WHALE TRUST MAUI

Conducting, Promoting and Supporting Whale Research and Education in Maui, Hawai‘i

Main navigation

Research News

At a Whale’s Pace

With whales spending 90% of their time underwater, one of the biggest challenges for a whale behaviorist is to actually see them! Thanks to your generous support, we are now on the cusp of new discoveries into the underwater social lives of whales on the breeding grounds.

The warm, clear waters of Hawai’i make this one of the best places in the world to study whale behavior. It is one of the few places we can actually observe whales underwater, on the surface and from the air. Many research breakthroughs have come from of this unique natural observatory. However, since whales move faster than a person can swim, our understanding of their behavior is often based on pieced together, fleeting glimpses. Key questions remain – some as fundamental as when and where mating occurs.

To help answer these questions, this winter we will embark on a new project designed to bring together traditional research techniques (individual identification, sound recording and biopsy sampling) with new technologies (unmanned aerial vehicles and a mounted camera jib).

NEW TECHNOLOGY USHERS IN A NEW ERA OF WHALE RESEARCH

With the new accessibility of drones, unprecedented and high-quality aerial views of whale behaviors and interactions are now cost-effective and possible. Our new underwater camera jib, mounted under the boat, allows us to film whales moving at their natural speed. Together, these new tools promise to give us a new window into fast-moving social groups.

Instead of seeing whale behavior in brief moments, we can now capture longer sequences of whale behavior as well as interactions between individual whales. This is a tremendous leap forward—much like the first underwater photographs of whales in the 1970s and 80s, which significantly altered the world’s perception of these animals.

Our challenge is to compile as complete a picture as possible of the behavior patterns occurring in social groups on the breeding grounds. Capturing this in real time will provide a new key to understanding the nature of whales. It also will help set a new foundation of knowledge into humpback behavior for future management and conservation programs.

From the 2016 Whale Trust Maui Newsletter (November 2016). Click here to read more!

2017: A Critical Year for Humpbacks in Hawaii

Next year (2017) may go down as one of the most critical years for humpback whale research in Hawaii in the last fifty years. For the first time since 1966 when whaling was deemed illegal in the North Pacific, humpbacks will no longer be considered an endangered species trying to come back from the brink of extinction. While there are many reasons to celebrate this recovery, on the heels of this landmark decision was one of the most abnormal winters on record for humpback whales across the Pacific Ocean.

The decision to delist humpbacks has left many researchers with mixed feelings on how to respond. On the one hand, there is no question that the number of humpbacks has increased substantially in most areas of the world since whaling stopped; and humpbacks will still be protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in the U.S. On the other hand, the decision does not reflect or indicate that we actually understand the biological, ecological, and social requirements for these populations to continue to recover and thrive in a changing world. Indeed, we are venturing into unchartered territory with no clear grasp on how the complex and changing landscape of their environment will impact populations going forward. All of which is vital to developing and implementing any kind of meaningful conservation and management program.

The winter of 2016, in terms of the sheer number of whales and the behavior of whales on breeding grounds across the North Pacific, was undeniably one of the strangest on record. There were noticeably fewer whales, changes in migration patterns (the breeding season started later and ended earlier), dramatic changes in behavior (less surface activity associated with mating strategies, longer downtimes), and fewer mothers and calves observed. In Hawaii, we speculated that far fewer females had shown up than usual. If indeed this is true, where were they? Did they not migrate as far south as usual? Did they stay on or around the feeding grounds? If so, how has will this affect reproduction going forward?

We have no idea what happened in 2016 or why. One aberrant season does not warrant a crisis. However, what it did emphasize was an almost shocking lack of knowledge about these animals, and the stark recognition of a large gap in current research efforts. Systematic monitoring on the abundance of whales on breeding grounds has become nearly obsolete over the past ten years. Without collecting this kind of consistent baseline data it is impossible to determine just how different from “normal” 2016 really was.

As such, Whale Trust is expanding our core research program to include a systematic monitoring component that will contribute to validating and investigating large-scale changes in abundance and behavior. Our commitment to research on social organization, behavior and communication has not changed – but if nothing else, 2016 told us we need to do more. The change in the endangered species designation of humpbacks makes this responsibility even more compelling.

So why is 2017 so important? It marks the first season of the official ‘recovery’ of the humpback population that ironically coincides with the biggest mystery on humpback status since whaling stopped. Consequently, monitoring breeding populations will be even more vital this coming season than in previous ones. Either the season will be similar to 2016 in which case some critical questions as to the health of the population will arise, or, it will be back to “normal” in which case we will be left wondering what happened – with lingering questions about how sensitive whales are to minor changes in water temperature and what this means in the context of global warming.

No Show Humpbacks

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and young calf, Maui, Hawaii. Photo obtained under NMFS permit #987
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and young calf, Maui, Hawaii. Photo obtained under NMFS permit #987
The 2016 humpback whale winter breeding season was one to remember – but possibly for all the wrong reasons! For those who have dedicated their professional lives to studying humpbacks, the winter of 2016 was noticeably different in terms of overall whale numbers, behaviors, and migration patterns – and this trend was noticed across the entire Pacific Ocean. In a recent article published in Hakai Magazine, Ilima Loomis dives into what researchers (including Whale Trust researchers) observed this year and if this change should be a cause for alarm.

Researchers from across the Pacific reported a reduction in the number of mother and calves, longer downtimes, unusual arrival and departure patterns, and an apparent decrease in surface activity. Coupled with an usually high die-off of large whales in Alaska the previous summer, we are now left trying to figure out why these changes occurred. Were these changes related to the El Nino (the strongest on record), compromised food quality, fewer successful pregnancies overall, and/or fewer females making the migration to the breeding grounds?
While we don’t know the answer to these questions yet, this unusual event has served as a potent reminder that even rebounding populations are at risk and reiterates the need for annual systematic surveys to assess and monitor populations. Whale Trust researchers are currently designing a new annual monitoring study of humpbacks off the coast of Maui to complement their ongoing behavioral research into humpback whale breeding societies.

Lahainaluna High School – From the Field to the Lab

Lahainaluna students in the field with Whale Trust Maui
Lahainaluna students in the field with Whale Trust Maui

Lahainaluna High School seniors are currently working alongside Whale Trust Maui researchers and biophysicists to determine if one day we might be able to determine pregnancy or reproductive cycles in free-ranging humpback whales.

For the last several years, the students have been analyzing tissue and blubber samples collected by Whale Trust Maui researchers to determine the sex of individuals (using DNA from skin samples) and to determine whether we can reliably measure the reproductive status of female humpbacks through hormones stored in the blubber of whales (e.g., estriol, estradiol).

In addition to the students working on the science, videography student, Tihani Cadiam Moore, filmed and produced a video of the student’s experiences and was featured on HIKI NO, the nation’s first statewide student news network on PBS Hawaii.

This ongoing project is part of a science education initiative led by Whale Trust Maui, Makana Aloha Foundation and Lahainaluna High School to provide mentorship opportunities for local students in the marine sciences.

Mystery Sounds Recorded Near Humpback Whales off Maui, Hawaii

Photo by Jason Sturgis - NOAA permit #13846
Photo by Jason Sturgis – NOAA permit #13846

(Maui, Hawaii) December 7, 2015 – “Imagine a heartbeat,” says Dr. Jim Darling, Research Biologist of Whale Trust Maui, describing the series of low frequency sounds known as “pulse trains” he recorded near humpback whales off the coast of Maui, Hawaii. These mysterious sounds are the subject of a recently published paper in the Journal of Acoustic Society of America (JASA), the result of studies supported Whale Trust and the National Geographic Society.

At around 40 Hz, the sounds are much lower frequency than typical humpback whale sounds (80-4000Hz). While other large whales and some land mammals such as elephants are known to use very low frequency sounds (even infrasounds below human hearing) this is the first report of their potential existence in humpbacks.

Just above the lower threshold of human hearing (20 Hz), these sounds can be easily masked by ocean waves, vessel noise or the more typical sounds of nearby humpbacks during their busy winter assembly off Maui. Darling describes them as “ethereal” and difficult to hear except on exceptionally quiet, calm days at sea.

If these mysterious sounds can be conclusively linked to the humpbacks, this would add a whole new dimension to the already complex repertoire found in this species’ communication.

“The first time I heard them, or realized I heard them, was in 2005 when recording social sounds from an active group of eight whales,” explained Darling. “Although I have recorded samples since, it took a long and particularly good recording of a male-female pair in 2013, to convince me they were real.”

Humpback whales are well-known for singing long, complex songs, for shorter grunts groans, whistles and throbs called “social sounds”, and even for sounds resulting from physical slaps made by flukes and flippers or bubble trains. Separate underwater video taken at the same time as the 2013 sound recording showed no bubble production or other behaviors that might provide a ready explanation.

Recorded only a few times each year off Maui over the last decade, Darling cautions that while we cannot be 100% certain the humpbacks produced these sounds, on this last instance, they were recorded within 100 meters of the whales. Any fluctuation in volume appeared to match the whales’ approach to the boat, and no other species of whales were known to be in the area at the time.

Adds Darling, “We have a long way to go on understanding this – but its does remind of us of how very, very little we know about these animals.”

Dr. Jim Darling will be one of the renowned featured presenters at Whale Trust’s 10th Annual Whale Tales educational event, held from February 12th – 15th, 2016 at The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua, Maui. Darling will share his latest findings into the similarities and differences of humpback whale songs across the Pacific Ocean. Presentations are free and open to the public.

About Whale Trust Maui

Whale Trust Maui is a Maui-based non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, support, and conduct scientific research on whales and the marine environment, and broadly communicate the findings to the public. Research led by Whale Trust Maui scientists has been featured in documentaries on the BBC, the Discovery Channel, National Geographic International, National Public Radio, the Today show, PBS, NHK (Japanese National Broadcasting) and in National Geographic magazine (1999, 2007). The team is also featured in the IMAX film Humpback Whales 3D (2015).

For more information visit: https://whaletrust.org

LINK to full research article: http://scitation.aip.org/content/asa/journal/jasa/138/5/10.1121/1.4935070

To schedule an interview with Whale Trust Maui, please contact us.