Whale Trust

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

Research News

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.