Cephalopodcast

Washington Post staff writer Marc Kaufman will be online Monday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss a Navy project to learn how sonar and other loud ocean noises affect the deep-diving beaked whale.

• Submit a question or comment now or during the discussion.

Saw one of these embiggened octopus plushies today. FAO Schwartz sells them. At ~183 cm across, it’s probably a little too big (and spendy) for Cephalopodcast HQ.

Our octopi [sic] are available in two sizes. The Giant Octopus lives up to his name, reaching almost 63″ from head to tip of tenctacle and he makes a very comfortable pillow. If that’s too big to handle, we also offer a smaller version, constructed of the same richly-detailed plush.

They also have other large, fluffy sea creatures, including sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, walruses, jellyfish, stingrays and clownfish.

cephalopod070912.mp3 [8.5MB 00:36:38]

 

 cephalopod070912: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (350)

It’s good to be back behind the mic again. This episode has an interview with Dr. Clyde Roper, world-renowned teuthologist. We get into a brief discussion about the recent efforts to capture a living giant squid. Also the ethics of seeking these mysterious beasts and the practical considerations of trying to keep one alive in captivity.

My thanks go out to him and Debi Ingrao for their time and interest in the show. Hope you enjoy it too.

Show Notes:

01:50 Cephalopodcast Events Calendar
02:30 Now Reading plugin by Rob Miller.
03:00 The Unnatural History of the Sea
03:30 Reef by Scubazoo
03:55 Microbial Week @ Deep Sea News
05:40 Deep-sea vents ‘no climate haven’
07:50 Carl Safina, Baked Alaska. See also, Whale ’success story’ questioned
10:05 2007-2008 is the International Polar Year
10:25 NSTA Webinars: The Role of Polar Regions in Earth’s Changing Climate System
11:10 Bowhead Whales May Be the World’s Oldest Mammals and 19th Century bomb found in whale
14:15 NOAA Biofact Loan Program
15:50 Marine Mammals Ashore Stranding Field Guide, Special Pricing Through October 2007
16:41 Science Daily, Migrating Squid Drove Evolution Of Sonar In Whales And Dolphins, Researchers Argue and Whales evolved biosonar to chase squid into the deep. Compare How sperm whales use echolocation to catch prey.
18:30 Interview with Dr. Clyde Roper
29:50 Super quick last minute Squid costume
30:18 Reef Fest needs your help

–

Thanks for listening. If you have ideas for future programs or feedback, please send me a message at cephalopodcast [at] gmail [dot] com, or call the Cephalo-Hotline at 1-941-256-0097. Also be sure to check out the cephal.icio.us links to see what’s coming down the ol’ Esox sp.¹ for future shows.

–

A MARINE BIOLOGIST [4:14]

Band: The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets
Rock

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Rare dolphin ’sighted’ in China: “A fresh-water dolphin believed to be extinct has been sighted in the Yangtze River, Chinese state media report.”

[via BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition]

This is also a test to see if I can post via NewsFire + MarsEdit. Looks like this feature works.

Researchers from WHOI have used new technology to track one of the more elusive whale species. They discovered something surprising:

For years, sperm whales and elephant seals were thought to hold world records for holding their breath under water. But those animals have nothing on beaked whales.

Using digital tags temporarily suction-cupped to two species of beaked whales, researchers led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tracked Cuvier’s beaked whales diving to depths of nearly 6,230 feet (1,900 meters) and staying down for 85 minutes. They also documented smaller Blainville’s beaked whales diving 4,100 feet (1,250 meters) for up to 57 minutes.

“These data establish beaked whales as the extreme breath-hold champions of all animals studied so far,” said WHOI engineer Mark Johnson, who developed the “D-tags,” which record whale movements, their echolocations, and other underwater sounds.

• The Deepest Divers
• Wikipedia: Beaked Whales
• Beaked Whale Resource

[via Plankton Forums]

Reports of an albino dolphin photographed near Lake Charles, LA.

[S]potted and photographed by Capt. Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service on June 24th, 2007 during a charter fishing trip on Calcasieu Lake….

It appears to be an uncanny freak of nature, an albino dolphin, with reddish eyes and glossy pink skin. It is small in comparison to the others it is traveling with and appears to be a youngster traveling with mama.

Compare this to reports of a white humpback whale near Australia.

• Rare “PINK DOLPHIN” Photos
• Rare white humpback whale, Migaloo, spotted
• Migaloo, a white humpack whale

LiveScience reports on new research by Dr Roger Hanlon which suggests that squid are oblivious to the ultrasonics of whales. It was theorized that whales might use ultrasonic blasts to stun their prey. Instead, it may be that whales capture thier prey by creating a super suction by flexing their bodies.

The researchers played recorded ultrasound whale clicks to several long-finned squid (Loligo pealeii) swimming in a water tank.

The ultrasound clicks were broadcast at up to 226 decibels, which is about the most intense whale echolocation click a squid would be exposed to in the wild. If the clicks were at a frequency humans could hear, they would be as loud as a rifle shot heard from three feet in front of the muzzle.

But not only were the squid not knocked senseless, they did not react at all to the ultrasound bursts, and actually swam in front of the speaker as if nothing were happening.

Hanlon is also the scientist who filmed the disappearing octopus video.

• LiveScience: How Whales Attack Squid: Mystery Deepens
• Laboratory of Roger Hanlon
• Biology Letters: Intense ultrasonic clicks from echolocating toothed whales do not elicit anti-predator responses or debilitate the squid Loligo pealeii

[via SHARK-L]

An unusual observation of sealion behavior near Ano Nuevo Island made by Sean Van Sommeran, Executive Director/CEO of The Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. It is of a Stellar Sealion (Eumetopias jubatus) attacking a Californian Sealion (Zalophus californianus).

[W]e observed dispalcement of water, gathering birds and a slick in the distance, close to shore off the North end of the island, almost in the channel between the mainland and the Island itself.

Big splashes, red water and big struggling pinniped of some sort.

Then the water erupts again, [i]ts a large male (subadult) stellar sealion with a california sealion rag-dolled in its mouth like a pit bull with a chihuahua.

The stellar sealion just destroyed the juvenile common sealion (Zalophus).

What’s stranger still is that the stellar sealion was not only dismantling the sealion but eating it.

This has only been reported a few times and was the first time any of us had witnessed it.

Here [are] pictures taken with my little 7.5 mp Olympus digi, they are now up on our image archive:

http://www.pelagic.org/archive/2007-may-8-stellarpred/index.html

At first we though it was a white shark predation on a large seal, instead it was large sealion eating another sealion.

Tip of the tentacle to JW

For your gustatory consideration:

• Shark Wines
• Whale Safe Beer

Trolling the Google for sharky news so you don’t have to:

Swim At Your Own Risk is your daily dose of all things sharky… oh, and we’ll also try to fill you in on any other aquatic antics we stumble upon.

• SAYOR: squid
• SAYOR: dolphin
• SAYOR: sharks

PBS is airing its tenth installment of Journey to Planet Earth series tomorrow. The show is hosted by Matt Damon, which is kind of annoying. Expect a disheartening survey of the many ills facing our planet’s oceans interspersed with optimistic words about mankind’s resourcefulness and the hope that technology and international cooperation will someday solve all these problems.

STATE OF THE OCEAN’S ANIMALS
Premiers March 28th, 2007 at 8pm on PBS
Check local listings

Nearly half the world’s marine animals may face extinction over the next twenty-five years. Global warming, over-fishing, and habitat destruction are emptying the world’s oceans. Join host Matt Damon as “State of the Ocean’s Animals” takes a hard look at the future of our watery natural world: the beauty, the incredible animals, and the dangers that threaten them.

Features scenes from the Pacific Northwest (whales, salmon and sea otters), Florida (sea level rise and its effect on loggerhead turtles), Japan (the slaughter of dolphins), China (shark fin trade), and the Antarctic (threats to Emperor Penguins).

• Journey to Planet Earth - State of the Ocean’s Animals
• Educational materials, including Teacher Guides.

It’s an odd day when I hear news on a national television network before seeing it on the Internet. But that was the case today with this story from ABC. There’s video at the sites below.

The Thortons and a group of their friends had traveled to the Dominican Republic to swim with whales in a sanctuary off the coast. On the last day of their week-long trip, they were snorkeling near a sleeping mother and her calf. Mother whales push their calves to the surface to teach them to breathe, so the calf was above the adult.

A whip of the mother whale’s tail sent Gwen Thornton flying 20 feet, knocked another woman unconscious, and broke Randall Thornton’s leg. It was all recorded on video by another of the divers.

• Snorkelers Survive Run-In With Humpback Whale
• Utah tourists recount whale attack near Dominican Republic

Humback Whales are large, filter-feeding animals. They do not have teeth, but instead use hair-like plates of baleen to sieve planktonic prey from the water. They are are not known for unprovoked attacks.

In United States, the Marine Mammal Protection Act protects marine mammals from harassment by humans.

This brings to mind another odd interaction between humans and whales. In the early 90s, Lee Tepley, a wildlife videographer, and his assistant were pursuing a pod of pilot whales. One of the whales grabbed the assistant and pulled her down to about 40 feet. Tepley videotaped the encounter and it has often appeared on “Animal Attack” shows.

• Pilot Whale Attack Stock Footage (video)
• U/W Videographer Fined For Harassing Whales

UPDATE: In an unrelated event, a Japanese fisherman was “attacked” while trying to rescue a sperm whale. Sadly, it seems he perished in the encounter. Details are scant but dramatic video is available.

An angry whale knocked a Japanese fisherman out of his small boat on Tuesday, and the whole thing was caught on tape.

The man had been trying to rescue the whale, which had strayed out of open waters.

The body of the fisherman was later discovered by divers. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The whale started to thrash and threw two other fishermen from another boat into the water, as well.

[via X-ray Magazine's Blog]

There are a couple of dolphins stories coming through our feeds today:

UN Declares 2007 the Year of the Dolphin

(via Divester)

The UN Convention on Migratory Species, together with its specialized agreements on dolphin conservation ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS and the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society WDCS have declared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin. [More]

Podcast Aquatic: Act for Dolphins

(via Dolphin Pod)

Act for Dolphins is a campaign led by marine scientists, The Ocean Project, The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to end the slaughter of thousands of wild dolphins in the annual Japanese drive hunts. [More]

When Dolphins Attack

(via Divester)

Ukrainian emergency workers prevented a pod of dolphins from drowning an intoxicated man in the Black Sea, the Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday. [More]

Another Podcast Aquatic, check it out:

The Dolphin Pod is a podcast produced by researchers from the Dolphin Communication Project and Immersion Presents. It is a weekly science podcast providing subscribers with information concerning dolphin behavior, cognition, anatomy, physiology, conservation, etc. Additionally, The Dolphin Pod covers dolphin events in the news, summarizes and explains the results from recent studies on dolphins, and interviews scientists currently working on dolphin-related research projects.

The Dolphin Communication Project is a private, non-profit research foundation organized to further the following goals: 1) To promote awareness of marine mammal conservation, 2) To increase knowledge of communication behaviors between and among all dolphin species.

Immersion Presents is a nationally acclaimed after-school science media organization that provides educational programming to students across the United States.

UPDATE: If you are interested in the Dolphin Pod podcast, you might also be interested in the Act for Dolphins podcast.

Act for Dolphins is a campaign led by marine scientists, The Ocean Project, The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to end the slaughter of thousands of wild dolphins in the annual Japanese drive hunts.

A couple months ago, I picked up a reprint of The Whale Book by Adriaen Coenen (1585) at my local indie bookstore.

In the late 16th century, Dutch beachcomber Adriaen Coenen scanned the beaches of Holland for interesting marine material and produced several illustrated manuscripts of his findings, covering anything from the commonplace herring to the exotic moonfish. Coenen’s work contains the earliest European pictures of whales, naïve but easily identifiable, which makes it a rare visual and textual source for the natural world of his day.

You can thumb through a detailed, Flash-based facsimile over at the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (click on Blader in het Visboek). Reading the commentary in the reprint, it’s interesting seeing the transition from medieval murk to rational enlightenment. Today technology makes the oceans less opaque to exploration, but back then most knowledge came from whatever rot washed up on the shore. Consequently, it was easy to get a distorted vision of what many sea creatures really looked like.

It is also interesting to compare the European naturalist’s depictions to those from Japan. Over at Pink Tentacle, they link to the works of Kurimoto Tanshuu (1756 - 1834), who sketched wildlife during the Edo period. Japan’s National Diet Library makes hi-res scans available of these original works.

Coenen and Tanshuu worked some 200 hundred years apart and both seemed to take some liberty with their depictions. But Tanshuu’s skill and level of detail is compelling. Be sure to check out the comments on Metafilter for some translations of the Diet website.

Students in Florida must now selected a career path in the 8th grade, choosing from a list of 440 occupations. Oceanographer does not appear to be one of them nor does marine biologist. (Granted that some argue that there is no such thing.) But if there were a listing perhaps the selection could include some of the images recently posted by Dr. Steve O’Shea over at TONMO.com (WARNING: bloody whale carcass vs. backhoe). It might also include this quote to describe the day-in-the-life of such a researcher:

We flew down, rented a car, got covered in blood, rented a motel unit to wash up, and then had to fly back up again that evening….

Scientist can learn a lot from a dead whale. Some of what we know of giant squid has come from the stomachs of their predators, the sperm whale. The sucker scars on the whales have also given us clues. But disposing of 60+ tons of animal is no small task. Officials in Scotland are currently faced with a such quandry. Some have infamously tried to blow them up. Others have towed them out to see and sunk them in an effort to better understand the recently discovered whale fall communities:

Scientists studying a whale carcass in Monterey Canyon recently announced the discovery of two new species of unique worms that feed on the bones of dead whales. In the July 30 issue of Science, the researchers describe these worms, whose bodies and feeding strategies differ from those of any other known animal. The worms have no eyes, legs, mouths, or stomachs, but they do have colorful feathery plumes and green “roots.” They use the roots to infiltrate the bones of dead whales, digesting the fats and oils inside with the help of symbiotic bacteria.

In the U.S., if you come across a dead marine mammal of any kind, it’s probably best to contact your local wildlife officials. Or you can try the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has ultimate jurisdiction over protected marine mammal species.