The blue whale barrel roll

Some extremely cool research has come out recently on blue whale feeding behaviour, which explains what I often see from the boat. Below is a photo that I took in 2011 and another I took last last week in the Corcovado Gulf. What you can see sticking out of the water is the blue whale's pectoral fin (its flipper) which indicates that the animal is rolled onto its side as it lunges through the water. We have often referred to this at lunge-feeding behaviour or a lateral lunge, where the whale rolls onto its side and takes a huge gulp of water and krill and then rolls upright again.

Blue whale lunge feeding, 2011.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Blue whale lunge feeding, February 2013.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

This new research is summarized in this video, which shows the simulation of blue whale feeding behaviour off the coast of California, based on data collected with suction cup tags and images collected with a National Geographic crittercam. This is so incredibly cool! Take a look:
http://www.sciencefriday.com/video/12/07/2012/blue-whale-barrel-roll.html

This simulation shows feeding at almost 300 m depth. This is interesting because here in the Corcovado we often see whales feeding at much shallower depths, in waters of say 130 m or even less, and we see these  lunges at the surface. I am not sure if this shallower feeding is common elsewhere, but it is surely linked to the oceanographic conditions that determine krill patch distribution, which I am researching as part of my PhD. It would be amazing to replicate this study here in southern Chile, where the oceanographic and krill distribution characteristics are very different from the Californian upwelling system.

Summer field season so far: a selection of photos

I have been in Melimoyu for about three weeks and we have had good luck sighting whales and sampling the feeding ground. We have seen quite a lot of deep dive behaviour and some lunging behaviour which indicates exploratory dives for food and feeding.

Here is a selection of photos:

Blue whale and the Melimoyu volcano.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Blue whale diving in front of Islote Locos.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Blue whale dive.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Blue whale diving in front of Islote Locos.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

A lovely blue whale blow. 

Credit: Susannah Buchan

 We have been working on board the research vessel Anihue which has been helping us from the nearby Anihue Reserve. They also have an echosounder which is really useful for sampling krill. 

Credit: Susannah Buchan

Plankton soup! Taken from near diving blue whales.
Credit: Susannah Buchan 

Plankton patch showing up on the Anihue boat echsounder. We got a good krill sample  in our net when we targeted this patch. See photo below.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Krill soup!
Taken from near diving blue whales with the help of the echosounder on board Anihue.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

 

Radio 4 programme on selecting Marine Conservation Zones around the UK

A good overview of the process and problems of selecting Marine Conservation Zones around the UK. It's not perfect but is a step forward. Unfortunately no sites include key areas for cetaceans.

Listen at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pthk3

From http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/512xn/p013r4q7.jpg

Listen to the Chilean blue whale song!

Listen to an example of the Chilean blue whale song we recorded in 2008. This sequence is characteristic of animals in the Southeast Pacific and in Chilean waters and is the focus of the our current research.

http://static.quepasa.cl/20121213/1670881.wav

Article about our work in the Que Pasa magazine

Check out the article in Spanish written by Nicolas Alonso:
http://www.quepasa.cl/articulo/ciencia/2012/12/3-10753-9-los-hombres-que-oian-a-las-ballenas.shtml

Credit: Devin Altobello

Study of humpback whale song in Antarctic feeding grounds

An interesting study out today on humpback whale song in Antarctic feeding grounds, which breaks the long held view that feeding and breeding activities are spatially and temporally distinct. Song production produced by males, and which has a reproductive function, is now shown to occur in feeding grounds. For humpback whales, as for humans, the way to a female's heart is through her stomach!

Read more at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121219174156.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fdolphins_and_whales+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Plants+%26+Animals+News+--+Dolphins+and+Whales%29

And download the scientific publication at:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0051214

Job done! Our latest acoustic buoy trip

100% success on our third acoustic buoy trip! We successfully deployed 3 MARUs and recovered the one pending MARU.

There was a lot of waiting around because of bad weather, but once we got going, we got everything done in a record 4 days.

Many thanks to all who were with us: Luis Bedrinana (Centro Ballena Azul/Universidad Austral de Chile), Fred Channell (University of Cornell), Nicolas Alonso (Que Pasa), Devin Altobello and the Captain and crew of Yagan II.

Here are some photos of our trip:

Setting off! Luis Bedrinana, Nicolas Alonso, Susannah Buchan, Fred Channell and Devin Altobello.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Fred programming the buoys.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

With Luis on the upper deck.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Tying down the equipment in rough seas!
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Luis on the look out for cetaceans.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

Luis and Nicolas having mate on the upper deck.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

On our way to the first deployment site...
Credit: Susannah Buchan

The MARU ready for deployment.
Credit: Susannah Buchan

All done! Unloading our equipment.
Credit: Susannah Buchan