Comments on: Blue Whales on the Move: Good News or Bad Sign? http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/ 80beats is DISCOVER's news aggregator, weaving together the choicest tidbits from the best articles covering the day\'s most compelling topics. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:30:03 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Ken http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/comment-page-1/#comment-27231 Ken Mon, 18 May 2009 06:05:47 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/#comment-27231 Why does everything that happens have to be "caused by 'global warming.'" Has anyone thought to go out and actually LOOK to see if this is true? I know sitting in a room theorizing is loads of fun, but science is based on observation. If you want to do REAL science, you have to observe first, THEN tweak your model. Ken http://www.kenStech.com Why does everything that happens have to be “caused by ‘global warming.’” Has anyone thought to go out and actually LOOK to see if this is true? I know sitting in a room theorizing is loads of fun, but science is based on observation. If you want to do REAL science, you have to observe first, THEN tweak your model.

Ken
http://www.kenStech.com

]]> By: Paul http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/comment-page-1/#comment-26917 Paul Thu, 14 May 2009 16:18:17 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/#comment-26917 The jury is still out on the fate of the blue whale. While the ban on commercial whaling has likely aided blue whale population recovery, blue whales are still prone to a myriad of threats and are far from a full recovery. Tantamount to this recovery are abundant and available food resources throughout there entire range, and this is where blue whales might be hard off as they have all their eggs in one basket by foraging exclusively on krill. My organization, Oceana, recently released a report entitled “Hungry Oceans: What Happens When the Prey is Gone?” (available at www.oceana.org/prey) that elucidates the vulnerability of blue whales, and many other marine mammals, seabirds, and predatory fish, to shortages in their main food supply due to overfishing, climate change, and aquaculture. Krill, for example, are known to be sensitive to changes in climate. Reductions of prey resources in this way, combined with intense fishing pressure, could be devastating for blue whales and other marine life that depend so greatly on krill. NOAA should finalize the proposed ban on krill fishing along the west coast to safeguard the resources that these animals so critically need. The jury is still out on the fate of the blue whale. While the ban on commercial whaling has likely aided blue whale population recovery, blue whales are still prone to a myriad of threats and are far from a full recovery. Tantamount to this recovery are abundant and available food resources throughout there entire range, and this is where blue whales might be hard off as they have all their eggs in one basket by foraging exclusively on krill. My organization, Oceana, recently released a report entitled “Hungry Oceans: What Happens When the Prey is Gone?” (available at http://www.oceana.org/prey) that elucidates the vulnerability of blue whales, and many other marine mammals, seabirds, and predatory fish, to shortages in their main food supply due to overfishing, climate change, and aquaculture. Krill, for example, are known to be sensitive to changes in climate. Reductions of prey resources in this way, combined with intense fishing pressure, could be devastating for blue whales and other marine life that depend so greatly on krill. NOAA should finalize the proposed ban on krill fishing along the west coast to safeguard the resources that these animals so critically need.

]]> By: Nick http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/comment-page-1/#comment-26873 Nick Thu, 14 May 2009 05:34:12 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/#comment-26873 These things have brains the size of volkswagons or something crazy - I bet they avoided it because it was dangerous and are now probably exploring out of necessity. These things have brains the size of volkswagons or something crazy – I bet they avoided it because it was dangerous and are now probably exploring out of necessity.

]]> By: Jumblepudding http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/comment-page-1/#comment-26823 Jumblepudding Wed, 13 May 2009 13:38:17 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/05/13/blue-whales-on-the-move-good-news-or-bad-sign/#comment-26823 Owing to the longevity of these animals, maybe there are individuals that still remember the old feeding grounds from their youth. Like their distant relatives the elephants, they could have exceptional memories. Owing to the longevity of these animals, maybe there are individuals that still remember the old feeding grounds from their youth. Like their distant relatives the elephants, they could have exceptional memories.

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