Whale Observation

During this third quarter of our science class we are focusing on the observation of Hawaiian Humpback whales. The purpose is to develop a better understanding of the humpbacks whales. I am going to be trying to determine whether there are more humpback whales in Hawaii during the beginning of the migration period or towards the end. I believe there will be more whale activity during the beginning of the season, this will probably be because of the decrease of the water temperature in Alaska so according the their animal instincts they try to begin to migrate as soon as possible. For the first half of our observation the class went to McGregors point where we recorded data on all the whales discovered while there. It feels really good doing work out of the classroom and actually interacting and doing work in an outside enviroment. I was suprised about how many whales we saw during our first observation, even though we could only see them blowing water out of their spouts. It was much more interesting than it was challenging.

Using a Clinometer helps us determine the distance of the whales we are observing.

First, we look through the straw directly at the whale. Whatever number the weight falls on is the angle of inclination. Next, we find the elevation by using a GPS device. Add the numbers into the following formula: Distance=elevation*tan(angle).

On our trip to mcGregors point we had discovered 12 whales and during our whale watch we spotted 14!

Sadly, I wasn't able to make it to the whale watch segment of our lab due to the fact that I have motion sickness and always tend to get sea sick. It would've been a very amazing experience since I've never been on a whale watch and it was upsetting I had to miss out. Thanks to my friends who did go on the whale watch I collected all the data needed to come up with my conclusion:

More whales were discovered during the end of the migration period which proved my hypothesis to be wrong :( We could've made many errors during our collection of data, like miscounting the whales or the weather could have been to blame. I've learned alot about whales which definitley makes me appreciate them more!