{"id":116129,"date":"2020-04-19T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2020-04-19T18:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=116129"},"modified":"2020-08-07T13:33:43","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T23:33:43","slug":"humpback-whale-nursing-behaviors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2020\/04\/19\/humpback-whale-nursing-behaviors\/","title":{"rendered":"Rare video captures humpback whale nursing behaviors in <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa research"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_70385\"  width=\"620\" height=\"349\"  data-origwidth=\"620\" data-origheight=\"349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EUcMuUBMYJc?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Tagging expedition: revealing the delicate nursing behavior of humpback whale calves\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"small-text\">Video by <abbr>UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Marine Mammal Research Program <abbr>PhD<\/abbr> candidate Martin van Aswegen. (<abbr>NOAA<\/abbr> permit #21476)<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As humpback whales nursed their calves in waters off of Maui in February, University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmrphawaii.org\/\">Marine Mammal Research Program<\/a> (<abbr>MMRP<\/abbr>) researchers were there to capture stunning and rare video and data. It was part of an exciting new project that aims to quantify the nursing behavior of humpback whale calves on the Maui breeding grounds.<\/p>\n<p>The project is a collaboration between the <abbr title=\"University of Hawaii\">UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmrphawaii.org\/\">Marine Mammal Research Program<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/goldbogen.stanford.edu\/\">Goldbogen Lab at Stanford University\u2019s Hopkins Marine Station<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/btbel.pbsci.ucsc.edu\/\">Friedlander Lab at University of California, Santa Cruz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We can actually see what these animals are seeing and encountering and experiencing themselves,&rdquo; <abbr>MMRP<\/abbr> Director <strong>Lars Bejder<\/strong> said. &ldquo;It\u02bbs quite unique and rare footage that we\u2019re obtaining, which is allowing us to quantify these nursing and suckling bouts that are so important.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_116159\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116159\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-4-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"whale calf\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-116159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-4-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-4-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-4.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116159\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><abbr>UH<\/abbr> researchers tag a humpback whale calf off of Maui (<abbr>NOAA<\/abbr> permit #21476)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Over 10 days, Bejder and <abbr title=\"Doctor of Philosophy\">PhD<\/abbr> candidates <strong>Martin van Aswegen<\/strong> and Will Gough attached non-invasive suction-cup tags equipped with cameras, acoustic recorders, pressure sensors and accelerometers onto seven humpback whale calves. Bejder said the tag deployments would not have been possible without the generous support of Marc Lammers from the <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov\/\">Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale Sanctuary<\/a>, Stephanie Stack and Jens Currie from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificwhale.org\/pacific-whale-foundation\/\">Pacific Whale Foundation<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/oceanwidescience.org\/\">Oceanwide Science Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The camera recordings are providing researchers with seldom seen nursing behavior (including nursing frequency and durations) and social interactions between individuals. The accelerometer data is allowing them to quantify the fine-scale behavior, movement and breathing patterns of tagged whales.<\/p>\n<p>The fieldwork also consisted of flying drones equipped with altimeters and cameras with undistorted lenses, over the tagged whales, allowing researchers to calculate their overall length, body condition and health.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Bejder and his collaborators used similar technologies to document <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2019\/10\/13\/whale-bubble-net-feeding-video\/\">humpback whale bubble-net feeding behaviors<\/a> in Southeast Alaska. He said, &ldquo;Combining these data sets across the foraging and the breeding grounds is really going to tell us something about the importance of these different habitats for these animals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_116143\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-116143\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-1-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"whale and calf swimming\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-116143\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-1-130x73.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-1-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manoa-mmrp-nursing-1.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-116143\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A humpback whale and calf with suction cup tag (<abbr>NOAA<\/abbr> permit #21476)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Humpback whale research in <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> continues to be highly collaborative. Bejder said the tag deployments would not have been possible without the generous support of multiple organizations. <a href=\"https:\/\/molokaioceantours.com\/index.html\">Molokai Ocean Tours<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificwhale.org\/cruises\/\">PacWhale Eco-Adventures<\/a> and Rachel and John Sprague were all instrumental in helping to retrieve the tags once they were off of the whales.<\/p>\n<p>Keep up to date through the MMRP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmrphawaii.org\/\">website<\/a> and social media platforms (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mmrp_uh\">Twitter<\/a>: <abbr>@MMRP_UH<\/abbr> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/mmrp_uh\/\">Instagram<\/a>: <abbr>@MMRP_UH<\/abbr>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MMRPUH\/\">Facebook<\/a>: <abbr>MMRPUH<\/abbr>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCT_REhcxnDdOQVmKOC96BVQ\">Youtube<\/a>: <abbr>MMRP UH<\/abbr>) to build awareness. To help achieve its mission, the program is also accepting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mmrphawaii.org\/donate\">donations to fund research initiatives and student scholarships<\/a>. All donations are tax-exempt.<\/p>\n<p>All research activities were conducted in accordance with <abbr title=\"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\">NOAA<\/abbr> permit #21476 and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approval. All drone activities were conducted in accordance with <abbr>FAA<\/abbr> Part 107 regulations.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Kelli Trifonovitch<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"responsive-video-wrap-post\"><figure class=\"wp-block-embed wp-block-embed-youtube is-type-video is-provider-youtube epyt-figure\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe  id=\"_ytid_22142\"  width=\"676\" height=\"676\"  data-origwidth=\"676\" data-origheight=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8cSymMVdTmw?enablejsapi=1&origin=https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu&rel=0&autoplay=0&cc_load_policy=0&cc_lang_pref=&iv_load_policy=1&loop=0&fs=1&playsinline=0&autohide=2&theme=dark&color=red&controls=1&disablekb=0&\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  no-lazyload\" title=\"Rare video captures humpback whale nursing behaviors in Â鶹´«Ã½M\u0101noa research\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The study used tags equipped with cameras, acoustic recorders, pressure sensors and accelerometers to capture rare video and data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,12],"tags":[53,1363,936,92,9,56],"class_list":["post-116129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","category-video","tag-hawaii-institute-of-marine-biology","tag-manoa-research","tag-marine-mammal-research-program","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116129"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":124584,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116129\/revisions\/124584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}