Whales on a Bender
By JR Minkel
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
A long-standing mystery in marine biology is whether whales suffer from decompression sickness, a.k.a. the bends, after rapidly rising from the ocean depths. Biologists worked on the assumption the creatures were immune, but recent reports of beaked whales suffering acute bendslike symptoms after military sonar exposure raised the question anew. Now researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have examined 16 sperm whale skeletons collected since 1870 and found pockmarks and erosion in the bones of adult whales. The damage worsened with age and is consistent with the kind of bone injury that deep-sea divers suffer. If the bends is the culprit, whales have likely evolved behaviors to avoid the malady, such as gradual surfacing, says study co-author Michael Moore, and stressors such as sonar could sicken whales if they disrupt those behaviors. The study surfaced in the December 24, 2004, Science.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
