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This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0073_01C9F01A.921AB6D0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable A side bar about the wax esters. A masters student working from the = Grand Manan Whale & Seabird Research Station, Zach Swaim, investigated = right whale digestion by analyzing right whale faeces and copepods and = comparing the lipids in each. Right whale faeces usually float, can be = scooped up with a fine meshed net, and one of our scientists and Zach's = supervisor, Heather Koopman, hypothesized that right whales must be = excreting lipids which would make the faeces float, but the surprise was = that very few wax esters are present and the lipids are mostly = triglycerols. Normally the triglycerols would be digested and the wax = esters would be excreted, since most mammals can not digest was esters. = Some of the lipids in the faeces are, in fact, unique and are not found = in either copepods or right whales, suggesting a digestive by-product, = possibly from symbiotic gut bacteria. Laurie Murison Grand Manan, NB ----- Original Message -----=20 From: James W. Wolford=20 To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca ; markd@sierraclub.ca ; Deborah Tobin ; = Moira Brown ; Shelley Barnaby ; Laurie Murison ; Tonya Wimmer ; Carl = Haycock=20 Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2009 1:13 PM Subject: good news today on N.Atl. Right Whales JUNE 18, 2009 - See today's Globe and Mail on DFO's new recovery = strategy for the Endangered NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE, including = designations of two areas of Critical Habitat, namely the Grand Manan = Basin, between the G. M. Island and western Nova Scotia, and Roseway = Basin, south of Cape Sable Island. Dalhousie Univ.'s DR. CHRIS TAGGART = was on CBC Radio's Maritime Noon today about this and about his current = student Kim Davies' studies of the Roseway Basin, where there are large = concentrations of the right whales' favourite food, COPEPODS, only about = 1 mm. long, at depths of about 120 metres. The Globe and Mail says = copepods are krill-like, which is very misleading/incorrect; both are = crustaceans, and krill are like small shrimps whereas copepods are much = tinier and resemble "water fleas" in their shapes and jerky movments. = Taggart said that the copepods are extremely rich in waxy esters?, which = are lipids, which are concentrated in order for these crustaceans to = overwinter at depth and then move up near the surface in Spring. The = whales know where they are and concentrate in the area in order to feed = there and do what other things right whales do (socialize, court?, etc.) = for the Summer and Fall. Eating the copepods is "like eating diesel = fuel", says Taggart, since they are so nutrient-rich. [I have used this = fact for many years for teaching, i.e., that huge right whales can exist = by eating primarily tiny copepods, as a testament to the huge = productivity of the North Atlantic Ocean ecosystem! This is even more = impressive when one recalls that many of the migratory baleen whales = like humpbacks and right whales feed very little or not at all on their = wintering grounds!] Another subject Taggart discussed on Marnoon was the changes since = 2003 in SHIPPING LANES in the Bay of Fundy [Moira Brown et al. say the = risks to right whales are now vastly reduced there], and the voluntary = program of shipping avoidance in Roseway Basin. Both of these = situations have been very positive for the whales, which were thought to = suffer possibly up to 10 collisions with ships, many of them fatal, = every year. In the Roseway Basin, studies have shown that at the moment = 80% of the ships have been voluntarily avoiding the critical area and = thus significantly reducing the risk of encounters with whales. P.S. Three cheers for PUBLIC RADIO! (let's lobby our governments for = more support, and for restoring the two hours and staff for Maritime = Noon!) and for continuing efforts to help our SPECIES AT RISK, which are = mostly in that situation thanks to human assaults on our environments. -------------------------------------------------------------------------= ----- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com=20 Version: 8.5.364 / Virus Database: 270.12.78/2185 - Release Date: = 06/18/09 05:53:00 ------=_NextPart_000_0073_01C9F01A.921AB6D0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; = charset=3Diso-8859-1"> <META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.6000.16850" name=3DGENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY=20 style=3D"WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space"=20 bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>A side bar about the wax = esters. A=20 masters student working from the Grand Manan Whale & Seabird = Research=20 Station, Zach Swaim, investigated right whale digestion by=20 analyzing right whale faeces and copepods and comparing the = lipids in=20 each. Right whale faeces usually float, can be scooped up with a = fine=20 meshed net, and one of our scientists and Zach's supervisor, = Heather=20 Koopman, hypothesized that right whales must be excreting lipids which = would=20 make the faeces float, but the surprise was that very few wax esters are = present=20 and the lipids are mostly triglycerols. Normally the=20 triglycerols would be digested and the wax esters would be = excreted, since=20 most mammals can not digest was esters. Some of the lipids in the = faeces=20 are, in fact, unique and are not found in either copepods or right = whales,=20 suggesting a digestive by-product, possibly from symbiotic gut=20 bacteria.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Laurie Murison</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Grand Manan, NB</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV=20 style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B>=20 <A title=3Djimwolford@eastlink.ca = href=3D"mailto:jimwolford@eastlink.ca">James W.=20 Wolford</A> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">naturens@chebucto.ns.ca</A> ; = <A=20 title=3Dmarkd@sierraclub.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:markd@sierraclub.ca">markd@sierraclub.ca</A> ; <A=20 title=3Ddeb.tobin@ns.sympatico.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:deb.tobin@ns.sympatico.ca">Deborah Tobin</A> ; <A=20 title=3Dmwbrown@neaq.org href=3D"mailto:mwbrown@neaq.org">Moira = Brown</A> ; <A=20 title=3Dscnbarnaby@gmail.com = href=3D"mailto:scnbarnaby@gmail.com">Shelley=20 Barnaby</A> ; <A title=3Dgmwhale@nbnet.nb.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:gmwhale@nbnet.nb.ca">Laurie Murison</A> ; <A = title=3Dtwimmer@dal.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:twimmer@dal.ca">Tonya Wimmer</A> ; <A = title=3Dfoggy@ns.sympatico.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:foggy@ns.sympatico.ca">Carl Haycock</A> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 18, 2009 = 1:13=20 PM</DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> good news today on = N.Atl. Right=20 Whales</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 11px Arial" = face=3DArial=20 size=3D3><B>JUNE 18, 2009</B> - See today's <B>Globe and Mail </B>on = DFO's new=20 recovery strategy for the Endangered <B>NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT = WHALE</B>,=20 including designations of two areas of Critical Habitat, namely the = Grand=20 Manan Basin, between the G. M. Island and western Nova Scotia, = and=20 Roseway Basin, south of Cape Sable Island. Dalhousie Univ.'s = <B>DR.=20 CHRIS TAGGART</B> was on CBC Radio's Maritime Noon today about this = and about=20 his current student Kim Davies' studies of the Roseway Basin, where = there are=20 large concentrations of the right whales' favourite food, = <B>COPEPODS</B>,=20 only about 1 mm. long, at depths of about 120 metres. The Globe = and Mail=20 says copepods are krill-like, which is very misleading/incorrect; both = are=20 crustaceans, and krill are like small shrimps whereas copepods are = much tinier=20 and resemble "water fleas" in their shapes and jerky movments. = Taggart=20 said that the copepods are extremely rich in waxy esters?, which are = lipids,=20 which are concentrated in order for these crustaceans to overwinter at = depth=20 and then move up near the surface in Spring. The whales know = where they=20 are and concentrate in the area in order to feed there and do what = other=20 things right whales do (socialize, court?, etc.) for the Summer and=20 Fall. Eating the copepods is "like eating diesel fuel", says = Taggart,=20 since they are so nutrient-rich. [I have used this fact for many = years=20 for teaching, i.e., that huge right whales can exist by eating = primarily tiny=20 copepods, as a testament to the huge productivity of the North = Atlantic Ocean=20 ecosystem! This is even more impressive when one recalls that = many of=20 the migratory baleen whales like humpbacks and right whales feed very = little=20 or not at all on their wintering grounds!]</FONT></DIV> <DIV style=3D"MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 11px = Arial"><BR></DIV> <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 11px Arial" = face=3DArial=20 size=3D3>Another subject Taggart discussed on Marnoon was the changes = since 2003=20 in <B>SHIPPING LANES</B> in the Bay of Fundy [Moira Brown et al. say = the risks=20 to right whales are now vastly reduced there], and the voluntary = program of=20 shipping avoidance in Roseway Basin. Both of these situations = have been=20 very positive for the whales, which were thought to suffer possibly up = to 10=20 collisions with ships, many of them fatal, every year. In the = Roseway=20 Basin, studies have shown that at the moment 80% of the ships have = been=20 voluntarily avoiding the critical area and thus significantly reducing = the=20 risk of encounters with whales.</FONT></DIV> <DIV style=3D"MIN-HEIGHT: 14px; MARGIN: 0px; FONT: 11px = Arial"><BR></DIV> <DIV style=3D"MARGIN: 0px"><FONT style=3D"FONT: 11px Arial" = face=3DArial=20 size=3D3>P.S.<B> Three cheers for PUBLIC RADIO! </B>(let's lobby our = governments=20 for more support, and for restoring the two hours and staff for = Maritime=20 Noon!)<B> </B>and for continuing efforts to help our <B>SPECIES AT = RISK</B>,=20 which are mostly in that situation thanks to human assaults on our=20 environments.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT class=3DApple-style-span face=3DArial><BR></FONT></DIV> <P> <HR> <P></P><BR>No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>Checked by AVG = -=20 www.avg.com <BR>Version: 8.5.364 / Virus Database: 270.12.78/2185 - = Release=20 Date: 06/18/09 05:53:00<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML> ------=_NextPart_000_0073_01C9F01A.921AB6D0--
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