The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks offers the full text of the February 15, 2001 article entitled "Bowhead Whales May Be the World's Oldest Mammals," written by Ned Rozell. The university presents the article as part of the Alaska Science Forum. Rozell discusses various methods of determining the ages of bowhead whales. Some stone harpoons, believed to be at least one hundred years old, have been found in bowhead whales.

Bowhead whales are amazing creatures that often live lives longer than humans! These whales live in Arctic waters near the North Pole, smashing through thick ice to reach the surface to breathe. Using their baleen, these large mammals feed on tiny animals swimming in the cold waters, while thick blubber keeps them warm in frigid temperatures. Readers explore their everyday lives using the latest scientific research about these long-living animals, and colorful photographs show these gigantic creatures and their unique features up close and personal.

This book is intended to be a cohesive species account of the bowhead whale. Chapters detail the Bering Sea population, evolutionary relationships and classification, anatomy and physiology, behavior, foods and feeding ecology, reproduction, morbidity and mortality, distribution and movement, population size and dynamics, commercial whaling, subsistence whaling, and the influence of man and his activities.

Comprehensive manual for understanding and carrying out marine mammal rescue activities for stranded seals, manatees, dolphins, whales, or sea otters.

determined by an inability to move in response to touch. C. elegans develop through four larval stages following hatching and prior to adulthood. Adult C. elegans are reproductive for about the rst week of adulthood followed by approximately two weeks of post-reproductive adulthood prior to death. Life span is most commonly measured in the laboratory by maintaining the worms on the surface of a nutrie- agar medium (Nematode Growth Medium, NGM) with E. coli OP50 as the bacterial food source (REF). Alternative culture conditions have been described in liquid media; however, these are not widely used for longevity studies. Longevity of the commonly used wild type C. elegans hermaphrodite (N2) varies ? from 16 to 23 days under standard laboratory conditions (20 C, NGM agar, E. coli OP50 food source). Life span can be increased by maintaining animals at lower ambient temperatures and shortened by raising the ambient temperature. Use of a killed bacterial food source, rather than live E. coli, increases lifespan by 2–4 days, and growth of adult animals in the absence of bacteria (axenic growth or bac- rial deprivation) increases median life span to 32–38 days [3, 23, 24]. Under both standard laboratory conditions and bacterial deprivation conditions, wild-derived C. elegans hermaphrodites exhibit longevity comparable to N2 animals [25].

With coverage on all the marine mammals of the world, authors Jefferson, Webber, and Pitman have created a user-friendly guide to identify marine mammals alive in nature (at sea or on the beach), dead specimens "in hand, and also to identify marine mammals based on features of the skull. This handy guide provides marine biologists and interested lay people with detailed descriptions of diagnostic features, illustrations of external appearance, beautiful photographs, dichotomous keys, and more. Full color illustrations and vivid photographs of every living marine mammal species are incorporated, as well as comprehendible maps showing a range of information. For readers who desire further consultation, authors have included a list of literature references at the end of each species account. For an enhanced understanding of habitation, this guide also includes recognizable geographic forms described separately with colorful paintings and photographs. All of these essential tools provided make Marine Mammals of the World the most detailed and authoritative guide available!* Contains superb photographs of every species of marine mammal for accurate identification * Authors' collective experience adds up to 80 years, and have seen nearly all of the species and distinctive geographic forms described in the guide * Provides the most detailed and anatomically accurate illustrations currently available * Special emphasis is placed on the identification of species in "problem groups, such as the beaked whales, long-beaked oceanic dolphin, and southern fur seals * Includes a detailed list of sources for more information at the back of the book.

The Anatomy of Dolphins: Insights into Body Structure and Function is a precise, detailed, fully illustrated, descriptive, and functionally oriented text on the anatomy and morphology of dolphins. It focuses on a number of delphinid species, with keynotes on important dolphin-like genera, such as the harbor porpoise. It also serves as a useful complement for expanding trends and emphases in molecular biology and genetics. The authors share their life-long expertise on marine mammals in various disciplines. Written as a team rather than being prepared as a collection of separate contributions, the result is a uniform and comprehensive style, giving each of the different topics appropriate space. Many color figures, which use the authors' access to wide collections of unique dolphin and whale material, round out this exceptional offering to the field. - Includes high-quality illustrations, drawings, halftone artwork, photographic documentations, microphotos, and tables detailing dolphin anatomy, function, and morphology - Facilitates education and training of students of all basic research and applied sciences dedicated to marine biology and the medical care of marine mammals - Brings together the current knowledge and information on this topic, including those in obscure past or non-English publications, or scattered in short chapters in volumes - Covers a number of delphinid species and serves as a useful complement for expanding trends in molecular biology and genetics