Clara Bird is a graduate student at the Marine Mammal Institute. Her current research is focused on using drones to study how gray whale behavior varies across space, time, and individuals off the coast of Oregon. She has also done work with the Duke University Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab using drones to study Adelie penguins, humpback whales, and minke whales along the Western Antarctic Peninsula.
MMI graduate student Kaimyn O'Neill provided the scientific expertise for an Oregon Coast STEM Hub lesson plan, which asks, Are there enough individuals of reproductive age in the Cook Inlet beluga whale population to promote recovery without human intervention?
Access the lesson plan, activities, and materials on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub ORSEA website.
MMI graduate student Karen Lohman provided the scientific expertise for an Oregon Coast STEM Hub lesson plan, which asks, How does population genetics inform marine policy and management?
Access the lesson plan, activities, and materials on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub ORSEA website.
Elizabeth Daly provided the scientific expertise for an Oregon Coast STEM Hub lesson plan, which asks, How is the decreasing population of Southern Resident killer whales connected to prey selection and availability?
Access the lesson plan, activities, and materials on the Oregon Coast STEM Hub ORSEA website.
By Vicki Osis, Susan Leach Snyder, Rachel Gross, Bill Hastie, Beth Broadhurst
Produced by the OSU Marine Mammal Institute, 2008
This lesson book uses the appeal of whales to help teach science and math. Topics include an introduction to whales, whale habitats, exploitation of whales, current threats to whales, whale investigations, and whale research. The book is available for free download, or you may purchase a printed copy for $21. To order a printed copy, please send a check made payable to Oregon State University to Marine Mammal Institute, 2030 SE Marine Science Dr., Newport OR 97365.
The Marine Mammal Institute is located at the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon. The Hatfield Marine Science Center and Oregon Sea Grant Visitor Center offer hands-on activities, youth education, public science events, lectures, and more. If you would like to schedule a tour for a prospective student or an event, please visit the Tours and Events page for details.
Join live broadcasts of the HMSC Research Seminars each Thursday from 3:30-4:30 pm Pacific time. Topics range the scientific spectrum and focus on marine and coastal research from the lead investigators at Hatfield to experts worldwide. Check the OSU Newport calendar for upcoming research seminars and Science on Tap presentations.
Each winter, Dr. Bruce Mate teaches a weekend course to volunteers of the Whale Watching Spoken Here program.
These 200–400 volunteers then help to educate 40,000 visitors to the Oregon Coast during the height of the gray whale migration cycle. For more information, contact the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
