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Humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, on Stellwagen Bank off eastern Massachusetts, U.S.A., apparently bottom feed on northern sand lance, Ammodytes dubius. The feeding behavior is characterized by the whales brushing the bottom in depths of less than 40 m, causing sand lance burrowed in the bottom to be flushed up into the water column. The greatest densities of sand lance were in beds of shells and shell debris, termed "shell hash." The brushing against or along the bottom, particularly in these shell hash areas, caused the humpbacks to acquire abrasions and wounding, sometimes rather extensive, of the lateral lower jaw, and lateral and dorso-lateral upper jaw, here termed "jaw scuffing." Scuffing of the dorsal fin and fluke edges was also common and may be at least partially related to this feeding behavior. Both mature and immature, and male and female, humpbacks exhibited jaw scuffing. The bottom-feeding 464 HelpVolumes Main Menu

Both classroom instruction and lexical database development stand to benefit from applied research on sign language, which takes into consideration American Sign Language rules, pedagogical issues, and teacher characteristics. In this study of technical science signs, teachers' experience with signing and, especially, knowledge of content, were found to be essential for the identification of signs appropriate for instruction. The results of this study also indicate a need for a systematic approach to examine both sign selection and its impact on learning by deaf students. Recommendations are made for the development of lexical databases and areas of research for optimizing the use of sign language in instruction.

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