Allison Dawn, GEMM Lab Master’s student, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab In last week’s blog, GEMM Lab postdoc Dawn Barlow discussed the uncertain future of upwelling response to climate change and how findings from the Shanks et al., 2009 “Paradigm lost? . . .” study implies … Continue reading A mosaic of interconnected nearshore dynamics in Port Orford
Allison Dawn, GEMM Lab Master’s student, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab The 8th year of Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Project (TOPAZ/JASPER) has come to an end and it feels truly bittersweet. Last Friday, the team hosted our annual community presentation to close out the … Continue reading Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Project 2022 Field Season Wrap-Up
Allison Dawn, GEMM Lab Master’s student, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab Hello, GEMM Lab blog readers! I am writing to you from the Port Orford Field Station, aka the “South Coast Outpost” as our esteemed field station manager, Tom Calvanese, calls it. I am so excited … Continue reading Updates from the 2022 Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Project
By Lisa Hildebrand, PhD student, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab The 2021 TOPAZ (Theodolite Overlooking Predators And Zooplankton) field season in Port Orford has come to a close. Its close also signals the end of my tenure as field project lead, after I took over from my predecessor Florence … Continue reading A little help from my friends to study gray whales in Port Orford
By Damian Amerman-Smith, Pacific High School senior, GEMM Lab summer intern Growing up in Port Orford, a short ten-minute walk from the Pacific Ocean, has certainly shaped my life a lot. It has given me a great regard for the ocean, the diversity of life within it, and how life seems to bypass human derived … Continue reading Where are all the whales: Thoughts from the first half of the Port Orford project 2021
By Allison Dawn, Master’s student, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab Part 1: Team “Heck Yeah!” Allison, inspecting a prey sample from the morning’s in situ collection: “Look! It’s dungeness crab larvae.” Damien, squinting to see the tiny megalopa floating in the water: “Oh, heck yeah!” This … Continue reading Team “Heck Yeah!” – Updates from the 2021 Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Project
By Lisa Hildebrand, MSc student, OSU Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Marine Mammal Institute, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab Yodel-Ay-Ee-Ooooo! Hello from the Theyodelers, this year’s Port Orford gray whale foraging ecology field team. In case you were wondering, no, we aren’t hobby yodelers and we don’t plan on becoming them. The team name this year … Continue reading Introducing the Theyodelers – the Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Team of 2020
By Mia Arvizu, Marine Studies Initiative (MSI) & GEMM Lab summer intern, OSU junior Part 1: The Green Life Jacket The swells are churning and for once my stomach is calm. I take advantage of it while I can, and head out on the kayak. Another beautiful day, another good data set. After about three … Continue reading A Series of Short Stories from A Field Season in Port Orford
By Lisa Hildebrand, MSc student, OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab It seems unfathomable to me that one year and two months ago I had never used a theodolite before, never been in an ocean kayak before, never identified zooplankton before, never seen a Time-Depth-Recorder (TDR) before. Now, one … Continue reading Introducing Crew Cinco – the Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Field Team of 2019
By Lisa Hildebrand, MSc student, OSU Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Marine Mammal Institute, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab Knowing what and how much prey a predator feeds on are key components to better understanding and conserving that predator. Prey abundance and availability are frequently predictors for marine predator reproductive success and population dynamics. It is … Continue reading Feasts of junk food or morsels of fine dining: is prey quality or quantity more important to marine predators?