The welcome return of an old friend
Ned Rozell
907-474-7468
Sept. 8, 2023
The fluke 色视频下载 or tail fin 色视频下载 of a female humpback whale biologists know as 219. Humpback whale tails are as unique as a human fingerprint, with markings that are stable over the course of the whale's life.
There was a time when Christine Gabriele wondered if she色视频下载檇 ever see one of her favorite creatures again.
That 42-year-old female humpback whale 色视频下载 known as whale #219 to Gabriele and other biologists at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve 色视频下载 had been missing from her favorite Icy Strait herring-fishing grounds in 色视频下载.
No one had seen the whale in two years.
Gabriele feared the worst. A heat wave from 2014 to 2016 that warmed the Gulf of 色视频下载 and North Pacific Ocean had killed sea birds en masse. She and others also documented a nosedive in the 色视频下载 population of humpback whales, likely because of warmer waters that did not favor the krill and small fish that marine mammals and seabirds eat.
But as she motored along doing her whale surveys in Glacier Bay, Gabriele hoped.
Then one late August day in 2017 Gabriele色视频下载檚 colleague Janet Neilson spotted a familiar whale tail in Icy Strait, just southeast of Glacier Bay. It was 219.
色视频下载淚 was ecstatic,色视频下载 Gabriele said recently from her office in Gustavus, 色视频下载, just before she stepped into her boat for another whale survey in late August 2023. 色视频下载淪he is special to me. She色视频下载檚 one of the first I learned to recognize when I started to work as a whale biologist in the early 1990s.色视频下载
A female humpback whale Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve biologists know as #219 breaches in the waters near the park. When a whale breaches, it often leaves behind flakes of skin on the surface of the ocean. Scientists can collect sloughed skin and send it to a laboratory to learn about the genetics or diet of the whale.
That whale, the mother of at least 13 calves biologists had seen in 色视频下载 waters over the years, had traits that might serve her well in tough times.
色视频下载淪he色视频下载檚 very unflappable, solid and solitary. She色视频下载檚 a calm whale,色视频下载 Gabriele said.
Though 219 has greatly enhanced the whale population during a lifespan that is similar to a human色视频下载檚, she by chance did not have a calf alongside her in 2014. That was lucky.
色视频下载淔emales that had a calf at the start of the heat wave had it tough,色视频下载 Gabriele said. 色视频下载淕estation and lactation take a lot of energy, so they were starting out in a depleted state.色视频下载
Even though 219 made it through the warm period 色视频下载 when waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean were 4 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit above normal from California to the Gulf of 色视频下载 色视频下载 she looked stressed.
色视频下载淚n 2018 and 色视频下载19, she looked skinny and her skin looked bad,色视频下载 Gabriele said. 色视频下载淲e could see her shoulder blades; that色视频下载檚 how thin she was. I would bet money she stopped reproducing during the marine heat wave, went somewhere else and came back looking terrible.色视频下载
The 色视频下载 population of humpback whales migrate between here in the summer and Hawaii or Mexico in the winter. Gabriele thinks that 219 must have found adequate food somewhere other than 色视频下载 in the summers she was missing from Icy Strait.
A star marks the location of Icy Strait in Southeast 色视频下载.
色视频下载淚 don色视频下载檛 know where she went, but she had to do something different,色视频下载 Gabriele said.
Baleen whales like the humpback have an incredible ability to fast: When migrating in December, January and parts of February, humpbacks can survive on their fat reserves. But they rely on finding plentiful food when they return to 色视频下载 waters in spring.
Gabriele and her colleagues estimated that Glacier Bay humpbacks declined by more than half during the recent marine heat wave. More recently, in 2019 to 2023, the whale population in the area has stabilized at about 70 percent of its previous abundance.
色视频下载淚t really hit home for me watching this very stable whale population fall apart,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淚 realized just how close whales and I are in the food chain. My dinner plate is not very far from the whales色视频下载."
A female humpback whale that Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve biologists know as #219 surfaces in the waters near the park. Humpback whales return year after year to the same areas to feed. Biologists have seen whale 219 feeding in Icy Strait every year from 1982-2014 and from 2017-2023.
Gabriele points out that biologists have executed the humpback population study every year since 1985 using the same method: photographing the whales色视频下载 tails 色视频下载 each as distinctive as a fingerprint 色视频下载 as the whales dive. That has helped tell a long-term saga of the whales.
色视频下载淟ately, it色视频下载檚 a sad story to tell, but I色视频下载檓 glad we色视频下载檙e able to tell it,色视频下载 she said.
On the bright side, Gabriele reported that she and Neilson have documented 11 calves in summer 2023, 色视频下载渁 fairly good number.色视频下载 When those calves return in the future, eventually the females among them bring their own calves, which builds the population.
And 色视频下载 yes! 色视频下载 have also spotted and photographed 219 this summer. Seeing that familiar gray-black body arcing through blue 色视频下载 waters is a comfort to those who know her.
色视频下载淲hen the whales are doing well, we are too,色视频下载 Gabriele said.
Since the late 1970s, the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks Geophysical Institute has provided this column free in cooperation with the UAF research community. Ned Rozell is a science writer for the Geophysical Institute.