page_title: Cetology
section_title: Studying cetaceans
hierarchical_section_title: Cetology / Studying cetaceans
caption_attribution_description: amy Whale, breaching, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
context_page_description: Cetology or whalelore is the branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoise in the scientific order Cetacea. Cetologists, or those who practice cetology, seek to understand and explain cetacean evolution, distribution, morphology, behavior, community dynamics, and other topics.
context_section_description: Studying cetaceans presents numerous challenges. Cetaceans only spend 10% of their time on the surface, and all they do at the surface is breathe. There is very little behavior seen at the surface.  It is also impossible to find any signs that an animal has been in an area. Cetaceans do not leave tracks that can be followed. However, the dung of whales often floats and can be collected to tell important information about their diet and about the role they have in the environment. Many times cetology consists of waiting and paying close attention.
  Cetologists use equipment including hydrophones to listen to calls of communicating animals, binoculars and other optical devices for scanning the horizon, cameras, notes, and a few other devices and tools.
  An alternative method of studying cetaceans is through examination of dead carcasses that wash up on the shore.  If properly collected and stored, these carcasses can provide important information that is difficult to obtain in field studies.
caption: Humpback whales often have distinct markings that enable scientists to identify individuals.
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "2970", "Image ImageLength": "1683", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "75", "Image YResolution": "75", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2014:12:19 11:09:40", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.4.8", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "276", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "426", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4190", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3094", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1753"}