Photo-identification is not just for whales! MMI researchers and interns use photo-id to evaluate habitat use of harbor seals along the central Oregon coast. Harbor seals haul out on rocks during low tide to rest. This creates the perfect opportunity to collect photographs of the seals and their unique spot patterns. Collecting these photographs at several haul-out sites along the coast, researchers can compare photographs from each region to gain a better understanding of the habitat use of the seals. Aimee Aguilar, an undergraduate intern with MMI, spent most of her summer taking photographs and cataloging individual seals at the haul-out site in Alsea Bay.
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.
A new paper authored by Leila Lemos describes the variability of hormones in the fecal samples collected from different age and sex classes of gray whales in Oregon over three years. The work was part of Dr. Lemos's graduate research at MMI.
Jim Rice was recently interviewed by the Willamette Week about the process of responding to marine mammal strandings on the Oregon coast.
