Transient killer whale grabs rhinoceros auklet. See slide show below. Photo: Hildering. All photos taken with telephoto and cropped.

From the evidence I deliver in the slideshow below, you’ll see that August 31st, 2011 was not a good day for some rhinoceros auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata) in Johnstone Strait, British Columbia, Canada. 

That day, I witnessed a very socially active group of “transient” (marine mammal-hunting) killer whales repeatedly harassing these birds - mouthing them and slapping them. At least 3  juvenile rhinoceros auklets had a bad day and, since these are diving birds, they cannot “alight” and escape the teeth and fins below them. Yet, I believe they survived.

I interpret the transient killer whales’ interaction with the birds to be “text book” play behaviour largely involving the juvenile killer whales. In this case, the text book is Dr. John Ford’s and Graeme Ellis’ Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales of British Columbia, Washington, and Southeastern Alaska. I provide their  expert interpretation of the behaviour below, entitled “Seabirds: Playthings and Practice, or Between-Seal Snacks?” 

Transient killer whale surfaces right beside rhinoceros auklet. See slideshow below. Photo: Hildering. All photos taken with telephoto lens and cropped.

“It is not unusual to see transients chasing and harassing seabirds. During most of these incidents, the whales do not seem intent on eating the birds. Rather, they let the bird escape or they abandon it after it has been injured or killed. Seabird harassment appears to be a favourite activity of juvenile transients. They young whales will sometimes swim upside down and on their sides, looking for birds paddling at the surface above. Once a victim is sighted, they will try to slap it with their tail flukes, jump on it, or seize it in their mouth. This interaction may continue for several minutes, before the bird is eaten, incapcitated, or left dead in the whale’s wake. We and others have recorded at least 10 seabird species that have become casualties of transients. Frequent victims are common murres, which are flightless for several weeks during the late summer and are like “sitting ducks” for transients.  Other species include black brant, common loon, white-winged scoter, surf scoter, cormorant (species uncertain), western grebe, marbled murrelet, rhinoceros aucklet, and red-breasted merganser.  Seabirds seem to be more important as objects of play or harassment than as a dietary item. Juveniles playing with seabirds no doubt learn useful skills in prey capture and handling that may enhance their success in hunting harbour seals and other wily prey.”  Source: Ford, J.K.B., and Ellis, G.M. 1999. Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales of British Columbia, Washington, and Southeastern Alaska. UBC Press, Vancouver, and U. of Washington Press, Seattle. 96 pp

Transient killer whale tail-slapping a rhinoceros auklet. See slideshow below. Photo: Hildering. All photos taken with telephoto lens and cropped.

I personally had never seen such a prolonged display of this transient killer whale play behaviour before. In fact, I had never seen transient killer whales socialize quite so rambunctiously!

 In the Northeast Pacific, “transient” killer whales (or “Bigg’s killer whales” – after the late Dr. Michael Bigg) are believed to have diverged from the “resident”  (inshore fish-eating) and “offshore” (offshore fish-eating) killer whales some 700,000 years ago (Morin et al, 2010), to refine a culture of stealth and unpredictability in order to hunt their marine mammal prey.

But clearly, when their bellies are full and social needs dominate, this type of killer whale is anything but stealthy. On August 31st, this incredibly socially active group of 20+ transients took about 1.5 hours to travel only +/- 4.5 km (2.5 nautical miles) – slapping birds, rolling over one another, tail slapping, vocalizing and breaching along the way. The whales would go on to bound past the community of Alert Bay, Cormorant Island. I have have previously written about this in the blog item “Might As Well Jump.” 

Jared Towers of the Department of Fisheries and Ocean has confirmed the IDs of the transient killer whales in the August 31, 2011 encounter to be:  T010s, T034s, T035s, T037s, T046Bs, and T146s.

Photos taken while on board with Orcella Expeditions. 

So for you, I share the following story.

I emphasize that this is an atypical blog item for The Marine Detective and I have had to wrestle my left brain into submission to write it. I am very fearful too of feeding the monster of human need to get up close and personal to whales and claim a “piece” of them.

With that preamble and context – I give you this story for Christmas:

In the fall of this year, while aboard with Orcella Expeditions and talking about my whale research with the Marine Education and Research Society (MERS), I explained  how and why we nickname humpback whales.

In short, we nickname the whales for a feature on their flukes since the scientific alphanumeric names (e.g. BCZ0297)  are much more difficult to remember. [See the past blog item "What's in a Name" for a more detailed explanation including photos of nicknamed humpbacks.]

Where we can, we like to have local school children nickname the whales for reasons I am sure you understand.

BCY0729. Note the marking in the shape of an upside down "A" on the left fluke. Photo: Hildering.

But that day, just after talking about the humpbacks, I learned of the death of man who loved the sea – a man of depth and creativity who should still walk among us. I heard about Jason from his father, Cliff, whose eyes of course told more about the pain, loss and love of his son than words could.  I had only recently met Cliff and never had the privilege of knowing Jason. 

Immediately, I thought of the humpback whale BCY0729 who has an upside down “A” on its left fluke.

As an exception to having children name the whales, I decided we could nickname this whale “Argonaut” in honour of Jason. [if unclear about the association between "Jason" and "Argonauts", please click here].

It was a simple thing to do. We had a good nickname for the whale and Cliff and his family had some comfort in the sentiment and symbolization of a whale being nicknamed for Jason.

That was September 3rd, 2011. Below, email correspondence to Jason’s father on September 22nd.

Cliff, I got goosebumps today and had tears in my eyes.

And – you’re going to get the same.

I saw Argonaut today, for the first time since September 30th, 2010. He was very near Telegraph Cove feeding in the area with another juvenile whale that we have named “Guardian” because there is an angel-like marking on this whale’s tail (rimmed in a yellowish shade). 

You’ll see from the photos that it was a very wet and misty day . . . beautiful. I was on a school trip [for Stubbs Island Whale Watching] with a group of local First Nations school children (ages 4 to 11). I shared the story of Argonaut with them and of course, it moved them.

"Argonaut" on September 22nd, 2011. Photo: Hildering. Click to enlarge.

"Guardian" on September 22nd, 2011. Photo: Hildering. Click to enlarge.

"Guardian" the humpback whale. This image (from September 9th, 2011 by Leah Thorpe - MERS) shows the yellow angel-like shape around the centre of the fluke. Whale named by Leah Thorpe (MERS).

I saw Argonaut and Guardian every other day I went out up to October 30th. They were not always right beside one another but they were within the same general area.

Does this have any significance beyond two humpback whales with distinctly marked tails feeding together ?  The beauty is, I’ll never know, no matter how much data I collect.

There is “something” about whales that I use almost daily to try to engage and motivate and frankly, plea with people to get their heads out of their bottoms and realize that their daily frivolous actions (and inactions) collectively cause such needless environmental damage.

Coincidence such as this story of “Angels and Argonauts” is the kind of thing that throws my structured-science-oriented left brain into discussion with my philosophical-reflective right brain about the undefinable and intangible.  But something both sides of my brain agree upon . . .  these giant sentient beings inspire marvel and wonder and hope and comfort and, so often . . . they inspire us gangly bipeds to understand connectedness and the truly important things in life.  

May the greatness we sense from whales inspire us to bigger things that benefit society and the environment. 

Merry Christmas readers.

I leave you with this sound clip of Jason singing “With or Without You” – a small indication of the depth of the man who loved the sea. Click here to listen.

"Argonaut" lunge feeding on September 28, 2011. Photo: Hildering.

"Argonaut" at sunset on October 7th, 2011. Photo: Hildering.

A39 aka "Blackney" from the A30 matriline of fish-eating "northern resident" killer whales. Photo: Hildering

Go WILD, really WILD this Christmas – but not in raging consumer gluttony; not in garbage-creating obscenity; not in a way that leaves you hollow; and not by extensively impacting both your and the earth’s resources.

I think few will disagree that ours is a society gone mad with consumerism. We are relentlessly and oh-so-cunningly pummeled with messaging that we will be happier, more loved, sexier and perceived to be more successful if we purchase this item, and this one, and . . . this one!

But, there are powerful rays of hope above the landfill. More and more of us recoil at the consumerism, realizing its true cost. There appears to be a powerful societal wave moving us back to simplicity, peace and quality of experience where it’s not about the having . . . it’s about the holding.

As part of this shift, if gifts are to be given, we strive for them to be meaningful; where value is not measured in dollars but in societal/ecological benefit.

Below, I share five WILD ideas for gifts that go deep, benefitting marine research and conservation in British Columbia.

Note that there are of course so many more good causes than those I list below. What has guided my selection is that I have a direct connection to (and resulting depth of knowledge about) the environmental non-governmental organizations listed below.

1.  OrcaLab
Click here to join the “OrcaLab 100” – one hundred people committing to a monthly donation (be it ever so small) so that the OrcaLab can count on a steady stream of support. You symbolically represent a “northern resident” A Clan whale and receive a personalized write-up of the whale with the whale’s photo; notification of when the whale is first sighted back in the area; and access to an exclusive FaceBook OL100 supporters’ page.
For more than 40 years, Dr. Paul Spong and Helena Symonds (recently joined by Leah Robinson) have served as the watch-keepers/guardians of the whales of the Blackfish Sound /Johnstone Strait area. From the remote Orca Lab, they acoustically monitor the area year-round, 24 hours a day. They record any whale calls, attempt to correlate whale vocals with behaviour and create public engagement and awareness by broadcasting these calls on-line. They also advocate so powerfully to end whaling and having killer whales in captivity. Their work has only become more intense over the last years since, in addition to recording killer whale calls, now humpbacks are vocalizing in the area! Click the image below for a sample of humpback song recorded by the OrcaLab on October 23, 2011.  Click here for a history of the OrcaLab. 

2.  The Wild Killer Whale Adoption Programme (KWAP)
Click here to symbolically adopt one of BC’s killer whales and support the wild killer whale research listed here. All 4 discrete populations of killer whales in British Columbia’s waters are in trouble and hence, there is an acute need for further research. Government funded research is, not surprisingly, very limited.
You can adopt a whale from the birth year of the recipient for an extra personal touch. The gift package includes:  A picture of the whale with its life story; a certificate that tells you’re wonderful; an annual research update; a CD with killer whale vocals and the commentary of leading acoustics researcher, Dr. John Ford and – a cloth bag that can be used over and over again, for further earth-friendly joy. 

3.  The SOS Marine Conservation Foundation (Save Our Salmon / SOS)
Click here to help protect B.C.’s wild salmon stocks and the marine environment from the negative impacts of open net-cage salmon farms and establish B.C. as a leader in creating a globally renowned, stable and viable aquaculture industry.  Include the name and address of the honoree and they will be sent a card letting them know about the donation you’ve made in their name.
SOS is partnered with the ‘Namgis First Nation to build Canada’s first land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) Atlantic salmon farm. This is know as the “K’udas Project” and is 100% ‘Namgis owned.

4. The Marine Education and Research Society (MERS)
Click here to make a donation to MERS and you support the local humpback and minke whale research with which I am directly involved. Include the name and email address of the person you are honoring with the donation and they will be sent an email informing them of how you have helped MERS’ research and education efforts and how invalable this support is to us.

5. The Whale Interpretive Society (WIC)
Click here to adopt a transient killer whale bone so that T44’s skeleton can be put together  (articulated) for the purposes of education.

Salmon shark found dead on Port Hardy beach on November 23, 2011. Photo: Mandy Norrish.

This is a salmon shark (Lamna ditropis) that washed up dead on a beach in Carrot Park in Port Hardy, B.C. on November 23rd. 

Local Department of Fisheries and Oceans staff conducted an external examination and collected the unfortunate shark so that a full necropsy could be done at a later date.  Although salmon sharks are common in the North Pacific, examining the body may allow science to find out more about the species and how this individual died. 

The dead salmon shark was just over 1.5 metres (length from the nose to fork in the tail = fork length). The species can be 3.7 m and weigh up to 454 kg.

Cut in the pectoral fin. Suggesting it may have been entangled in a net. Photo: Mandy Norrish.

Salmon sharks are of no threat to humans, however, the species does suffer impacts from humanity. 

The Port Hardy salmon shark had external injuries that suggest it may have been caught in a fishing net and possibly even shot.  It had a large cut on its tongue and on one of its pectoral fins and there was a circular hole behind the dorsal fin.  Many shark species suffer the threat of  by-catch in nets since they are targeting the same species we humans are fishing for.  

If it is determined that this shark indeed was caught in a net, this may be particularly interesting since I believe there are no openings for net fisheries at this time of year. 

Cut also found on the shark's tongue. Photo: Mandy Norrish.

Although the salmon shark feeds on many species of fish,  it is indeed a very successful predator of salmon.

Salmon sharks can regulate their body temperatures to be higher than the temperature of the surrounding water. The salmon shark, in fact, has a higher body temperature than any other shark species. Apparently, even when the water is 2 °C, their internal temperature can be 16 °C.

This ability to thermoregulate is why, in part, salmon sharks can be incredibly fast. The US Navy has recorded speeds of up to 80 km/hr.  

I was heartened by the response of the majority of people to the death of this shark. It seems society might be moving beyond the “Jaws Effect” where we demonized sharks because we have bought into their fictitious portrayal.  

Many of us now seem to embrace shark fact rather than fiction, realizing that sharks pose little threat to humans; that they have been shaped by some 200 million years of evolution; that globally they are struggling to survive; and that they have an essential role in marine ecosystems.

Hole behind the dorsal fin. Photo: Mandy Norrish.

Sharks, as top-level predators, strongly shape food webs.   Loss of such predators has proven to have profound effects on the number and diversity of other species.   

The unenlightened are still out there though. It may be an inevitability that sharks get caught in fishing nets but they need not then be shot or butchered. Locally, I have seen evidence of both. 

[Update: December 22nd, 2011 - The necropsy revealed that this was a female shark. It is also now known that the shark was caught in a hook and line sable fish fishery and that the hole behind the dorsal was the result of a hook. It is rare that there is shark bycatch in this type of non-net fishery.]

For further information on salmon sharks, please refer to the natural history information from ARKive below.

Click here for two ARKIve videos showing salmon sharks hunting.

Skin parasite (ectoparasite). I have no expertise here but had suggested that this a copepod from the Caligidae family.

Click here for the petition to ban shark fin products in Canada and here for video by astounding 18-year-old Madison Stewart about the vilification of sharks and the atrocities of shark-finning . . . 73 million sharks killed/year for their fins = 190 sharks killed/minute.   

Click here for video of the shark found on the beach in Port Hardy.

Click here to follow tagged salmon sharks in our waters. 

Click here for a scientific paper reviewing the biology of salmon sharks and evaluating their “status” as predators of salmon.

Salmon shark image from ARKive site. Click image for two ARKive videos of salmon sharks hunting. Credit: BBC Natural History Unit.

Salmon Shark Information
from ARKive

Description

A formidable hunter, the salmon shark (Lamna ditropis) is sometimes mistaken for the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), but can be distinguished by its shorter snout and the dusky blotches that mark the white abdomen of adults (3) (4). The rest of the salmon shark’s stocky, spindle-shaped body is dark bluish-grey or blackish, with white blotches around the base of the pectoral fins. The first dorsal fin is large, while the second dorsal and anal fins are tiny and are able to pivot. Its crescent-shaped tail gives it impressive propulsion through the water (2) (3), while its large, well-developed eyes enable it to spot potential prey (2), and its large, blade-like teeth are well suited to gripping slippery fish(2) (3).

An olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) washed up on the southwest side of Vancouver Island in the Pacific Rim National Park on November 23rd. It was alive when found but has now, tragically, been determined to be dead. Since sea turtles can go into a comatose-like state due to “cold stunning”, great care was taken to ensure the turtle was indeed dead. The necropsy determined that the turtle had suffered blunt force trauma, which suggests there had been a collision with a boat. 

This is the first known sighting of this sea turtle species in British Columbian waters although, since they have been sighted in Alaska and Washington, it was anticipated that B.C. is part of their range. With the find of this unfortunate olive ridley sea turtle, B.C. can officially state that there are  3 species of sea turtle known to be in our waters. The other two are the leatherback sea turtle (Endangered) and green sea turtle (Endangered).  The olive ridley is the smallest of the world’s sea turtles with a maximum size of 1 metre. 

For facts about the natural history and conservation concerns for olive ridley sea turtles, click here for the Cetacean Sightings Network’s fact sheet. Click here to directly link to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) assessment report determining this species is “Vulnerable”; one risk level below Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The report includes natural history information in addition to relaying conservation concerns.

I was unsuccessful in finding out the origin of this turtle species’ unique name. “Olive” is due to the colour of the carapace but why “ridley”?

Read the Westerly News article below for further detail about this historic “sighting”. 

Photo from the Westerly News article. Click image to go to article.

Westerly News; November 25, 2011; “Sea turtle found in Pacific Rim park - A first for B.C. waters”

A sea turtle species never before observed in B.C. waters was discovered at Wickaninnish Beach in Pacific Rim National Park reserve this week.

A species of sea turtle never before seen in B.C. waters arrived on Wickaninnish Beach this week.

Parks Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Vancouver Aquarium worked together to confirm the event as the first-ever sighting of an olive ridley sea turtle in B.C. waters.

“B.C. residents can be proud to learn that we now officially have three sea turtle species in our waters,” stated a media release from the three organizations involved.

A visitor to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve discovered the stranded and badly injured turtle on the beach on Tuesday. The visitor alerted park staff who examined the turtle and noted it had a broken shell and very few signs of life, only occasional flipper and eye movements.

Staff took the turtle away for monitoring and transport and on Wednesday staff from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Marine Mammal Response Network took the turtle for further examination.

The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre provided help identifying and assessing the turtle, stabilizing the animal and recommending treatment.

“Since there was a small chance the turtle was affected by cold-stunning, a comatose state that develops in sea turtles that are exposed to sub-optimal temperatures, the turtle was transported to the aquarium where Dr. Martin Haulena and his team could do an examination,” stated the media release.
At the aquarium’s hospital, the team provided emergency treatment including fluids. An electrocardiogram and ultrasound were performed to look for a heartbeat.

Although there were faint electrical deflections noted, they were very weak and very infrequent. It was confirmed dead the very next morning.” On Thursday, B.C. Ministry of Agriculture pathologist, Dr. Stephen Raverty, performed a necropsy at the Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford in collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Vancouver Aquarium veterinary staff.

The necropsy found that the turtle was a sub-adult female that died of blunt force trauma of an unknown source. Two small pieces of hard plastic were found in the turtle’s stomach. “Although not the cause of death for this turtle, the finding was an important reminder that the ingestion of marine debris is a significant threat to sea turtles.”

Future plans for the turtle’s body include genetic testing to confirm its species and to determine which population she belonged to. “It is not yet clear which population the turtle comes from, but [the] closest olive ridley nesting areas are on Pacific beaches of Mexico and Central America.”

The olive ridley is a small sea turtle that typically lives in tropical and warm waters.

“Scientists had been anticipating evidence that the olive ridley sea turtle was found in B.C. waters,” stated the media release, “since other sightings have been confirmed in Alaska and Washington.”

“Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Vancouver Aquarium appreciate the public’s role in reporting this important marine animal sighting.  Reports of dead, injured, distressed marine mammals and sea turtles can be reported to the Marine Mammal Response Network hotline 1-800-465-4336. Sightings of live, free swimming sea turtle and cetaceans can be reported to the Vancouver Aquarium’s BC Cetacean Sightings Network at 1-866-ISAWONE. When inside a national park, reports can be made directly to Parks Canada staff.

Truth is, even thought I taught science for years and live by the tides, I get a little dizzy when I strive to explain how our winter tides can be particularly high and low.

Why this is topical is because, this Friday, November 25th, there will be an extremely high tide and a very large tidal exchange. Tide tables for Alert Bay indicate that the ocean will bulge to a 17.44′ (5.3m) high at around 12:30. Then it will drop by 17.16′ (5.2m) to a 0.28′ (8.5cm) low tide around 7:30 PM. It is relevant that this is happening in the winter.

To challenge my teacher skills, I will try to be as succinct as possible in explaining what is causing this.

• Tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun.
• The strength of this gravitational pull is constantly changing because the earth is rotating on its axis (cycle of a day; 23 hours and 56 min) while orbiting around the sun (cycle of a year; 365.24 days) and the moon is orbiting around the earth (cycle of a month; 27.3 days).

• I will not get into the detail of how this happens, but because of the movement of the moon relative to the earth, a “tidal day” is about 24 hours and 50 minutes long so the cycle of high and low tides is about 50 minutes later each day. In our position on earth, we get “mixed semi-diurnal tides”  which means that over 24 hours and 50 minutes we get a high tide, then a low tide, another high tide (of a different height that the first high tide), and then another low tide (of a different height that the first low tide). 
• When the moon and sun are in line with the earth, their gravitational forces combine and the high tides are higher and the low tides are lower. These strong tides are known as Spring tides (but they have NOTHING to do with the season “Spring”!) There are two scenarios when the moon and sun are in a line. (1) Full Moon and (2) New Moon. Please see diagram below. 

Two scenarios when the combined gravitational force of the moon and sun is the greatest. (1) Full moon shown on left (lit side of the moon faces earth); (2) New moon shown on the right (dark side of the moon faces earth). Source http://oceanlink.island.net/oinfo/tides/tides.html

• This Friday, we have a New Moon. The moon will be in a line between the sun and the earth. The sun and the moon will therefore combine their forces on the ocean making for a really high tide and a really low tide.
• HOWEVER, it is also significant that it is winter for us now. The gravitational pull is even greater because, the way the earth travels in its yearly elliptical orbit around the sun, it is closest to the sun during the northern hemisphere’s winter. The earth is closer to the sun so there is an even greater gravitational pull.
• Wait, if the earth is closest to the sun in the winter WHY is it colder for us right now?! This is because of the way the earth tilts. Our half of the world is tilted away from the sun right now. The southern hemisphere is basking in the rays.

How was that explanation?

How about this animation? Does it offer any greater clarity?

.

Okay, how about this . . . Blondie, from 1980!  

Your reward for “hanging on” in wanting to understand why  . . . the tide is high! 

Update – November 26, 2011

As a very valued by-product of his reading this blog, Rod Gray dared go where I did not and shared an explanation of why we have 2 high tides and 2 low tides per day in our area (i.e mixed semidiurnal tides):

“The “main” high tide, the one caused by the earth rotating under the bulge in the ocean caused by the moon’s gravitational pull is easy enough to understand, but what about the other tide, caused by a bulge on the other side of the earth? The (very simplified) explanation goes like this:

To say that the moon orbits the earth is not precicely correct. Actually, the moon and the earth both orbit around a common point which is their center of combined mass. This point happens to be within the earth, but not at its center. Thus, the position of the earth (within the earth/moon system) is not stationary, but travelling in a relatively small circle (whose period is that of the moon’s orbit around the earth). Therefore, just as a person on a merry-go-round feels an apparent centrifugal force (seemingly) pulling them away from the center, the ocean (on the opposite side from the bulge caused by the moon’s gravity) also bulges in response to the apparent centrifugal force caused by the earth “orbiting” around the earth/moon center of gravity. In other words, one of the high tides is caused by the pull of the moon, and the other high tide is caused by centrifugal force.”

Yeah Rod!  And thank you!

Image 1: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

It was 7.2° C (45° F)  in the ocean yesterday. Even in summer, I’ve only experienced a high of about 10° C. 

Typical for Northern Vancouver Island at this time of year, it was also windy enough for us to abort going out for a boat dive.  

Windy, chilly, drizzly, grey . . . what’s a cold-water scuba diver to do?

Get in the cold, dark green water however you can because you KNOW what kind of beauty and wonder are always to be found below the surface, even where you moor your boat! 

And indeed, under the dock, at only 6 m (20′) we found a Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), curled up on a piling, incredibly tolerant of  this ecstatic marine educator. Octopuses are SUCH intelligent animals.  I felt as much like I was being scrutinized as he/she must have felt as I observed and photographed this awe-inspiring creature.  

This individual was “only” about average size (23 to 42 kg).  They can weigh more than 73 kg!  I promise many more details on this species in future blog items.

Image 2: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

There was so much other beauty under the dock but, for this blog posting, I will leave it at sharing the wonder of this Octo-brr octopus. 

 Bring on Novem-brrr to Fe-brrr-ary! The cold-water diving is so worth it! 

To see these (and additional) images from this octopus photo-shoot at full size, click here.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would let me know, via blog comments, which image (#1 to 6) you believe is the best. This will determine which image ends up in next year’s WILD Northern Vancouver Island Calendar.

To see video of a Giant Pacific Octopus subtly changing colour and texture, please see this previous blog item. 

Image 3: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

Image 4: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

Image 5: Oct 29, 2011 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Jackie Hildering.

Image 6: Oct. 29 Giant Pacific Octopus. Photo: Hildering

Chad Chrighton, the pilot who found the Mola mola near the seaplane base. Photo credit: Mike D'Amour (North Island Gazette).

Something very unexpected landed near the Port Hardy seaplane base on October 20th – a dead Mola mola. This is the largest of the world’s ocean sunfishes and looks like a cartoon character rather than a relatively fast-moving, deep-diving fish whose design has been perfected by millions of years of evolution.

This fish species is aptly named since Mola means “millstone” in Latin and indeed this fish looks like a huge, flat, gray circle and has rough skin.  It appears to have no body, only a giant, round, flat head with a small beak-like mouth. It is propelled by two pointy fins (dorsal and anal) and is steered by a wide, rounded, rudder-like tail. 

Photo credit: Erika Grebeldinger.

Mola molas are found in all temperate and tropical seas and are relatively common in the open ocean off our coast; often getting misidentified as sharks. They were believed to be passive drifters who travelled only at the surface, wherever the current took them. However, satellite tracking studies have revealed that they dive deeper than 600 m and travel an average of 10 to 20 km per day, the same distance traveled by open-ocean shark species. 

Matthew Drake measuring the Mola mola. To give you get a sense of size, Matthew is almost 2 m tall (6.5').

They are certainly a rarity on the inside of Vancouver Island however and I greatly appreciate that Matthew Drake let me know about this find and that he undertook a necropsy of the giant together with Louisa Clarke and Natasha Dickinson. (I only recall there being a similarly sized one on the beach in Port Hardy in 2005). 

This Mola mola measured 2.00 m wide, from beak to tail fin, and 2.06 m long, from the tip of one pointy fin to the other. It may have weighed more than 200 kg. Remarkably, this is small for its kind. Mola molas hold the record for being the largest bony fish on earth with an average mass of 1 tonne. The largest Mola molaever recorded was 2,235 kg and 3.10 m by 4.26 m (it was struck by a boat near Australia in the early 1900s). Note that the whale shark can be more than 9 times bigger than this but, it is not a bony fish. 

Mouthparts. Photo credit: Mandy Norrish.

Matt and the team concluded that the Port Hardy Mola mola was female which meant that she could have up to 300 million eggs in her one ovary. This is another record for the species: having more eggs than any other animal with a backbone.  Another astounding fact is that the larvae could grow to be 60 million times their weight at hatching.

The investigation also revealed partially digested jellyfish in her gut, which is the typical prey of Mola molas. Their diet also includes small fish, eelgrass and crustaceans and they are able to spit out and pull in water and food with their unique mouthparts. As with all species that feed on jellies, a conservation concern is that they mistake plastic bags for their food. However, there was no evidence for this being the cause of death for this particular Mola mola.  

Maybe parasites were a factor in her death? The team found lots of skin and intestinal parasites! Some of the round worms in the guts were even still alive. Parasites are common for Mola molas. In fact, it is now believed that the behaviour of “sunning” at the surface (hence, ocean “sunfish”) might be so that birds can feed on the skin parasites and that jumping more than 3 m out of the water might help dislodge some parasites too. Mola molas are also found associated with drifting kelp patches, where small fish can clean away the pests.  

HOLY MOLA you never know what you are going to find in our amazing marine backyard. 

All the information collected will be reported to oceansunfish.org and the mouth parts will end up on display in Telegraph Cove’s Whale Interpretive Centre. 

Beware!  Fabulous Mola mola parasite pictures below! 

Advance only if you are NOT about to eat lunch and/or if you a biology-type like me who can view these kinds of photos in rapturous fascination anytime!

Sources: 

• ARKive images. Click here to see an image of gulls cleaning a Mola mola. Click here for video. 
  
• oceansunfish.org (Where sightings should be reported in order to aid science)
• The Biogeography of Ocean Sunfish (Mola mola) by Lisa Wilkinson
• Sims DW, Queiroz N, Humphries NE, Lima FP, Hays GC, 2009 Long-Term GPS Tracking of Ocean Sunfish Mola mola Offers a New Direction in Fish Monitoring. PLoS ONE 4(10): e7351. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007351
  
• H. Dewar, T. Thys, S.L.H. Teo, C. Farwell, J. O’Sullivan, T. Tobayama,1, M. Soichi, T. Nakatsubo,Y. Kondo, Y. Okada, D.J. Lindsay, G.C. Hays, A. Walli h, K. Weng, J.T. Streelman, S.A. Karl. 2010 Satellite tracking the world’s largest jelly predator, the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, in the Western Pacific Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. JEMBE-4916
• Six fish parasites you don’t want to miss  . . . or catch. Deep Type Flow (blog)
• And thank you Erika Grebeldinger for the clever “Holy Mola” play on words

Her intestines were an astounding mass of worms. Likely the species include the parasitic flatworm, Nematobibothrioides histoidii which is thread-like but can grow to be over 12 m (40'). No one apparently knows just how long they can become, in part because dissections/necropsies on Mola mola are rare events. Photo credit: Natasha Dickinson. Click image to enlarge.

Parasites near the eye. Photo credit: Mandy Norrish. Click image to enlarge.

More great ectoparasites. Photo credit: Matthew Drake. Click image to enlarge.

Her single ovary. Can have 300 million eggs. Photo credit: Natasha Dickinson. Click image to enlarge.

Indeed, a decomposing whale is THIS beautiful and THIS important to the environment.

The clip above, “Whale Fall (after life of a whale)“ from Sharon Shattuck, will be of particular interest to environmental educators and those of you, who like me, have “handled” dead whales for the purposes of science and education. 

Thank you so much Lisa Spaven for bringing this to my attention and a special “shout out” to those who have worked at Telegraph Cove’s Whale Interpretive Centre dedicating themselves to preserving marine mammal skeletons. 

Information about the clip from Andrew Liszewski’s “Who Knew a Decomposing Whale Could Be So Beautiful”: ”Whales can live for 50 to 75 years. But did you know that after they die, their decomposing bodies can support a whole community of organisms and other sea life for an additional 50 to 75 years?

Whale Fall is a short documentary on what happens to the largest mammal on the planet after it dies and sinks to Davy Jones’ locker. Created by Sweet Fern Productions for Radiolab, it’s not only fascinating on an educational level, but it’s also a feast for the eyes through the use of animation, paper cutouts and puppetry. I loved science growing up, but had the educational videos in biology class looked like this, I may have actually paid attention.”

Article on the importance of whale carcasses (includes link to science papers) – “Decades of Dinner – Underwater community begins with the remains of a whale; Science News Online; 2005. 

Giant Pacific Octopus subtly changing colour and texture. Video by Erika Grebeldinger.

Remarkable video of a Giant Pacific Octopus juvenile subtly changing texture and colour to better match its surroundings.

When full grown, this species can be over 7 m from arm tip to arm tip and over 73 kg = the biggest species of octopus in the world.

The video was taken by fellow Top Island Econauts Dive Club diver Erika Grebeldinger during one of our dives last month. It is testament to the calibre of her diving and concern for the environment that she was able to “capture” such natural behaviour. It the octopus had been agitated, s/he would have flashed red, postured and/or inked.

Having previously posted this video on Facebook, I love Will Soltau’s observation of how the octopus leaves no footprint and what a different world it would be if we humans were more like octopus in this respect.

Thank you so much for sharing Erika!

Video below added on November 25th, 2011 from You Tube – Octopus walking on land in California at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.