[CINC] More Gray Whale food for thought!

[Morgan Coffey]

I can offer some insight into a Gray whale juvenile that might have been one of our harbor visitors.Some folks believe that we have seen the same whale in the harbor over the last few years, but I don't know if that is certain.
I participated in an on-site necropsy of a juvenile Gray whale that was believed (though definitely not proven) to be the animal observed in 2010.
 
I was assisting vertebrate curator Michelle Berman and others from the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in taking measurements and samples from a young dead Gray whale that washed up on Goleta Beach.
The assumption that it was the animal from the harbor was based on the timing, the location and its size, which had been fairly well observed over the previous weeks.
 
Our heartbreaking discovery was that the whale's stomach was filled to capacity with silt, leading Michelle to theorize that the young whale had been improperly bottom feeding, leading to a variety of fatal mechanisms.
It's easy to imagine a variety of stories about the calf leading to this turn of events.
 
At the time, I considered posting my photos from the necropsy, as they offer pretty fascinating detail, but I thought their graphic nature might be disturbing to some--I'm happy to share with those who request them.
As saddening as any necropsy can be, it is a rare opportunity to make valuable assessments of anatomy and pathology--while leaving us to guess about behavior. 
 
Morgan
 
From: kensword at cox.net
Date: Wed, 16 May 2012 14:13:03 -0700
To: mr.zalophus at gmail.com
CC: channel_islands_naturalist_corps at rain.org
Subject: Re: [CINC] More Gray Whale food for thought!

... and Bob has a good point, observing from the surface is not the best view of what whales do once they go under. Even if we see mud clouds roil up following a dive, as we saw our little juvenile do, we still do not know what it was doing while making the mud clouds, unless we are under ourselves and witness the specific activity.
So, yep, we are still learning.
Good discussion guys. Good info from both of ya.
Ken Tatro
On May 16, 2012, at 1:35 PM, Mr Zalophus wrote:Good Stuff, Paul !!  Many thanks
Bob


On Wed, May 16, 2012 at 11:24 AM, paul jr petrich <ppetrich39 at me.com> wrote:


Bob and Other Whale People, More Whale Food for thought! 
 At 2008 American Cetacean Society research gatherings in Monterey , a special day was devoted to this title "Gray Whales and Climate Change: Sentinels of the North Pacific. "  Included were least three studies that verified suprisingingly opportunistic changes in Gray whale feeding habits.  See Sue Moore of the NOAA FS, National Marine Mammal Lab., Alaska FSC, and Applied Physics Lab, U. of Wash. From her abstract: "…but in the eastern North Pacific evidence is emerging that gray whales are delaying their southbound migration, expanding their feeding range along the migration route and northward to Arctic waters, and evan remaining in polar waters over winter-all indications that North Pacific andArctic ecosystems are in transition."

  Also, see: "Seasonal Resident Gray Whales in the Pacific North West: Results from Collab Research Between 1999to 2007." by Calambokidis, J, A.Kliik, L. Schlender, J. Laake, M. Gosho. B. Gisborne, W.MeGill, V.Deeke, C. Tombach, C. Newell, J. Darling, W. Szaniszlo, D. Goley, and B. Witteveen.  Key findings from abstract: " Gray whales have been documented feeding through the spring, summer, and fall in a number of areas well south of their preliminary feeding grounds in Alaskan waters. these studies documented locations  off the west coast of Vancouver Island and one area north of Pudget Sound. It concludes: " " The variable locations and prey of these whales is a demonstration of the surprisingly versatility of gray whales, a species that was previously thought to be a highly specialized feeder with a very regimented migration."

 Also, see " The Beggar's Banquet: Gray Whale Predator-Prey Dynamics on the Outskirts." by Laura Joan Feyrer, Dave Daffus and Christina Tombach-Wright. Study by Whale Research Lab, Dept. of Geography.      Paul 



On May 15, 2012, at 7:31 AM, Michael Berg wrote,


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