Marine Wildlife Research in the Gulf of Maine
Studies on the marine wildlife that live and feed in the Gulf of Maine have provided insights into this unique and complex ecosystem. Some marine organisms, like phytoplankton and zooplankton, are small and often microscopic in size, yet they are found in abundance as they drift passively with the water currents. Zooplankton are food for other organisms including the Northern right whale, a baleen whale that can reach 60 feet and weigh close to 100 tons and is considered to be the most endangered marine animal offshore. Some species spend their entire lives in these productive coastal waters, while others migrate into the Gulf of Maine to feed on a seasonal basis. Regardless of their size, abundance or residency, each species is an important member of this ecological community that is part of a diverse and often fragile marine ecosystem. 
The image to the right shows the bathymetry of the Gulf of Maine.
This bathymetric map shows the sea floor terrain using a blue color spectrum. Areas of deep water are shaded dark blue and areas of shallow water are shaded light blue.
Image by Ed Roworth and Rich Signell
of the U.S. Geological Survey - USGS
Studying wild populations of marine wildlife at sea is difficult and challenging, but recent advances in technology represent an important tool supporting these research efforts. As in the past, research conducted aboard vessels at sea is costly and time-consuming and the amount of data collected is often dependent upon weather conditions offshore and the ability to locate the subject animal. Today, remote-sensing devices deployed in the atmosphere and in the water column are helping scientists collect data in a cost-saving and time efficient manner. Information collected by satellites orbiting the earth or acoustic buoys anchored close to the ocean floor is sent directly to researchers in their laboratories for future data management and analysis. Combining these new technologies with tried and true techniques, like long-term sighting studies that incorporate photo-identification techniques, have allowed scientists to better understand the biology and ecology of many marine organisms and their interactions in the marine environment.
Long-term studies of large coastal marine wildlife
Starting in the mid 1970’s, biologists and scientists joined forces with commercial whale watching companies operating in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. This arrangement provided researchers an affordable platform that gave them consistent access to wild populations of whales and other marine animals sighted offshore over the course of the trip. Researchers, acting as the onboard naturalist, were able to collect specific sighting information and photographic images on the animals that they observed. In turn, these trained professionals provided educational programs to the paying passengers present aboard the boat. This partnership between the business and research communities continues today and forms the basis of valuable long-term studies on coastal marine wildlife.
Long-term studies based upon benign research techniques have allowed scientists to learn more about the biology and ecology of the great whales and other marine wildlife that live and feed in the waters of the Gulf of Maine. One species of focus has been the humpback whale, a medium-sized baleen whale that is considered endangered worldwide. Humpbacks migrate north each season to feed in the productive coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. For over 3 decades, sighting information and photographic images have been collected on individual humpback whales that can be identified using photo-identification techniques. This has allowed the western North Atlantic humpback whale population to be the most well studied and understood population of large baleen whale in the world.
Individual humpback whales can be identified over the course of a season or from one season to the next using benign photo-identification techniques. Individual whales are
cataloged based on natural body markings and pigmentation patterns unique to each animal. Since many humpbacks return to the same feeding grounds each season, some individuals are followed over the course of their lifetime. The most famous and photographed humpback whale, Salt, is an adult female that has been observed feeding in the Gulf of Maine each year since 1976. By documenting her presence offshore, recording the behaviors she exhibits and noting which years she produces an offspring, researchers are now learning about the biology and life history of this endangered and highly evolved marine mammal.
New technologies are adding to long-term studies by helping scientists better understand their day-to-day activities and their interactions with the marine environment. Acoustic tags that have many of the same sensors as air bags are being attached by suction cups to the back of large whales and provide a detailed view of the orientation and movements of the animal as it moves through the water column. Similar tags are also being attached to large coastal pelagic sharks, like great white and basking sharks, to learn more about their movements over the course of the year. Acoustic sensors are anchored at the ocean floor and record sounds of ships and whales. These underwater detectors allow researchers to better understand the seasonal movements of many different types of animals offshore as well as evaluate the impact from human activities, including commercial vessel traffic, fishing activities, offshore fuel facilities and offshore dumping facilities.
New research technologies based on remote-sensing of the marine environment and long-term tracking of individual animals provides new opportunities in the marine sciences. These tools are helping scientists better understand the complex and often hidden secrets of marine wildlife in the world’s oceans.
