New paper
Bowhead whale migration changes driven by declines in sea ice 

As the Arctic warms four times faster than the rest of the planet, visual, acoustic, and satellite tagging evidence suggests bowhead whales might be changing their migration patterns. We analyzed 11 years of recordings of bowhead whale calls and songs to explore relationship between migration timing and sea ice in the Chukchi and Bering Seas. Fall migration into the Bering Strait and spring migration into the southern Chukchi Sea was strongly tied to sea ice in the Chukchi Sea, while sea ice in the Bering Sea was responsible for how long whales were absent between the southward and northward migration. Since 2013, some whales are remaining in southern Chukchi Sea rather than moving into the northwestern Bering Sea for the winter. Changes to bowhead whale migration could increase the overlap with ships and impact Indigenous communities that rely on bowhead whales for nutritional, cultural, and spiritual subsistence.

Read recent publication in Movement Ecology.

Data and metadata used for this research can be downloaded from the Arctic Data Center.

 

New outreach videos

Arctic Integrated Research Program (IERP)

The North Pacific Research Board has produced videos describing the science behind the Arctic IERP that took place from 2017-2021 in the Pacific Arctic. Kate Stafford is featured and narrates part of each of these videos!

Arctic IERP Program: Why Are We Studying the Arctic?

 

 

NPRB IERP Program: What We Were Studying and What We Found

News and Events

Climate Change Could Push Bowhead Whales to Cross Paths with Shipping Traffic
AGU: 02/21/2024

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.

Oceanic Cacophony
Eos: 12/21/2023

When scientists listen with sensors placed throughout the oceans, Kate Stafford said, “it can seem quite loud and chaotic.” Marine wildlife like whales, dolphins, and many fish “are not visual like most of us humans are,” Stafford said, and “largely rely on their sense of hearing to navigate their world.” 

Listening to Giants [Blue Whales]
NSF Discovery Files Podcast: 12/17/2023

Kate Stafford, an associate professor and bio-acoustician at Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute, joins today to explain how a film brought her to the Republic of Seychelles to locate blue whales using their vocalizations, share insights into whale song and explain how she hears climate change.

Blue whales: Ocean giants return to 'safe' tropical haven
Earth Island Institute: 11/22/2023

In 2021, Kate Stafford and Ladd Irvine took part in a research voyage aimed at finding and identifying a population of blue whales in the Seychelles. In this article from BBC, Dr. Stafford describes the research as well as the fascinating qualities of blue whale song.

Humpback Whales Are Moving into New Territory
Alaska Public Media: 08/10/2023

Associate Professor Kate Stafford was interviewed about a recent paper on humpback whale sightings in the Arctic. (Her interview begins at 18:59.) Sightings and acoustic detections of humpback whales have increased in the southern and central Chukchi Sea in recent years as the Arctic has been warming. Extreme sea ice retreat in fall opens further habitat to humpback whales and other temperate species. 

New migration patterns detected in bowhead whales
Alaska's News Source: 03/22/2023

MMI Research Associate Angela Szesciorka and Associate Professor Kate Stafford talk to Alaska News Source about their findings related to changes in bowhead whale migration patterns. [VIDEO]