This is a reflection on my week long Humpback Whale intensive class in Puerto Rico that I did in March 2014.
Signing up for the MCERC (Marine and Coastal Ecology Research Center) class on such short notice led to a whirlwind of activity. I received and read the majority of the 100+ pages of research papers in the few short days leading up to my flight.
Most of the flights going into Ponce (closest to San Germán) arrive between 4-7 in the morning. Mine was one of those flights. I was picked up by a young lady from MCERC in their distinctive neon yellow baseball caps, went to the field station and got about an hours sleep before waking up to go snorkeling.
The water was amazing, beautiful and warm. We didn’t hop in right away but did an ecology class to start, taught by the interns it felt, after all of the natural history and ecology classes I’d taken at Sterling, very basic, introductory. This is forgivable I suppose because they deal with all sorts of people with little-no experience. I think it could have been avoided if the PHD candidate had participated or if the intern had been able to deviate from the script a little bit. Regardless, getting the flippers on and snorkeling about the beach (named ‘the stairs’) made up, for me, any perceived lack in the general ecology aspect.
I had a great time swimming around with all the fish, I did not have my 3 by 5 with me that day, nor could I have brought it in the water, but most of the species names elude me. Though Atlantic or Caribbean Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus) looks awful familiar.
Atlantic or Caribbean Blue Tang (courtesy of the internet)
I also saw some squid who inked at me, super cute. Though I’m not sure they’d share the same opinion. I did not notice any outwardly apparent behaviors in the animals I observed, though I’m sure if I could spend a few days in the water with them I’d be able to pick out some variations. Most just appeared to be hanging out and staying generally out of the way of humans. (The second ((and last day)) of snorkeling we did I did get up close and personal ((probably 15′ away- it wouldn’t let me get any closer.. it’s okay I understand)) with a sea turtle about 3 feet in length which was probably a Loggerhead Sea Turtle ((Caretta careta)) though the shell appeared more greenish-yellow than the description would allow. But the turtle I saw had a bit of an over bite just like a Loggerhead.)
Loggerhead Turtle (from wikipedia)
But even if the fish were just chilling they still gave me a good bit of incentive and excitement fro the week to come. What followed were two days of working through data and introductions to software, three days of whale observation and one more day of snorkeling (the one where I saw the turtle).
Two of the observation days were out on the water, in a 30 foot sport fishing motorboat with uncomfortable seats and mildly seasick interns. I don’t specifically remember being told why we were going to specific locations except perhaps that whales had been spotted there before. Though it became clear over the course of the day, that we kept visiting underwater ridges, because this is apparently where male Humpback Whales prefer to sing during their winters in Puerto Rico.
We spent the two days at different parts of the island, also trying to stay on the leeward side of Puerto Rico to avoid as much wave action and chop as possible. While on the water everyone was “on watch” but they had an odd phrase for it, and it meant that essentialy every single person on board had to be actively involved in looking for, observing or listening to whales. During this time I was not allowed to have a camera, even on board, nor was I allowed to take my own notes.
All in all we heard 4-5 whales while we were on the boat and of those we spotted maybe 3. When we spotted other objects- planes, boats, helicopters, swimmers, etc. we would have to quickly yell “get ready for a mark on a…” followed by all the relevant data for that object (and what appeared to me to be some not-so-relevant data) including size (for boats 0-5m ‘small’, 5-15m ‘medium’, or >15m ‘large’- it didn’t matter whether it was a cruise ship, freighter, barge or yacht), distance, whether under sail or motor (or drifting), heading, bearing, and whether it had a cabin or not. Most of these were quite approximate and the level of subjectivity left me skeptical. To say the least.
When we saw whales we had to make guesses about most of the same details (and making note of their behavior) and would immediately give chase or stop depending on the distance.
Listening to the whales and setting up and using the equipment (primarily hydrophones) to do so was the best part of the days on the water. The art of finding the sounds and then the sheer variety of sounds the whales make was overwhelming. Putting the headphones on to listen I couldn’t help smiling. Which reminded me of my first time entering Yosemite and crying at the wonder of it all.
Idealized (Humpback) Whale Song broken down into its elements.
Visual of an audio recording of a Humpback Whale
Their songs can be described scientifically or even poetically but I think experiencing it is really the only way to do whale song justice. I say the art of listening to the whales because, at least, with the equipment we had at MCERC it was a challenge to hold the hydrophones to capture it in the best possible way and to hear past the water and distinguish different parts of the song and what they meant was no easy feat.
The next best part of my week there with MCERC was probably the shore observation time and learning to use a theolodite – though much to my chagrin, I did not get a chance to use the theolodite in the field. Only the PHD candidate used it, I suppose the interns and students were not to be trusted with that particular piece o fequipment. The process for spotting whales remained nearly the same but for the theolodite and the fact that we ourselves were not moving, nor able to listen to their song.
Despite the great learning opportunities I did have, I would not recommend the experience at MCERC to others who were looking to do the same, especially those from Sterling. At the most I might suggest going for the intern / “research assistant” position(s) where there would at least be opportunity to more fully engage in the research process. The whole experience felt a little hollow and exploitative of the people who were essentially paying for the project to happen and the research be done (aka the students). For instance the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on behavior (navy showers, no internet) and an emphasis on teamwork to get chores done, to make the experience “feel” like a remote research station, while the interns spent the evenings all over youtube and did not take strictly navy showers and the PHD Candidate did nothing to help with chores, while the house sits in a normal suburban neighborhood, yeah, made me a little sour. Perhaps being male and every other person at the place being female had something to do with it, but the group there felt very insular and were not very inclusive or welcoming to me (where they seemed more welcoming of the other student who did happen to be female), if it had felt differently I probably could have overlooked some of the other things.
Overall, despite it’s humback focus and number (in my opinion) failings, I think my experience at the MCERC was important for at least introducing me to the equipment, methods and programs, and now I have a better understanding of what I should focus on in the future if I plan on continuing to observe whales.
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