whale research career in gap in these data that results from data for population assessment and 1986 at the Center for Coastal Studies in calves that are only seen in the calving monitoring. Samples collected from Pmvirtcerown, MA. He joined the right whale project grounds during their first year of life. these calves are also used in the ongo at the Aquarium in I989 where he now nlannges the photo-identijication catalog. In additior~to right The photddentification work is ing genetic analysis of this species to whale research, he has also participated in several primarily based on the callosity patterns learn more about the reproductive biole humpback whale studies. He did his masters work that occur on the head of each whale gy of right whales, and the influence of irtvestigating right whale associations at the and are unique to each individual. genetic factors on species recovery. University of Massachusetts at Bostort. In recent years, he has used his dog "Bob" to help locate and However, these callosity patterns To increase our ability to obtain retrieve floating right whale scat, which is then develop and change until the calves are samples from calves while they are on analyzed for a myriad of factors. approximately six months old. This the calving ground, some changes will results in a large group of calves--those be taking place during this winter's field Kerry Lagueux, Assoclate Sclentlst Kerry joined the Right Whale Research Team in who are seen during the winter or spring season. Two teams will be working in August of 2004 as a CIS analyst. His research months when they are less than six close collaboration with each other to interests include species-habitat relationships. months old, but not during the summer maximize coverage of the southeast habitat modeling, and integrating GIS technology months in the northern feeding grounds calving ground. One team is comprised into conservation Currently, he is annlyzing right whale locations relative to oceanographic variables. when they are over six months old-that of Chris Slay-collaborator and contribu- His past research ranged from modeling Chinook cannot be photddentified in their year tor to NEAq who heads up the effort to salmon habirats in the Pacific Northwest to artaly- of birth when they are still associated collect samples in the calving grounds- zing elk distributior~sin Wind Cave National Park. with their mothers. Therefore, if these and Tom Pitchford and Andy Garrett of Kerry has B.A. irt Geography from San Diego Stare calves are seen later in their lives, once the Florida Fish and Wildlife Service. The University and a M.S. in Geographyfrom Western Washington University their callosity patterns have stabilized, it second team includes Lisa Conger of is not possible to link them back to spe- the New England Aquarium, and myself, cific calving events of specific females, Tim Frasier of the Natural Resources and the resulting demographic data, DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre at Sample Collection on such as age and family line, are "lost" Trent University. These teams will be for these calves. Data show that ap working closely with each other, as well the Southeast U.S. proximately 40 percent of all calves are as with the aerial survey teams on the not seen during the summer months; calving grounds to identify mother-calf Calving Ground: Using therefore, that important demographic pairs that are in the area and obtain genetic-I D techniques information is unknown for almost half samples from the calves, and mothers of all calves born to this species. when necessary. Through the combined when photo-ID is not Genetic analyses from skin samples effort of the sampling and aerial survey can be used to identify calves before teams, the goal of the genetic sampling possible their callosity patterns have developed, during this field season will be to By: Tim Frasier and therefore provide a tool to prevent minimize the number of calves whose the loss of these valuable data. If a information is "lost," by providing sam The ongoing research on North Atlantic sample is collected from a calf while it ples and genetic ID'S for the majority of right whales, which has been conducted is on the calving ground, the DNA from mothercalf pairs in the calving ground. for more than 25 years, makes them that sample can be analyzed, which Adding the information from these one of the most well studied wild popu- results in an individual-specific genetic samples to the ongoing genetic and lations. Resulting from these data is a profile for that whale. If this whale is photoidentification databases will great potential to learn about the factors seen later on in its life and another not only help fill a major gap in our that are important for the recovery and sample is collected, the DNA can be understanding of the individuals that conservation of not only this species, analyzed and compared to samples col- represent this endangered species, but but for small and/or endangered species lected in previous years from calves that Continued on page 12 12 Right \Vhale RESEARCH NEWS

Sample Collection on the Tim Frasier, Postdoctoral fellow F \ Afer obtaining a B.Sc. in biology from the Southeast U.S. Calving Ground: University of North Dakota in 1998. Tim interned Have a Happy and Using genetic-ID techniques with DI:Moira Brown at the Centerfor Coastal Studies n~lzerehe worked on aerial surveys for right when photo-ID is not possible whales in Cape Cod Bay. In 1999 he began his Healthy New Year Continued from page 11 Ph.D. work on the genetics of Nortl~Atlantic right k' whales with DKBrad White at McMaster Universio>, .L" r\i * and since 1999 has also spent summers tork king in - I+ ' "' 8 * will also be used to obtain a better the field with the New Enghnd Aquarium right p 7**

whale research crew. Tim completed his Ph.D. in -\\ de understanding of right whale biology in &'""

% A Januan, of 2005, and is continuing in right whale ** 6" general, and the factors influencing .a# % genetics research. and is also conducting genetic *d %... species recovery.. arzalyses of other endangered whales and dolphins. .&# 1

HANK Yc DU!

'e would liike to tha~ik all of tt ie individi lizations 2~nd schoo Is that co~ntinue to !support 01 JI lcacalu h with an1nual

3onsorshilps and do nations. I'our suppt :al to our 'work and *we apprec:iate all 01 ' your effo rts. In thet last year', your ?nerous d onations I7ave provided these ~tresource ?s to our 1~roject: .. . -travel .. to ana. panlclpatlon... .In .lmplementatlon .. team meetlngs responsttxe.. . Tor- me recovery or rlgnr wnales under the Endangerea spectes Act m Field supy:dies in sup port of fielcI studies a1 id continue!d updating of the right whale cat alog Travel anc I supplies f or disentartglement ef Torts