Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/12/2012 - 02:50
Forums
Oceanographic Conditions of Bowhead Whale Habitat

Wow 200 years .... I think that's about the right number of years ... I always said that's bout how long I'd like to live on this planet :-). A couple questions:

  1. How confident are scientists in the methods used to age the Bowhead whales? There seems to be a fair bit of room for uncertainty and error.

  2. How many Bowhead whales are there based on current estimates? My apologies in advance if you've already answered this question.

Thanks, Tim Spuck

Wed, 09/12/2012 - 12:45

Lisa Seff

On 9/12/12 3:01 AM, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote:Hi Tim! Yes 200+ years old is pretty amazing. I'm shooting for 105
myself! You're correct in that each age method has some level of
uncertainty, however based on the increase in available methods the
older ages, from 120-200+ years, appear supported by the evidence over
and over again. It goes back to that old, basic scientific method of
repeating the experiment again and again to provide additional evidence.
Using the spearhead and baleen analysis combined with the racemization
techniques have led scientists to reach similar conclusions. The
racemization of amino acids in the eye layer is pretty amazing however
you will notice that the researchers do use the words "age estimates" in
their papers.
The current bowhead whale population in this area numbers somewhere in
the vicinity of 14,000 according to wildlife biologists. In addition to
actual counts and tagging methods hydrophones in the water listen for
whale calls to help complete their counts. Researchers and the Inupiat
feel confident that the population is healthy and increasing.
Great questions! If you'd like more information check out the documents
attached to the Whale Tale journal!
take care and safe seas,
Lisa