Staff l Publications l Life History l Photogrammetry l Strandings l Frozen Tissue Archive l Fishery Observer Program l Killer Whales l Gray Whales l Tagging l Unmanned Aerial Systems
The Cetacean Health and Life History Program continues to develop new tools for the assessment of marine mammals and contribute crucial data to our mandated research efforts. Our team works closely with colleagues in the Protected Resources Division to monitor the life history, condition and health of cetacean populations. Our data is essential to regular abundance estimates.
Fieldwork Highlights
NEWS
- CA Coastal Bottlenose Dolphin Health Assessment Research:
The Photogrammetry and Life History Program has initiated the development of a new marine mammal health assessment project. This is a collaborative effort with several institutions, bringing together a diversity of expertise. The first phase of fieldwork began in November 2008, and is focused on assessment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as PCBs, DDTs, HCHs and PBDEs, in coastal bottlenose dolpins off San Diego County and around the Channel Islands.
Aerial Photos Give Perspective on Gray Whales:
Wayne Perryman and the Photogrammetry Program was featured in the San Diego Union Tribune as seen here
on the UT San Diego website. The article highlights the goal of using aerial photogrammety to estimate reproductive and nutritive condition of gray whales based on their size and shape.
Killer Whale predation on Gray whales: SWFSC scientist John Durban is featured in the BBC series "Ocean Giants" as seen here
on the BBC One website. The video clip demonstrates killer whale tagging operations as part of an ongoing study to understand killer whale predation on gray whales.
- Killer Whales soff La Jolla, CA
PRD scientists encountered a pod of eight Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) off La Jolla on January 15, 2009. The pod included two adult males and two calves. The orcas chased a large school of Common Dolphin (Delphinus sp.) offshore. See photos from this rare sighting. To learn about PRD's research on Killer Whale genetics, click here.
- Snowball Fight! Scientist vs. Killer Whale:
Bob Pitman shares the story of his snowball fight with a Killer Whale in Antarctica. This amazing interaction took place during a field study with Wayne Perryman and Don LeRoi in 2007. http://www.livescience.com/animals/090206-nhm-killer-whale-snowball.html ![The previous link is a link to Non-Federal government web site. Click to review NOAA Fisheries Disclaimer The previous link is a link to Non-Federal government web site. Click to review NOAA Fisheries Disclaimer](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130222130450im_/http://swfsc.noaa.gov/images/global/exit.gif)
Publications
Fearnbach, H., Durban, J. W., Parsons, K. M., Claridge, D. 2012 Photographic mark-recapture analysis of local dynamics within an open population of dolphins. Ecological Applications, 22(5): 1689–1700.
Ford, J., Durban, J. Ellis, G. Towers, J. Pilkington, J., Barrett-Lennard, L., Andrews, R. 2012. New insights into the northward migration route of gray whales between Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and southeastern Alaska. Marine Mammal Science . DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2012.00572.x
Weller, D.W., Klimek, A., Bradford, A.L., Calambokidis, J., Lang, A.R., Gisborne, B., Burdin, A.M., Szaniszlo, W., Urbán, J., Gomez-Gallardo Unzueta, A., Swartz, S. and Brownell, R.L., Jr. 2012. Movements of gray whales between the western and eastern North Pacific. Endangered Species Research 18:193-199
Bradford, A.L., Weller, D.W., Punt, A.E., Ivashchenko, Y.V., Burdin, A.M., VanBlaricom, G.R. and R. L. Brownell, Jr. 2012. Leaner leviathans: body condition variation in a critically endangered whale population. Journal of Mammalogy. 93(1):251-266
Scott, M. D., S. J. Chivers, R. O. Olson, P. C. Fiedler, and K. Holland. 2012. Pelagic predator associations: tuna and dolphins in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 458:283-302 (doi 10.3354/meps09740.)
Danil, K. and J.A. St.Leger. 2011. "Seabird and Dolphin Mortality Associated with Underwater Detonation Exercises." Marine Technology Society Journal 45, (6): 89-95.
Danil,K., S. J. Chivers, M. D. Henshaw, J. L. Thieleking, R. Daniels, and J.St.Leger. 2010. Cetacean strandings in San Diego County, California,USA:1851-2008. Journal of CetaceanResearch and Management 11(2):163-184.
Durban, J. et al. 2010. Comparing two methods of shore-based counts of eastern North Pacific gray whales. Report to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission SC/62/BRG8.
Durban, J. et al. 2010. Clustered mark-recapture analysis of mammal-eating killer whales around the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska. Marine Biology 157(7): 1591-1604.
Chivers, S. J. 2009. Cetacean Life History. Pages 215-220 In: Perrin, W. F., B. Wursig, and J. G. M. Thewissen (eds). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 2nd edition. San Diego: Elsevier Press. 1316 pp.
Kellar, N.M., Trego, M.L.,Marks, C.I.,Chivers, S.J., Danil, K. and Archer, F.I. 2009. Blubber testosterone: A potential marker of male reproductive status in short-beaked common dolphins. Marine Mammal Science 25(3):507-22.
Gilpatrick, J. and W. Perryman. 2008. Geographic variation in external morphology of North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). Journal of Cetacean Resource Management 10(1):9-21.
Olson, Paula A., and Tim Gerrodette. 2008. Killer whales of the eastern tropical Pacific: a catalog of photo-identified individuals. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS, NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-428, 120 p This catalog contains 195 individual killer whales, photographed during SWFSC surveys in the Eastern Tropical Pacific 1986-2006. It also illustrates the movements of whales sighted multiple times.
Mandates
Marine Mammal Protection Act
Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP and 1992 amendments)
Oceans and Human Health Initiative (OHHI 2005)
Ecosystem Approach (NOAA Strategic Plan)