Examination of Health Effects and Long-term Impacts of Deployments of Multiple Tag Types on Blue, Humpback, and Gray Whales in the Eastern North Pacific

Lead PI: Dr. John Calambokidis, Cascadia Research Collective
Start Year: 2010 | Duration: 3 years
Partners: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Oregon State University, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, Marine Mammal Center, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Animal Health Center, Pacific Biological Station, Centro Interdiscip. de Ciencias Marinas Inst. Politécnico Nacional, & Mingan Island Cetacean Study

The proposers plan to conduct detailed follow up studies of the large number of blue, humpback, and gray whales of the eastern North Pacific that have had a variety of tags deployed on them to examine site healing, health, and short-and long-term consequences of tag deployment on reproduction, health, and survival. The cetaceans in this area represent populations exposed to more than 400 deployments of various tags and also represent some of the best-studied populations with extensive photo-identification histories making them an ideal case study.

Annual PI Reports:
FY 2010 PI Report
FY 2011 PI Report
FY 2012 PI Report
FY 2014 PI Report