Whales!

The ASU Equine Center could soon be the site of a unique autopsy. Or, to be more precise, the necropsy of a gray whale.

Aldemaro Romero, the chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, said it would be the first time any university has performed a necropsy on a gray whale. The whale carcass, which would come from California, would be obtained through federal authorization since federal law protects the whales. Romero said he expects to receive word when a beached whale is available, possibly by January.

A necropsy is defined as "a dissection to determine cause of death or changes produced by disease." One purpose for this necropsy will be an attempt to discover a reason why gray whales beach themselves. Students will take tissue samples to look for contaminants and examine the organs for parasites.

Necropsies of a smaller scale have already been performed at ASU. In a dissection performed on a common dolphin received from Massachusetts, the liver showed about 15 times the normal level of mercury. To Romero this indicated the dolphin probably died of mercury poisoning.

Biology student Mike Conner participated in the necropsy. "It's the first time I've dissected a marine animal. It was really cool. It wasn't something I expected to do in Arkansas," Conner said.

Conner may not be the only person surprised to find this opportunity offered at ASU. Romero and his department are working to change that perception.

"Nobody has tried to do what we will be doing with this gray whale. We want to create more interest in a (proposed) new marine science minor program," Romero said.

The program is yet to be fully approved, but courses could include marine biology, oceanography and biology of marine mammals. There are proposed plans for both lecture and field research. Romero said he has taken students to the Florida Keys to study dolphins and wants to take students to the Bahamas to study them directly. The plan is to be in the water with them to videotape behavior among individuals.

The ASU Equine Center could soon be the site of a unique autopsy. Or, to be more precise, the necropsy of a gray whale.

Aldemaro Romero, the chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, said it would be the first time any university has performed a necropsy on a gray whale. The whale carcass, which would come from California, would be obtained through federal authorization since federal law protects the whales. Romero said he expects to receive word when a beached whale is available, possibly by January.

A necropsy is defined as "a dissection to determine cause of death or changes produced by disease." One purpose for this necropsy will be an attempt to discover a reason why gray whales beach themselves. Students will take tissue samples to look for contaminants and examine the organs for parasites.

Necropsies of a smaller scale have already been performed at ASU. In a dissection performed on a common dolphin received from Massachusetts, the liver showed about 15 times the normal level of mercury. To Romero this indicated the dolphin probably died of mercury poisoning.

Biology student Mike Conner participated in the necropsy. "It's the first time I've dissected a marine animal. It was really cool. It wasn't something I expected to do in Arkansas," Conner said.

Conner may not be the only person surprised to find this opportunity offered at ASU. Romero and his department are working to change that perception.

"Nobody has tried to do what we will be doing with this gray whale. We want to create more interest in a (proposed) new marine science minor program," Romero said.

The program is yet to be fully approved, but courses could include marine biology, oceanography and biology of marine mammals. There are proposed plans for both lecture and field research. Romero said he has taken students to the Florida Keys to study dolphins and wants to take students to the Bahamas to study them directly. The plan is to be in the water with them to videotape behavior among individuals.

A particular classroom in the Biological Sciences building contains a mixture of marine and land specimens. These range from skulls and bones to complete skeletons, as well as the skin of a polar bear.

A corridor in the Biological Sciences building is currently being remodeled into a mini museum. Displays are to include the whale and dolphin skeletons and a large salt water aquarium and terrarium. Also, a large screen television mounted on a wall will show documentaries produced by the Biological Sciences Department. These, however, can be viewed at any time by entering the A-State Web site and going to the Department of Biological Sciences. The remodeling could be completed in about six weeks.