Latest Cetaceans Stories
The first paternity study of southern right whales has found a surprisingly high level of local breeding success for males, scientists say, which is good news for the overall genetic diversity of the species, but could create risk for local populations through in-breeding. Results of the study, by researchers at the University of Auckland, Oregon State University and the New Zealand Department of Conservation, have just been published in the journal Molecular Ecology. The study found...
YARMOUTH PORT, Mass., June 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IFAW's, (the International Fund for Animal Welfare, www.ifaw.org) research vessel, The Song of the Whale is contributing to one of the most comprehensive whale studies in the world - conducting critical research to help save whales from collisions with ships and entanglement in fishing gear. IFAW is joining the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary during its 20th anniversary to be part of a world-class international...
Southern dwelling killer whales, located in the Pacific Northwest, experience more strain by lack of fish than by hordes of whale watchers, according to a study conducted in the Salish Sea. Chinook salmon, a staple for the killer whales of that area, are dwindling in number and this effects the whale population heavily. Published on June 6, 2012 in the online journal PLoS ONE, the study, led by environmental and pet-behavior consultant Katherine Ayers, focused on the glucocorticoid and...
Internet Giant Urged To Ban All Sales of Whale and Dolphin Products WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hundreds of whale products for sale on the Japanese website of Internet search engine company Yahoo! show how the California-based company profits from the venture, according to a new report released today. "Killing for Commerce," released by the Environmental Investigation Agency, in conjunction with Humane Society International and the Natural Resources Defense...
Over a decade of science and industry working together continues to help rare whale species recover SAINT JOHN, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - This year marks the 10(th) anniversary of the International Maritime Organization's adoption of re-routed shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundy, a precedent setting initiative achieved through the collaboration of industry, led by Irving Oil, scientists from the New England Aquarium, government, academics and environmental groups for the...
A study by an environmental group that suggested explosions from oil exploration were to blame for the deaths of nearly 900 dolphins off Peru’s coast has been refuted by the government on Wednesday, which said the dolphins died of natural causes. At least 877 dolphins have died since the start of the year. According to Fisheries Minister Gladys Triveno, Peru’s Maritime Institute (IMARPE) found the massive die-off was not the result of lack of food, hunting, poison, contamination, and...
Scientists with the Smithsonian Institution and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have discovered a new sensory organ in the rorqual family of whales -- a discovery which sheds new light on their unique feeding behavior and explains why they grow to such massive sizes. The US and Canadian biologists involved in the study located the organ at the tip of the chin of blue, humpback, minke and fin whales, contained within a batch of ligaments connecting the lower jaw bones, according to...
Researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the National Aquarium have completed a study, funded by the National Aquarium and by the Center for Contaminant Transport Fate and Remediation at The Johns Hopkins University, which compared the mercury levels of captive dolphins and wild dolphins. Captive dolphins are fed a diet of small fish from the North Atlantic, while the wild dolphins eat aquatic creatures that have potentially higher mercury levels. The researchers discovered that the...
Hearing health, animal communication, volcanic noise, and more The latest news and discoveries from the science of sound will be featured at Acoustics 2012 Hong Kong, May 13-18, a joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Acoustical Society of China, Western Pacific Acoustics Conference, and the Hong Kong Institute of Acoustics. Experts in acoustics will present research spanning a diverse array of disciplines, including medicine, music, speech communication, noise, and...
Estimates of whale population size based on genetics versus historical records diverge greatly, making it difficult to fully understand the ecological implications of the large-scale commercial whaling of the 19th and early 20th centuries, but a comparison of DNA samples from modern and prehistoric gray whales supports the idea that the population was substantially larger pre-whaling and saw a sharp, recent decrease that is consistent with whaling as the cause. The full results are reported...
Latest Cetaceans Reference Libraries
Image Caption: Fossil of Feresa Attenuata, Shimonoseki Marine Science Museum KAIKYOUKAN, Japan. Credit: OpenCage/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 2.5) The pygmy killer whale is widely distributed in tropical and sub-tropical waters worldwide. Regular sightings of this species occur off the coast of Hawaii and Japan, and also in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka and Lesser Antilles. In the Atlantic the pygmy killer whale has been seen off the coast of South Carolina and Senegal. This species swims in...
The crabeater seal (Lobodon carcinophagus) is a true seal that can be found around the whole of Antarctica. Its range also includes small areas in South America, New Zealand, Africa, and Australia. It resides on the pack ice zone for the entire year, even as it shifts seasonally, and prefers to stay in the continental shelf area in water with a depth of less than 1,968 feet. Because the populations are so wide spread and are sufficiently mixed, there have been no subspecies found. Because...
The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is believed to be the largest toothed animal to ever inhabit Earth, measuring up to 60 ft (18 m) long. (The baleen blue whale is larger, and invertebrates such as the Lion's Mane Jellyfish or the Portuguese Man of War may be longer.) The whale was named after the milky-white substance spermaceti found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. The Sperm Whale's enormous head and distinctive shape, as well as...
The False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is a cetacean and one of the larger members of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It lives in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. As its name implies the False Killer Whale shares characteristics with the more widely known orca ("killer whale"). The two species look somewhat similar and, like the orca, the False Killer Whale attacks and kills other cetaceans. Scientists have not extensively studied the False Killer Whale...
The Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra; other names are many-toothed blackfish and electra dolphin) is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It is closely related to the Pygmy Killer Whale and the Pilot Whales, and collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. The Melon-headed Whale is widespread throughout the world's tropical waters, although not often seen by humans on account of its preference for deep water. Taxonomy On account...
