Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the Western North Atlantic Part 43

APPENDIX D

RECORDING AND REPORTING DATA ON STRANDED CETACEANS

So that measurements of cetaceans taken at different times and at widely divergent locations can be compared, the measurements and the methods of taking them have been standardized, although there is still some disagreement about which of the measurements are most important. The data form located at the end of this guide, usable on both baleen and toothed whales, includes all the measurements routinely taken by cetologists plus a few new ones the authors consider important. The form and the directions for taking measurements are synthesized from those currently in use by the Naval Undersea Center, San Diego; the Fisheries Research Board of Canada; the University of Rhode Island; the University of Florida; the U.S. National Museum, Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C.; and the National Marine Fisheries Service, La Jolla, Calif.

Data on stranded cetaceans should be collected by someone experienced in handling and measuring cetaceans. The legal problems a.s.sociated with collection of a specimen are discussed in Appendix C. In addition to having a permit or knowing how to obtain permission to collect the specimen, persons active in cetacean research will usually have access to laboratory facilities where in-depth studies, including postmortem examinations and collection of tissues for specialized laboratory examinations, can be conducted. Furthermore, specialized equipment, and the number of steps required to do a complete job with the specimen, make the procedure prohibitive for most noncetologists. Diligent attempts should be made to contact one of the inst.i.tutions listed in Appendix E. If no one is available and no permit or approval is obtainable, you are limited to photographing, sketching, and measuring the specimen without removing the carca.s.s or any part of the carca.s.s from the beach.

Any person taking data on stranded cetaceans should follow the instructions itemized below, being careful to take measurements in the manner prescribed and to record data in as much detail as possible.

1. Specimens should be preserved in 10% neutral Formalin, except for the stomach contents, which should be kept in 70% ethyl or 40% isopropyl alcohol, or be frozen. Commercial rubbing alcohol will suffice. As a minimum, the head, flippers, and reproductive tract should be preserved.

If no other method of handling the specimen is available, and only as a last resort, it may be buried in the sand well above the high tide line and carefully marked so it can later be recovered. Burying usually results in the loss of some vital parts.

2. The carca.s.s should be examined for external parasites particularly in such areas as the blowhole(s), the eyes, any wounds on the trailing edges of the dorsal fin, flippers, and flukes. Occasionally barnacles will be found on teeth or baleen plates. Like the stomach contents, parasites should be preserved in alcohol.

3. Photographs and sketches are a valuable part of data collection--views of the animal(s) from as many angles as possible, and detailed shots of such features as baleen plates, mouth and teeth, ventral grooves, flippers, flukes, and unusual scars or coloration should be included. Including a ruler for size reference may be helpful.

4. Although scientific data are usually expressed in metric units, measurements should be taken in whatever units are readily available.

All measurements should be taken in a straight line, as shown in the diagram, unless otherwise noted. Measurements which refer to the rostrum are taken from the tip of the upper jaw. The external auditory meatus (ear) is a small inconspicuous opening located just below and behind the eye. To locate the ear the observer must sometimes sc.r.a.pe away some of the skin to expose the unpigmented ear ca.n.a.l beneath it.

5. Throat grooves are short grooves found on the throat of beaked whales, sperm whales, and dwarf sperm whales. Ventral grooves are long grooves found only on balaenopterine whales. Ventral grooves should be counted between the flippers.

It is difficult to overstress the importance of data from stranded cetaceans. For some species, the only data available have come from stranded individuals. By carefully gleaning from each specimen all the data that can be collected, you will make a valuable addition to the body of knowledge on these elusive animals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Appendix Figure D1.--Locations and details of important measurements.]

APPENDIX E

LIST OF INSt.i.tUTIONS TO CONTACT REGARDING STRANDED CETACEANS

The following list includes many of the inst.i.tutions in the area covered by this guide, which are likely to respond to calls about stranded cetaceans. The inst.i.tutions on the mainland are listed roughly in order from north to south, following the contour of the coast. Several island inst.i.tutions and organizations are also listed.

These inst.i.tutions are the ones that come to mind as having taken an active interest in cetacean strandings in the recent past. In addition to these, almost any university biology or zoology department, State or Federal conservation agency or marine laboratory, or local natural history museum or society can recommend an interested biologist if no staff member is interested. Such organizations are widely distributed on or near the coasts and are usually adequately listed in local telephone directories.

It should be obvious that organizations such as oceanaria are the most likely ones to be interested in live animals on an emergency basis. Even so, these organizations often cooperate with biologists with whom they are familiar and so will pick up dead animals for them as well.

Conversely, museums and the like are most interested in the dead animals as they have no facilities for handling live ones. Nevertheless, they often cooperate with inst.i.tutions equipped to handle live animals and will usually help in making arrangements for picking up the live ones.

Therefore, rather than the finder's making a decision as to whether or not an inst.i.tution should be called because the animal is alive or dead, we would urge that the nearest organization in the following list be contacted under any circ.u.mstances.

s.p.a.ce is provided at the end of the list for additions of contacts inadvertently overlooked in compiling this list, or of inst.i.tutions which come into being after its publication.

CANADA

Newfoundland

Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's.

Nova Scotia

Bedford Inst.i.tute, Dartmouth.

Departments of Biology, Psychology and/or Physiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax.

Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax.

Quebec

Arctic Unit, Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Ste. Anne de Bellevue.

Ontario

Department of Zoology, University of Guelph, Guelph.

UNITED STATES

Maine

see Ma.s.sachusetts.

New Hamps.h.i.+re

see Ma.s.sachusetts.

Ma.s.sachusetts

Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst.i.tution, Woods Hole.

New England Aquarium, Central Wharf, Boston.

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge.

Rhode Island

Narragansett Marine Laboratory, University of Rhode Island, Kingston.

Connecticut

Mystic Marine Life Aquarium, Mystic.