Dr. Tracy Romano, Mystic Aquarium, will be Featured in Jean-Michel Cousteau's "Ocean Adventures"

By Becky Giantonio 

Mystic, CT - In October 2008, the beluga whales of Cook Inlet, Alaska, were added to the endangered species list. Their surroundings are a site of dramatic climate change – a global threat for species everywhere. How is climate change affecting the belugas? And are the belugas themselves indicators of climate change? Dr. Tracy Romano, senior vice president of research and zoological operations at Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration, is working to find answers to these questions through research highlighted in “Sea Ghosts”, part of the Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures series. The episode will air locally on April 8 at 8 p.m. on CPTV.

In this episode, Cousteau travels with his team to the high Arctic to discover why some beluga whale groups are thriving and others are disappearing. There, he meets with researchers, including Dr. Romano, in Point Lay, Alaska, to find answers.

Dr. Romano regularly travels to Point Lay, Alaska, where she studies the wild beluga population alongside other researchers and town natives. She and researchers in Point Lay are trying to better understand the travel patterns of the belugas and how those patterns may be affected by the changing climate and its effects on sea ice. The group also regularly collects blood samples to monitor the whales’ health and determine whether climate change is having an impact on their well-being.

In the future, the data from this population will be compared to that of Cook Inlet’s, with the aquarium’s three resident belugas serving as baseline. Comparison of health measures of wild belugas with belugas maintained in an aquarium setting will create a frame of reference for these values under controlled conditions, as the medical history of the animals, age, diet, water temperatures and chemistries are known.

All of this data will help Dr. Romano and her colleagues better understand belugas’ health, and how belugas respond to environmental change, including human-related factors, ultimately contributing to the long-term survival of the species.

For a preview of “Sea Ghosts”, more information on the Ocean Adventures series and local air times, visit PBS.org.

About Sea Research Foundation, Inc.
Mystic Aquarium, Institute for Exploration and Immersion Learning are divisions of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a private, non-profit, charitable organization incorporated in the State of Connecticut. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.

Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration
55 Coogan Blvd.
Mystic, CT 06355
www.mysticaquarium.org

Photo caption: Scientists, including Dr. Romano (in yellow), and Point Lay natives work together to place satellite tags on belugas and collect blood samples.