BoatU.S. - December 2011

Wasser is a biologist who pioneered methods of extracting hormones and genetic material from the droppings of other animals.

A KEEN NOSE SAVES THE WHALES?

WANTED: RESEARCHASSISTANT. Must be comfortable working in small boats on open water and have an interest in marine life. High-energy team player who enjoys exciting days at sea preferred.

around the San Juan Islands aboard a Grady-White Tournament 21, balanced on the bow with his nose to windward. Behind him will be a crew of graduate students poised for action with just what you’d expect for such research — specially designed pooper-scoopers. Tucker can smell whale scat up to a mile away and navigators must track the wind direction to be in position to recover it. The trick for the boat operator is to keep both bow and nose in a whale’s “scent cone” without approaching too close and disturbing the animal’s behavior.

“We use feces because it’s the easiest to collect and it provides a window into the physiological changes in the animal,” he explained. “I developed the idea to use dogs when my research was being conducted in Africa in the 1980s. During that time I developed ways of measuring stress through the reproductive hormones in mammals.” Wasser adapted his techniques to the declining killer-whale population found from May to October in these waters. Also known as orcas, what’s identified as the Southern Resident population suddenly and inexplicably declined over 20 percent in the late 1990s and now numbers only about 86 animals.

OVERHAND KNOTS AND HITCHES
OVERHAND KNOTS AND HITCHES
OVERHAND SHORTENING
OVERHAND SHORTENING

If that sounds like your dream job, you’re not only too late; you’re the wrong species. This job is already taken by a spunky Labrador retriever named Tucker, a key member of a University of Washington, Seattle, research team working to understand the decline of Puget Sound’s killer whales. Tucker’s special skill? It’s his keen sense of smell because this canine’s career is spent on the foredeck of a small boat sniffing out the key “ingredient” in the research — whale poop.

“The decline of the Chinook salmon is the biggest factor impacting the whales,” Wasser said, but he theorizes that pollution from industrial toxins in Puget Sound and the increase in whale-watching boats are also factors.

During the summer months, the black Lab in the orange life jacket can be found enjoying Puget Sound and the waters

VERHAND SHORTENING

There will probably be many occasions when too long for the job at hand, so knowing how a rope is valuable. There are a number of diff or this purpose – many ornamental in appea the overhand shortening knot is one of the s This method involves shortening the rope it into three, and tying an overhand knot in th ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; and provided you make sure that there are n the rope, it will hold the three pieces togethe

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There will probably be many occasions when a rope is too long for the job at hand, so knowing how to shorten a rope is valuable. There are a number of different knots for this purpose – many ornamental in appearance – but he overhand shortening knot is one of the simplest. This method involves shortening the rope by folding it into three, and tying an overhand knot in the centre to ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; and provided you make sure that there are no twists in the rope, it will hold the three pieces together safely.

Since 2006, Dr. Samuel Wasser, head of the university’s Center for Conservation Biology, has used furry, four-legged research assistants to locate whale droppings as an important clue to the decline of the whales, now listed as endangered by the U.S. and Canada as well as the state of Washington.

In the boat, Wasser’s team watches Tucker’s behavior and when he starts getting excited, they know he’s “on the scent”; there’s scat to be scooped nearby. Tucker knows that when they recover the sample, he’ll be rewarded with a game of tug-of-war with his favorite ball toy. If Lassie made her mark saving Timmy, maybe Tucker will make his saving the whales.

— SUZANNAH LYDECKER

Reeds Knot Handbook, A pocket guide to knots, hitches and bends, By Jim Whippy, 9781408139455, $9.95, Published by Adlard Coles Nautical, www.adlardcoles.com

Overhand Shortening Knot

THERE WILL PROBABLY BE MANY OCCASIONS when a rope is too long for the job at hand, so knowing ho o shorten a rope is valuable. There are a number of different knots for this purpose – many ornamental in appearance – but the overhand shortening knot is one of the simplest. This method involves shortening the rope by folding it into three, and tying an overhand knot in the center to hold the parts firmly. The overhand knot is very secure, and provided you make sure that there are no twists in the rope, it will hold the three pieces together safely.