IEDA
Project Information
Collaborative Research: A New Baseline for Antarctic Blue and Fin Whales
Start Date:
2019-09-01
End Date:
2024-08-31
Description/Abstract
Blue and fin whales are the two largest animals on the planet, and the two largest krill predators in the Southern Ocean. Commercial whaling in Antarctic waters started in the early 1900?s, and by the 1970's whale populations were reduced from thousands to only a few hundred individuals. The absence of data about whale biology and ecology prior to these large population reductions has limited our understanding of how the ecosystem functioned when cetacean populations were more robust. However, an archive of baleen plates from 800 Antarctic blue and fin whales harvested between 1946 and 1948 was recently rediscovered in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History that will shed insight into historic whale ecology. As baleen grows, it incorporates circulating hormones, and compounds from the whale's diet, recording continuous biological and oceanographic information across multiple years. This project will apply a suite of modern molecular techniques to these archived specimens to ask how blue and fin whale foraging and reproduction responded to climate variability, changes at the base of the food web, and whaling activities in the early 1940s. By comparison with more modern datasets, these investigations will fill major gaps in understanding of the largest krill predators, their response to disturbance and environmental change, and the impact that commercial whaling has had on the structure and function of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. This project will improve stem education through annual programming for middle and high school girls in partnership with UNCW's Marine Quest program. Public outreach will occur through partnerships with the Smithsonian and the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators to deliver emerging research on Antarctic ecosystems and highlight the contemporary relevance and scientific value of museum collections. Examination of past conditions and adaptations of polar biota is fundamental to predictions of future climate change scenarios. The baleen record that will be used in this study forms an ideal experimental platform for studying bottom-up, top-down and anthropogenic impacts on blue and fin whales. This historic baleen archive includes years with strong climate and temperature anomalies allowing the influence of climate variability on predators and the ecosystems that support them to be examined. Additionally, the impact of commercial whaling on whale stress levels will be investigated by comparing years of intensive whaling with the non-whaling years of WWII, both of which are captured in the time series. There are three main approaches to this project. First, bulk stable isotope analysis will be used to examine the trophic dynamics of Antarctic blue and fin whales. Second, compound-specific stable isotope analyses (CSIA-AA) will characterize the biogeochemistry of the base of the Antarctic food web. Finally, analyses of hormone levels in baleen will reveal differences in stress levels and reproductive status of individuals, and inform understanding of cetacean population biology. This project will generate a new public data archive to foster research opportunities across various components of the OPP program, all free from the logistical constraints of Antarctic field work. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
Personnel
Person Role
Fleming, Alyson Investigator and contact
Friedlaender, Ari Investigator
McCarthy, Matthew Investigator
Hunt, Kathleen Investigator
Funding
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems Award # 1947453
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems Award # 1927742
Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems Award # 1927709
AMD - DIF Record(s)
Data Management Plan
Product Level:
4 (model output and interpretations)
Datasets
Repository Title (link) Format(s) Status
USAP-DC Bulk stable isotope data of blue and fin whales Comma-Separated Values (CSV) exists
USAP-DC Hormone meta data for Antarctic blue and fin whales Comma-Separated Values (CSV) exists
Publications
  1. Cooke SJ, Bergman J, Madliger, CL, Cramp RL, Beardall J, Burness GP, Clark TD, Dantzer B, de la Barrera E, Fangue, NA, Franklin CE, Fuller A, Hawkes LA, Hultine KR, Hunt KE, Love OP, MacMillan HA, Mandelman JW, Mark FC, Martin LB, Newman AEM, Nicotra AB, Raby GD, Robinson SA, Ropert-Coudert Y, Rummer, JL, Seebacher F, Todgham AE, Tomlinson S, Chown SL. 2021. One hundred important yet unanswered research questions in conservation physiology. Conservation Physiology 9:coab009 (doi:10.1093/conphys/coab009)
  2. Alejandro Fernández Ajó, Kathleen E. Hunt, Danielle Dillon, Marcela Uhart, Mariano Sironi, Victoria Rowntree, C. Loren Buck, Optimizing hormone extraction protocols for whale baleen: Tackling questions of solvent:sample ratio and variation, General and Comparative Endocrinology, Volume 315,2022,113828. (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113828)
  3. Danielle Dillon, Alejandro Fernández Ajó, Kathleen E. Hunt, C. Loren Buck, Investigation of keratinase digestion to improve steroid hormone extraction from diverse keratinous tissues, General and Comparative Endocrinology, Volume 309, 2021, 113795. (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113795)
  4. Fleming, A., Pobiner, B., Maynor, S., Webster, D., & Pyenson, N. D. (2022). New Holocene grey whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ) material from North Carolina: the most complete North Atlantic grey whale skeleton to date. Royal Society Open Science, 9(7). (doi:10.1098/rsos.220441)
  5. Fraleigh, D. C., Archer, F. I., Williard, A. S., Hückstädt, L. A., & Fleming, A. H. (2023). Possible niche compression and individual specialization in Pacific Arctic beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) from the 19th to 20th century. Ecology and Evolution, 13(7). Portico. (doi:10.1002/ece3.10230)
  6. Hunt KE, Buck CL, Ferguson SH, Fernández Ajó A, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Matthews CJD. 2022. Male bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) reproductive histories inferred from baleen testosterone and stable isotopes. Integrative Organismal Biology, 4:obac014 (doi:10.1093/iob/obac014)
  7. Lowe CL, Hunt KE, Robbins J, Seton RE, Rogers M, Gabriele CM, Neilson JL, Landry S, Teerlink SS, Buck CL. 2021. Patterns of cortisol and corticosterone concentrations in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) baleen differ with cause of death. Conservation Physiology, 9:coab096 (doi:10.1093/conphys/coab096)
  8. Lowe CL, Hunt KE, Neilson JL, Gabriele CM, Seton R, Robbins J, Teerlink SS, Buck CL. 2022. Reproductive steroid hormone patterns in baleen of two pregnant humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae). Integrative and Comparative Biology 62:152-163 (doi:10.1093/icb/icac070)
  9. Lowe CL, Ward RJ, Hunt KE, Rogers MC, Werth AJ, Gabriele C, Neilson J, von Hippel FA, Buck CL. 2022. Case studies on longitudinal mercury content in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) baleen. Heliyon 8:08681 (doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e08681)
  10. D'Agostino VC, Fernández Ajo A, Degrati M, Krock B, Hunt K, Uhart M, Buck CL. 2021. Potential endocrine correlation with exposure to domoic acid in southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). Oecologica 198:21-34 (doi:10.1007/s00442-021-05078-4)
  11. Fraleigh, D. C., Pallin, L. J., Friedlaender, A. S., Barlow, J., Henry, A. E., Waples, D. M., Oglesby, T., & Fleming, A. H. (2024). The influence of biopsy site and pregnancy on stable isotope ratios in humpback whale skin. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 38(11). Portico. (doi:10.1002/rcm.9746)
  12. Smith, M. E. K., Ososky, J. J., Hunt, K. E., Cioffi, W. R., Read, A. J., Friedlaender, A. S., McCarthy, M., & Fleming, A. H. (2024). Historical baleen plates indicate that once abundant Antarctic blue and fin whales demonstrated distinct migratory and foraging strategies. Ecology and Evolution, 14(5). Portico. (doi:10.1002/ece3.11376)
  13. Lowe CL, Hunt K, Rogers M, Neilson J, Robbins J, Gabriele C, Teerlink S, Seton R, Buck CL. 2021. Multi-year progesterone profiles during pregnancy in baleen of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Conservation Physiology 9:coab059 (doi:0.1093/conphys/coab059)
  14. Zena L, Dillon D, Hunt KE, Navas CA, Bicego KC, Buck CL. 2021. Seasonal changes in steroid and thyroid hormone content in shed skins in the tegu lizard Salvator merianae. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 192:127-139 (doi:10.1007/s00360-021-01397-3)
  15. Fabio-Braga A, Hunt K, Dillon D, Minicozzi M, Nicol SC, Buck CL. 2022. Can spines tell a story? Investigation of echidna spines as a novel sample type for hormone analysis in monotremes. General and Comparative Endocrinology 325:114053 (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2022.114053)
  16. Rich G, Stennett R, Galloway M, McClure M, Riley R, Freeman EW, Hunt KE. 2024. Nailing it: Investigation of elephant toenails for retrospective analysis of adrenal and reproductive hormones. Conservation Physiology 12:coae048 (doi:10.1093/conphys/coae048)
  17. Fernández Ajó A, Teixeira C, de Mello DMD, Dillon D, Rice JM, Buck CL, Hunt KE, Rogers MC, Torres LG. 2024. A longitudinal study of endocrinology and foraging ecology of subadult gray whales prior to death based on baleen analysis. General and Comparative Endocrinology 352:114492 (doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2024.114492)
  18. Edwards K, Brown J, Edes A, Hunt KE. 2025. Stress, well-being and reproduction in wildlife. Chapter 5 in: Comizzoli P, Brown JL, Holt WV, eds. Reproduction Sciences In Animal Conservation. Part of book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Switzerland: Springer Nature. Springer Nature
Platforms and Instruments

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