The Sea Wouldn't Be The Same Without The Humpback Whale

Marine scientist Kimberly Wood knows the sea wouldn’t be the same without the Humpback whale. Whether she is taking biopsy samples off the Hawaiian islands or educating passengers as a Naturalist aboard National Geographic-Lindblad Expedition Cruises in Alaska and Baja California, Wood delights in sharing the unique facets of these ocean mammals with everyone, especially because February is Humpback Whale Awareness Month.

Humpback whales are well-known as the singers of the ocean. They sing to socially bond as they migrate between their mating and feeding grounds, but the males are also perfecting their mating songs. Scientists have recently discovered that across the 14 populations, or stocks, of Humpback whales worldwide, each male creates a unique mating song that changes every year. Their songs fill the waters with tunes that both woo females and mourn the loss of love. 

“Males compete heavily for their females,” Wood said. “They'll bang against each other; they'll bloody each other up using their barnacles as weapons. They have this huge battle, and then the female chooses one of the males, and they go and mate for 48 hours. The males that do not win that battle get very touchy; they start to caress each other with their pectoral fins, and sing the sorrow song.”

As highly social animals, Humpbacks not only sing to bond. They are also known to feed together in a phenomenon called bubble netting, in which they blow a spiral bubble net around schooling fish to confuse and tighten up the ball of fish. Then they charge through for easy feeding, sometimes in a cooperative strategy.

“Instead of one bubble net, it’ll be this massive bubble net that's been blown by six or seven or 10 whales, and then collectively they'll gobble on this massive bait ball,” Wood said. “We’re still not sure how or why these bubble netting groups form. A female cooperative bubble net feeder doesn't necessarily mean all of her calves will be cooperative bubble net feeders. It’s not a passed-on trait, and that in itself is quite unusual. Scientists think it is perhaps a social bond. So you become an adult whale, you hone your bubbling skills, and then you build your own bubble netting group.”

Balancing The Ecosystem

The bubble net hunts of Humpbacks balance the fish populations of small schooling fish like herring and salmon, and their waste feeds all varieties of organisms. However, Wood says fish stocks have been dropping due to overfishing. Without their large feeds, Humpbacks cannot successfully migrate from their feeding grounds to mating and birthing grounds, which Wood said also leads to “hiccups” in the ecosystem.

“We've really noticed a dip in the calving mortality with Humpback whales, especially in the North Pacific Humpback whale stock,” Wood said. “A mother that’s pregnant will migrate regardless of her health. She’ll starve herself to death trying to make the way back; it’s instinctual. Those are some things we’ve been seeing, our mothers coming back way beyond emaciated. Maybe a calf present, maybe not.”

The decline of fish stocks correlates with the rise of microplastics, water temperatures, and vessel traffic that generates noise as well as collisions with marine life. Wood believes overfishing will be one of the most difficult conservation challenges to overcome. 

“Shipping lanes can be moved. Noises can be dampened so it's not so loud,” Wood said. “I think we’ll have an easier time changing shipping lanes than stopping overfishing. Soon we won't have to worry about it because the fishermen won’t be able to make enough money. The fishermen are going to fish themselves out of business. Everything else will pay the price.”

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Be A Citizen Scientist

However, the general public can directly contribute to scientific research and conservation efforts. Wood is an active member of Happywhale.com, an interactive site that welcomes citizen scientists into the world of whales. Members can create a free profile, follow other researchers, and post photos of whales they have seen. The site utilizes a special AI system that differentiates between whale tails, also known as flukes, to identify specific Humpback whales.

‍“Let's say you turn in a fluke, and it's one that's been seen, and you want to follow it. Every time that whale has been spotted henceforth, you'll get a little note, your whale’s been spotted here,” Wood said. “If you have that whale that has never been seen, you have the opportunity to name it. You do have to pay $500, but you donate it to an ocean conservation of your choice. You just show them a picture of the receipt, and you get to name the whale, which I think is pretty awesome.”

Wood herself began her career as a citizen scientist sending in photos to the Cascadia Research Collective as a whale-watching tour guide in Hawaii. She started working as a volunteer on research excursions and was soon hired as a full-time research assistant. Even while she’s out studying the Alaska-Hawaii or Antarctica-Mozambique Humpback stocks, she encourages everyone to be a citizen scientist. 

“One of the greatest things about Humpback whales are those majestic tails that everybody loves. Their fluke is what is saving their life, because of our bedazzlement by that beautiful finn. It’s so rewarding to me to share that power that the individual has with that photo. They could hang it on their wall, but to a researcher like me, that could be a puzzle piece,” Wood said. “It links scientists with the community. That’s how we’ll save the animals or give them a fighting try. And don’t you absolutely love educating the public when that lightbulb goes off? Like hell yeah, you’re involved. You’re a scientist. That’s easily the most rewarding part.”

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Key Takeaways:

• Reduce the use of single use plastic. “Every whale that washes up dead on the shore has plastic in their stomach.”
• Be diligent about researching whale-watching tours before you go. “If you can find a whale watching boat that contributes to research or has a researcher on board, give them your money. And never ever ever support captive entertainment shows because those are prisons.”