Category:Marine Mammals
The oceans' charismatic megafauna.
See also Ocean Page also Marine Biology
Ocean Giants: Epic new 3 hour PBS series on whales and dolphins.
Contents
Volunteer Opportunities and Events
(See also Oceans Page)
Marine Mammal Physiology Project began in 1994 at the Long Marine Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Terrie Williams, an exercise physiologist and professor at UCSC. Working with animals that are trained to voluntarily cooperate in the data collection process, Dr. Williams seeks to answer the important question of what it costs these animals to survive in the ocean. Internships.
Elephant seals You can hear them, or go visit. You can also volunteer
Friends of the Sea Otter has some new and exciting programs: Program 1: Marine Water Monitoring Water quality plays a significant role in sea otter health, which is why FSO is teaming up with the California Department of Public Health and asking volunteers to collect water samples all along the coast of California. The data from the water samples will ultimately be received and used by researchers working with otters and other sea mammals. Volunteers are needed to collect samples at locations along the coast where the southern sea otter call home (San Francisco to Santa Barbara). Sampling takes only about 15 minutes and must be done weekly; if we get enough interest, teams can be created so that individuals can take turns with sampling throughout the month.
Program 2: Otter Recovery The California Sea Otter Research Group needs help with otter recovery on Friday afternoons and weekends. This job would entail removing dead or hurt otters from the shoreline. Volunteers would need to walk along the shoreline and then take care of any otters that are found.
Program 3: Data Compilation and Organization. People with a scientific background are needed to help the California Sea Otter Research Group in Santa Cruz compile data. A great deal of sea otter data has already been collected and is in desperate need of organization. This work would be done in their laboratories located in Santa Cruz.Link.
Marine Mammal Rescue Center: Various opportunities including rescuing stranded animals at the Marine Mammal Rescue Center Here is info on local rescue volunteering. Video.
See also Marine Mammal Physiology Project (MMPP) at UCSC's Long Marine Laboratory. (video)
Pelican Network Feed birds, count sea otters etc.
Friends of the Sea Otter Link
Articles/Reports
News about marine mammals, including dolphins and whales.
Sea otters fight global warming UCSC research.
Whale Deaths Since 1970s Mostly Human-Caused, Study Finds 10/12
Synthetic ambergris could save whales.
NW Sea lions killed (probably by fishermen) 6/12.
Saving Whales: Now There's an App for That 4/12
Sea Shepards declare victory after limiting whale hunting season. 3/12
Grey Whale and calf in San Francisco Bay. 3/12
Dolphins have names, speak whale. 3/12
Whales boost eco-tourism 3/12.
Gulf Dolphin die-off also [off Peru 5/12 Update (images).
Exxon Valdez Oil Walloping Mom and Pup Sea Otters 2/12
Giving Rights to Orcas. another take 2/12
Dolphin stranding in Massachusetts and Navy sonar and Dolphin stranding update. text and audio 2/12. Blue whales and noise.
Navy sonar suspected or harming marine mammals.
Right Whales, the most endangered, get protection in US.
New TOPP comprehensive study of hot spots. 5/11 UCSC Dan Costa and students involved in radio tagging. UCSC's Dan Costa and students go to Antarctica to tag seals.
Status of grey whales 1/11 (with good resources).
Troubling history of Sea World killer whales. 9/11.
How Factory Farms Are Killing Seals 2/12
Books
Whale Warrior by Pete Bethune, formerly of Sea Shepherds.
The Whale Warriors, about illegal whaling near Antarctica by author Peter Heller went out with Sea Shepherds)video) (disturbing images).
Hope for the Ocean on Monterey Bay (TEDtalk) by Steve Palumbi , see also The Death and Life of Monterey Bay
Video
Ocean Giants: Epic new 3 hour PBS series on whales and dolphins.
In the Wake of Giants. When humpback whales migrating between Alaska and Hawaii become entangled in marine debris, a small network of brave volunteer rescuers risk their lives to save them. Packed with action, beauty and compassion, In the Wake of Giants puts you in the rescue boats with the experts as they free the struggling whales. The effort is led by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's Ed Lyman.
Specific Species
Dolphins
Texas Dolphins Stranded Off Coast Prompts NOAA To Declare An 'Unusual Mortality Event'] 6.12
Gulf Dolphin die-off also off Peru 5/12
What I Learned From Working With Dolphins by Maddalena Bearzi, Founder, Los Angeles Dolphin Project, and author of book Dolphin Confidential. 4/12
The Dolphin Defender good info on sonar and chemicals (PBS Nature).
Dolphins in Gulf seem to affected by oil spill 3/12
Spinner dolphins and Dolphins playing with bubbles. Another from from Ocean Giants.
The Cove is a documentary about the annual slaughter of dolphins in Japan. audio and videoText and audio. trailer. Short overview in Scientific American.
Peter Tyack studies the the social behavior and acoustic communication in whales and dolphins, learning how these animals use sound to perform critical activities, such as mating and locating food. TEDtalk.
Whales
Whale Deaths Since 1970s Mostly Human-Caused, Study Finds 10/12
Synthetic ambergris could save whales.
Tracking Blues with military technology 10/12.
Humpback whale video off California coast. 8/12
Capt. Paul Watson explains how he came to found Sea Shepards. (inspiring but not easy to listen to). He's been arrested for trying to stop shark finning. 5/12
Mosquitoes fingered for killer whale deaths at SeaWorld 4/12
Saving Whales: Now There's an App for That 4/12
Gigantic Journeys: Humpback and Gray Whale Migration KQED Quest video.
Whaletrackers is a series of online documentary programs that journey across the world's oceans to explore the lives of whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Sperm whale steals a fish video.
The Whale, the story of Luna, the playful, inquisitive young orca who got separated from his pod and made friends with the humans in Vancouver’s Nootka Sound.
"Surfer nearly swallowed by whale"(video) near shore in Santa Cruz. article"A pod of humpback whales has been hanging out off the Santa Cruz coast, noshing on anchovies that flock to the area to feed on plankton. The woman found herself in the middle of a feeding frenzy called lunge feeding, which occurs when whales herd anchovies and shoot straight up out of the water with their mouth wide open to catch the fish."
Killer whale kills great white shark: According to National Geographic, "To prey upon the shark, the Orca has learned how to immobilize it by turning it on its back -- a state called 'tonic immobility.'" Sharks freeze when rolled onto their backs. And that's exactly the strategy the whale in this film seems to have taken, keeping the shark immobile until it suffocates, then and feeding on it.
"Whale Fall" story on Radiolab led to beautiful video of an intricate world of paper cutouts to illustrate the different stages a whale carcass goes through after dropping to the bottom of the ocean.
Rescued whale dances (video).
Whale rescued from fishing net in Mexico. Dolphins save dog.
Whale Wars on Discovery Channel.
Jean Michel Cousteau "Call of the Killer Whale" 2009
Fellowship of the Whales. Humpbacks. PBS Nature full episode.
Whales endangered by ultraloud military sonar Blue whales and noise
To Kill a Whale . Despite the protest about the killing of whales and the impact of international whaling bans, the people of the Faroe Islands, a Danish community, still practice a ...annual pilot whale cull. This documentary looks at the arguments from both the Faroese people and the conservationists on this contentious issue.]
Photographer Paul Nicklen found an extraordinary new friend diving under the Antarctic ice to get close to the much-feared leopard seal. Share his hilarious, passionate stories of the polar wonderlands, illustrated by glorious images of the animals who live on and under the ice. TEDtalk.
Whales boost eco-tourism 3/12.
America's last whaling station (shut down in 1973 by Endangered Species Act) was in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Into the Deep: America, Whaling & the World. The 300-year saga of the American whaling industry. PBS
Otters etc
Exxon Valdez effect continues 2/12 text
Otter 501 is a new documentary.
Sea Otter mortality mystery.
KQED Quest story on sea otter mortality 2/07.
Otter foster mom at local aquarium
Ocean Animal Emergency Features UCSC folks. You can volunteer to help at Marine Mammal Center (see volunteer page).
UCSC Prof. Dan Costa and his students are tagging marine life to send back realtime information never before available. You can follow activities at TOPP and see Video from KQED's Quest. Video update 5/11. New TOPP comprehensive study of hot spots. 5/11 UCSC's Dan Costa and students go to Antarctica to tag seals.
Crittercam is a videocamera attached to ocean animals to observe their behavior. UCSC alum will show this work April 5th at UCSC.
Elephant Sea Cam at Ano Nuevo (you can go on [http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1115 free tours).
Antartic seals (audio and video).
Pictures of baby ottersgrooming (video).
Hope for the Ocean on Monterey Bay (TEDtalk) by Steve Palumbi , see also The Death and Life of Monterey Bay.
Manatees and motor boats.
Audio
Seal sitters protect pups [ http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=12-P13-00016#feature6 transcript] Loe.org 4/12
Sea Lion Rescue 5/09 (with slideshow). Next month, the Marine Mammal Center in the Marin Headlands opens its doors to the public for the first time in four years. The Center treats sea lions, elephant seals, and other marine mammals that run into trouble along our coast. They swallow fishing lines, get hit by boat propellers and, increasingly, come down with a bacterial infection that scientists say they still don't understand.
An amazing whale story (Realplayer required)***
'Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest' by Sy Montgomery (several chapters on audio)
== UCSC Research == (See also UCSC green departments and people)
Dan Costa and his students are tagging marine life (example Elephant Seals) to send back realtime information never before available. You can follow activities at TOPP and see Video from KQED's Quest as well as PBS's Ocean Animal Emergency More videoNew TOPP comprehensive study of hot spots. 5/11
John Francis, vice president of research, conservation, and exploration for the National Geographic Society works with Crittercam
Ken Norris, cetologist who helped establish Natural Reserves and Long Marine Lab oral history online and in Science Library QH31.N67 J37 1999. "His pioneering investigations in marine mammalogy confirmed dolphin echolocation skills in a series of elegant experiments. Much of what is now known about whales and dolphins, specifically their social and familial interactions is due to his work. His expertise in marine mammalogy also resulted in his strong influence on public policy in the crafting of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972. His leadership and research were also instrumental in the national campaign to reduce the dolphin kill in tuna fishing. Norris was the author of over a hundred scientific papers and several books on dolphins and porpoises."
Tim Tinker researches sea otters. Video Info on otter mortality.
Mele Wheaton just received a Switzer Fellowship for improving teaching about the environment. She has worked on conservation, including sea otters.
Terrie Williams, professor of biology and director of the Marine Mammal Physiology Project (MMPP) at UCSC's Long Marine Laboratory sprang into action and were ready when an oil-soaked otter arrived from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where she had been stabilized. Williams has also done research on seals during the Antarctic winter, the harshest season in the harshest environment on Earth.
Chris Wilmers and Terrie Williams', a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UCSC, will team up to explore questions of puma behavior, physiology, and ecology using radio collars. Cougar GPS story. Story of Atlas, who crosses Hwy 17. Sea otters fight global warming, 9/12 audio interview.
Carol Howard (’85) author of Dolphin Chronicles (Bantam, 1996) a popular account of her graduate work with dolphins (review). Current job: science writer and communications coordinator for the Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing.
UCSC Articles
Sea otters fight global warming
Olive the Oiled Otter was rescued near Monterey. She has her own Facebook page with a good article of status of otters.
Past UCSC Events
| Marine Mammal Research Tour | |
| 9/27 |
9/27/2009 Sunday 2:15 PM to 3:30 PM Go behind the scenes at Long Marine Lab. Learn about the work of scientists and their studies of dolphins, seals, sea lions, and whales. Tour is best suited for adults and children over 10 years of age. Space limited, free with admission. Reservations required: 459-3800 Location: Other Campus Location Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab Category: Announcement - Tour Invited Audience: Open to Public Admission: $6 Adults; $4 Youth (10-16), Students, Seniors (64+); Members, and UCSC undergrads are free.
|
| Sea Otters : Barometers of Ocean Health | |
| 10/01 Th |
10/01/2009 Thursday 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Dr. Tim Tinker (USGS): Big Sur vs. Monterey: Understanding Human Impacts on Sea Otter Population Health AND Dr. Keith Miles (USGS and UC Davis): The Doctor is In: Using Human Medicine to Diagnose What Ails the Sea Otter. Since being protected by the Endangered Species Act, the sea otter population has recovered from less than 50 animals near Big Sur to more than 2400 animals along the California coast today. Despite this good news, recent data indicates a declining population—WHY? We don’t hunt them for fur. We don’t trap them in nets. They are a protected species. What is happening to the sea otter and what does it mean to us? Six of the most prominent marine scientists and world otter experts will take us on a journey of discovery and understanding as to why sea otters are a barometer of ocean health. “Unlike previous decades where overhunting and fishing were the key causes, at least 50 percent of otter deaths are now due to a variety of infectious diseases, parasites, and pollution” says Dr. David Jessup, Wildlife Veterinarian at the Marine Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center, California Department of Fish and Game. The first of three distinct lecture evenings will cover the many obstacles facing sea otters today, what their declining population tells us about the health of our oceans, and what we are doing to prevent further decline of this charismatic and important “keystone” species. Location: Other Campus Location Room: La Feliz Room Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, near Natural Bridges State Beach Invited Audience: Open to Public Admission: Free Sponsored by: Luckenbach Trustee Council Estimated Attendance: 98 Contact information for this event: Name: Abby Borsgard Phone: 459-3799 Email: aborsgar@ucsc.edu Web |
Subcategories
This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total.
Articles in category "Marine Mammals"
The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total.
