Galapagos Pt 3: Getting to Isla Fernandina
Posted November 5th, 2009 by SaraMaxwellSara Maxwell in the Galapagos Islands, Equador--I've arrived back to Puerto Ayora from Isla Fernandina and it was a true adventure! I'll spend the next few blogs getting you caught up on our adventures, starting with our trip to Fernandina....
TOPP White Shark Team Makes a Splash
Posted November 5th, 2009 by RandyKochevarThe TOPP white shark team made headlines today with a landmark publication in the Proceedings of the Royal Academy B. The study, entitled, “Philopatry and migration of Pacific white sharks,” utilized satellite tagging, passive acoustic monitoring and genetic tags to study the migration and population structure of white sharks in the northeastern Pacific over the years from 2000-2008.
Blue Marlin Travels 2,225 nautical miles!
Posted October 28th, 2009 by RandyKochevarFrom July 20-24, 2009, TOPP researchers led the "Great Marlin Race" as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration for the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament. A total of seven marlin were tagged with 180-day Pop-up Satellite Tags, and the fish whose tag pops off the furthest from Kona wins. After 96 days, one of the marlin tags popped off southeast of the Marquesas Islands -- 2,225 nautical miles from where it was initially tagged! See the details at www.greatmarlinrace.org.
Tuna Tagging Success in Japan
Posted October 19th, 2009 by RandyKochevarIn a rare opportunity for TOPP, Chuck Farwell, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Curator of Pelagic Fishes and long-time TOPP collaborator, is participating in a unique opportunity to tag Pacific bluefin tuna off the coast of Japan. Chuck is working with colleagues from Tokyo University's Ocean Research Institute. Their operation is based in the port of Nagai, on the Miura Peninsula - at the northeast end of Sagami Bay.
Photographing White Sharks off Pt. Reyes
Posted October 9th, 2009 by RandyKochevar
I recently had the good fortune to spend two days 'on the water' with the Pt. Reyes white shark tagging project.
Episode 2 - Shark Tagging with NOAA/NMFS
Posted October 2nd, 2009 by RandyKochevarStinky Mammal Breath Mako Good numbers of juvenile makos made their presence felt this year and sharks captured ranged in size from small neonates of ~70 cm up to sub/adults of up to 2.5 m, FL. One of these large makos had a noticeable problem with its oral hygiene as we brought it onboard! Russ Vetter and Paul
Galapagos!
Posted September 28th, 2009 by SaraMaxwellSara Maxwell and Jana Jeglinski at Fernandina, Galapagos Islands--Greetings from Galapagos! I am here with Jana Jeglinski and her team to tag Galapagos fur seals and Galapagos sea lions on Fernandina and Floreana Islands. Right now, I will give you a bit of background about the project and tomorrow I will follow up with our activities here in Puerto Ayora where we are preparing to head in the field. Hasta manana!
Ontogeny of foraging and inter-specific competition
Shark Tagging with NOAA/NMFS
Posted September 25th, 2009 by RandyKochevarIn late August, Paul Rogers from Flinders University joined scientists from NOAA/NMFS' Large Pelagics Group to conduct an annual juvenile shark survey in the Southern California Bight, which included tagging a variety of sharks with TOPP tags. Paul was kind enough to write up a wonderful series of articles about this work, each of which is accompanied by stunning photographs. Rather than putting up a single, giant blog, I am going to be putting the pieces up individually over the next few weeks -- so stay tuned and check back often for updates!
More sea lions!
Posted August 8th, 2009 by LuisHuckstadtLuis Huckstadt in Santiago, Chile - We are expanding our work with sea lions in the Southern Hemisphere. During the past month of July, we had the opportunity to deploy a new set of satellite tags on sea lions, this time in Chile.
Banana Returns!
Posted May 26th, 2009 by NicoleMarieTeutschelNicole Marie Teutschel at Año Nuevo State Reserve, CA-- Last winter 5 female weanling elephant seals were satellite tagged at Año Nuevo State Reserve in Northern California. Elephant seal weanlings are only 27 days old at weaning, and fast for 1-2 months before leaving the warm sand at Año Nuevo for the cold, harsh North Pacific Ocean.
