WEBVTT - Ep. 361: Backwoods University - America's Amazon 0:00:02.440 --> 0:00:06.439 Welcome to Backwoods University, a place where we focus on wildlife, 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:09.760 wild places and the people who dedicate their lives to 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:14.160 conserving both. I'm your host, Lake Pickle. On this episode, 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:18.680 we're setting seal into uncharted waters. Literally, we're gonna learn 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.720 about one of the most recognizable but still unstudied areas, 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:25.599 the Gulf of Mexico, American. 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:38.080 Y'all know what I am. 0:00:38.159 --> 0:00:41.280 Now, Before we dive into the brackish water of this episode, 0:00:41.479 --> 0:00:43.519 I want to draw our attention back to part of 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:47.120 a previous conversation that I had with Steve Vanella when 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:50.480 we were just about to launch this podcast. It went 0:00:50.560 --> 0:00:53.640 like this, talk about the podcast, what it's gonna be like, 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:59.920 So Backwood University very wildlife biology based, but also like 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:04.000 the influence of humans on these animals positive or negative? 0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:04.679 Got it? 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:08.080 But the influence is usually very strong one way or 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.160 the other. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not so great. 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:12.400 But no, that's what's kind of focusing in on. 0:01:12.680 --> 0:01:14.760 Yeah, nothing has escaped us. 0:01:15.160 --> 0:01:19.640 No, nothing has escaped us. I mean truly, that seems 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:22.360 to be the case. And honestly, with many of the 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:26.240 subjects in previous episodes, I've had at least some knowledge 0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:30.160 or hunch of what our specific human influence was going in. 0:01:30.520 --> 0:01:33.280 But in this particular episode and the topic of the 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:37.520 Gulf and even more specifically the Mississippi Sound, I didn't 0:01:37.600 --> 0:01:41.440 know how much the idea of nothing escaping us would 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:43.920 come into play. I mean, don't get me wrong. I 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.840 figured I would find something. I just I didn't think 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:48.320 it would be as shocking as this. 0:01:49.400 --> 0:01:52.880 When you travel to our beautiful Mississippi Gulf coast and 0:01:52.960 --> 0:01:55.520 it is, it is beautiful, and I love it. As 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:58.800 you're traveling down Highway ninety and you're looking out at 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:01.920 this beautiful white beach, the first thing you have to 0:02:02.000 --> 0:02:05.760 understand is that is they call it a man made beach. Okay, 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:11.360 it's real sand. But what happened was Mississippi did not 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:14.040 have this pristine, beautiful zen beach. 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:16.880 Back in the day. It was a marsh. 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:22.400 It was a basically multi level estuary marsh land followed 0:02:22.400 --> 0:02:26.360 by oyster reefs, and so it was not something you 0:02:26.360 --> 0:02:29.160 could go walk on and have a beautiful beach day. 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:34.120 And so the idea was, let's let's have a beach 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.800 because it's going to beautiful. And it is and it 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.520 is very nice, But what are we going to do 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.600 with all that estuary drainage that was there. What they 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:48.720 did was they have storm water pipes. So as you're 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.240 driving down our Highway ninety and we're looking at our 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:54.400 beautiful beaches, you're going to see these big black pipes. 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:59.880 Ever so often those black pipes are storm drain runoff water. 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.959 It funnels into the sound and all it is. They 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.600 took what used to just trickle in and filtered into 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:14.519 a pipe scenario. And unfortunately, those pipes come from an 0:03:14.639 --> 0:03:21.200 ever increasing urban area. Humans right, and so DEEQ, Missippi 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:26.600 Department Environmental Quality, DMR, Missippi Department Marine Resources, everyone is 0:03:26.639 --> 0:03:30.720 working together to do water testing at those runoff pipes, 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:35.800 and unfortunately, those runoff pipes have occasional bouts of high 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:42.320 levels of ekali and contaminants. That is a problem that 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:45.360 is very well known. And then they make an announcement, Hey, 0:03:45.440 --> 0:03:47.760 that beach is closed. No one wants to hear a 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:50.880 beach is closed. So now they just say, we don't 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:54.680 advise to swim and water if you're immune compromised right 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:59.720 now at this particular location. It's problematic on so many levels. 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.520 Problematic for tourism, it's problematic for the environment, and the 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:06.560 problem is not right there at the beach level. It's 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:12.800 somewhere up upstream, you know. And so when we can 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.080 sort of come up with a solution to help filter 0:04:16.279 --> 0:04:21.040 that water before it just basically cap waters into the sound. 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.360 Which is what the estuaries were doing. 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:27.320 What the estuaries were doing. And then imagine also that 0:04:27.400 --> 0:04:31.560 all those oyster reefs and oysters are amazing filters. We 0:04:32.120 --> 0:04:36.160 have created this environment which we love and it's beautiful, 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:39.000 but now we're going to have to think a little 0:04:39.000 --> 0:04:44.040 bit about helping nature help us. So that is absolutely 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:46.560 something that is on the radar down here, and it 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.600 is a problem that we are aware of. 0:04:49.360 --> 0:04:52.440 In the nineteen fifties and efforts to generate tourism revenue 0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:56.799 and create recreational opportunities, the state of Mississippi undertook construction 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.520 of what would be the largest man made beach in 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.720 the world in present day, that title has since been 0:05:02.720 --> 0:05:05.400 taken over by some of the areas in Dubai, but 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:07.839 it still ranks pretty high up there on the list, 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:12.000 over twenty six miles of man made beach. The real 0:05:12.080 --> 0:05:15.920 tragedy here is the marshes, wetlands and estuaries that were 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:17.480 there beforehand. 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:19.120 Those things act as. 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:23.000 Natural water filters, which is crucial because this particular area 0:05:23.120 --> 0:05:25.839 is right where the Mississippi River as well as several 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.320 other rivers dumped directly into the Gulf, as well as 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:33.440 mainland runoff from ever growing urban areas. And I have 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.560 to make a confession here. I'm a Mississippi native. I 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:39.719 have lived here in this state virtually my whole life, 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:43.800 and up until today, I had no idea that those 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:47.080 beaches were constructed by the hand of man. And frankly, 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:51.200 I'm shocked and now my brain is reeling with so 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:52.720 many different questions. 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:54.200 What are the effects of this? 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:57.200 Is this why beaches in Mississippi get such a stick 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.960 for having dirty water? How does this affect the fish? 0:06:00.440 --> 0:06:00.919 Our health? 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:04.240 And ultimately, if I didn't know a fact about my 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:07.120 own backyard that was as big as important as this, 0:06:07.760 --> 0:06:12.880 what else do I not know? The voice that you 0:06:12.920 --> 0:06:16.640 heard me talking to is doctor Holly Morocco, a marine biologist, 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:20.760 a passionate naturalist and conservationist, and a genuine savant on 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.960 the Gulf. Before we dive into this full fledged conversation 0:06:24.080 --> 0:06:27.320 with doctor Morocco, I think it's important that we experience 0:06:27.400 --> 0:06:31.000 the salty waters of the Gulf and Mississippi Sound for ourselves. 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:36.000 All I can think about now is what that would 0:06:36.000 --> 0:06:36.440 have looked like. 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:40.039 Mm hm, imagine giant oorsterifs. You know. 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:42.520 Yeah, well that's a real shame. 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:45.880 It really is. Times. Yeah, it's a real shame. 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:49.960 I'm now riding inside doctor Morocco's research boat. We just 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:52.599 left the marina out of Past Christian, Mississippi, and we're 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.080 headed to go search for dolphins. But as we shoot 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.640 across the top of the choppy water, my eyes are 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:01.280 constantly being drawn back to the white saint beaches. I've 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:05.720 seen these beaches my entire life, but now I just 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:09.200 can't look at them the same. It's really an odd feeling. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:11.840 It's like a watered down version of finding out Santa 0:07:11.840 --> 0:07:14.320 Claus isn't real. I don't really know what to do 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:15.280 with it, to be honest. 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:19.080 The average stepth of the fountain is twelve feet o kid. 0:07:19.160 --> 0:07:25.679 It very shallow area, and it's a wind based tide system, 0:07:26.960 --> 0:07:29.280 so the winds are fishing things in and out. 0:07:30.200 --> 0:07:32.680 As Doctor Morocco gives me some quick facts about the 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:35.480 Mississippi Sound, all of us on the boat are constantly 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.960 scanning the water trying to catch the glimpse of a dolphin. 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:40.840 It wasn't too long before we saw a dorsal fin 0:07:41.000 --> 0:07:42.240 break the surface of the water. 0:07:42.840 --> 0:07:54.400 Oh look, so you're right, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm. 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:56.280 Gonna put it in neutral and we can just sort 0:07:56.280 --> 0:08:00.560 of sit there. You go, another another nice little So 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:02.080 this is all. 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.720 Feeding behavior right now, when they're popping up and going. 0:08:06.360 --> 0:08:09.680 So we got a lot of good, good action right 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:10.320 in front of us. 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.080 As we sit with the boat in neutral looking at 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:15.360 these dolphins come up for a breath, some of the 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:18.280 crew aboard begins taking pictures with a long lens camera. 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.760 My initial thought was they just wanted some good dolphin photos, 0:08:21.800 --> 0:08:25.360 but doctor Morocco quickly explained to me that this is 0:08:25.400 --> 0:08:28.720 a part of a very extensive project. The pictures are 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:32.400 specifically targeted at the animal's dorsal fin. Unbeknownst to me, 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:35.760 a dolphin can be identified by its dorsal fin, much 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.120 like humans can be identified by their fingerprints. Each one 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.680 is unique to the individual animal, so creating a catalog 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.400 of photos over the years, they're able to learn more 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:50.079 about population density, population health, certain skin diseases that can 0:08:50.080 --> 0:08:54.560 be indicators for water quality. It's really fascinating stuff. So 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:57.080 do you do you think, like, so these you're causing 0:08:57.080 --> 0:08:58.959 around cat Island and you probably see. 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:00.920 It the same dolphins like multiple times. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:04.120 Over absolutely and scientifically we'll be able to prove that 0:09:04.160 --> 0:09:07.000 once we have these matching fins, you know, over time 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.440 and this can this is this is a little years 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:13.320 of work will help us establish these types of things. 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:15.520 But for now, I we absolutely know we seen the 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:19.680 same dolphins. Gotcha, and this is really prime dolphin nursery habitat. 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:21.320 Dolphins give birth out here. 0:09:21.480 --> 0:09:22.240 What time of here is that? 0:09:22.440 --> 0:09:25.920 And that's here we see most births in late February 0:09:26.000 --> 0:09:29.320 and March, gotcha, but it is it could happen anytime 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:29.679 of year. 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:32.200 Dolphins are able to give birth anytime. 0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:35.280 These will all be bottle thoseed dolphins. 0:09:35.640 --> 0:09:37.880 Dolphins, And look at that bird. 0:09:38.160 --> 0:09:42.880 That is a really cool that's frigate birds and frigates. 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:43.240 Come in in the wind. 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:47.040 But that's a they're really cool figger bird. 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.200 After a few more dolphin viewings and quick lessons, we 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.000 turned the boat around and headed back towards the marina. 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:55.920 I learned very quickly that this is a subject that 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:59.480 requires a much more in depth conversation to even begin 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.360 to underst stand it all. But before that, I want 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:04.560 to share one more story from the boat ride that 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:08.000 doctor Verrocco refers to as one of her favorite facts 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:09.520 about Mississippi dolphins. 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.120 So I will tell you my favorite dolphins story about 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:18.480 Mississippi dolphins, okay, and that is that we have hardhead 0:10:18.559 --> 0:10:21.800 catfish yep, the catfish that live out here with saltwater 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:22.560 catfish yep. 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:25.400 And they are nasty. 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.320 They have these spines that are like bony spines that 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:30.680 will absolutely kill you. 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:32.080 Yeah, it will hurt if. 0:10:31.960 --> 0:10:36.000 You try to pick up a catfish. So in Florida, 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:40.280 dolphins have washed ashore dead with catfish stuck in their esophagus. 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:43.240 So they try to swallow a catfish their spines going 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:46.720 into the esophagus and they're dead. They literally death by 0:10:46.800 --> 0:10:48.960 catfish that's trying and need a cap. And that is 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:51.400 not there's our dolphins right there. 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:53.239 Not uncommon. 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:57.920 When you walk the beaches here in Mississippi, you're gonna 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:03.360 see a catfish head randomly strewn across the beaches. Our 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.880 dolphins have learned to pop the heads off with the 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.800 spines and eat the body of the cat No kidding. 0:11:09.880 --> 0:11:12.760 It is a very specific feeding technique that's been passed 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:16.040 down from generation to generation of dolphins here, and so 0:11:16.120 --> 0:11:18.400 whenever you're on the beach and you see a catfish head, 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:21.880 it's probably a twisted spine. That is a dolphin that 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.120 has figured out how to flee off the head and eat. 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:26.360 So our dolphins know how to eat. 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:29.040 Catfish that slick. We got smart dogs. 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:30.120 We got smart dolphins. 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:35.480 Take that, Florida. Our dolphins are smarter than yours. Anyways, 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.240 I want to learn more about this subject. I think 0:11:38.280 --> 0:11:41.080 there's a much bigger story here than we realize, and 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:44.400 doctor Morocco is a perfect person to talk to about it. 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:47.960 Tell me about the Mississippi Sound. I know that's a 0:11:48.000 --> 0:11:49.360 broad question. 0:11:49.960 --> 0:11:56.199 So the Mississippi Sound basically extends from the Louisiana Mississippi 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:59.320 line all the way over to the Alabama Mississippi line, 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:04.280 and it's bordered by the mainland in the north and 0:12:04.320 --> 0:12:07.920 then in the south. We have these beautiful barrier islands 0:12:08.440 --> 0:12:10.959 many people have heard of. Some folks may have been 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:14.079 able to visit. The Ship Island is one that people 0:12:14.120 --> 0:12:14.920 are able to visit. 0:12:15.320 --> 0:12:16.520 And so these these. 0:12:16.400 --> 0:12:22.600 Barrier islands in the northern mainland creates this amazing estuary habitat, 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.880 and that is the Mississippi Sound. And I think one 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.400 of the things that makes it really remarkable is the 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:32.400 sheer amount of river influence. 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:33.800 That it has. 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:39.200 A it's a brackish estuary. The salinity varies, but we 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:43.040 have a ton of river influences, including the Pascagoula River 0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:46.760 of course, the Mississippi River borders. We have the Mobile 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:50.920 Delta on the other side, the Bay Saint Louis, the 0:12:50.920 --> 0:12:53.680 Wolf River, the Jordan River, And so I think a 0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:56.320 lot of times people don't realize just the sheer amount 0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.120 of river influence that we have for the Sound. 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:03.240 Does all that river influence does it have any like 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:05.880 how much effect does that have on the different species 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:07.720 that we have in the Sound? 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:08.400 Sure? 0:13:08.559 --> 0:13:11.520 Yeah, yeah. So it's a dynamic habitat. It's a it's 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:14.920 a changing habitat because of that salinity flux. If you 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:18.080 have a lot of rainfall or you know, extra river runoff, 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:21.440 you're gonna have a lot more fresh water entering. Or 0:13:21.480 --> 0:13:24.560 if you have a huge storm pushing gulf water you know, 0:13:24.800 --> 0:13:28.120 towards the mainland, you're gonna have more salinity. This is 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:32.520 the perfect habitat for oysters. Oysters need a nice balance 0:13:32.600 --> 0:13:37.120 of salinity changing Shrimp do really well in this. It's 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:40.960 really good for sediment. Essentially, the Mississippi Sound is a 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:45.719 perfect nursery habitat for young fish for you know, all. 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:47.680 The fish that we like to fish for as well. 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:49.800 There's a lot of food, a lot of. 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:53.240 Things to eat, and so it's a it's a it's 0:13:53.280 --> 0:13:56.520 an incredibly dynamic habitat for for lots of things. 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:01.360 I found this significantly interesting. Within in fluence from multiple rivers, 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:04.800 the Mississippi Sound is what's referred to as brackish water, 0:14:05.000 --> 0:14:09.000 which basically means it falls somewhere in between freshwater and saltwater, 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:12.800 and the ratio of saltwater to freshwater can fluctuate depending 0:14:12.840 --> 0:14:16.160 on the river influence, which makes for an extremely dynamic 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:20.280 in constantly changing habitat. This results in a unique array 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:24.320 of wildlife diversity in the area. Redfish, speckled trout, flounder, 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:27.160 kobea shrimp, sharks, and dolphins. Just to hit a few 0:14:27.200 --> 0:14:30.400 of the high notes. But let's be honest, that's something 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.480 a lot of folks know. Let's focus in on something 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.440 that not a lot of folks know. Including myself before 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:43.000 this interview. When we talk about managing game species on land, 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:45.760 like deer turkeys, a term that we here come up 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:49.160 all the time is habitat. We recognize it as being 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.800 a key part in why species are able to survive 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.680 in an area. But in terms of aquatic species, we 0:14:54.800 --> 0:14:57.320 tend to know a lot less about what is below 0:14:57.360 --> 0:15:00.920 the surface other than the fish themselves, because just like 0:15:01.000 --> 0:15:05.240 land animals, aquatic wildlife requires different habitats. And when I 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:08.760 started asking doctor Morocco about the habitat features of the Gulf, 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:10.840 I really started to get my mind blown. 0:15:11.320 --> 0:15:14.920 As you make your way past the Barrier Islands, that's 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:18.680 when you actually enter the Gulf, and as you are 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.880 traveling south past the Barrier Islands, you're going to reach 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:26.560 a canyon drop off, the DeSoto Canyon, and it's this 0:15:27.320 --> 0:15:32.640 incredibly amazing habitat where the Mississippi River has an influence. 0:15:33.560 --> 0:15:37.560 The depth, you know, the massive drop in depth where 0:15:37.600 --> 0:15:40.480 you know you're reaching thousands of feet, you know, from 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:44.280 thirty to sixty feet down to hundreds to thousands of feet, 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:49.560 and so it creates this incredible diversity of life in 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:50.800 that area. 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:53.640 I think we can all agree that when we hear 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:56.160 the word canyon, most of us think about the ones 0:15:56.200 --> 0:15:58.760 that we see on land, which goes back to the 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:01.880 point I was making earlier. Few of us think about 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:05.320 the entire world that lives just below the surface of 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:08.880 the salty water we call the ocean. The DeSoto Canyon, 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:13.360 only sixty miles offshore, cuts through the Gulf's soft sloping 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:17.280 continental shelf and forms a giant underwater canyon that is 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:21.160 over three thousand feet deep and forms an incredibly unique 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:25.520 habitat that supports crazy amounts of marine life like corals, fish, 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:29.040 and whales. Some scientists will tell you that we know 0:16:29.240 --> 0:16:32.280 less about the floor of the ocean than the surface 0:16:32.360 --> 0:16:36.880 of the moon. How crazy is that. I want to 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.480 hear doctor Morocco's take on some of the crazy marine 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:42.000 life that lives around this canyon that most of us 0:16:42.080 --> 0:16:45.600 are completely unaware of. Tell me about giant squid. 0:16:46.960 --> 0:16:52.920 So I was just absolutely so excited, because of course 0:16:52.960 --> 0:16:56.120 I pay attention to these science science things. Being a scientist, 0:16:57.000 --> 0:16:58.240 I would be it would be. 0:16:58.200 --> 0:16:59.400 Bad if I didn't pay attention. 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:05.080 But I'm always excited when I hear about researchers from 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:09.520 around the world that come to Gulfport. Mississippi to climb 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:14.800 aboard the r V Point Sir, which is a research vessel. USM, 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:19.000 you know, acquired this vessel not too terribly long ago. 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:20.720 I think they've had it for maybe about ten years. 0:17:20.760 --> 0:17:25.680 Don't quote me on that. They acquired this vessel from Monterey, California. 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:30.359 They brought it over and and this this this boat 0:17:30.359 --> 0:17:33.800 went to work and it booked solid people that want 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:37.240 to study the golf come to Gulfport, Mississippi to hop 0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:41.080 aboard this vessel. And so when I was familiar with 0:17:41.119 --> 0:17:43.960 these giant squid researchers that had been working in Japan 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.280 and they had been able to develop a lure that 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:52.160 was attracting a giant squid, and I was like, that's cool. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:55.199 And then this this researcher when they climbed aboard the 0:17:55.240 --> 0:17:59.359 Point Sir, and then they put the lure, you know, 0:17:59.440 --> 0:18:02.120 right at that Sodo Canyon right it, right right there, 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:05.960 and you know, off of Mississippi and Louisiana, don't you know, 0:18:06.600 --> 0:18:10.360 Really quickly a huge giant squid comes up to their 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:13.639 lore and they got it on video, a living giant squid, 0:18:13.680 --> 0:18:17.800 the first one ever in North American waters right there, 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.840 and and you know, when you think about needle and 0:18:20.880 --> 0:18:23.800 a haystack, what are the chances this is clearly something 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:26.399 that is happening right there in our backyard. 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:27.320 Yeah you would. 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:30.479 I mean you could presume right since if they were 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:34.119 able to pull that off relatively quickly, like hey, that 0:18:34.280 --> 0:18:37.199 maybe means there's more of them down there, not just 0:18:37.240 --> 0:18:39.280 the only one swimming around was like oh hey. 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:41.000 Right, oh hey just so happened to be there. 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:44.399 No, absolutely, you know that statistically that means that we 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:47.159 are you know, there there is some incredible habitat for 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:50.720 giant squid and obviously these cephal pods like octopus and 0:18:51.560 --> 0:18:54.960 squid and so very very exciting. 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:56.000 It's something that. 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:59.960 We could be very proud of collectively as coastal research 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:03.280 to say, you know that we can provide this and 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:06.040 it's something that we need to you know, I just 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:08.800 we can take ownership of these things. You know, we 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:12.119 can be very proud that our southern States have some 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:15.600 incredible marine biodiversity that we can take ownership of. 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:19.119 Allow me to blow Yell's mind for a second. Giant 0:19:19.160 --> 0:19:23.400 squid a thought to be exceedingly rare marine animal. These 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:25.600 things have been known to grow up to forty three 0:19:25.680 --> 0:19:29.560 feet in length and are rarely ever observed alive, and 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:33.359 the only one ever photographed in North American waters just 0:19:33.480 --> 0:19:36.840 happened to take place sixty miles off the Mississippi Gulf 0:19:36.880 --> 0:19:40.320 coast in the DeSoto Canyon. Are you kidding me right now? 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.679 And this is not even old news. This happened just 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:46.560 around five years ago, and I'm not even done yet. 0:19:46.720 --> 0:19:49.159 Guess what else is swimming around in these waters? 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:52.720 How crazy is it that you could technically potentially have 0:19:52.920 --> 0:19:56.160 a well watching tour leave out of Mississippi to go 0:19:56.520 --> 0:20:01.280 well watching, which is just absolutely sane. Okay, so it's 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:03.760 a little bit harder than that. But the truth is, 0:20:04.400 --> 0:20:07.240 we have a resident population of sperm whales that live 0:20:08.119 --> 0:20:12.760 off of our shores, and it ranges anywhere from you know, 0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:16.080 fifty to eighty miles. They're living at that canyon drop 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:19.919 off area, that DeSoto Canyon where the Mississippi the Mouth 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:25.800 drains into the Gulf, and we know they're they're there, 0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:29.960 they live there. Studies have been few and far between, 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:33.320 so we don't have a full understanding of exactly how 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.280 they utilize the habitat, but we do know that we 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.120 see moms and calves, we see you know them there 0:20:39.280 --> 0:20:43.280 year round and so with you know, it's something that 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.960 we need to do a better job of studying and understanding, 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:54.639 especially as the Mississippi River dynamics are in constant flux 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.800 and change and the nutrients that are going in that 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:01.359 are potentially feeding the animals these sperm whales are living 0:21:01.359 --> 0:21:04.879 off of. We need to understand all of that now, 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:10.400 you know, before something changes, are or if we look 0:21:10.440 --> 0:21:15.240 at it now and realize that, you know, potentially we 0:21:15.359 --> 0:21:19.359 are we are putting things into the water that don't 0:21:19.359 --> 0:21:21.760 need to be there, that are not helping this this 0:21:21.840 --> 0:21:23.960 particular population of sperm whales. 0:21:24.760 --> 0:21:25.800 How big are these things? 0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:31.399 So a sperm whale is the largest toothed well and 0:21:31.480 --> 0:21:35.280 so you know, little little science, quick quick biology science lesson. 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:38.480 When you think of the big whales, most of the 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:41.080 time you're thinking of something that is a filter feeder. 0:21:41.640 --> 0:21:45.880 They have the bayleen. Many people remember that from school, 0:21:45.960 --> 0:21:50.440 where they filter these tiny little kreole or little microscopic creatures. 0:21:50.680 --> 0:21:54.080 They filter it through those those plates and they feed 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:56.520 that way. So the big giant blue whales and on 0:21:56.680 --> 0:22:00.880 back whales, but sperm whales actually have teeth. They are 0:22:01.800 --> 0:22:04.840 toothed whales and they are the largest and they're you know, 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:08.560 as long as a school bus and just this absolutely, 0:22:09.160 --> 0:22:13.040 you know, an incredible animal that was very important back 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:16.800 in the whaling days when people were you know, harvesting 0:22:16.800 --> 0:22:19.280 whales for energy. Sperm whales are one of the most 0:22:19.280 --> 0:22:22.800 important ones that they did. Another quick fun fact, we 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:24.240 had a whaling industry in the. 0:22:24.160 --> 0:22:27.840 Golf really at wet sure did in the Gulf. In 0:22:27.880 --> 0:22:31.359 the Gulf, people like going out of Mississippi, even going. 0:22:31.119 --> 0:22:34.760 Out of Mississippi Louisiana and going down there and literally 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:38.520 harpooning sperm whales in the Gulf. I know, I've been 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:41.120 doing as much digging as I can, and not being 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:44.879 a historian, I haven't necessarily had the time but our energy, 0:22:44.920 --> 0:22:48.400 but it's been I've done enough to know that How 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:51.280 crazy is it that that we had whaling here? 0:22:52.840 --> 0:22:54.919 Raise your hand if you knew there was a resident 0:22:55.000 --> 0:22:59.160 population of sperm whales right off the Mississippi coast. Raise 0:22:59.200 --> 0:23:01.080