The OSU Marine Mammal Institute integrates research, graduate education, and public outreach to advance our knowledge of marine mammals, train the next generation of professionals, and engage with stakeholders to ensure that these animals and their ecosystems are always healthy.
Early each year, gray whales can be found in the protected, shallow waters of San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The Marine Mammal Institute has been hosting educational expeditions to the lagoon and surrounding areas for more than 30 years. Our Baja Gray Whale Expedition directly supports graduate student education while offering guests a remarkable marine mammal experience. Marine mammal scientists and experienced local naturalists will be among your travel companions.
The Whale Habitat, Ecology, and Telemetry Laboratory focuses on studying whale movements and their relationship to their complex and changing environments.
The Cetacean Conservation and Genomics Laboratory explores the genomes of whales and dolphins to understand the past, assess the present, and conserve the future.
The Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Laboratory focuses on the ecology, behavior and conservation of marine megafauna including cetaceans, pinnipeds, seabirds, and sharks.
The Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network documents occurrences and investigates the causes of marine mammal strandings in Oregon. Learn what to do if you find a marine mammal ashore.
Once a year for two months, the cacophony of barking coming from the Newport Sea Lion Docks falls silent. “They will probably be absent from the Yaquina Bay and most of the Oregon coast from early June to late July,” said Jim Rice, Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Stranding Program manager.
MMI grad student and postdoctoral researchers were recently aboard the R/V Bell M. Shimada as part of ongoing marine mammal surveys. Listen to a 4-min story here to share in their excitement over finding the tiny crustaceans that whales call food.
