Humpback whale – Page 5 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

April 19, 2009April 5, 2021

Taylor Parker, April 19, 2009

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Taylor Parker
Onboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette
April 19-29, 2009

Mission: Hawaii Bottom fish Survey
Geographical Area: South side of Oahu
Date: April 19, 2009

Weather Data
Calm winds of about 5 knots.
30% -50% Cloud cover.
80F degrees.

Science and Technology Log

Welcome to my ship logs! On our cruise we are studying bottom fish in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands. The purpose of studying bottom fish is because of their popularity by commercial interests. These animals are well fished by local boats and there is much to learn about them and their life histories for sustainable fisheries management. Better knowledge of life history traits, such as age, growth and size and age at maturity will help current efforts to assess the bottom fish fisheries in the main Hawaiian Islands.

This weekend was exciting. After our cruise being delayed about a week due to various generator problems, it was decided that we would begin some of the bottom fish research from the smaller SAFE boats. On Saturday, April 19^th, two teams hauled two boats (a 15 ft and 20 ft SAFE boat) to a boat ramp near Diamondhead on Oahu. Both were deployed at approximately 8:00am with the smaller boat studying “slicks” for conductivity, salinity and temperature as well as phyto- and zooplankton. The other boat, the one I was on, studied the bottom fish we pulled up. The smaller boat concluded their operations around 2pm while our boat finished at 4:30pm. All together our boat spent about 8 ½ hours on the water; we ate several sandwiches, drank a lot of Gatorade and used about a bottle of sunscreen. The weather was incredible with very little wind and few clouds until 2pm. The winds around Oahu pick up in the early afternoon and create some challenging swells.

As for the work done on the boats, we studied “slicks” and bottom fish. Slicks are the visible trails created in the water due to converging water flow. This trail has less turbulence than surrounding current and many fish larvae are found within these mini-refuges. They are called slicks because of their resemblance to oil slicks and that is partially because of the accumulation of oils from the many marine species. The smaller boat worked with specially adapted collection devices and finished the day with a bucket worth of sample to analyze.

Our boat dropped lines in the water several times to depths ranging from 100 – 230 meters to hopefully catch different bottom fish species. The gear we used consisted of two motorized reels and several hundred meters worth of monofilament mainline on each reel. At the bottom of the mainline a “blood” line was connected. It is called so because of the red color of the stronger line. A “pigtail” connection is attached to the lower end of the blood line to easily connect the interchangeable hooks and weight. Three or four hooks are then attached to an interchangeable line connected to the pigtail.

Finally, a two pound weight is attached to the end of the line of hooks to bring the whole rig to the bottom. The fish we are targeting remain at a depth of more than 100 meters on semi-hard to hard bottom (rock and crushed coral). Once an appropriate site was found, the coxswain maintained position while we fished. In total we caught 6 fish: 4 Ehu (Etelis corbunculus), a Gindai (Pristipomoides zonatus) and a kind of Large-headed Scorpion fish, Hogo (Pontinus macrocephalus). We released the scorpion fish because it is not part of the study and one of the Ehu because it was healthy enough to return after we took measurements.

Personal Log

I’ve never caught fish before. The only challenge I had in applying for this position was in my ability to kill another animal but I believe in the importance of research and recognize the beneficial impacts this work has toward promoting better stewardship of our natural resources. Catching a few fish for this cause seems justifiable and studying these creatures and their physiology is fascinating. After pulling the Ehu and Gindai from the water and seeing their remarkable oranges, red and yellows contrast against the blue of the swirling Hawaii waters, it surprises me that we cannot see these fish at all swimming directly underneath us. If the waters were truly clear, visible to the bottom, I believe the amount of and variety of colors we would see would mystify us.

Speaking of mystifying: the behemoth Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) visited us on our day trip. Although it is late in the season for them –most are on their way to the plankton buffet outside Alaska – we saw several momma whales swimming with their calfs. One time, on the horizon, we saw two humpbacks slapping their pectoral fins on the surface and crashing around with each other playing.

Additional: New term/ phrase/ word

I’m learning new Hawaiian words: Puka means a hole or divet of any size and Pau is a term that has traditionally meant dead but has come to mean finished.

September 10, 2008April 2, 2021

Mary Anne Pella-Donnelly, September 10, 2008

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mary Anne Pella-Donnelly
Onboard NOAA Ship David Jordan Starr
September 8-22, 2008

Mission: Leatherback Use of Temperate Habitats (LUTH) Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Ocean –San Francisco to San Diego
Date: September 10, 2008

Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 3736.6398 N Longitude: 12336.2210 W
Wind Direction: 220 (compass reading) SW
Wind Speed: 11.3 knots
Surface Temperature: 14.638

This moon jelly was captured with the mid-water net. Its bell was 35.5 cm wide. The purplish pattern represents the gonads, which the turtles love to eat.

Science and Technology Log

The mid-water net was just deployed. This is a new net for the research team to use. On the trip north, during the first part of this cruise, the last net became mangled during use. A new, larger net was obtained and the crew is working out how best to deploy it. After three tries, they seem to have determined the best way to lay it out, release it, and winch it back in. The David Starr Jordan is now heading over to the off shore area outside of Point Reyes, where the plan will be to deploy it for only one to two minutes.

The jellyfish there are usually so numerous that they will fill the net immediately. Leatherbacks eat jellyfish of many kinds, but they love the types in the Pelagiidae family. These are the types with long hanging arms, which the turtles snack on until they get up into the body cavity. The jellyfish are then eaten from the insides, with a soft-bodied bell left behind. The bell-shaped body of this family can be as large as 55 cm. The favorite of leatherback, so the one we will hope to find in abundance, is the Sea nettle, Chrysaora fuscescens. These are most numerous in August and September in specific locations off the California coast, so it can be anticipated that leatherbacks will also be found there. The predictability of this occurrence is the reason leatherbacks have evolved to travel the Pacific Ocean from Asia every year.

Unidentified songbird, hopping a ride aboard the Jordan.

The ship, David Starr Jordan, was built in 1965, so is among the oldest of the fleet of NOAA research ships. The age can be found in the cabinet design, the flooring material and little features. Never the less, it has been built for sustained trips at sea for up to 23 days in length. There is a steward on board who creates elaborate lunches and dinners daily. Last night’s dinner included Filet Mignon, shrimp in butter sauce, two soups, sautéed vegetables, and at least four other hot dishes. There is always a salad bar set up and 24-hour hot beverages, cereal, toast, ice cream, yogurts and fruit. Everyone eats well.

In the crew’s lounge, drawers of over 200 current films are stored, including new releases. They have been converted to 8 mm tape to accommodate the video system on board. There is also a small gym with a treadmill, stationary bicycle and bow-flex machine. A laundry room completes the ‘home’ environment. At least three showers are available. The ship has a system to desalinate water, which is a slow process, so water conservation is suggested. This means: wet yourself down, turn off the water, soap up and scrub, then turn the water on and rinse off. Repeat if necessary. There are no water police, but we all have an interest in enough water being available.

Although the food has looked great, I have found that until I get my ‘sea legs’ I need to stay away from most food. Yesterday evening, I discovered that the lunch and dinner I ate; did not look as good coming out as it did going down. Today is better, but I will stick to yogurt, oatmeal, and tea for a bit.

Animals Sighted Today
Sea nettle jellies Chrysaora fuscescens
Moon jellies Aurelia aurita
Egg yolk jellies Phacellophora camtschatica
Ocean sunfish Mole mole
Humpback whale Megapterea novaeangliae
Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus
Common murre Uria aalge
Black phoebe Sayornis nigricans
Red phalarope Phalaropus fulicaria
Buller’s shearwater Puffinus bulleri
Sooty shearwater Puffinus griseus
Brown pelican Pelecanus occidentalis
Brandt’s cormorant Phalacrocorax penicillatus
Dall’s porpoise Phocoenoides dalli

Questions of the Day

What type of data is considered ‘oceanographic’ data?
What types of organisms produce chlorophyll in the ocean?

July 27, 2007April 1, 2021

Methea Sapp-Cassanego, July 27, 2007

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Methea Sapp-Cassanego
Onboard NOAA Ship Delaware II
July 19 – August 8, 2007

Mission: Marine Mammal Survey
Geographical Area: New England
Date: July 27, 2007

Weather Data from Bridge
Visibility: 7nm lowering to less then 2 in patchy fog
Wind Direction: Westerly
Wind Speed: 8-13 knots with gusts of 20
Swell height: 2-4 feet

From left to right; Melissa Warden, Kate Swails, and Methea Sapp staff their observatory stations on the flying bridge of the DELAWARE II — From left to right; Melissa Warden, Kate Swails, and Methea Sapp staff their observatory stations on the flying bridge

Science and Technology Log

Today marks one of the most active sighting days yet! The species list for today included the following; common Atlantic dolphin, fin whale, sei whale, sperm whale, humpback whale, white sided dolphin, minke whale, offshore bottlenose dolphin and pilot whale. The methodology for logging each sighting is fairly straight forward yet detail orientated. There are nine of us scientists on board and we have been organized into shifts which begin at 7:00am and end at 18:00. In the absence of fog three of us are stationed on the fly bridge at any given time; one person uses big eyes on the starboard side, the second person serves as the sightings recorder and the third person uses the big eyes on the port side. Every thirty minutes we rotate stations with the port side station retiring from their shift, and a new person taking up watch on the starboard side.

Data is recorded in two electronic touch pad tablets called Pingles. The first pingle is used to record effort and as such is updated each time a rotation is made. Other points of effort which are also recorded are weather conditions, beaufort scale (or degree of wave action), sun angle, glare, swell height, swell angle, etc. The second pingle is used to record the sightings. When an observer calls out “sighting” the recorder will log the following information (as iterated by the observer):

Animal identification
Cue (or what the observer saw first ie. a splash, or the animal itself)
Behavior (swimming, milling, aerobatics etc)
Bearing relative to the ship
Swim direction relative to the ship
Distance from the horizon
Best head count followed by estimations of highest and lowest probable numbers

Flukes of two different humpbacks; Notice the variations in white and black patterning. Such patterns are used by researchers to identify and track individual humpbacks.

On a day like today the recorder is certainly in the hot seat trying to log the sightings of two people! Based on today’s sighting list I’ve chosen two species to profile for you, the humpback whale and sperm whale.

Species Profile for Sightings of July 25^th 2007

Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae Identification: Stocky body, black topside with white or mottled underside, flippers are exceedingly long and marked with white as is the fluke. Flukes are often visible when animal begins dive. (see photo below) Max length and weight: 56 ft and 40 tons Diet and Feeding: Krill and small schooling fish. Up to 20 individuals may cooperatively hunt and feed via bubble net fishing. Humpbacks are a baleen whale Migration: Extensive migration between Antarctic feeding grounds to breeding grounds off the coast of Columbia. Round trip = 11,000 miles Distribution: Ranges from the poles to the tropic. Have made a good post-whaling recovery and are one of the best studied of all cetaceans. Record breaker for the longest flippers: Averages 15 feet but may be as long as 18 feet; humpback flippers are the longest of any whale species.

Sperm Whale, Physeter catodon Identification: Huge square shaped head; no dorsal fin; blow is often angled forward; body is dark and wrinkled Max length and weight: 36 ft and 24 tons (female), 59 ft and 57 tons (male) Such sexual dimorphism is rare among whales. Diet and Feeding: Mostly squid and some octopi, sharks and other fish. Sperm whales are a toothed whale as opposed to a baleen whale. Migration: Is not wide spread in females and young whales although adult males will travel long distances. Distribution: Sperm whales are found in population clusters from the tropics to the extreme southern and northern latitudes. They are most common offshore in deep water. Record breaker: The sperm whale holds three records in the cetacean world; One being that it is the largest of the tooth whales. This whale also holds the record for diving depth and longest dive. One particularly large male sperm whale has been recorded diving to 6,500 feet and on a separate dive stayed down for 52 min. Famous Sperm Whale: Moby Dick; the great white whale from Herman Melville’s 1851 classic Moby Dick.

Sorry, no photos of the sperm whale sighting

References

Collins Wild Guide: Whales and Dolphins. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, New York. 2006.

June 19, 2006March 19, 2021

Jessica Schwarz, June 19, 2006

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jessica Schwarz
Onboard NOAA Ship Rainier
June 19 – July 1, 2006

Mission: Hydrographic Survey
Geographical Area: Alaska
Date: June 19, 2006

NOAA hydrographic ship, RAINIER, preparing for departure from Sitka, Alaska

Science and Technology Log

The RAINIER departed Sitka, Alaska this evening, officially making me a NOAA Teacher at Sea. While preparing to leave the dock, I spent my time on the flying bridge, located directly above the bridge, to get a good view of all the activity involved in getting the ship off the dock. I was very impressed with the amount of work it takes to get a 231 foot ship underway. The spring line, which basically looks like an enormous rope (3 inches thick), was used to change the pivot point of the vessel, making it easier to maneuver the ship away from the dock without any kind of serious impact. Larry, the Electric Technician on board, pointed out the importance of standing back away from the line as the pressure on the line is very tense and has been known to snap. Needless to say, I kept a safe distance from the lines, but was still able to hear the sound of the lines tightening as the RAINIER pulled away from the dock. Yikes.

Once underway and traveling out of the channel, I went into the Bridge with the ship’s Executive Officer, CDR Julia Neander, or as she is addressed on the ship, the XO. She explained some of the activity I was observing from the Officers in the bridge. Alaska is an amazing place to visit and the mountains outside made the view from the bridge spectacular.

NOAA Teacher at Sea, Jessica Schwarz’s journey onboard the RAINIER begins here!

On the bridge, officers are very focused on their assigned task. The AB, or Able-Bodied Seaman, Jodi was behind the helm and steering the ship. Jodi received course commands from the acting Conning Officer, Nate. By calling out helm directions to Jodi, Nate was making sure the ship was on, or as close to, the course charted. The ship’s Navigational Officer, Sam, had the ship’s route already charted prior to departure and the chart was clearly displayed on the port side of the bridge. This chart is used to track the ship’s exact position while underway. Officers in the bridge are constantly navigating to be sure the ship is staying on course. While underway, a fix, composed of three bearings and/or ranges (distances), is taken every 15 minutes and recorded. I want to learn more about this entire process.

As for who is working onboard the RAINIER, NOAA Corps is one of seven uniform services within the United States. Each officer on board is in uniform. The view of the uniformed officers in the bridge behind the navigational equipment working to get us underway was very impressive. There is a very strict protocol and all the officers time is accounted for on a rotating schedule. With the vessel’s commissioned officers, deck crew, engineers, stewards, and survey technicians I have really begun to get a feel for how hard everyone works to keep the ship running smoothly to complete successful missions.

As a side story, while heading South outside of Sitka, our course was somewhat interrupted by a marine mammal all my students in Hawaii should be very familiar with. The XO spotted a humpback whale just to the starboard, or right, side of the boat. I think it must have been around 100 ft away. Within a matter of minutes, the humpback was directly in front of the ship. We thought it dove down into the ocean, but as the vessel continued to move forward, it surfaced again, this time only 5-10 feet from the hull of the RAINIER. The officers had to call for an immediate change in direction. It was a very exciting and unexpected encounter. I was so surprised the whale remained within a few feet of the ship. I like to think it was trying to say hello to me, since we both have made the long journey to Alaska from Hawaiian waters.

We are now anchored in Kanga Bay just south of Sitka within the Islet Passage. Tomorrow two survey boats will launch to get started on collecting the hydrographic data. I will not be participating in surveys tomorrow because I need to get oriented to the RAINIER. There is an incredible amount to learn starting with how to find my way to and from my sleeping quarters from any point on the ship without asking for help. You might be surprised how difficult that is. Luckily everyone onboard is very kind and helpful! I suggested they put some sort of transmitter on me in case I show up missing for a while.

I am so excited to be onboard! I am at the beginning of my adventure with the RAINIER and feel I have already learned a lot. I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone! WHEA crew…I am counting on hearing from you!!!

July 22, 2005March 18, 2021

Kimberly Pratt, July 22, 2005

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kimberly Pratt
Onboard NOAA Ship McArthur II
July 2 – 24, 2005

Mission: Ecosystem Wildlife Survey
Geographical Area: Pacific Northwest
Date: July 22, 2005

Weather Data from Bridge

Latitude: 3614.084N
Longitude: 12213.868W
Visibility: <1 mile
Wind Direction: 340 Wind Speed: 22 knots
Sea Wave Height: 5-6 feet
Sea Level Pressure: 1014.6
Cloud Cover: Foggy, Drizzle
Temperature: 14.8

Scientific Log

Again we are seeing up to 80 marine mammals per day, and are doing well on our track lines. The wind picked up, making it more difficult to do observations, but we are moving right along to get finished by Sunday. Some of the regulars are humpbacks, blue whales, Dall’s porpoise, fin whales, pacific-white sided dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and pinnipeds. I’ve attached photos of breaching humpbacks that we’ve seen. Hopefully through my logs and interviews you’ve learned about marine mammals, sea birds and ship operations. To learn more about this mission go to the NOAA Fisheries Southwest Science Center website. Look under “What’s new in the sanctuary.”

Personal Log

Upon reflecting on my adventure, I’ve found that the trip fully exceeded my expectations. I expected to feel intimidated by the scientists and science, and to my relief was accepted and welcomed by all the scientists on board and they were most eager to teach me what I needed to know. I’ve learned that to be a good scientist you must have good observational skills, computer skills, and be knowledgeable about data and statistics. I’ve also learned that science takes time, is very exact, and requires you to be detail orientated. Additionally, I’ve learned that to get along with others on a ship, you need to have a good sense of humor and be flexible. As the cruise comes to an end I’m really looking forward to getting home, doing further reflection on my experience and translating it into rich and meaningful curriculum for my students. Again, thanks to Karin, all the scientists, and the crew on board the McARTHUR II, this has been a wonderful experience.

As of this post, we have now finished all of our tracklines. Tomorrow – Saturday we’ll be spending the day in Monterey Bay doing grab samples and additional small boat operations. We will then head into port in San Francisco on Sunday as scheduled.