In 2014, Oregon State University (OSU) initiated a multi-year project to study humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrations in the North Pacific Ocean using satellite tracking technology in combination with genetic and photo-identification (photo-ID) analyses. The study is highly relevant to management, given the need for new information arising from the...
Species conservation depends on robust population assessment. Data on population abundance, distribution, and connectivity are critical for effective management, especially as baseline information for newly documented populations. I describe a pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) population in New Zealand waters with year-round presence that overlaps with industrial activities. This...
The Antarctic blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) was hunted to near extinction between 1904 and 1972, declining from an estimated initial abundance of more than 250,000 to fewer than 400. Here, we describe mtDNA control region diversity and geographic differentiation in the surviving population of the Antarctic blue whale, using...