A new study from Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute shows many of the cetaceans once thought to be part of a resident population travel long distances. But during the three-year study, 18 of the 33 whales scientists tracked hung out at Point St. George in California, said Barbara Lagerquist, a senior faculty research assistant with the institute.
Blue whales reach their massive size by relying on their exceptional memories to find historically productive feeding sites rather than responding in real time to emerging prey patches, a new study concludes.
Researchers from Mexico and the United States have concluded that a population of fin whales in the rich Gulf of California ecosystem may live there year-round -- an unusual circumstance for a whale species known to migrate across ocean basins. Results of the study are being published today in the journal PLOS ONE.
MMI graduate Dr. Alana Alexander has been awarded a Rutherford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship for research entitled, “Hologenomics for conservation: a first test of utility.” Congratulations, Alana!
The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is seeking whale lovers to participate in its annual Whale Watching Spoken Here program. The first of three training sessions is set for Saturday, Dec. 1, in Newport, at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. Training will be delivered by Dr. Bruce Mate, an expert on whales and director of the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute.
Oregon Public Broadcasting filmed Dr. Leigh Torres in action, as she researches underwater sound and whale health.
Oregon State University scientists have used drone-mounted cameras to capture the more curious antics of gray whales, which includes swimming upside down or snapping their jaws.
Scientists at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute have pioneered new ways of documenting these incredible whale defecation events with aerial drones. Leigh Torres, an OSU MMI marine ecologist, is a specialist in this field who has helped capture illuminating views of gray whales for several years.
There’s a set of massive whale bones resting on the bottom of the bay in Newport, Oregon. Scientists from Oregon State University put them there with a plan for a future display on shore. But they’re having trouble finding the money to retrieve the rare blue whale skeleton from beneath the waves. “Basically, we’re ready to bring it up and start putting it together,” said OSU Marine Mammal Institute Director Bruce Mate.
The population data created with Wildbook’s help can be used for much more than a census. At Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute, professor Scott Baker uses the software to understand humpback whale migrations in the North Pacific. “It’s what we might call an informatics revolution,” said Baker.
Dr. Bruce Mate and Dr. Leigh Torres will be among the speakers at the Whale Trail Interpretive Sign Dedication and Community Celebration at Don Davis Park in Newport, Saturday, August 11. The Whale Trail network of viewing sites helps to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and the marine environment.
[VIDEO] While many Alaskans may not think of sharks having the same presence here as in other areas of the country or world, scientists are learning a lot from the species found off of Alaska's coasts. "Really we have no idea how many are out there and where they really hang out and what they do," Markus Horning, Science Director at the Alaska SeaLife Center said about his research on sleeper sharks. Earlier this summer, Horning and his team spent five days on the water in Resurrection Bay hoping to catch a sleeper shark.
[AUDIO] MMI Associate Professor and Alaska SeaLife Center Science Director Markus Horning joins host Anne Hillman and other guests to talk about the sharks found in Alaska waters and how his studies on sea lions led him to research sleeper sharks.
Springtime is pup season. At this time of year, harbor seal pups are frequently found alone on area beaches. They are usually not stranded, but simply resting (as all baby mammals must do) and waiting for their mothers to come back ashore to nurse them. Adult female seals are shy and unlikely to rejoin a pup if there is activity nearby. They may only return to suckle their pup at night when people (and dogs) are not around. It is very important not to interfere with this process, and especially not to move a pup from where it is receiving care from its mother.
Within three or four weeks of birth, harbor seal pups are weaned from maternal care and are left to fend for...
Springtime is pup season. At this time of year, harbor seal pups are frequently found alone on area beaches. They are usually not stranded, but simply resting (as all baby mammals must do) and waiting for their mothers to come back ashore to nurse them. Adult female seals are shy and unlikely to rejoin a pup if there is activity nearby. They may only return to suckle their pup at night when people (and dogs) are not around. It is very important not to interfere with this process, and especially not to move a pup from where it is receiving care from its mother.
Within three or four weeks of birth, harbor seal pups are weaned from maternal care and are left to fend for...
At springtime, harbor seal pups are frequently found alone on area beaches. They are usually not stranded but simply resting and waiting for their mothers to come back ashore to nurse them. Adult female seals are shy and unlikely to rejoin a pup if there is activity nearby. Please remember to stay away from seal pups and to keep dogs from disturbing them. Mother seals may only return to suckle their pup at night when people and dogs are not around. It is very important not to interfere with this process, and especially not to move a pup from where it is receiving care from its mother.
When endangered killer whales swim through the sheltered waters of Puget Sound, they leave behind traces of “environmental DNA” that researchers can detect as much as two hours later, a new study has found. The findings, published today in the journal Frontiers, are surprising and significant. They not only provide a new non-invasive way to study whales, they may help scientists locate cetacean species that are known but have rarely been detected – including...
It appears that Oregon will have a new license plate with the image of a gray whale mother and her calf after the Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute sold its 3,000th voucher for the plates earlier this week. The Marine Mammal Institute will continue to sell the $40 vouchers for the next few weeks at www.whaleplate.com, For each voucher sold, the institute will receive $35, which will help fund marine mammal research and education. “There has been a great deal of enthusiasm from Oregonians for the new plates – not only because of how striking they are, but also because they will help fund whale conservation efforts,” said OSU’s Bruce Mate, who directs the institute.
We are pleased to congratulate Ellie Bors on receiving a Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar award. Dr. Bors is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Cetacean Conservation and Genomics Laboratory at the OSU Marine Mammal Institute, where she is developing molecular methods to age Cook Inlet beluga whales. Her Fulbright Arctic Initiative project will explore both the biological and policy implications of shifting distributions of Arctic fish stocks. In 2017, Ellie was a Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of International Affairs in Washington, DC. She completed her PhD in the MIT-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography.
"Whales are very acoustic animals, so we assume that a lot of the cues they get about where food is located are based on sound," said Leigh Torres, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University in Newport and collaborator on the research project.
