The Whitehead Lab

As researchers, an important question to ask is “What is the impact of our research on the wildlife we study?”

In this recent paper, Hal, Christine and Ana put old ‘bad’ photo-identification photos to work to investigate this question, in the context of boat-based photo-identification of s***m whales. They found evidence of habituation, with individuals becoming more tolerant of the research vessel once they had encountered it more often.

You can find the open access paper at: doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0348681

Next for our lab member introductions is: Daisy !!

Daisy is a fourth year undergraduate Marine Biology student completing her honours with the Whitehead Lab. She’s currently studying northern bottlenose whales. For her project, Daisy is using drone imagery to explore whether differences in whale head (melon) shape and body length can be used to identify s*x in this elusive, deep-diving species. Reliably identifying the s*x of individuals is crucial in order to understand and monitor northern bottlenose whale population dynamics, which in turn is important for ongoing conservation efforts for this species.

When she’s not measuring whales, you’ll probably find her gazing wistfully at the ocean from the LSC’s windows or actually in the ocean any chance she can get!

Last month, Christine Clarke (Whitehead Lab PhD candidate .you.know.by.christine) spoke about her research currently underway on the vocal behaviour of male s***m whales. By characterizing what these whales say, Christine aims to better understand their culture and how they fit in to broader s***m whale society. This was at Simon Fraser University’s Inter-Departmental Ecology of Aquatic Systems Symposium ***mwhale

Next up for our lab member introductions is: Kyra !!

Kyra is a 4th year undergraduate honours student completing her degree in Marine Biology. She is excited to be studying northern bottlenose whales with the Whitehead Lab. The goal of her research is to assess whether drone footage can be used to reliably identify individual northern bottlenose whales by matching them to the longitudinal dorsal fin catalog. She is also using aerial imagery to assess the prevalence of scar types visible across the body of the whales.

Outside of the lab she likes to get active by figure skating, hiking, running, or pickleballing and finds any other excuse to get outdoors and explore!

On , we’re recognizing the role marine megafauna plays in ocean ecosystems. Large whales contribute to important processes such as nutrient cycling, primary productivity, and carbon storage.

Protecting marine wildlife supports the stability and resilience of these ocean systems.

A huge congratulations to our honours students Madi, Daisy, and Kyra for presenting their research posters at the Cameron Conference this weekend! We are incredibly proud of each of you and feel so fortunate to have had you dedicate such hard work and passion to your research this year.

Thank you as well to everyone who stopped by to show their support, and congratulations to all presenters for showcasing your outstanding work! 🩵

First up for our lab member introductions is: Christine (Konrad) Clarke!

Christine is a PhD candidate researching the mysterious movement and behaviour of male s***m whales, in collaboration with researchers around the globe. After seven years as a biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, she’s back for another round in the Whitehead Lab. Christine completed her MSc in 2017 on the family dynamics of the well known — and well loved — Dominican s***m whales (swipe right for a flashback to those days).

When she’s not on a boat looking for whales or crunching code, you can find her gardening, bird watching, and always learning cool new things about nature — sometimes with her niece and nephew in tow.

Important news today on the future of Marineland's belugas!

A response from Dr. Hal Whitehead:

"It is inhumane to keep whales and dolphins in captivity for display purposes. The belugas in Marineland have had horrible lives, and moving them to oceanaria in China would have prolonged their suffering and perhaps made it worse. I am pleased with Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Thompson's decision not to issue a permit for their export. The next step is to work out how to give these animals the best possible lives from here on."

The team is off to sea again today for our second survey to The Gully! Wishing this crew fair winds and following seas as they head offshore in search of more northern bottlenose whales!

Here's a photo of a northern bottlenose whale and calf taken on our last survey (under scientific permit).

The crew for the second survey of the summer are busy preparing to head out to sea! We are hoping for some calmer seas and many more northern bottlenose whale sightings. Here are two pictures from the last trip, one showing a pair of northern bottlenose whales and a second showing an offshore type common bottlenose dolphin.

Photos taken under scientific permit.