skip to main skip to sidebar Delivery Biology Room Daily The blog is all about of Biological Science : Cell Biology , Chemistry , Microbiology , Physiology , And Other Biological Study . About Me Another Link Another Link Monday, January 5, 2009 New Breeding Ground For Endangered Whales? High Numbers Of Right Whales Seen In Gulf Of Maine Tags : Animal Conservation Biology Ecology + Environment Endangered Species ... Marine Biology
Three North Atlantic right whales are visible at the surface on Jordans Basin.
A fourth whale is visible just below the surface at lower left. (Credit: NOAA/Misty Niemeyer)
Just a few days later, on Dec. 6, the team observed only three right whales on Cashes Ledge, about 80 miles east of Gloucester, Mass. Cole says the whales are known to be in the region, but actually seeing them on any given aerial survey is unpredictable. On Dec. 14, the team saw 41 right whales just west of Jordan Basin. An estimated 100 female North Atlantic right whales head south in winter to give birth in the waters off Florida and Georgia, but little is known about where other individual right whales in the population go in winter, largely due to difficult surveying conditions. Given the large geographical area over which North Atlantic right whales can occur, Cole and NEFSC colleagues developed an aerial grid system a few years ago for the Gulf of Maine and waters around Cape Cod to ensure complete coverage of the region. The grid resulted in consistent surveys of areas infrequently surveyed in the past, like Jordan Basin and the Great South Channel, and have shown that whales congregate in certain areas at certain times. | |
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