Assessing the Distribution and Health of Humpback Whales in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS), NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries
Humpback Whale Population Surveying + Risk and Health Estimates in Maui County
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) was established in 1992 to protect North Pacific Humpback Whales populations and their habitat in Hawai’i. It is the principal winter breeding ground for humpbacks, and is the only known region in the United States where they breed, calve, and nurse their young. Key threats to the sanctuary include entanglement in derelict fishing gear, vessel-collisions, acoustic pollution, water quality, and interactions with marine debris.
During the 2021 whale season, I partnered with HIHWNMS’s researchers to conduct field efforts to study humpback whale populations and their health. Our team focused on behavioral tagging studies led by Research Ecologist Dr. Marc Lammers, and population abundance studies led by Research Specialist Eden Zang. All efforts were conducted aboard the R/V Koholā.
Short-term tagging efforts were conducted in order to better understand the behavior of humpback whales when they dive below the surface. The tags (Customized Animal Tracking Solutions, DTAG, Acousonde) used in the studies measure sound, dive behavior, the whales’ three-dimensional movements, and in some cases, they also capture video. The tags are attached to the back of the whale using suction cups which can stay attached for minutes to days. Additional data collected included photographs of whale flukes taken to identify individual whales, photos of the animal’s left and right dorsal fins to help track individuals in groups, and if deemed necessary, biopsy samples were taken to determine sex and age class. At times, hydrophones were placed in the water column to record males that were “singing.”
Vessel-based surveys were conducted to better quantify whale abundance off west Maui. Whale sightings were recorded along a systematic transect line that has been surveyed for the last several years. Distance sampling methods were used during surveys which allow for the estimation of whale densities in the study area. The data are then used to create a time series of whale abundance off west Maui within and between seasons.
Additionally, in partnership with Ed Lyman, Acting Regional Large Whale Entanglement Response Coordinator under NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, our team focused on risk and health estimates. This included taking dorsal and fluke photos of individuals in competition pods to analyze scars from derelict fishing gear and/or vessel collisions.
Photo: Liah McPherson of Marine Mammal Research Program, University of Hawai’i.
Plastic Ingestion by Pelagic Seabirds in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Center for Marine Debris Research (CMDR), Oceanic Institute, Hawai’i Pacific University
Wedge-tailed Shearwater Plastic Ingestion on O‘ahu
The Main Hawaiian Islands experience increased marine debris presence due to surrounding bathymetry, northeast trade winds, and the adjacency to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Most debris present in Hawaiian waters originates from various circulation-driven accumulation areas in the North Pacific Ocean like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which has an estimated 1.8 trillion plastic pieces. In winter months, debris is transported south of the gyre and broken down into microplastics via physical processes, and filtered out by the Hawaiian archipelago. In turn, plastic ingestion has become a growing issue in many local marine species including far-ranging pelagic seabirds, particularly of the Procellariiformes order i.e., albatrosses, petrels, and shearwaters which mistaken floating plastic as food.
This project will use an abundant locally-breeding seabird, the Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica, WTSH), to quantify plastic ingestion rates of pelagic seabirds on O‘ahu. The specific aims of this research include 1) determine the overall plastic presence in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters from 2011-2014 2) quantify the incidence of ingested microplastics by type, polymer, and color 3) determine annual variability in plastic presence and mass 4) determine the relationship between ingested prey vs. plastic 5) discern plastic incidence and mass difference by stomach chamber. This approach builds upon the notion that seabirds are proven ecosystem sentinels, and that their movements and behavior are useful for evaluating changing ocean conditions and the design of marine protected areas.
ADVISORS
Dr. David Hyrenbach, Hawai’i Pacific University. His main research interests are the oceanic habitats of far-ranging pelagic vertebrates (seabirds, turtles, cetaceans, tunas), and the physical mechanisms (upwelling, convergence) that define predictable areas of enhanced biological activity in pelagic systems. His objective is to incorporate an understanding of natural history and oceanography into the design of management and conservation strategies (i.e., gear modifications, area closures, Marine Protected Areas) to protect highly mobile pelagic species and their dynamic habitats.
Dr. Elliott Hazen, University of California, Santa Cruz. NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. He is interested in the role of forage species in structuring pelagic food webs. Specifically, his research focuses on 1) the link between oceanography and prey distributions, 2) the link between prey distribution and top predator behavior, and 3) understanding scale dependence on trophic interactions. Collaborating with social scientists and fisheries managers, he has investigated the effects of human-environment interactions and proposed methods to optimally manage human behavior and ecosystem resources together.
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“Sarah has a natural affinity and compassion for environmental health and marine ecosystems. Her passion and social consciousness for environmental science makes her a trailblazer in the field. As Sarah has a very impressive background, her diverse experiences embody her dedication to making a meaningful impact in the environmental health and marine science fields. Sarah is a great team member; whereas, she is high spirited, intelligent, self-motivated, goal oriented, remains optimistic through adversity and is a great problem solver.” – Destini Garrison, Science Communication Specialist at Technical Resources International, Inc.
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Developing Climate-based Analytical Tools for Monitoring, Mapping, and Forecasting Infectious Diseases Globally
Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR), Goddard Space Flight Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
How Extreme Climate Conditions Driven by the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are Associated with Increased Disease Outbreaks in Teleconnected Regions
Our group focused on developing climate-based analytical tools for monitoring, mapping, and forecasting infectious diseases globally, which included dengue, chikungunya, Rift Valley fever, cholera and others. Epidemiological data from 1980-2019 was collected from publicly available sources such as the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ProMED, national public health agencies, and from peer-reviewed literature. Outbreak data was overlaid with various climate and ancillary parameters including rate of precipitation, land surface temperature, near surface temperature, specific humidity, soil moisture, vegetation index, elevation, etc. Data was used to understand how extreme climate conditions as driven by the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) are associated with increased disease outbreaks in teleconnected regions. These projects have allowed farmers in foreign nations to determine when to vaccinate their livestock accordingly, in preparation for predicted high risk outbreak times, and alert foreign personnel of ongoing outbreaks.
Waterborne Diseases Studied: Botulism, Campylobacteriosis, Cryptosporidiosis, Cyclosporiasis, Dysentery, Giardiasis, Hepatitis A, Legionellosis, Leptospirosis, Listeriosis, Pertussis, Salmonellosis, Shiga-Toxin Producing E. coli, Shigellosis, Tularemia, Typhoid Fever, Vibrosis.
Vector-borne Diseases Studied: Chikungunya, Dengue, Eastern Equine Encephalitis. Malaria, Rift Valley Fever, St. Louis Encephalitis, West Nile Virus, Yellow Fever, Zika.
In one of our projects, collected outbreak data served as the basis for machine learning models for mapping and forecasting chikungunya worldwide. The model was used to generate monthly chikungunya risk and forecasting maps sent to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. CHIKRisk was operationalized in 2019 and aims to inform the Combatant Commands on the current and expected risk for chikungunya worldwide.
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“Sarah demonstrates unquestionable integrity and ethics, an unequalled desire to fulfill her mission, attention to detail, patience and going beyond the call of duty to deliver on requirements. She is independent, as well as a good team member, and is easy to work with as part of a large research group effort. Her curiosity for the environment and inquisitive mind makes her an excellent companion on field studies.”
Dr. Assaf Anyamba
Principal Scientist
USRA, GESTAR Program
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
“Sarah is a valued and outstanding member of our team. Her strong determination and analytics skills enable her to complete her tasks very well and will go beyond what is needed to produce a better and more reliable dataset. Sarah brings a positive attitude to work and easily establishes good rapport with multidisciplinary team members. She always gets the job done beyond expectation with very little guidance.”
Dr. Radina Soebiyanto
Data Scientist at USAID, Former Research Scientist / Project Technical Lead
USRA, GESTAR Program
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
“Sarah is a brilliant and hard working person. She is dedicated to her work and is always ready to help everyone.”
Bhaskar Bishnoi
Software Engineer
USRA, GESTAR Program
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Sarah Hutchinson 