Have there been any major breakthroughs in cetacean research in the era post-whaling?
Posted by wiz28ultra@reddit | marinebiology | View on Reddit | 9 comments
It seems that the vast majority of information we have regarding whale biology, behavior, and location is gleamed from info accumulated by whalers during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
As far as I know there aren't any big new understandings as to certain whale populations, species, taxonomy or behavior in the same way that those early whaling voyages were able to understand whales.
If anything, modern scientists are considerably worse at finding whales than those voyagers were, for example, we still don't know where Antarctic Blue Whales breed or inhabit during the Winter months, and in the case of HUmpbacks and Fins, only recently discovered their large populations in the Antarctic and certain evidence of recovery within the past 5 years.
Selachophile@reddit
Huh, wonder why.
wiz28ultra@reddit (OP)
Even accounting for population decreases due to whaling, it still shouldn’t be that hard for an advanced institution of higher learning with multiple decades worth of technological advancement to find whales.
We managed to wipe out like 99% of big cats, Elephants, and sharks in a similar manner but we don’t have any difficulty advancing new research that changes our understanding of those animals in a way that we don’t with whales
asupernova91@reddit
I don’t work with whales but I do work with marine species is STUPID expensive to get on a boat for research purposes. It’s also very VERY hard to get permits to get close to them. Most cetaceans and rightfully protected over federal law.
EzPzLemon_Greezy@reddit
You discount generational knowledge. Whalers have decades of experience hunting them, on top of of the decades that the people who taught them have. I know captains that know the seafloor better than their own backyard. They know where all the big rocks are, where the fish are, and when they will be there. All without ever seeing an inch below the surface.
Selachophile@reddit
Terrestrial species are inherently easier to locate and track, and the vast majority of shark species haven't experienced nearly the degree of decline that the majority of whale species have.
I'm actually, right now, writing about this exact problem in shark research in my latest paper. And I'm not the first.
Could you be more specific about what major advances we've made in the past ~50 years about sharks, elephants, and big cats that are lacking for cetaceans? What are the specific gaps you've identified?
wiz28ultra@reddit (OP)
Ofc, if you're including smaller reef sharks and generalists like the Bull Shark, along with the countless species of Sleeper & Catsharks that roam deeper waters, I should've clarified that I was referring to animals like Hammerheads, Oceanic Whitetips, Sand Tigers, Great Whites, Shortfin Makos.
And even then, the degree of decline in Whales is not uniform, Delphinids seem to be relatively stable in population, and we've seen a very consistent upward trajectory for many populations during the 21st century, namely Northern Fin Whales, Southern Humpbacks, ENP Blue Whales, etc.
Hell, if we're looking at the West Coast of the US, Great Whites are rarer than BLUE WHALES.
Selachophile@reddit
So what specific questions are you referring to in your OP with respect to whale populations? This is why some clarification would be useful if you're looking for answers to your question.
curlyfriezzzzz@reddit
There’s a lot of big breakthroughs with research with whales especially in the North Pacific from all nations that touch those waters
fouldspasta@reddit
That's not entirely true- we have made a ton of breakthroughs in understanding cetacean calls. There's a ton of research about whale songs and cetacean vocalizations. There's even been playback studies- super interesting but questionably ethical. Fathom is an interesting documentary following whale researchers if you're looking for a fun watch.