cetacean

Surprising fin whale songs in Hawaii

By Julia Zeh ⋅ December 11, 2020 ⋅ Post a comment

After sifting through thousands of hours of recordings, a team of naval researchers is bringing the previously hidden complexities of fin whale song to light. Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying marine mammal communication. My research focuses on analyzing underwater recordings of whale calls in order to better understand whale behavior. […]

An ancient dolphin gives a glimpse of the past

By Julia Zeh ⋅ July 17, 2020 ⋅ Post a comment

What can fossilized dolphin skeletons tell us about how whales transitioned from land to sea millions of years ago? New research describes Ankylorhiza tiedemani, an extinct species of dolphin that hunted large prey in the ancient seas of South Carolina. Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying marine mammal communication. My research […]

Minke Boings: A 50-year mystery and the science of listening in the ocean

By Julia Zeh ⋅ May 29, 2020 ⋅ Post a comment

Whale sounds are weird and fascinating, but for a long time scientists weren’t even sure that whales made sounds. The history of the study of sounds made by marine animals starts with naval submarine recordings, World War II, and mysterious sounds like the minke boing. Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying […]

Arctic Unicorns: Understanding the past, present, and future of narwhals and their mysterious tusks

By Julia Zeh ⋅ April 29, 2020 ⋅ Post a comment

Why do narwhals have tusks that make them look like unicorns? As climate change continues, what is the fate of narwhals and their enigmatic tusks? Two recent studies of these unicorns of the sea start to answer questions about their past, present, and future. Julia ZehI am a PhD candidate at Syracuse University studying marine […]

Humpback Whales Harmonize with Changing Environments

By Rishya Narayanan ⋅ October 11, 2019 ⋅ Post a comment

A recent study explores how the occurrence of humpback whale song is associated with shifts in their environment, including the abundance of food, concentration of neurotoxic algal blooms, and even sea levels. Rishya NarayananRishya is a multimedia science communicator with an MS in Media Advocacy from Northeastern University, specializing in Environmental Science Communications and Policy. […]

Healthy Obesity: Whales and Dolphins Benefit from their Blubber

By Dina Navon ⋅ October 20, 2015 ⋅ Post a comment

Scientists study the genetic underpinnings of blubber formation in whales and dolphins, highlighting genes that may play a key role in human obesity. Dina NavonI am a doctoral candidate in the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I’m interested in how an individual’s genes and the environment in which it […]