BOOK AN INTRODUCTION TO WHALES AND WHALE RESEARCH PRODUCED BY ALLIED WHALE THE ADOPT A FINBACK WHALE BOOK An Introduction to Whales and Whale Research Edited by Bob Bowman with contributions from the staff of Allied Whale Dr. Steven K. Katona, Director Beverly Agler, Director, North Alantic Finback Whale Catalogue Judith A. Beard, Associate Director Allied Whale; Director, North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue Bob Bowman, Coordinator, Field Research and Public Information Tim Cole, Assistant Director, Mt. Desert Rock Marine Research Station Alan Mainwaring, Computer Image Analysis for Individual Identification of Humpback Whales Paula Olson, Project Assistant, North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue Kim Robertson, Director, Mt. Desert Rock Marine Research Station; Assistant Director, North Atlantic Finback Whale Catalogue Valerie Rough, Individual Identification of Grey seals in New England Peter Stevick, Research Liason, Marine Studies Program Gregory S. Stone, Director of Antarctic and Southern Hemisphere Research Vicki Walsh, Coordinator, Adopt a Finback Whale; Bookkeeping Research Assistants: Lydia Barnes Harriet Corbett Dan Dendanto Gale McCullogh Megan McOsker Interns: Tom Fernald Zack Klyver Philip Lichtenstein Stephanie Martin Jenny Rock Melissa Alexander blowheles FINBACK WHALE BALAENOPTERA PHYSALLS splashguard PRISTINE TOPVIEW cardal peduncle dersal fin right chevron TETON RIGHT NEW blaze Chevrons flaskes lar left chevron eye SCARLIPOHARA LEFT VIEW ventral grooves plipper tripe flipper Finback drawing illustrating identifiable features TABLE OF CONTENTS ALLIED WHALE .2 WHALES, AN INTRODUCTION .3 THE SEARCH FOR SECRETS OF THE DEEP .4 FINBACK WHALE .6 ©1990 Allied Whale HOW YOUR WHALE WAS IDENTIFIED. .8 College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor, ME 04609 COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC .10 GLOSSARY 11 BIBLIOGRAPHY 13 Thank you for joining our growing family of finback whale sponsors. Contributions to Adopt a Finback Whale are the primary source of funding for the North Atlantic Finback Whale Catalogue. This ocean-wide, collabo- rative, research program is dedicated to gaining information vital to the preservation of one of the world's most magnificent endangered species. Photos credits: Beverly Agler, pp.8, 9, 13; Bob Bowman, pp.2, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14; Center for Coastal Studies, p. 9; Harriet Corbett, pp.6, 9; Carl Haycock, p. 4; Steven Katona, p.4; Megan McOsker, p.8; Kim Robertson, p.8; Jenny Rock, p.8; Peter Stevick, p.4; Greg Stone, p.4 Computer mapping: Scott Gennari Cover art, Allied Whale logo, and drawing on facing page by Harriet Corbett. All other artwork by Kim Robertson Layout and design by Z Studio ALLIED WHALE Allied Whale is the marine mammal East Coast. Identification and censusing of the research group at College of the Atlantic in Bar whales inhabiting this part of the Gulf of Maine, Harbor, Maine. It was founded in 1972 by Dr. the photo-identification of individuals, and studies of the behavior and respiration of whales are all part of the work done here. Inventories of migratory land birds, seabirds, seals, invertebrates and plants as well as exten- sive environmental monitoring also take place at Mt. Desert Rock. Allied Whale is involved in field research projects that are far ranging, both scientifically and geographically. Our biologists and stu- dents study whales not only in the Gulf of Maine, but often work in many other areas of the world on joint projects with both American and foreign institutions. In recent years our researchers' studies have taken them to Mexico (finback and blue whales), Canada (finback, humpback and right whales in the Bay of Fundy), the Antarctic (humpback and right whales), New Zealand A finback whale at Steven K. Katona, Professor of Biology, and stu- (Hector's dolphins), the Dominican Republic dents and staff of the College. Since its begin- Mount Desert Rock, (breeding and calving grounds for humpback ning, Allied Whale has been at the forefront of whales) and Bermuda (halfway point in hump- Maine modern whale research and is recognized as a back whale migration in the Western North leader in the development of scientific tech- Atlantic). niques used by whale biologists. Whales, like humans, are mammals at the Photo-Identification top of the food chain. In this context, the In addition to field research, Allied Whale health of whale populations serves as an indi- houses the largest collection of information on cation of the health of their habitat-and ours. photo-identified humpback and finback whales Our continuing mission is to conduct research in the world. Photo-identification is a tech- important to effective conservation of marine nique that enables scientists to follow an indi- mammal populations and their habitats. vidual whale anywhere it may travel through- Because whales roam the seas without regard out its life by comparing natural color patterns, to political boundaries, we are dedicated to fin shapes and other distinguishing marks that participation in collaborative research and the appear in it's photographs. Allied Whale exchange of scientific information world-wide. researchers were among the first to successfully In 1973, with the cooperation of the U.S. use this technique to study whales. Coast Guard, Allied Whale opened a research Allied Whale houses the North Atlantic facility at Mt. Desert Rock, Maine, the site of Humpback Whale Catalogue, the North the most remote lighthouse on the eastern Atlantic Finback Whale Catalogue and the seaboard. "The Rock", a three acre island near- Antarctic Humpback Whale Catalogue. These ly 25 miles off shore, is now the oldest land- collections include photographs and informa- based marine mammal research station on the tion on over 5000 individual whales. Such cat- aloguing efforts have provided more informa- tion about the population size, ecology and behavior of whales than has been learned in any other way. Allied Whale solicits funding for its work in the form of government and foundation grants, but our primary means of support comes from charitable donations from individuals. Tax deductible contributions can be made to Atlantic white sided College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, in support of Allied Whale. dolphin mother and calf 2.