Journal
The
NEWS | Hospital commissioners swear in [2] COMMUNITY | Fire chief out on medical leave [5] ARTS | ‘The Beauty of Dared Expression’ [9]
WEDNESDAY, January 6, 2016 n VOL. 109, NO. 1 n 75¢
Orca Clingfish: Amazing power Earth quake calf wake found up call dead Killer whale baby identified as transient
by Anna V. Smith Journal reporter
By Leslie Kelly
Special to the Journal
The baby orca that was found dead on the west side of Vancouver Island on Dec. 29 is not a member of the J-pod or L-pod, Michael Harris, executive director of the Pacific Whale Watch Association, confirmed Monday, Jan. 4. The whale was a female transient whale, not a member of the Southern resident population of orcas that frequent Puget Sound waters. “Nothing is absolute until we get the results of the DNA tests back,” Harris said. “And that will take months. But we are pretty confident that this calf was a transient.” He said they made comparisons of a photo of the dead calf to the group’s catalogue and found no shot that matched. He added that there are as many as 500 transient whales that swim up and down the coast. Although a determination of how the whale died won’t come until the DNA results do, Harris said there was no trauma to the whale. “Right now the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada believe it died due to an infection,” he said. “There was no trauma. It was not attacked and we can safely say it had nothing to do with any military activity in the area or ship strike.” Whale advocates worried that the dead calf might have been one of the eight new babies born over the last year to the J-Pod or L-pod group of killer whales in the Puget Sound waters. “Baby whales often die,” he said. “Their mortality rate is about 50 See ORCA, Page 4
By Heather Spaulding Journal reporter Northern clingfish don’t look like much at a glance: basic brownish coloring, dower mouth, typically growing no larger than a few inches, but it has an unbeatable knack for attachment. The suction disc located on its belly is so powerful its attachment forces ranges between 150-250 times its body weight. To put that in perspective, humans are only one or two times their body weight. The fact its suction disc is able to adhere so well to rough surfaces, or substrate, is part of what drew scientists attention. According to Friday Harbor Labs researcher Petra Ditsche, if their ability could be replicated, there could be countless benefits to technology. Surgeons, for example may be able to benefit from a device like this. A tool that could stick to human organs without damaging them could literally be a life saver. There are potentially countless uses for a super strength suction disc. A suction cup so powerful it could stick to the skin of marine mammals for an extended period of time, even during steep dives, could allow researchers to track say, an orca. One major issue researchers have in trying to understand marine mammals has been only being able to observe a small fraction of their life without being invasive. For these scientists, a water proof, durable suction cup could be invaluable. Once clingfish were analyzed under the microscope, it was possible to see why their disc was so effective. To aid with flexibility, the edge of the disc is made of hierarchical structures called papillae. Each papillae is lined with hair, or rods. This elabo-
Contributed photos/ Petra Ditsche
Northern clingfish are unique because of their powerful suction ability.
rate design helps the animal grasp on to the rocky substrate and prevents water from seeping underneath, ruining the suctions lower pressure.For the last two years Ditsche has been researching clingfish at the Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington. “I was impressed with their ability to stick to slippery surfaces, and their strength.” Ditsche said. By looking at the way that nature uses certain processes, humans can glean information for their own uses as well. “We look at nature, learn from nature and try to copy it. But biological systems are complicated, usually much more complicated than technical ones,” Ditsche said. “So the first step is we study the underlying mechanisms thoughtfully, but in the next step we usually have to simplify the design in order to make it technically doable. Usually nature is still better, but we can come closer. Nature’s solutions have often been proven over sometimes millions of years of evolution. Why not make use of that?” Ditsche and her research team molded sandpaper, the commercial kind from the hardware store, and they easily adhered to the surface. They then made rougher sandpaper by hand, gluing little pebbles to cardboard and making it steadily rougher. “The cardboard was incredibly rough before they started having trouble,” Ditsche said. “Its really quite amazing.” She began studying animal attachment in Germany, where she met Adam Summers, a professor from the See CLING, Page 4
It was cold, crisp night, just before midnight, and Scott Damon had settled down to watch a movie on his boat, docked at West Sound Marina on Orcas Island. He had turned on his TV with the volume up high when he felt his 85-foot boat start to shake violently. “I thought it was an explosion on the boat,” Damon said. “So I ran down to the engine room with a flashlight to find out, but there wasn’t anything there.” Confused, Damon returned to the galley to check out the rest of the boat. When he found everything untouched, he thought it must have been an explosion on Orcas Island, or an earthquake. Damon would later find out See QUAKE, Page 4
Journal deadlines
Display advertising: Friday at noon Classified advertising: Monday at noon Legal advertising: Thursday at noon Press releases, Letters: Friday at 3 p.m.
How to reach us
Office: 378-5696 Fax: 1-888-562-8818 Editor: editor@sanjuanjournal.com