Beam Reach

Gear Down naturalist training 2008

A series of talks and discussions hosted by The Whale Museum and coordinated by Cindy Hansen.

10:25 Intros by Jenny Atkinson

10:35 Cindy announces opening of membership for Naturalists Association

1. conceived at spring Gear Up, 2008
2. New members get digital version of Naturalist teacher’s guide to SJI from SJI Nature Institute
3. $25 to join plus $20 annual membership fee
4. %15 off books from Whale Museum with membership card
5. Google group for communication initially
6. The Whale Museum will host a page and members only section
7. Request for 10 hours of outreach volunteering and 10 hours of continuing education
8. Two types of membership: Regular membership (for graduates of Marine Naturalists Training or 1 yr experience); Associate membership (for new-comers who want efficient, local training)

David Ellifrit, Center for Whale Research

• Ended 2007 with 87 or 88 animals
• Ended 2008 summer with 83: J 24, K 19, L 40 (7 lost)
• New calf and J7 did not show up in any 2008 photos
• L101 (L67’s male calf) was photographed in Jan ’08 Monterey photo
• L21 lost around end of June; last seen heading out of western Strait of Juan de Fuca
• L67 looked emaciated in late summer ’08, had depression behind blow hole and in front of dorsal fin; last
• L111 (calf born in late august to L?7) didn’t survive more than about a week
• K42 was male calf born this year to K14 (still alive)
• L106 had definite peanut head in June, but he filled back out.  The had never seen a recovery from that state.
• I was surprised K11 (ribs, but doing fine fall ’08) and J8 (alive as of Oct 30) made it through summer.  (Worried L87 would lose another mother figure…)

10:47 Questions?

• How many other emaciated late this year?  We have lumpy whales.  Bumps along backs, range in skinniness, and teeny dip behind blowhole.  Melon and fat on back can be confusing.
• How many calves born and surveyed?  If you count J43 born fall, 3.  L11 born in August (L47 is probably mom; she has issues keeping her 4 calves alive; none survived first year).  Confusion can arise because new calves don’t necessarily stay with their mother initially.
• Any information from the neonate that washed ashore on Henry?  Not yet.
• Any insights from aerial photos?  I’ve been id-ing those photos this last month (John Durban and NMFS) was trying to get baseline and wanted to compare to aerial studies in tropical Pacific (length, width).  Personal impression is that it’s easier to see emaciation from the side.  John Durban is using laser spacer to measure dorsal fins and blowhole-dorsal distance to infer growth rates (Marine Mammal Science pub).  K25 and L88 are examples of sprouters who don’t seem to be growing, but perhaps a small dorsal fin doesn’t indicate body size — often breach shots show pectoral fins that look more typical for animals of their age.  K21 is from a smallish matriline (except K40) compared to the big whales that died in the 90s.
• Could small dorsal fins be due to estrogen-mimetics?  Could be…
• Do dorsals shrink with age?  I don’t think so, nor do I believe any longer that older bulls have wavier dorsals.  Unfortunately, most small males don’t live much beyond 20, so I’m worried about some of our sprouters that seem to be growing slowly.
• Did the animals that died provide recent samples?  L67 gave biopsy and “nastiest-ever” poop sample.
• Do you see variations in length?  L67 is tiny; not sure she can have a calf.  J30 is huge for his age.  Others seem normal.  In other populations, similar size variation has been observed.
• Are different pods different in their mean size?  J pod seems to have less issues than Ks and Ls.  J mothers have kids, sprouters growing well, J30 big.  K/Ls are going to have matrilines L67’s death doomed the L2s.  L9s (L84 + 3) are tiny.  “I don’t know why some of these animals seem to be happy with two kids!”
• What is avg length and weight of southern residents?  I’d be suprised if any males were over 7m.  Seriously doubt 8m (no 30 footers).  But small dorsal fins may be faking me out.  Some females (J2, K40) are about as big as some of the bulls.  Not sure about weight range… only seen two dead whales and both (one a transient) were ~20′.
• Any indication that boys are sprouting earlier?  It really seems to vary.  Some do sprout earlier than others, but don’t know of any (of known age) that sprouted late and then got huge.  That’s why J pod is so encouraging (J33 sprouting at 13 — right on time).  One transient sprouted at age 8 and he’s huge…  Graham Ellis said some N males grew so fast the dorsals collapsed.
• Why are young more yellow?  Immature liver jaundice, but I’m no expert on that.
• With matrilines dying out, when does inbreeding become a problem?  Have they ever been observed interbreeding with other populations?  He’s seen N and S residents across the W Strait of Juan de Fuca and S residents near offshores, but didn’t get close to each other.
• Jeanne Hyde: Why do you think J and L pods are having more male than female calves (and maybe K, too)?  L111 was a girl but didn’t make it?  Seems like J pod has best chance of increasing…
• Why is J pod a more stable population?  Is it related to being more resident?  Not sure.  “I don’t know enough about what is going on fish-wise to give you a good answer.”
• You sound pessimistic, but there are more now than when you started the survey?  My own personal opnion: I see them slowly declining for next ~100yrs.  The AT1s in Prince Williams Sound had 22 or so before Exxon, now they’re down to 6 with no calfs since mid-80s.  No interbreeding of Aleutians despite presence of AT haplotype out there.
• Ever seen conflict between Transients and Residents?  Only seen body blows and loud chatter a couple times (then a ferry broke them up).  Definitely seen transients dissapear as residents approached?
• What changes have you seen over the years?  Super pods were bigger, more fun in the past.  Maybe fewer resting groups?
• Why more transients around?  Maybe more folks looking, but there are some transient groups that seem to be coming through more frequently.  Transients are weird.  T14 only seen in SE Alaska once (he likes it here); Tofino transients never seem to come in…
• Status of Center’s permit application for satellite tags?  Still in process.
• Is it true that our population only logs, never rests?  I don’t think they rest as often as they used to, but may also be because people don’t get to spend the whole day with them.
• Jeanne Hyde: Why do healthy whales seem to disappear in July?  Where is Blossom (J11) and Hugo (L71)!? K31 Tatoosh was lagging, but these summer whale are right in the middle of pods and not logging excessively.   Dave: Heart attacks?  Ship strikes?  Maybe immune suppression?  A counter example is L110 (L83’s calf) had an evil looking flapper on his lip, yet he survived.  L67 had a melon slice, but he survived.  Many years ago, J6 had a divot behind his eye, but scarred over and he survived.  However, L39 died suddenly too.
• Kari: What do you make of unusual grouping: L groups with J’s, never really had L pod?  With northern residents, they gave up on pods and subpods.  Graham and John only refer to matrilines now.  Historically, there were K18 subgroup that was originally L pod whales.  K19 and K30 used to be L pod whales.  To this day, K21 and K40 are the most independent (all of this October they weren’t with K pod).

Scott Questions (unasked):

• Does genetic sampling illuminate the patterns of association between calves and mothers vs non-mothers in post-partum period?

11:48 Barbara Rosenkotter: Salmon recovery in San Juan County

This talk will focus on habitat (not harvest, hatcheries, or hydropower)

What fish are here when and what habitats are important to them?

• Chinook salmon originating from a wide area (northern BC to Snake)
• Chinook present year round
• Many types of salmon use San Juans as juveniles for feeding and growth and as returning adults

Fun facts about San Juan County:

• 1/3 of kelp in Puget Sound (“politically, ‘Puget Sound’ means all U.S. waters” says Shan)
• eelgrass along 20% of shoreline
• 408 miles of shoreline (most of any U.S. County)
• 63 documented surf smelt spawning sites
• 80% population growth in last 20 years, but sill small at ~16,000; growth of 35% expected in next 20 years; currently only 50% of buildable parcels have buildings

But we have severe problems (despite beauty of the San Juans):

• Chinook listed in 1999!
• Bull trout listed in 2007
• We’re at ~10% of estimated historic abundance of Chinook salmon in Puget Sound!!  (Though select populations — like Skagit — are sorta okay.)

Primary threats (to juveniles?)

• Single family development dominates (and there are many shoreline parcels still undeveloped)
• Residential development and construction impact water quality
• 14 miles of roads along backshore and 85 bulkheads potentially impact forage fish spawning

Scott Questions (unasked):

• Can you review for me what adult fish are here when and what habitats are important for them?
• What studies of returning adults will SRB be funding that could assist foraging southern residents?

Scott Veirs: Recent findings in killer whale acoustics