[CINC] New addition to the WW kits

[Catherine French]

Hi All:

When Capt. Lee and I were in Baja California Sur this February for the viewing of cow calf pairs in Bahia Magdalena, the naturalist who is a Professor of marine biology, showed us samples of barnacles that are endemic to the gray and humpback species.

Below is the right up of that appears on the back side of the photo, the piece is laminated. This should start appearing in whale kits later this week or by next week. Please show them, but do not just let them lie around. Please let me know if you have any specific questions about these items. Due to the technical aspects of the RAIN list, I cannot attach a photo. So, next time you are on board the IPCo boats or the Condor Express, please check out our latest educational prop.

Copy on back of photo:
Humpback Barnacle (right)
The barnacle Coronula diadema lives only on humpback whale skin. Barnacles regularly 
colonize the skin of filter-feeding whales, and they often do so in huge numbers —
 one humpback whale, for instance, can host almost 1,000 pounds of barnacles. 
(On an 80,000-lbs. whale it’s about as much extra weight as summer clothing on a human.)
 
Gray Whale Barnacle (left)
One type of barnacle, Cryptolepas rhachianecti, attaches only to gray whales. Once this barnacle
 has settled on "its own" gray, the barnacle spends its whole life hanging onto that whale.


Snug inside their hard limestone shells, the barnacles stick out feather feet to comb the sea 
and capture plankton and other food for themselves as the whales swim along. As the 
young whales grow the barnacle clusters grow too. Gradually the barnacles form large, 
solid white colonies. The colonies appear as whitish patches, especially on the whale's head, 
flippers, back and tail flukes.

Whale biologists look at the pattern of barnacle clusters in order to tell individual grays apart. 
This is possible because no two barnacle clusters, like no two human's fingerprints, are alike!
 
(Sources: Journey North and Scienceline. Photo by Capt. Lee Fleischer)

Sincerely, 
Catherine French
cfrench1366 at aol.com 
805.815.3523
805.570.0432 mobile
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.


Catherine French
cfrench1366 at aol.com 
805.815.3523
805.570.0432 mobile
Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn.
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