{"id":1203,"date":"2013-10-21T19:58:41","date_gmt":"2013-10-21T19:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/superpod.ml.duke.edu\/read\/?p=1203"},"modified":"2017-07-24T18:38:51","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T18:38:51","slug":"fieldwork-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/2013\/10\/21\/fieldwork-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Fieldwork update"},"content":{"rendered":"

A stretch of exceptionally calm seas off of the North Carolina coast made for two very productive field days for some of the Read Lab researchers and students.<\/p>\n

\"20131004_Pop<\/a>
A pop-up buoy being deployed off of Cape Hatteras, NC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Friday morning, 4 October, we deployed five marine autonomous recording units (MARU), or pop-up buoys, across the continental shelf off of the Outer Banks as part of a collaborative project with NOAA\u2019s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Cornell\u2019s Bioacoustics Research Program.\u00a0 The objective of this project is to investigate the timing of right whale migration through the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as the relative distance from shore and acoustic behavior of migrating whales. See Joy Stanistreet\u2019s recent post<\/a> for more information about this project.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A large fin whale surfacing near the shelf break off of Cape Hatteras, NC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Following the buoy deployment, we had several hours left in the day to conduct marine mammal surveys as part of our ongoing survey effort for the Navy. \u00a0We encountered eight groups of offshore bottlenose dolphins, but even more exciting was the sighting of a fin whale, from which we were able to obtain photo-identification images and a biopsy sample (SEFSC Permit 779-1633) which will provide insights into the population of fin whales that visit this area.\u00a0 This is the fourth fin whale we\u2019ve encountered and the third biopsy sample we\u2019ve obtained from fin whales along the shelf break in the last two months.\u00a0 This particular fin whale had a very distinctive dorsal fin, which will help us identify the individual and possibly match it to previous sightings from the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

\"20131004_S8_Bp_DMW_2978\"<\/a>
A well-marked dorsal fin of a fin whale that will help us identify the individual.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"20131005_E2_Zc_ZTE_3202\"<\/a>
A heavily scarred male Cuvier\u2019s beaked whale that was sampled for genetic analysis (MMPA permit 14241-03 issued to Dr. Peter Tyack).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Saturday, 5 October, we headed out to work on another ongoing project that is focused on locating deep-diving marine mammals, such as sperm whales and beaked whales, while obtaining biopsy samples from them.\u00a0 Deep-diving mammals spend a lot of time (up to an hour) below the surface, where they feed on deep-water prey such as squid; therefore it can be rather challenging to locate these animals from a vessel.\u00a0 We\u2019ve had success locating sperm whales acoustically using a directional hydrophone, and have even collected biopsy samples from them, but so far, we have had less luck encountering beaked whales this year.\u00a0 Fortunately for us, the flat-calm seas on Saturday were conducive for sighting the elusive creatures, and when we encountered a group of three beaked whales in the morning, we were pleasantly surprised. Past attempts at approaching beaked whales in this area have proved challenging, so we knew we may only have one chance to get close enough to the group to obtain good photo-id images and biopsy samples.\u00a0 The group consisted of a heavily scarred male and a mom\/calf pair.\u00a0 The animals were consistently diving for 10-15 minutes between surfacings and were traveling in a predictable direction, enabling us to stay with them long enough to make an approach.\u00a0 On the third surfacing of the group, we obtained a partial sample from the adult female, and a full sample from the male. \u00a0These are the first genetic samples of beaked whales that we have been able to collect.<\/p>\n

\"Cuvier\u2019s<\/a>
Cuvier\u2019s beaked whale mom and calf pair.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A total sightings list for the day included an additional beaked whale sighting, for a total of seven individuals, in addition to nine pilot whale sightings, six bottlenose dolphin sightings, and one group of Risso\u2019s dolphins, from which we collected two biopsy samples.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
A group of pilot whales resting at the surface.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Next year, the Deep Diver project will be focusing on attaching tags to sperm whales and beaked whales to record their dive behavior.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A stretch of exceptionally calm seas off of the North Carolina coast made for two very productive field days for some of the Read Lab researchers and students. On Friday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1406,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1203","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news","7":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1406"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1586,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1203\/revisions\/1586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nicholas.duke.edu\/read\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}