From 1983 to 2020, Dr. Bruce Mate led the Marine Mammal Institute's Whale Telemetry Group (WTG). The WTG pioneered the development of satellite-monitored radio tags to study the movements, critical habitats, and dive characteristics of free-ranging whales and dolphins around the world. Since the first deployment of a satellite tag on a humpback whale off Newfoundland, Canada, in 1986, the WTG tagged a total of 462 whales from 11 different species. This work led to the discovery of previously unknown migration routes and seasonal distribution (wintering and summering areas), as well as descriptions of diving behavior.
The WTG primarily focused on endangered whale species whose distribution, movements, and critical habitats (feeding, breeding, and migration areas) are unknown for much of the year. Decision makers have used this valuable information to manage human activities that may jeopardize the recovery of endangered whale populations.
The objectives of the WTG’s telemetry studies were to (1) identify whale migration routes; (2) identify specific feeding and breeding grounds, if unknown; (3) characterize local whale movements and dive habits in both feeding and breeding grounds, and during migration; (4) examine the relationships between whale movements/dive habits and prey distribution, time of day, geographic location, or physical and biological oceanographic conditions; (5) provide surfacing-rate information that can be useful in the development of more accurate abundance estimations, or assessing whales’ reactions to human disturbance; (6) characterize whale vocalizations; and (7) characterize sound pressure levels to which whales are exposed.
Marine Mammal Institute researchers who recently discovered a population of blue whales in New Zealand are learning more about the links between the whales, their prey, and ocean conditions that are changing as the planet warms.
Dr. Daniel Palacios was recently interviewed by Dr. Chris Parsons for the Marine Mammal Science Podcast. Listen to the episode here, "Tracking Whales via Satellite Tags."
Oregon State University Marine Mammal Institute researchers using electronic tags were able to monitor blue and fin whales off the coast of Southern California over multiple weeks, providing new insight into the feeding behaviors of the two largest whale species. “The information collected with these tags gives us a good description of the scale of whales’ feeding behavior over periods of hours, days and weeks, which is something we’ve not been able to do before,” said Ladd Irvine, a senior faculty research assistant in OSU's Marine Mammal Institute and the study’s lead author.
To better understand blue whale behavior off the US West Coast, MMI researchers Daniel Palacios, Ladd Irvine, and Bruce Mate, together with a team from NOAA and the University of Maryland, examined the relationship between feeding behavior and ocean conditions using long-term satellite tracking data from 72 tagged whales. They implemented a statistical model that predicted where and when blue whales were most likely to be foraging for food. The new insight gained from the study could aid in the management of the endangered North Pacific blue whale population in light of climate change and whale mortality due to ship strikes.
A new study from Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute shows many of the cetaceans once thought to be part of a resident population travel long distances. But during the three-year study, 18 of the 33 whales scientists tracked hung out at Point St. George in California, said Barbara Lagerquist, a senior faculty research assistant with the institute.
Blue whales reach their massive size by relying on their exceptional memories to find historically productive feeding sites rather than responding in real time to emerging prey patches, a new study concludes.
Marine Mammal Institute
