In a newly published study in Seismica, researchers used instruments on land designed to monitor earthquakes (seismometers) to detect the presence of fin and blue whale calls in the Gulf of St Lawrence. What is a seismometer? Seismometers are instruments that measure the ground motion and are typically used to study earthquakes. However, they can […]
Eavesdropping on whales using land seismometers Read More »
Marine mammals are difficult for scientists to study; they spend most or all of their lives in and around water habitats. Because of their vastness (hundreds of thousands of square kilometers) and depth (thousands of meters), marine mammal habitats are difficult for humans to access and explore. Cetaceans – whales, dolphin, and porpoises – spend
How To Study The Deepest Diving Whales? Use Chemistry! Read More »
The death of a whale can happen at sea or onshore if the animal beaches itself. Examining the dead whales can reveal many secrets like the cause of death, but also how a whale’s body works. In this post, we will explore the lesser-known area of cetacean research, post-mortem investigations, commonly known as necropsies. We
What secrets can we uncover from dead whales? Read More »
One of the most fundamental pieces of information about individuals (including dolphins) is their age. In biology studies, scientists need to know how old an animal is to understand many aspects of its life history and, for example, to estimate the viability of a population. But estimating an animal’s age is no easy feat when
Scientists can now use the DNA of dolphins to know their age Read More »
This week, we are partnering with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), aka the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international conservation. They just launched a new tool for conservation called the Joint Cetacean Data Program (JCDP). By accessing the portal, researchers can now obtain tons of sighting
Hey Whale Scientists, You Can Now Access A New Free Cetacean Database For Research! Read More »
Photo-ID has been around for decades: it allowed researchers to study the marine mammal populations and opened the door to awesome whale research worldwide. So what exactly is photo-ID, why is it important, and how can you gain skills in this discipline? Find out in this post. A picture says more than a thousand words
Photo-ID is the heart of whale research Read More »
