Keiki Kohola Project: Whale Research on Maui

FINDINGS SO FAR...

~ 1997 ~
Our work began in 1997, when we ran a short pilot project, to determine how this study could be conducted. During this time we established preliminary sampling protocols and also worked with a team from the BBC, assisting in the making of one of David Attenborough's wildlife specials, entitled "The Whale".

~ 1998 ~
In 1998 our project began in earnest. We looked at the extrinsic factors that may affect calf behaviour, and soon saw that the composition of the pod had considerable impact on the calf. When alone with the mother the calf spent more time resting, or travelling slowly. Typically the mother would rest below and the calf would surface alone, to breathe. During these surface intervals the calf would frequently roll and play at the surface, and towards the end of the season the calves could be quite inquisitive. As escort whales join the mother and calf pod things change. These escorts are males, and though originally thought to be protective, it is now believed that in fact they join the pod in the hope of mating with the mother. In the prescence of multiple escorts the calf shows signs of stress, travels continually and breathes much more frequently.
Whilst this stress is naturally induced, it allows us to quanitfy the calf's response. We hope to use these results in future to assess the degree of stress that human activities, such as commercial whale watching and high speed boat traffic, may have on these young calves.

~ 1999 ~
In the 1999 season we looked more closely at the behavior of individual calves. Our previous results tell us that we must compare behavior according to pod composition, but still we see a great deal of variation. This variation may relate to the age of the calf. As we don't know when - or where - these calves are born, it's difficult to say, but as our work continues into the year 2000 season we're hoping to establish the diifernt age stages of the calves, and from here we can start to work out exactly what sort of environment we need to have in this nursery area in order to give these calves the best start in life.

~ 2000 - 2001~
Through the 2000 and 2001 season we've continued with our work to gather the sample required to determine how the behaviour of the calf may vary with age. We're also looking at behavioural variations that may relate to habitat preferences. As the 2001 season draws to a close we're confident that we have the information we need to answer these questions. We have established a method of ascertaining the relative age of the calf and using this we have been able to compare the behaviour of calves of different ages. Early indications of these results point towards a very mobile period during the first stages, with the mother and calf pairs travelling almost continually. Breathing is intermittent and the calf rarely surfaces alone. As the calf matures surface activity increases and the breathing regime becomes more defined. The amount of time spent travelling diminshes and late stage calves spend a significant portion of their time stalled and resting underwater. Also noticed is a significant trend to move offshore into deeper water as the calf develops. Early stage calves utilise the shallow, in shore areas, but by the later portions of the season the mother and calf pods are frequently found in the mid channel. These results are however in the early stages of analysis. We will be presenting a full interpretation of our work to date at the up-coming World Marine Mammal conference, to be held in November 2001.

~ 2002 ~
The 2002 season provided us with one last chance to complete our data set collected within the interisland channels between Maui, Lanai and Molokai. We concentrated on expanding our sample to ensure that the data sets we have are large enough to reliably represent the calf population in this area, running transect lines through the region and sampling in both inshore and offshore areas. By the end of the season we were confident that we had a representative sample.

The 2002 season also presented us with some our saddest moments to date.A total of 10 calf sick, injured or distressed calves were reported in the area . This is an unprecedented event. Three of the calves were found seperated from their mothers and subsequently predated by sharks, four showed signs of disease and three bore scars indicating that they had been hit by vessels. Of these 10 calves, five are known to have perished. We continue through this research project to work towards better protection for humpback whale calves whilst in these waters and towards uncovering any possible causes that may contribute to this spike in calf mortalities and injuries

~ 2003 ~
The 2003 season saw the relocation of the Keiki Kohola Project to the waters of the North Kona / Kohala coastline, along the western shoreline of the Big Island. Aerial studies indicate that as the humpback whale population in the Hawaiian Islands expands adults are spreading out through the north western portions of the chain, however mother and calf pairs are heading south east, to the waters of the Big Island. Our aim on the Big Island was two fold. Firstly we hoped to determine the relative age of the calf population in this region and to establish whether there was any degree of temporal staging through the islands. And secondly we wanted to compare the behavior of mother and calf pairs in this area, with a view to evaluting the Big Island as an alternate nursery region.

Local volunteers were recruited and a local whale watching company donated a boat for us to use, however the season got off to tricky start. Inclement weather kept us on the dock through most of january, with record breaking surf , interspersed with gusty winds up to 30 knots. In late January the weather finally broke and we got started. We completed a two month season and sampled 70 pods. The data is currently being analysed, however initial results indicate that the coastline of the Big Island is, indeed, heavily utilised by mother and calf pairs.

One positive footnote - After the events of last year all the different research groups were on the lookout for sick or seperated calves. During the extent of the season one seperated calf was observed, over a two day period in the waters off Maui, but there were no further sick calves seen. The cause of last year's problems are still unknown.

~ 2004 ~
Well, 2004 was the season for writing up our results. We took time off the water and put all our efforts into analysing our results to date. First indications are very promising, we have the first ever quantitative estimate of the calf's time budget. We are looking into how the calf's behavior changes with time, as the calf matures, how behavior changes in different islands and how behaviour varies between inshore and offshore habitats. As an end result we will be able to say how the calf matures during the nursery period, we'll be able to define the critical time period, the critical habitat and the critical aspects of calf development . All this information can then be used to ensure that the humpback whale nursery waters of Hawaii are managed in a way that will ensure that Hawaiian calves get the best start in life.