logo
Researchers hope tracking zooplankton from space will help endangered whales

Researchers hope tracking zooplankton from space will help endangered whales

CBC29-05-2025
Researchers are hoping a technique that identifies zooplankton from space will eventually help them track the movement of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of Maine.
Scientists at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine are using NASA satellite data to attempt to identify Calanus finmarchicus, the tiny zooplankton that are the main food source of North Atlantic right whales.
The zooplankton, which are smaller than a grain of rice, contain a reddish pigment — the same pigment that makes salmon look pink. When large quantities of the creatures congregate at the water's surface, that pigment affects the spectrum of sunlight that is absorbed and reflected, and the satellite can detect the resulting colour shift.
The researchers hope that by tracking the presence of zooplankton, they will someday be able to predict the movement of North Atlantic right whales, and hone attempts to protect them.
"The Gulf of Maine conditions have been changing. They've been rapidly warming. And we believe that means their main food source has moved to a different location," says Catherine Mitchell, a senior research scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory and co-author of a new study about the ocean colour technique.
"So if we know where the whales are, it could help inform the conversation around their conservation."
North Atlantic right whales are nearing extinction, with only about 370 remaining, and only about 70 breeding females.
After 17 dead whales were identified in Canada and the United States in 2017, Canada implemented restrictions on fishing and ship speeds in certain areas of the Atlantic region to prevent further deaths due to vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear.
Knowing where the whales are, and where they might go, could help governments more efficiently use fishing closures or vessel speed restrictions to protect them.
Seeing red
The Bigelow Laboratory researchers got the idea of using the satellite data to try to find Calanus finmarchicus from a previous study that was done off Norway.
But when they started reviewing the data from the Gulf of Maine dating back to 2003, they noticed something unusual.
"We were detecting patterns out of the season when we would expect to see Calanus finmarchicus, which made us realize that we were seeing other things too," Mitchell said.
The model was picking up not just Calanus finmarchicus, but other zooplankton that contain the same red pigment. Mitchell and Rebekah Shunmugapandi, lead author and post-doctoral scientist at the Bigelow Laboratory, are now trying to refine their method to try to pinpoint the North Atlantic right whale's favourite food species.
Shunmugapandi is working to validate some of the satellite data with in-the-water observations from researchers in the Gulf of Maine as well as actual right whale sightings.
"They move along with their prey, right?" Shunmugapandi said. "So with all those in situ Calunus and the right whale sighting data set … it's kind of a reverse study that I'm doing."
New satellite, new possibilities
One potential solution to differentiating Calanus finmarchicus from other red-pigmented zooplankton could be orbiting the Earth right now.
The researchers have so far relied on data from NASA's Aqua satellite, but the instrument used to capture the light spectrum, MODIS, is nearing the end of its lifespan. However, NASA's newer PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite, which was launched last year, could vastly improve scientists' abilities to analyze ocean colour.
Aqua's light-detecting instrument identifies 10 wavelengths of light. The researchers used only three of its wavelengths for their study.
The new instrument aboard PACE, called the Ocean Color Instrument, can detect 280 wavelengths.
Shunmugapandi says researchers would need to develop a new computer model to analyze a wider spectrum of light.
"The hope is that with much more wavelengths, we might be able to tease out some more things, particularly things actually like the different species," Mitchell says.
'1 piece of the puzzle'
Currently, zooplankton researchers attempt to identify and track species by collecting them in nets to examine, using video cameras that function as underwater microscopes, and studying acoustics in the water.
Catherine Johnson is a research scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada who specializes in zooplankton ecology.
She says quantifying and identifying zooplankton is difficult because the ocean is so vast and their distribution is variable over space and time. Most sampling techniques work best when they're focused in a specific area or time frame.
Johnson, who was not involved in the new study, says remote sensing of zooplankton could be a tool in the toolbox of scientists.
"It has the potential to provide good coverage over space and time if you're looking for exceptionally dense and large aggregations that are right near the surface," she said.
"It's one piece of the puzzle, and I think that the study is a proof of concept to try to apply these methods in an area where they haven't been applied before."
Mitchell and Shunmugapandi agree there's lots more work to be done.
"Science is a process and we're not saying that this satellite product we've made is the be-all and end-all answer to understanding where right whales are," says Mitchell. "We are just trying to provide an extra piece of information that could be useful to the story and helpful to people."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

U.S. hospital says it never agreed to deactivate inmate's heart device before execution
U.S. hospital says it never agreed to deactivate inmate's heart device before execution

CTV News

time11 hours ago

  • CTV News

U.S. hospital says it never agreed to deactivate inmate's heart device before execution

This undated booking photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Corrections shows Byron Black. (Tennessee Department of Corrections via AP, File) NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee hospital says it never agreed to a request by state officials who face a court order to turn off a death row inmate's heart-regulating implant before his execution next week. After a Nashville judge ordered the deactivation of Byron Black's device, a Tennessee Department of Correction official said in a court declaration that Nashville General Hospital told her they could disable it the day before his Aug. 5 execution at 10 a.m., but wouldn't come to the prison on execution day, as the judge had ordered. The judge ultimately allowed some leniency, saying Black could be moved to the hospital the morning of the execution. But on Wednesday, Nashville General Hospital spokesperson Cathy Poole said the medical center did not agree to participate at all, saying the hospital 'has no role in State executions.' The statement adds a significant complication to the court case, which relied on the state's comment about Nashville General's expected involvement. The order is under appeal, as the days dwindle before the execution. Black's attorneys say his heart device would continuously shock him in an attempt to restore his heart's normal rhythm due to the lethal injection of pentobarbital, but the state disputes that and argues that even if shocks were triggered, that Black wouldn't feel them. WPLN-FM first reported on the statement from the hospital, which said, 'Earlier reports of Nashville General Hospital's involvement are inaccurate.' 'The correctional healthcare provider contracted by the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), did not contact appropriate Nashville General Hospital leadership with its request to deactivate the implanted defibrillator,' Poole said. 'Any assertion the hospital would participate in the procedure was premature. 'Our contract with the correctional healthcare provider is to support the ongoing medical care of its patients,' Poole continued. 'This request is well outside of that agreement and would also require cooperation with several other entities, all of which have indicated they are unwilling to participate.' A spokesperson for the state Department of Correction referred a request for comment to the attorney general's office, which did not immediately respond. Kelley Henry, an attorney for Black, said, 'TDOC has mishandled this situation from the beginning. My hope is that the Governor will issue a reprieve to avoid a gruesome spectacle.' Black's final appeals for a reprieve are pending in state and federal courts, and through a clemency request with GOP Gov. Bill Lee. They also include an intellectual disability claim. The state has since sought to overturn the order to deactivate Black's implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, including when and where to do it. The state Supreme Court is considering the request. The state has said the lower-court judge lacked authority to order the device disabled. The state also says the order to transport Black to the hospital the morning of the execution presents a 'very real risk of danger to TDOC personnel, hospital patients/staff, the public, and even Black,' mentioning protesters. It's about 7 miles (11 kilometers) from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to Nashville General Hospital. Henry, Black's attorney, said the state presented 'zero evidence of security risk,' including from the frail, 69-year-old Black or the pacifists who protest executions by prayer. Henry also said state officials had not really tried to find a doctor willing to come to the prison. Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of his girlfriend Angela Clay, 29, and her two daughters, Latoya, 9, and Lakeisha, 6. Prosecutors said he was in a jealous rage when he shot the three at their home. At the time, Black was on work-release while serving time for shooting and wounding Clay's estranged husband. Black's motion related to his heart device came within a general challenge he and other death row inmates filed against the state's new execution protocol. The trial isn't until 2026. The heart device issue also has been a reminder that most medical professionals consider participation in executions a violation of medical ethics. Dan Mann, a talent booking agent and death penalty opponent who has visited Tennessee's death row for years, wrote a letter to Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell and metro councilmembers calling for a resolution against the city's hospital participating in pre-execution procedure. The hospital is governed by a metro Nashville authority, with board members picked by the mayor. Jonathan Mattise, The Associated Press

Johnson & Johnson to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 23rd Annual Global Healthcare Conference
Johnson & Johnson to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 23rd Annual Global Healthcare Conference

Globe and Mail

time12 hours ago

  • Globe and Mail

Johnson & Johnson to Participate in the Morgan Stanley 23rd Annual Global Healthcare Conference

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) will present at the Morgan Stanley 23 rd Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Wednesday, September 10 th, 2025. Management will participate in a Fireside Chat at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time. A live audio webcast of the presentation will be accessible through Johnson & Johnson's Investor Relations website at An archived edition of the session will be available later that day. The audio webcast replay will be available approximately 48 hours after the webcast.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store