By Dr. Alejandro A. Fernández Ajó, Postdoctoral Scholar, Marine Mammal Institute – OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna (GEMM) Lab.
On Saturday, June 10, Dr. Roger Payne passed away. Throughout his remarkable life, he made impactful contributions to the study, understanding, and conservation of whales. His passion, research, and advocacy efforts played a pivotal role in reshaping public perception, and thus promoting the conservation of these giants, profoundly influencing generations of researchers in the field of conservation biology, including myself.
Roger in Patagonia where here found his love for Southern Right Whales. Credit: Dr. Mariano Sironi / ICB.
In 1970, Roger and his first wife Katy Paine began the Southern Right Whale (SRW) Research Program in Patagonia, Argentina, which in 1996 was continued by the Whale Conservation Institute of Argentina (the ICB) , becoming the longest continually running research program on a great whale (based on known individuals) in existence. In this study, Dr. Payne recognized that individual whales can be identified by the unique marks on their heads, establishing an important milestone for photo-ID, a technique that forms the bedrock of whale science.
I am proud to say that I am part of his legacy, as a member of the ICB. With the SRW program, I continued advancing research on SRW through my doctoral dissertation by advancing methods in conservation physiology (see blog post) to understand the underlaying mechanisms affecting young whales’ mortality in Patagonia (see blog post ).
Probably, one of the most remarkable contributions of Dr. Payne to the field and to whale conservation was his groundbreaking discovery of the humpback whale song. In the mid-20th century, the world’s whale populations were intensively killed by commercial whalers, threatening their extinction. In the late 1960s, Payne and his collaborators unveiled the melodic symphonies of humpback whales, marking the start of modern whale biology and catalyzing the global conservationist movement “Save the Whales”. These haunting songs connected humans with these enigmatic animals in an emotional manner, raising public opinion and support for whale conservation that ultimately led to the global moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982.
Listen to this story on NPR featuring Roger Payne’s LP, ‘Songs of the Humpback Whale,’ released in 1970, which played a pivotal role in sparking the global environmental movement “Save the Whales”, helping whale populations on the brink of extinction. Photo: Ocean Alliance.
While he continued to believe that science provides essential information about the necessary changes needed to protect whales, Dr. Payne strongly believe in that the paths to accelerate these changes often involve a combination of activism and creative arts.
“…All of the great movements in human history have been based not on data but on emotion and passion, and a dream of a better society and a better life. For unless people connect emotionally with a problem they won’t connect with the numbers and the data that describe its dimensions…”
“…It seems highly likely that the changes we so desperately need will only come by invoking emotions, and that is something that poets, musicians, writers, playwrights, sculptors, painters, dancers, composers—in fact, creative people of every stripe do well, but that scientists do at their peril. For the real challenge here is to get the world to fall so deeply in love with Nature that we will no longer tolerate the destruction of creation, and will risk our careers and our lives to save all plankton, mosses, ferns, trees, flowers, jellyfish, crinoids, nautiloids, crabs, bees, butterflies, beetles, squid, fishes, frogs, turtles, birds, and mammals—in other words, we will fight to save all of the non-human “Other”…”
From the “Final Voyage“
Roger Payne’s influence and legacy continue to inspire generations of scientists and conservationists. His work expanded our understanding of whales, deepened our empathy for these creatures, and paved the way for international collaborations aimed at protecting marine life and preserving our oceans. Today, there are many of us who, inspired by Roger, dedicate our lives to research, environmental education, and conservation. And following Roger’s teachings, we constantly ask questions to seek answers that allow us to continue learning about whales in a changing world.
Did you enjoy this blog? Want to learn more about marine life, research, and conservation?
Subscribe to our blog and get a message when we post a new blog. Just add your name and email into the subscribe box below.
Sources:
Lindo Homenaje.
Saludos,
Onofre