An Incredible Rice’s Whale Encounter

Day 40

Happy Monday, followers!

Monday was another beautiful day in the western Gulf of Mexico. Blue skies and calm seas prevailed once again. The team continued to be thankful for the excellent conditions we've experienced on this entire trip! Today we finished up in the western Gulf and started following transects that will move us in an easterly direction-back towards Pascagoula and the finish line of the 2024 Vessel Survey for Abundance and Distribution of Marine Mammals and Seabirds. Before that, we have over a week ahead of us. We're staying positive and continuing to learn new things… like how to work fire control equipment! Today was drill day on the ship. During the fire drill, some of the science crew got to participate and learn new at-sea safety skills.

Today was an unusually quiet day for acoustics, with four detections. Traversing deeper water did lead to the detection of a sperm whale group of more than a dozen individuals. However, the rest of the day was filled with only a few distant dolphin whistles and the quiet sound of water moving past the array. The team hasn't detected many pygmy or dwarf sperm whales (both genus Kogia ), which may be due to their narrowband high frequency echolocation clicks. These whales must be very close to the vessel-within about 500 meters- for their sounds to be picked up by acoustic equipment. In contrast, dolphin whistles may be detected about 5 to 7 kilometers away, and sperm whale clicks around 5 to 15 kilometers away.

Another day in the western Gulf, another 22 sightings of Kogia for the visual team. It's beginning to feel like NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter entered a different multiverse, where dwarf and pygmy sperm whales are the most abundant marine mammals. Sperm whales made an appearance right after lunchtime, making that three days in a row. We spotted a group of smaller blackfish (a term used to describe several species of small whales that are generally black and look similar) that passed about a mile away from the ship. The team couldn't quite discern whether they were melon-headed or false killer whales due to their low surfacing behavior. These two species are roughly the same size with slight differences in body coloration, head shape, and pectoral fin shape that can really only be seen up close. To round out the 40 sightings for the day, we saw bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins , and Risso's dolphins .

Monday was also a busy day where birds were concerned. With 17 species sighted, it was perhaps one of our most diverse days of survey. We saw:

• Barn swallows
• Unidentified sandpipers
• A ruddy turnstone
• Unidentified night herons
• A black-crowned night heron
• Bridled, sooty, royal, and common terns
• A laughing gull
• Audubon's and Cory's shearwaters
• Band-rumped and Leach's storm-petrels
• Brown boobies
• A young masked booby
• Magnificent frigatebirds

Now if only the black-capped petrels would show up! There has been a notable lack of these birds even around feeding flocks of sooty terns, which they are likely to frequent. Alas, this species has been our "road-runner," and we will continue to be Wiley with our Acme Binoculars trained on the horizon.

Day 41

Greetings from the Gulf,

Tuesday the team woke up to a decent ground swell from Hurricane Debby, with seas 3-5 feet, but the sea state averaged out close to a Beaufort 1. We started the day by finishing an offshore segment of transect before turning northeast on a new line. It was a relatively slow day for all three teams, similar to the last time we crossed this area.

There wasn't much to report from the acoustics team today, either. It's been a quiet one with just three detections: two dolphin groups and an unidentified toothed whale. We're hoping for a bit more action as we steam north into more diverse underwater terrain tomorrow.

The marine mammal visual team had 13 sightings today, starting with some pantropical spotted dolphins and other Stenellid dolphins early in the morning when the swells were larger. Finding and tracking marine mammals in a large swell requires more patience, as the animals can be visible one second, and then completely hidden behind a swell the next. In the afternoon we logged five sightings of dwarf and pygmy sperm whales. Late into the afternoon and evening, the swell laid down considerably. The watches after dinner were pleasant, albeit a little toasty at times. Some sneaky beaked whales made a late appearance, but their direction of travel was head on and the lighting and distance made it difficult to identify the species.

As for the birds, we saw nine fewer species than yesterday. The encounters were a bit more spread out, with closer to a dozen individuals compared to yesterday when there were more birds than we could tally! There was a gorgeous dark morph red-footed booby who had a white tail-like many have here in the Gulf of Mexico. We watched the bird have dinner then rest perched on the ship. At the end of the day, it was joined by a light morph red-footed booby who rested on the sturdy Gunter platform as well. A freshly feathered young masked booby flew with us for a while, then a migrating black-and-white warbler and a cliff swallow rounded out the surprises for the day. More expected and regular species we encountered were band-rumped storm-petrel, brown booby, barn swallow, and laughing gull. It was a swell day, but we hope for a bit more action tomorrow. The black-capped petrel was noticeably absent again. Their scarcity seems to accurately reflect their recent listing under the Endangered Species Act.

As usual, photos by Kate were a hit again today!

Day 42

Greetings survey followers,

Wednesday was off to a shaky start for the team aboard the Gordon Gunter . The sea state was slightly up, and mammal sightings were slow. However, shortly after lunch, our luck took a favorable turn when the visual team spotted a large whale blow. Our collective focus was to identify this large whale: a possible Rice's whale in the western Gulf of Mexico. We were far outside their core distribution area located in the eastern Gulf, so this would be quite exciting if we could confirm the species. The bridge quickly diverted the ship in the direction of the blows, which were about 3 miles away. Our goal was to get close enough to the animal for photographic confirmation of species and even individual identification if possible. Little did we know at the time, we were to get a lot more information than that.

It took all on board to prepare for this encounter. We had a visual team of scientists, officers at the helm, several photographers positioned on each level of the ship, two biopsy personnel on the bow just in case an opportunity arose, and one data recorder keeping track of the whale's position. Typically, marine mammals spend a set amount of time at the surface-usually measured in minutes or number of breaths-followed by a set time at depth. If you are lucky, the animals will keep going in the same direction of travel at the surface and underwater, so that is our typical assumption when trying to sight a whale.

The scientists on the flying bridge estimated the surface interval to be between five and seven breaths, followed by a 6-minute dive time. This information was super helpful in timing the ship's speed and heading. Sometimes the whale ended up far away, but we did not lose track of it. The photographers were at the ready during each surfacing, and were able to confirm the species-it was a Rice's whale! And it was getting closer. Close enough, in fact, that we were nearly in range to attempt collection of a biopsy.

We had one attempt where the dart fell in the water about 15 feet short of the target. It was a great try, but we weren't sure we would get another attempt. The whale then appeared from deeper under the ship's bow swimming straight away, first on its back, then its side. Its lighter belly glowed white, like a huge ghost shooting away from us. We were awestruck.

Not long after the ghost-whale maneuver, the animal was seen sub-surface, parallel to the starboard bow, at a range of about 10 meters. We were going to get a second chance! The animal moved slightly forward and to the left as it prepared to surface, and the entire ship seemed to hold its collective breath. The animal broke the surface to breathe, and as it rolled through its surfacing to show its broad back, a second biopsy attempt was made-this time successful! The dart made contact with the animal near its dorsal fin, rebounded, and landed in the water near the port bow.

After about two full seconds of rejoicing, then came the tricky part: retrieving the floating dart with the sample from the open ocean with a large ship... or so we thought. The Gunter crew has a lot of practice picking up buoys and other small objects from the ship! Once the whale was a safe distance away, the crew slowly and carefully maneuvered the 224-foot ship close enough to the floating dart for the deck crew to pluck it from the water's surface, which took less than 10 minutes to accomplish.

We worked in the hottest part of the day to ultimately collect a rare sample, and the scientists and crew aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter displayed impressive teamwork. The patience, resilience, and perseverance to get a difficult job done was unmatched, and I hope we get the chance to try it again. We are staying in this area for one more day to try and find more whales!

Leg 3 Wrap-up

Greetings survey enthusiasts,

As I write this final summary of the 2024 Vessel Survey for Abundance and Distribution of Marine Mammals and Seabirds, I still cannot believe it is coming to an end. While the bridge came around and pointed the Gordon Gunter east toward port, it was bittersweet calling the mammal team off effort for the last time. The bird team stayed on effort, searching for birds until sunset. The last several days have been somewhat of a blur, so the following is a quick recap.

After the Rice's whale encounter on Wednesday, we stayed in the area another day. We encountered a pair of Rice's whales-neither of which was the whale encountered Wednesday-and collected one more biopsy sample. On Friday we moved back onto our regular track lines, where the weather continued to be ideal. Between Friday and Monday, we saw pilot whales, melon-headed whales, and other blackfish. We encountered all five of the different Stenellid dolphin species found in the Gulf of Mexico including Atlantic spotted, spinner, Clymene, pantropical spotted, and striped dolphins. The striped dolphins even approached us and rode the pressure wave off the ship's bow, which is rare for this species! We saw bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, beaked whales, and sperm whales. We also racked up more sightings of dwarf or pygmy sperm whales.

This year's survey has some impressive preliminary data to report:

• We surveyed over 8,700 kilometers of track line on-effort
• The marine mammal team had 742 sightings
• The acoustics team had 335 detections of marine mammals

We nearly doubled the 2023 survey's total of 397 visual sightings. Likely to the disbelief of all, 111 of the visual sightings were dwarf or pygmy sperm whales!

We were fortunate that the weather was largely in our favor the entire summer, and even luckier to have a highly experienced and motivated team of observers. It's not easy at times to stay engaged or excited about the survey. For the second year, this group continued to exceed expectations. Their positive energy and willingness to go the extra mile (even on the long days) pushed us through the final days of the survey.

However, it took more than a group of scientists to accomplish this year's survey...it took a whole ship. I feel very fortunate to have had the full support of the Gunter and her crew throughout the course of the survey. NOAA Commissioned Corps officers provided great leadership, steadfast encouragement, and flexibility to meet our project goals and beyond. The ship's professional mariners are an integral part of our success. The deck department was always at the ready with any request, however large or small, and they really showed us their skills during our buoy pickup day. Engineering worked continually behind the scenes keeping the ship running and equipment working. The electronics department kept us connected to the world while working through some internet struggles, and always responded quickly to our requests. Last but certainly not least, the steward department worked long hours and provided a delicious variety of meals, snacks, and most importantly-desserts.

As for me, I feel quite honored to work for such an amazing group of people. Everyone's dedication and passion for the mission kept me motivated, even on days mine was lacking. I truly appreciated the daily support and reassurance I received from everybody involved. We may be going our separate ways for now, but I look forward with hope that we might work together again someday.

Signing off,

Carrie

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