News

Reducing ship collisions with whales with Whale Safe
University of California: 10/05/2022
Graphical depiction of the Whale Safe system

The biologically rich waters along the West Coast are prime feeding grounds for baleen whales, especially during summer. These waters also support busy international shipping routes to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in southern California, and Oakland, Richmond, Benicia, Redwood City, and San Francisco off central California. The Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UC Santa Barbara, along with a consortium of research and conservation institutions including MMI, have recently launched Whale Safe for the San Francisco Bay region. Whale Safe is a technology-based mapping and analysis tool designed to prevent fatal ship collisions with whales. Whale Safe was originally designed for...

Setting up a 'school zone' for whales
University of California: 10/05/2022

The Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory at UC Santa Barbara, along with a consortium of research and conservation institutions including MMI, have recently launched Whale Safe for the San Francisco Bay region. Whale Safe is a technology-based mapping and analysis tool designed to prevent fatal ship collisions with whales. The tool includes predictions of habitat suitability for blue whales that were developed using MMI's tracking data and oceanographic conditions. WHET Lab participants include Daniel Palacios, Ladd Irvine, and Bruce Mate.

Long-term tracking of whale feeding behavior via satellite now possible with new tag
OSU Press: 10/03/2022

Press release for our recent paper documenting the development of the "RDW tag", a new smart tag for long-term monitoring of whale behavior, including previously unobservable feeding events during dives. The effort was led by Daniel Palacios, and includes Ladd Irvine, Barb Lagerquist, and Bruce Mate as MMI co-authors.

New publication announcement! A new smart tag to monitor whale behavior by satellite
09/01/2022
Graphical abstract of the paper describing the new RDW tag

Our recent paper in Animal Biotelemetry by Palacios et al. (2022) documents the development of the "RDW tag", a new electronic device for monitoring whale behavior that we co-developed in partnership with manufacturer Telonics. The capabilities of the RDW tag are illustrated in the graphical abstract above (created by lab member Clarissa Teixeira), in comparison to the "location-only tag" that had been our primary device for tracking whale movement and migration. The main points of the paper are:

  • Until now, technological limitations have prevented long-term tracking of whale...
Whale migrations: how new UN treaty aims to protect species on the high seas
The Conversation: 03/14/2022

United Nations member states agreed in 2017 to negotiate an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of the high seas. The whale migration tracks identified in a new collaborative report from WWF will be essential when it comes to identifying areas of importance to marine mammals.

Where the whales are: OSU helps compile atlas of whale travel routes
JPR: 03/01/2022

Daniel Palacios was interviewed by Jefferson Public Radio about his role in the new World Wildlife Fund report, Protecting Blue Corridors, which describes global whale "superhighways."

Ocean’s Mammals at Crucial Crossroads – 25% of Species at Risk of Extinction
03/25/2021

MMI Associate Professor and WHET Lab lead, Dr. Daniel Palacios, coauthored a paper released this week that evaluates the global threats faced by 126 marine mammal species worldwide and the conservation methods available to address them.

Sperm whales have a surprisingly deep—and useful—culture
Popular Science: 03/19/2021

In his commentary on a recent study, MMI Associate Professor Daniel Palacios reflects on sperm whales' apparent ability to learn from each other and adapt quickly to human interference.

Dead humpback whale in Strait de Juan de Fuca examined
Cascadia Research Collective: 10/05/2020

A humpback whale reported floating dead in the Strait of Juan de Fuca last week was examined by a team led by Cascadia Research Collective and aided by several organizations including the MMI.

Registration Support for Students, Research Staff, and Faculty to Attend Scientific Conferences in Fall 2021
7th International Bio-logging Science Symposium (BLS7)

With support from the Oregon Gray Whale License Plate program to cover registration costs, three members of the WHET Lab participated in the 7th International Bio-logging Science Symposium (BLS7), 18-22 October 2021. BLS7 is a triennial international conference for researchers using animal-borne technologies to discuss their results and recent technical and analytical advances. This year's meeting was conducted entirely virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic so all presentations were pre-recorded. Our three presentations at BLS7 were (click on the linked titles...