Marine Mammal Institute

Leigh Torres and her team of scientists from Oregon State University perform field studies on the conveniently located whales. 

A new paper based on data collected from MMI shows that Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray whales have gotten significantly smaller over the past two decades. The smaller size raises questions of whether this subgroup of whales can maintain a healthy population.

A new study from MMI shows that booming sea urchin populations result in less prey for gray whales. The paper is first-authored by PhD candidate Lisa Hildebrand and published in Nature Scientific Reports.

A wounded California sea lion was humanely euthanized at Newport’s Port Dock One, following quality of life discussions between the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute, and the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

[F]or some groups of killer whales, what started out as behavioral traits handed down through generations may have ultimately helped lead to something more. “Most people tend to think [something is] either a different species or it’s not,” [MMI Affiliate Bob] Pitman says. But “you have to understand: evolution is a slow change over time."

A study led by former MMI postdoctoral scholar Dylan Gomes indicates that marine heat waves may benefit some species and threaten others. A notable example is pyrosomes, which thrive in warm conditions but essentially become a food web "dead end."

“I have spent a lot of time at sea in all oceans of the world, and I’ve seen a lot of amazing things,” said Lisa Ballance, director of OSU’s Marine Mammal Institute. “A hoary bat was a first for all of us. It’s a reminder of the wonder of nature, and of its vulnerability.”

Climate change is shifting the whales’ feeding grounds and migration patterns, potentially pushing them to spend more time in the paths of oncoming ships, according to a new study led by Research Associate Angela Szesciorka.

In November 2015, the Marine Mammal Institute, which is also the headquarters for the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network, received a call from the United States Coast Guard about the body of a blue whale off the coast of Gold Beach, Oregon. Now, eight years and two countries later, the whale’s skeleton is almost ready for display at the Hatfield Marine Science Center.