PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

WHOI and NOAA fisheries release new North Atlantic right whale health assessment review

North Atlantic right whales are a critically endangered species with less than 366 left on the planet

WHOI and NOAA fisheries release new North Atlantic right whale health assessment review
2021-02-25
(Press-News.org) Woods Hole, Mass. (February 25, 2021) -- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) along with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries have released the first broad scale synthesis of available information derived from right whale health assessment techniques. The manuscript published today in the science journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, reviews available tools, and current understanding of the health status and trends of individual whales and the species. The paper concludes with recommendations for additional information needs and necessary management actions to enhance the health of individual right whales. The manuscript is the result of a NOAA Fisheries workshop held in June 2019, in response to the ongoing North Atlantic right whale Unusual Mortality Event (UME) and the critically endangered status of the species. There are an estimated 366 left on the planet. Climate change, vessel strikes, entanglements and noise pollution can result in poor health and reproductive failure and are major threats to individuals and the species. According to lead author Michael Moore, a whale trauma specialist at WHOI, "North Atlantic right whales face a serious risk of extinction, but there is hope if we can work together on solutions. Trauma reduction measures and applying new tools to assess their health are critically important to enhance the welfare of individual whales. If we can reduce the number of deaths, and successfully improve their health to increase reproduction, the current decline in population can be reversed." "Conserving and recovering the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale is a research priority," said co-author Teri Rowles, NOAA Fisheries Senior Advisor for Marine Mammal Health Science. "In addition to the threats posed by humans, changing ocean conditions have profound impacts on where whales travel and how they behave. For these reasons, NOAA Fisheries was pleased to have hosted and sponsored this important workshop among partners to discuss how science can aid management." Bringing together the data and results from existing monitoring tools like aerial and vessel photography, animal sampling and prey dynamics, in the context of vessel and fishing gear trauma offers researchers a better understanding of the challenges, and possible solutions. These include a greater emphasis in slowing vessels and changing their tracks where risk of collision exists; reducing entanglement by closing more high-risk areas to fixed fishing gear that retains rope in the water column; and reducing fishing gear density and strength in other areas. North Atlantic right whales feed in the waters off New England and Eastern Canada and migrate to the waters off the Southeastern United States to give birth in the winter. NOAA Fisheries has designated two critical habitat areas for the North Atlantic population of right whales, including off the coast of New England and off the southeast U.S coast from North Carolina to below Central coastal Florida.

INFORMATION:

Authors, contributors to this study include: Michael J. Moore1, *, Teresa K. Rowles2, Deborah A. Fauquier2, Jason D. Baker3, Ingrid Biedron4, John W. Durban5, Philip K. Hamilton6, Allison G. Henry7, Amy R. Knowlton6, William A. McLellan8, Carolyn A. Miller1, Richard M. Pace III7, Heather M. Pettis6, Stephen Raverty9, Rosalind M. Rolland6, Robert S. Schick10, Sarah M. Sharp11, Cynthia R. Smith12, Len Thomas13, Julie M. van der Hoop1, Michael H. Ziccardi14,15 1Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA 2NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA 3National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Protected Species Division, Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, 1845 Wasp Boulevard, Building 176, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA 4 NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA 5Southall Environmental Associates, 9099 Soquel Drive, Suite 8, Aptos, CA 95003, USA 6Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110, USA 7NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA 8University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA 9Animal Health Center, 1767 Angus Campbell Road, Abbotsford, BC V3G2M3, Canada 10Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Box 90328, Levine Science Research Center, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0328, USA 11International Fund for Animal Welfare, 290 Summer St, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675, USA 12National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Dr #200, San Diego, CA 92106, USA 13Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9LZ, UK 14Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA 15Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA *Corresponding author: mmoore@whoi.edu


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
WHOI and NOAA fisheries release new North Atlantic right whale health assessment review

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Virtual reality program lessens physical side effects of hemodialysis

Virtual reality program lessens physical side effects of hemodialysis
2021-02-25
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Hemodialysis patients routinely experience side effects such as fatigue, lightheadedness and nausea during their treatment sessions. But patients in a study who used a virtual reality program to engage in a mindfulness/meditation exercise reported that these treatment-related symptoms were greatly reduced. Patients in the study wore a head-mounted virtual reality display to participate in a 25-minute mindfulness/meditation intervention called Joviality, a fully immersive experience that transported them to settings away from the clinic. "While virtual reality has been found to be beneficial in pain management and physical rehabilitation, its potential for helping dialysis patients contend with ...

Why do men publish more research papers than women? Motherhood plays key role

2021-02-25
Despite strides in family-leave offerings, and men taking a greater role in parenting, women in academia still experience about a 20% drop in productivity after having a child, while their male counterparts generally do not, according to new University of Colorado Boulder research. The study, published Feb. 24 in the journal Science Advances, suggests that persistent differences in parenting roles are the key reason that men tend to publish more research papers than women. Because publishing is closely linked to promotion, this gap could have long-term impacts on what academia looks like in the future. The researchers also found that while parental leave is critically important for women seeking faculty positions, 43% of institutions have ...

Scientists sniff out how amyloid β contributes to loss of smell in Alzheimer's disease

Scientists sniff out how amyloid β contributes to loss of smell in Alzheimers disease
2021-02-25
Loss of smell or olfactory dysfunction is an early indication of the neurodegenerative Alzheimer's disease (AD) and appears in approximately 90% of all patients. While loss of smell is a major symptom, patients with AD are only unable to recognize specific odors and do not completely lose their sense of smell; this suggests a possible region-specific involvement of the olfactive center in the brain. Amyloid β (Aβ), a toxic protein that accumulates in the brain is a known contributing factor in AD pathogenesis and is also present in the olfactory system that controls the sense of smell. ...

Benefits of team building exercises jeopardised if not truly voluntary

2021-02-25
Benefits of team building exercises jeopardised if not truly voluntary Employees who like to keep their work and private lives separate may want to avoid team-building exercises Study shows why some colleagues hate compulsory team bonding Spending time with people you aren't close could be more effective than general team bonding exercises  Zoom dress up parties, tug-of-war, 'trust falls' and escape rooms - team building exercises have become the go-to tool for managers trying to increase organisational and team rapport and productivity, but unfortunately many employees resent compulsory bonding and often regard ...

Among Ecuador's Shuar, Oregon researchers find how disgust evolved as a human emotion

2021-02-25
EUGENE, Ore. -- Feb. 25, 2021 -- When the pungent smell of rotting food sends a person running, that disgusted feeling is an evolved response that helps avoid exposure to pathogens, say University of Oregon anthropologists. In a project that blended anthropology, biology and psychology, UO researchers explored disgust behaviors among Ecuador's indigenous Shuar people. Those living in the most market-integrated households were found to have the highest levels of disgust sensitivity. The research was detailed in a paper published online Feb. 23 ahead of print ...

Research finds Australian bushfires should change where and how we live

2021-02-25
Climate change-driven extreme weather events, including devastating Australian bushfires, have created the urgent need for a new approach to planning and building in high fire risk areas and a shift to climate-resilient towns and cities. Published in the prestigious 'Nature Urban Sustainability', research co-author John Curtin Distinguished Professor Peter Newman from the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute said climate change had increased the threat of bushfires and other climate change issues driving an urgent need to revise the location and design of settlements. "Bushfires have become more frequent and more ...

With a pinch of salt: How reliable are existing studies on microplastics in table salt?

With a pinch of salt: How reliable are existing studies on microplastics in table salt?
2021-02-25
Just as environmentally conscious scientists predicted, our excessive use of plastics is coming back to bite us. Microplastics (MPs), plastic particles smaller than a few millimeters, can now be found everywhere, but more so in seawater. As expected, MPs are harmful to both environment and health, although their exact effects are unclear. To get a better grasp of the extent of the MP problem, it is necessary to quantify how much we are exposed to them. Table salt has been shown to contain MPs, making it an ideal study target to gauge human exposure to MPs. Although many studies have measured the concentration of ...

El Niño impacts the precipitation recycle ratio over the Tibetan Plateau at interannual timescale

El Niño impacts the precipitation recycle ratio over the Tibetan Plateau at interannual timescale
2021-02-25
The water cycle over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), as known as "Asian Water Tower", is vital to the regional and downstream climate and ecosystem. A new study found that the interannual variability of the summer precipitation recycle ratio over the TP is influenced by the El NIño events in preceding winters. The study was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres and conducted by researchers from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The precipitation recycle ratio is the contribution rate of the local evaporation ...

Ultra-high-resolution X-ray imaging of 3D objects

Ultra-high-resolution X-ray imaging of 3D objects
2021-02-25
X-ray imaging is widely used in areas such as healthcare and forensic science, but existing X-ray machines are unable to capture curved three-dimensional (3D) objects at high resolution, and they are also relatively expensive. Now, an international team of researchers led by chemists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has demonstrated a potential solution to overcome these limitations by using nanocrystals that can trap X-rays. The research, which was conducted with collaborators from Fuzhou University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, could be used not only for healthcare but also to detect defects in electronics, authenticate valuable works of art, or examine archaeological objects at microscopic scale. The findings were ...

Obesity may affect puberty timing and hormones in girls

2021-02-25
WASHINGTON--Puberty looks different, in terms of both reproductive hormones and breast maturation, in girls with excess total body fat, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. Previous studies found that girls with obesity start puberty and experience their first menstrual period earlier than girls with normal weight. It is unknown if excess body fat can alter not only the timing of puberty, but also a girl's reproductive hormone levels and development of reproductive organs such as the breasts, ovaries and uterus. "We found that in mid- to late puberty, girls with greater total body fat demonstrated higher ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Call for papers: 14th Asia-Pacific Conference on Transportation and the Environment (APTE 2025)

A novel disturbance rejection optimal guidance method for enhancing precision landing performance of reusable rockets

New scan method unveils lung function secrets

Searching for hidden medieval stories from the island of the Sagas

Breakthrough study reveals bumetanide treatment restores early social communication in fragile X syndrome mouse model

Neuroscience leader reveals oxytocin's crucial role beyond the 'love hormone' label

Twelve questions to ask your doctor for better brain health in the new year

Microelectronics Science Research Centers to lead charge on next-generation designs and prototypes

Study identifies genetic cause for yellow nail syndrome

New drug to prevent migraine may start working right away

Good news for people with MS: COVID-19 infection not tied to worsening symptoms

Department of Energy announces $179 million for Microelectronics Science Research Centers

Human-related activities continue to threaten global climate and productivity

Public shows greater acceptance of RSV vaccine as vaccine hesitancy appears to have plateaued

Unraveling the power and influence of language

Gene editing tool reduces Alzheimer’s plaque precursor in mice

TNF inhibitors prevent complications in kids with Crohn's disease, recommended as first-line therapies

Twisted Edison: Bright, elliptically polarized incandescent light

Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription

Breaking boundaries: Researchers isolate quantum coherence in classical light systems

Brain map clarifies neuronal connectivity behind motor function

Researchers find compromised indoor air in homes following Marshall Fire

Months after Colorado's Marshall Fire, residents of surviving homes reported health symptoms, poor air quality

Identification of chemical constituents and blood-absorbed components of Shenqi Fuzheng extract based on UPLC-triple-TOF/MS technology

'Glass fences' hinder Japanese female faculty in international research, study finds

Vector winds forecast by numerical weather prediction models still in need of optimization

New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer’s disease

Trends in buprenorphine dispensing among adolescents and young adults in the US

Emergency department physicians vary widely in their likelihood of hospitalizing a patient, even within the same facility

Firearm and motor vehicle pediatric deaths— intersections of age, sex, race, and ethnicity

[Press-News.org] WHOI and NOAA fisheries release new North Atlantic right whale health assessment review
North Atlantic right whales are a critically endangered species with less than 366 left on the planet