About This Project

Baseline indices for steroid hormone levels in humpback whales do not exist, and current monitoring techniques are invasive. Hormones can advise in management, and help in understanding climate change related population shifts. We want to test if whale snot is reliable in collecting sufficient data without disturbing them. By analyzing hormone levels in both blubber and snot, we can establish hormone level baselines from blubber, and see whether less invasive snot-collecting is just as telling.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Understanding baseline physiology of animals is one way in which we can assess health. By looking at steroid hormones we can understand metrics like stress and reproductive capacity. These tools help to determine why a population is thriving or failing. In a climate of rapid change, it is even more imperative to understand what 'normal' is in these animals. This baseline can then be used to evaluate if management strategies are necessary to protect failing populations (More on hormones).

In addition to understanding baselines, it is important to disturb wild animals as little as possible. By looking at different ways in which steroid hormones can be collected (like whale snot), we can find an option which is minimally invasive, while still collecting invaluable information.

What is the significance of this project?

Scientists can never have enough tools when working on a question. Our world is a rapidly evolving, technology ridden place. Scientists must also evolve and adapt to all options available to them. Drones are a huge buzz technology at the moment and have many potential outlets for research. While it has been proven that drones are able to collect whale snot and that it contains traceable amounts of steroid hormones, we do not know if there is a usable amount. By comparing hormone levels in blubber (the current industry standard for assessing hormones) to whale snot, we can see if a similar story is told.

What are the goals of the project?

I have two goals in my research: To determine if whale snot is a viable medium in steroid hormone analysis and to quantify a baseline level of testosterone and cortisol in humpback whale males. For objective one, I have and will continue to collect whale snot (see video) and blubber biopsies from humpback whales. I need both samples, collected in the same time frame, from each whale. For objective two, I am fortunate enough to have access to archived blubber samples. I have currently analyzed 107 humpback whale males and have 200 more to go. I have also collected my own blubber samples in order to create a look at hormones across time. For both objectives, samples are brought back to the lab where they are analyzed for concentrations of specific types of hormones (How?).