Energy News  
WHALES AHOY
North Pacific humpback whales rebounding

disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
by Staff Writers
 Washington (UPI) May 28, 2008
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says most North Pacific humpback whale populations are rebounding.

Officials say a study funded primarily by NOAA and conducted by more than 400 whale researchers across the Pacific region shows the overall population of humpbacks has rebounded to approximately 18,000 to 20,000 animals. That population numbered fewer than 1,500 in 1966, when international whaling for the species was banned.

However, some isolated populations of humpbacks, especially those in the Western Pacific Ocean, have not recovered at the same rate and still suffer low numbers, researchers said.

The results of the report come from SPLASH -- Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpback -- an international effort involving more than 50 organizations. The project, which started in 2004, determined whale migratory patterns and estimated population sizes by using a library of 18,000 photographs of whale flukes to identify 8,000 individual whales.

In addition to whale fluke photographs, SPLASH researchers said they collected more than 6,000 biopsy samples for studies of genetics and pollutants, along with thousands of additional photographs to determine how levels of scarring from line entanglement and ship strikes vary among regions.

Community
 Email This Article
 Comment On This Article
Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
 Follow the Whaling Debate


Memory Foam Mattress Review
SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
 Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


WHALES AHOY
Russian pipeline plan threatens whales: environmental groups
 Moscow (AFP) May 22, 2008
 A planned oil pipeline off the island of Sakhalin in eastern Russia threatens an entire population of gray whales that feed in the area with extinction, environmental groups said on Thursday.






ENERGY TECH
  • Shareholders force ExxonMobil to consider climate
  • Interview: Crescent Petroleum's Jafar
  • Analysis: Morales gives foreigns ultimatum
  • Analysis: Turkey as energy corridor

    • CIVIL NUCLEAR
  • Greenpeace to challenge completion of Slovak nuclear reactors
  • Larijani warns IAEA that Iran could revise cooperation
  • French new-generation nuclear reactor hits a glitch
  • Central Europe fuels demands for European nuclear revival

    • BLUE SKY
  • NASA Satellites Illuminate Influence of Pollution On Clouds And Climate
  • New clean air rules may endanger parks
  • National Study Examines Health Risks Of Coarse Particle Pollution
  • Beijing working to clear the air

    • WOOD PILE
  • Protected forests in Brazil could cut billion tonnes of CO2: study
  • Brazil's new environment minister to tackle fears over Amazon
  • The Amazon for sale for 50 bln dollars? Not in Brazil's book
  • Malaysia to help Indonesia curb forest fires

    • FARM NEWS
  • Analysis: Food crisis reaches Europe
  • Africa needs 'green revolution' to combat food crisis: Annan
  • A Foamy Drink, And The Future Of Food
  • Over 80 percent of fisheries overfished: report

    • CAR TECH
  • Clean Diesel Wins Future Car National Engineering Challenge X
  • 'Eco-driving' can cut petrol bills: EU commission
  • AT And T Introduces Green Fleet Of More Than 100 Alternative-Fuel Vehicles
  • EU eyes hi-tech systems to cut road deaths, fuel use

    • AEROSPACE
  • China's new jumbo-jet firm no threat to Airbus, Boeing: state media
  • China unveils new jumbo jet company: report
  • NASA And JAXA To Conduct Joint Research On Sonic Boom Modeling
  • Analysis: Can airplanes go green?

    • NUCLEAR SPACE
  • Nuclear Power In Space - Part 2
  • Outside View: Nuclear future in space
  • Nuclear Power In Space

    • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement