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humpback whale
To get a unique perspective on how climate change is impacting marine mammals, UH News spoke with whale expert and director of the Marine Mammal Research Program at the University of Hawai'i Mānoa-Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. We interviewed Lars Bejdel about how innovative technology is helping experts monitor themselves. Marine Mammal Health.
Begedel is a conservation biologist who focuses on marine mammals such as whales and dolphins in Hawaii and around the world. He uses drones and specially designed sensors to collect data on cetaceans.
Lars Bejder
What types of marine mammals do you monitor?
Hawaii is home to more than 20 species of whales and dolphins. We are working with eight to ten individuals, each with different conservation issues and pressures.
Hawaii's most iconic species is the humpback whale, which spends about three months of the year on its breeding grounds here. We study Hawaiian monk seals and coastal spinner dolphins, which are found only in Hawaii. We also conduct research on pilot whales and false killer whales. Common threats to all of these include entanglement, ship collisions, noise pollution, and climate change, with some species being more or less affected by each of these.
What technology do you use?
NOAA Permit #18786
Using innovative technologies such as drones and tags, we are beginning to better understand how humpback whales change from year to year based on climate change. For example, a few years ago, during a major heatwave in the North Pacific, humpback whales saw a significant decline in their health and condition. This shows how closely the health of humpback whales is linked to climate.
The two main new technologies we use are calibrated drones and suction cup tags. Sucker tags are used across species, including humpback whales, pilot whales, false killer whales, and monk seals. We apply these to those animals and get incredibly rich data. We use drones to estimate the physical condition and health of individuals and populations, and we use drones for all of the different species that live here in Hawaii.
How are you using technology to monitor humpback whales?
humpback whale
We have assembled the world's largest database of humpback whale health. And when I say health, it's the state of your body that you measure with a drone using a calibrated lens and a custom-fit altimeter. We can fly these instruments repeatedly over the same animals in ocean basins. So here at their breeding grounds in Hawaii and their feeding grounds in Alaska, you can really see how the physical condition of these animals changes from season to season and year to year. Currently, we are measuring 10,000 humpback whales. If you think about it, the estimated population here in Hawaii is between 12,000 and 14,000 people. As a result, a significant number of animals visit Hawaii. The fact that we are also weighing them in Alaska allows us to know how much energy and condition they are losing here in Hawaii and vice versa.
How will climate change affect humpback whales?
For example, if you have a really good year, conditions are right, there's plenty of prey, and things are good for whales in Alaska. And he sees that after a year the animal is healthy and large and a calf is born. But what we've found is that if you have a bad year, for example climate change that's not good for game in Alaska, the next year the animals are much thinner and fewer calves are born. is. And it really speaks to the health of the ocean being portrayed through these animals. Simply flying a drone over an animal can tell you something about the health of an ecosystem. It's really, really promising and exciting.
