Alaska Story Project

ASP 10, whale biologist, Dr. Fred Sharpe

May 06, 2020 Host Dan Kowalski Season 1 Episode 10
Alaska Story Project
ASP 10, whale biologist, Dr. Fred Sharpe
Show Notes

33 years of behavioral research with Alaska's Humpback Whales. 

  • Formative years as a whale biologist. 
  • The remarkable characteristics of Humpback Whales. 
  • Songs of the Humpback Whale. 
  • Whale brains, four times as large as a human brain. 
  • Spindle neurons and social behavior. 
  • Whale communication, ocean acoustics.    
  • "Whale internet". 
  • Concerns:  Ocean noise, ships, military, seismic testing, entanglements. 
  • Warm water anomaly:  "the blob".    
  • Whales and humans:  similarities in social behaviors, cooperation, altruism. 
  • Whale health vigilance:  promising research tools and practices. 
  • Whale vocalizations, structure & implications for what constitutes intelligence.