WORLD OCEANS DAY: WHAT YOUR DESCENDANTS MAY MISS

June 8, 2020 by Rolling Harbour

WORLD OCEANS DAY: WHAT YOUR DESCENDANTS MAY MISS

Even the most optimistic lovers of unmolested wildlife, unpolluted oceans, un-degraded habitats, unextinguished species and understanding humans will be beginning to lose heart. Even as reports increase of resurgent wildlife during these Covid months, so it is gradually becoming clear that once humans are unlocked again, the only way will be down.

Humpback whale Humpback Whale, Abaco, Bahamas (Charlotte Dunn / BMMRO)

Here are just a few magnificent marine mammals to admire. All were photographed from the BMMRO research vessel in Abaco or adjacent waters. They are protected, recorded, researched, and watched over in their natural element – some individuals for more than a decade.

Pantropical spotted dolphins

Today we contemplate our oceans at a time when the human species is having to confront a sudden and indiscriminate destructive force. Maybe the impact will lead to a recalibration of the ways we treat other species and their environment. We have contaminated the world’s oceans, perhaps irreparably, in a single generation. We could start by committing our support to those that tackle the plastic saturation, oil / chemical pollution, acoustic bombardment, ‘ghost gear’, and all the other unwelcome attritional activities we are responsible for. We could continue by supporting those that monitor and protect all the marine creatures struggling in a polluted environment that, in natural law, should be theirs.

Bottlenose Dolphins Bottlenose Dolphins, Abaco, Bahamas (Charlotte Dunn / BMMRO)

Below is a male Blainville’s beaked whale, with its remarkable barnacled tusks that protrude upwards from its lower jaw. This is a specialist research species in the Bahamas. Below that is a short video of these whales that I took from the BMMRO research vessel. Turn up the volume – you will clearly hear them breathing as they slowly pass by (and others in the group, under) the boat. Note that land is clearly visible. These whales can sometimes be found just beyond the shallow turquoise waters, where the sea deepens as the depth drops down to an underwater canyon.

Blainville’s beaked whale (m) Blainville's Beaked Whale Abaco, Bahamas (Keith Salvesen / BMMRO)

Hope for the future… Sperm whale - neonate calf Abaco, Bahamas (Charlotte Dunn / BMMRO)

All photos taken in (or adjacent to) Abaco waters, Bahamas: Charlotte Dunn / Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO), except for the beaked whale image and video by Keith Salvesen / Rolling Harbour (BMMRO)

Note: prognostications and personal views – and their intensity – detectable here are mine and do not necessarily reflect those of my colleagues at BMMRO…

Farewell – but not goodbye, we must hope…

BAHAMAS WHALES & DOLPHINS IN ABACO & ANDROS WATERS

May 13, 2015 by Rolling Harbour

Melon-headed Whale breaching – BMMRO

BAHAMAS WHALES & DOLPHINS IN ABACO & ANDROS WATERS

The Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO) has its HQ at Sandy Point, Abaco. We recently went out in their research boat, a RHIB, to spend an unforgettable day with Blainville’s beaked whales and bottlenose dolphins. I posted some of the dolphins HERE; and a two-part beaked whale post is a work in progress.

Male Blainville’s beaked whale with its extraordinary barnacle-encrusted teeth that protrude upwards from its lower jaw. The prominent beak is plainly visible. Sighted off the south-west point of Abaco during our second encounter with a group of these whales – the only male we saw that day

Abaco waters are ideal for marine mammals, especially off the southern shores where the walls of the Great Bahama Canyon drop vertiginously down from the shallow coastal waters to depths of up to 3 miles below. This is one of the deepest ocean canyons in the world. The area provides a rich source of food and nutrients for the whales and dolphins and many different species are regularly sighted there, from huge sperm whales to small pilot whales (including plenty of species I had never heard of before).

As the name suggests, the BMMRO’s remit extends far beyond Abaco. The researchers often spend time exploring and recording cetaceans in other Bahamian waters. For the last few weeks the team have been off Andros and have encountered quite a few target species. I have included a selection below taken within the last month to illustrate the importance of the area for a remarkable assortment of wonderful whales and dolphins.

BLAINVILLE’S BEAKED WHALE

DWARF SPERM WHALES

PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHINS

On board the research vessel, every sighting is recorded in detail – where possible by species, numbers, ages, sexes, and individual identifying characteristics. Thus ‘SW34’ may have a damaged fluke, whereas ‘RD49’ may have a long scar on its back.

PILOT WHALES

The research boat is equipped with sound devices which, when the microphone is immersed, are capable of picking up whale or dolphin sounds from a considerable distance. It’s astounding to be able to listen in ‘live’ to the wide assortment of clicks and whistles produced as the creatures communicate with each other. The recorded sound patterns are studied and can often be matched to enable an individual animal to be identified.

MELON-HEADED WHALES

RISSO’S DOLPHIN

Other work, including photography, is done underwater. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect is the collection of poop specimens, from which a great deal can be ascertained about the diet and health of an individual animal. I wrote about this task and the methods used a while ago in ‘FAMILIAR FECES‘.

I’ll be writing more about whales soon. Meanwhile, here’s a short BMMRO video of a large group of melon-headed males. At the start, you can clearly hear communication sounds between them.

Credits: Charlotte & Diane of the BMMRO for taking us out with them and for all the photos except the male Blainville’s beaked whale (mine, for once!)

‘SPOTTED IN ABACO WATERS’: PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHINS

September 1, 2014 by Rolling Harbour

‘SPOTTED IN ABACO WATERS’: PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHINS

The BMMRO has posted several reports of dolphin and whale activity around the coast of Abaco during August, with some outstanding photos to accompany them. I had been going to post rather generally about this until a couple of days ago, when an unusual dolphin species for the region was… er… spotted and some memorable images taken.

These are PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHINS Stenella attenuata, whose range encircles the globe but at a lower latitude than the far more frequently encountered resident ATLANTIC SPOTTED DOLPHINS Stenella frontalis. Here are comparative range maps. The rarity of the Pantropical species in the Bahamas is indicated in the BMMRO report of a stranding in 2011 – see below.

ATLANTIC SPOTTED DOLPHIN PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHIN

The pantropical image below is from the BBC archive and not taken in the Bahamas. I’ve included it for illustrative purposes due to the close-up underwater view of the dolphin.

This wonderful underwater video of pantropicals is by Jake Levenson, shot from a polecam. Although it is 6 minutes long, I highly recommend it for (a) the stunning views of these creatures at very close quarters (b) the excellent audio quality – you can clearly hear the dolphins communicating with ‘sonar’ clicks and squeaks, and (c) the strange sense of peace you may feel when you have watched it.

[youtube http://youtu.be/-hXTYe58g34]

PANTROPICAL SPOTTED DOLPHIN STRANDING 2011

In May 2011 a dead dolphin was found on the sandbank at Casaurina Point, Abaco. BMMRO’s scientists established that it was a sub-adult male pantropical spotted dolphin with a stomach full of squid beaks, a known prey for the species. A full necropsy was conducted on the animal and samples were taken for scientific testing to determine the cause of death. At the time the BMMRO reported the find in their quarterly Newsletter:

Pantropical spotted dolphins are commonly found in off-shore waters, although they can be found close to Abaco’s coastline due to the close proximity of deep waters. They can occur in large group sizes of up to 100 animals. Adult males and females reach up to 2.6 m (8.5 ft) and 2.4m (7.9 ft) in length, respectively. Since our efforts began in 1991, BMMRO has records of only 28 sightings of pantropical spotted dolphins in The Bahamas (my rubric), although their cousin species, Atlantic spotted dolphin, is a common resident. This is the first recorded stranding of this species in The Bahamas.”

Credits: BMMRO / Diane Claridge; BBC; Jake Leveneson (video); Wiki (range maps)