(CN) --- Far from shore in the middle of the North Atlantic, a beaked snout cuts the water’s surface. At the end of the snout are two sizeable teeth belonging to a finned sea creature that prefers the deep, dark depths of the ocean. In a different era, the creature would have been a myth.
Unlike dolphins and other whales that blow out dramatic sprays of water when they surface, the Sowerby’s beaked whale does not announce its entrance. The species is skittish, cryptic and avoids ships. They can dive for nearly 30 minutes at a time, while another beaked whale species managed a 4-hour dive. Aside from their snouts, beaked whales lack any distinguishing features that would help a casual observer, or a dedicated researcher, easily spot them in the sobering light of day.
"Beaked whales are really cool, but most people haven't heard of them because they are so enigmatic,” Kerri Smith, research fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History said in a statement. “Whales are generally large and charismatic - we can go on whale watching trips and see them in the wild, yet there are entire groups of whale species we know almost nothing about.”
Traditional observation methods fall short when it comes to the species, so their life history and biology remains an enigma. In a study published Monday in the journal Frontiers of Conservation Science, lead author Smith and her fellow researchers analyze 102 Sowerby’s beaked whale samples from the two subpopulations in the Atlantic Ocean and revealing information peels back the curtain on this elusive species.
The lack of readily available living specimens meant the researchers needed to get creative. They took isotope samples from museum specimens, whale carcasses that washed up on beaches or whales caught in the former Atlantic swordfish gillnet fishery in the 1980s and 1990s.
The specimens offer a “treasure trove of data waiting for someone to query them” said Smith, who was a student researcher at the University of Texas at El Paso when she wrote the study as part of an international team of researchers.
Globally, the Sowerby’s beaked whale population remains relatively unknown. Smaller pods live in different regions throughout the North Atlantic and interact in some capacity, like an individual whale moving from one group to another, Smith said in an email.
“We think that might be what Sowerby’s beaked whales are doing --- the majority of the whales we sampled had isotope values that matched to the region from which they were found, but a few individuals had mismatched isotope values,” said Smith. “This could mean that some animals immigrate from one population to another.”
The findings point to the need for more data and possibly two different conservation efforts. Because any effort to conserve the Sowerby’s beaked whale population must account for the scope of the species, whether they’re one large, continuous population that stretches across the North Atlantic or merely pockets of whales making their way in the deep.
“There are still so many unanswered questions about beaked whale distribution, diet, genetics and reproduction,” said Smith.
Future research will likely delve into the specie’s genetic makeup, their population structure and whether these whales are affected by fishing, naval sonar or other human activities. An August 2020 study found that stranded cetaceans, like beaked whales and dolphins, tested positive for the industrial chemical BPA. While researchers could not directly correlate mortality and exposure to the chemical, the effect on the animals’ behavior raises serious red flags about how plastics and other toxic chemicals impact these sea creatures.
Roughly 200 years ago the world did not know the North Atlantic beaked whale existed, and scientists who happened upon the creatures' skulls with their two large teeth and long snouts were baffled. Even today, they remain a slippery species that entices a whole new generation of researchers.
Smith, a researcher who knows the species better than the average whale watcher, has yet to see one in the wild.
“They’re notoriously challenging to study and my research uses samples from dead animals, so I spend a lot of time looking at their bones in museums,” Smith said. “But I hope to have the chance to join a research trip to see some.”
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