Who has the longest commute in the sea?

An animal lives to eat and breed. In order to do this, some animals that call the ocean habitat ‘home’ have to travel great distances to find food or reach a particular breeding ground. Here is a breakdown of some of the most impressive migrations in and around the sea.

Perhaps the longest migration of any mammal on Earth, the gray whales travel 12,000 miles round trip. They spend the summer months in the Bering Sea area between Alaska and Russia. Eventually they make their way to the west coast of Canada and the United States and finally end up in the quiet lagoons of Baja California during the winter months. In the spring they make their way back to the Bering Sea. Also, notable is the migration of the humpback whales. They can travel up to 5,000 miles.

Arctic terns fly over 25,000 miles to the Southern Ocean. Sooty shearwaters travel 64,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean in figure eight patterns.

Leatherback sea turtles travel over 3,000 miles to get to their nesting beaches.

Here is a video from PBS’ Jean-Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventure that gives a nice overview of the migration of the gray whale.

Image (c) mistertoast.blogspot.com

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What is bycatch?

Bycatch is a term used to classify the incidental fish, mammals, birds, sea turtles or invertebrates that may be caught while targeting other species in a fishery. One of the biggest victims of these unintentional catches are the black-footed albatross. They frequently swallow bait attached to the lines of long-line fishing boats. At least 300,000 sea birds are killed by long line fishing each year.

Can you tell what type of whale is under the surface by the spray it produces above the surface?

Yes. For instance, the sperm whale will blow forward and to the left. The vapor will be about 6 feet tall. Right whales and bowhead whales will have a v-shaped blow. The right whales will be about 15 feet tall while the bowhead whales will be higher at 21 feet tall. Humpback whales have a low and wide spray. It may reach up to 9 feet. Lastly, the mighty blue whale has the strongest and most distinct spray shooting straight up to almost 21 feet tall.

What would it be like to be a seal pup for a moment?

Thanks to the amazing video series called CritterCam produced by National Geographic we can take a sneak peak into the life of a bearded seal pup as he (or she) swims with their mother. The video is shot from the point of view of the seal so don’t expect any sounds other than what the seal would be able to hear. One of my favorite moments from the clip is when mum and pup rubbed their noses together for some gentle affection. Also, don’t miss at 2:30 when you can hear the little one making noises and communicating with his (or her) elder. Technology is just so delightful sometimes!

I found a great whale watcher

I miss my time aboard the Atlantic Star where we would head out to sea in the early morning and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins would be at the surface near the bow of the boat as if leading the way for a great trip. Ah, those were the days. As a substitute I did discover Ms. Monica Wieland who has a great blog about her sightings of killer whales, Orca orca. Her photos and blog descriptions are dynamic and captivating and I enjoy what she has to share. Recently she even wrote about her encounter with Mr. Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Sheperd (the boat that is famous from Discovery Channel’s  Whale Wars).

I hope you find as much enjoyment with the images of Ms. Wieland’s  magnificent neighbors as I have these days!

I love how the motion of the tail slap is captured here:

Image (c) Monika Wieland 2010.

When did life in the ocean begin?

It is said that Earth was created about 4.5 billion years ago (bya). Life began about (note “about”) 3.5 bya. And, in fact, it is thought that life began in the oceans!

Follow the evolution of the whale on the National Museum of Natural History’s Sant Oceans Hall on-line ocean portal and see if the whale is evolving backwards. Sounds interesting, eh?

Do you have another good question or suggestion for the Beach Chair Scientist? Go to http://www.beachchairscientist.com and let us know. Or you can e-mail your question to info@beachchairscientist.com.

10 facts about manatees

  1. Manatees are marine mammals and breathe air through their nostrils.
  2. Manatees belong to an order of marine mammals called the Sirenians. Dugongs are the other member of this family. Stellar sea cows were also a member of this family, but they were hunted to extinction within 27 years of their discovery.
  3. Manatees can weigh up to 2,000 pounds.
  4. Manatees closest modern relative is the elephant. Evidence of this relationship is easy to spot – both animals have three to four fingernails.
  5. Manatees are typically pretty slow, but, can swim up to 20 mph.
  6. There are four species of manatees: the West Indian Manatee, the Florida Manatee (technically a subspecies of the West Indian species), the Amazonian Manatee and the West African Manatee.
  7. Manatees are credited for being the basis for the mermaid legend.
  8. Manatees are herbivores.
  9. Manatees can live up to 60 years old.
  10. Manatees have no natural predators, but, they are peril. Find out more about their plight at Save the Manatees.

Do you have a great question for us? E-mail info@beachchairscientist.com.

Whale songs

There are two types of whales: baleen and toothed. Baleen whales are the magical creatures that create “songs” under water. The series of high pitched squeals, shrieks, groan and moans can last anywhere up to twenty minutes and be as low as 20 Hz and high as 10,000 Hz.

Male whales (bulls) tend to use song as a means of finding a mate (a female whale is called a cow). But, theses sounds have been recorded and analyzed and findings see that the songs can also be a means to warn other whales of nearby predators or publicize food sources.

Scripps Institute sent out an interesting news release about a study explaining that the sounds of the male blue whales is decreasing as the species is increasing. Their sounds are fewer since the proximity to a mate is lessened.

This increase in the blue whale species is good news and I hope that this continues dispute the debate among the whaling and non-whaling member countries of the International Whaling Commission.

Here is a clip of some musical humpback whales put together by the Oceania Project, a non-profit is Australia that is dedicated to caring for whales, dolphins and the oceans.

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Legitimize whaling in Japan?

Yes, there has been a draft compromise made that would make it ok for whales to be taken from the oceans for “scientific research” in Japan.

Read more here …

http://www.panda.org/wwf_news/news/?uNewsID=189581

Huddle Up!

I am bringing you a post about Emperor penguins. I realize these penguins do not visit the beach (they live on the ice of Antarctica). But, if you enjoy the beach, you may have watched The Blue Planet and I am sharing one of my favorite clips from the series.

It is a clip where the Emperor penguins demonstrate their defense mechanism of huddling in quite a dramatic fashion. In this clip they are vigilantly monitoring the whereabouts of their predator the Leopard seal. The main reason they tend to huddle up is to protect themselves from the wind and conserve warmth. They take turns being on the outskirts of the huddle.

(Also, note the delicious breakfast of champions the mama penguins brings make to her baby: fish from the sea, freshly regurgitated.)

Do you have another great question for the Beach Chair Scientist? E-mail info@beachchairscientist.com or just let us know at http://www.beachchairscientist.com.