whales

Humpback whale in singing position. Photo credit NOAA / Dr. Louis M. Herman

Using the power of models to protect whales from possible ship-strikes

Written by Dr. Anna Nisi We have been building cutting-edge models of species distributions for four great whale species – blue, fin, sperm, and humpback whales. One key threat to the great whales is collisions with shipping vessels, and identifying places where ship-strike risk is high is essential for informing mitigation actions like vessel slow-downs. Our next step is to overlay whale distributions with maps of global shipping traffic, to prioritize these areas for conservation action and help protect these vulnerable species. The results of our work will inform expanding vessel slow-down programs to encompass larger areas and reduce whale […]

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Chasing inter-species communication: what marine mammals are telling us about our oceans

Authors: Sue E MooreJournal: ICES Journal of Marine ScienceDOI: 0.1093/icesjms/fsad030 I describe my path through a series of opportunities that provided stepping stones from childhood years in the landlocked US Midwest to a 45-year-long career focused on cetacean behaviour and ecology…

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Retrospective analysis of measures to reduce large whale entanglements in a lucrative commercial fishery

Authors: Leena Riekkola, Owen R. Liu, Blake E. Feist, Karin A. Forney, Briana Abrahms, Elliott L. Hazen, Jameal F. SamhouriJournal: Biological ConservationDOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109880 Recovering marine animal populations and climate-driven shifts in their distributions are colliding with growing ocean use by humans…

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Acoustic signature reveals blue whales tune life-history transitions to oceanographic conditions

Authors: William K. Oestreich, Briana Abrahms, Megan F. McKenna, Jeremy A. Goldbogen, Larry B. Crowder, John P. RyanJournal: British Ecological SocietyDOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14013 Matching the timing of life-history transitions with ecosystem phenology is critical for the survival of many species, especially those undertaking long-distance migrations…

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