Featured Image Credit: DeepSeaNews
We have one word for researchers at OSU.
EW.
For the past two summers, the Oregon State University team has been pooper scooping in the Pacific Ocean. Believe it or not, a whale’s #2 can be as long as 40 feet and weigh up to 30 tons. We sure hope they feel better after that… Just saying.
Leigh Torres is the leading marine ecologist on the project, which is funded by NOAA, and she described the exciting process, “When it happens somebody yells out ‘POOP!’ and we all spring into action.” Torres continued, “Somebody gets on the net and drags it through the water and it’s a really exciting moment on the boat where we’re all sort of trying to coordinate our actions in order to get the best sample possible.”
The team of scientists usually trails a pod of whales in an inflatable boat. They’re searching for the reddish-clouds that, without a doubt, lead to a “biological gold mine.”
It’s pretty fascinating what the OSU scientists are able to learn from studying whale feces. For example, they can analyze the hormone levels to determine the impact of noise pollution on the mammals’s behavior. Torres pointed out that previous studies already show that ocean noise impacts whales’ communication, which for obvious reason can seriously hinder the population.
Want to read more about the team’s abnormal efforts? Go ahead! We’re gonna leave this one (or two) to the experts.