Search Results for: Port Orford

Introducing Crew Cinco – the Port Orford Gray Whale Foraging Ecology Field Team of 2019

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

Feasts of junk food or morsels of fine dining: is prey quality or quantity more important to marine predators?

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?

Two Leaders Wearing Two Hats: A wrap-up of the 2024 TOPAZ/JASPER Field Season

Celest Sorrentino, incoming master’s student, OSU Dept of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, GEMM Lab Allison Dawn, PhD student, Clemson University Dept of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, GEMM Lab Alum Allison: Celest and I were co-leaders this year, so it only feels fitting to co-write our wrap-up blog for the 2024 field season. This was … Continue reading Two Leaders Wearing Two Hats: A wrap-up of the 2024 TOPAZ/JASPER Field Season

Speeding Up, Slowing Down, and Choosing My Fig

Celest Sorrentino, incoming master’s student, OSU Dept of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences, GEMM Lab It’s late June, a week before I head back to the West Coast, and I’m working one of my last shifts as a server in New York. Summer had just turned on and the humidity was just getting started, but … Continue reading Speeding Up, Slowing Down, and Choosing My Fig

Little bit of Kayaking, Lot a bit of Zoops

Eden Van Maren, Homeschool Student from Brookings, TOPAZ/JASPER High School Intern Hey! I’m Eden Van Maren, an upcoming high school senior from Brookings. I am homeschooled and am taking electives at Brookings Harbor High School.  Growing up in rural Oregon, the outdoors have always been more than just my backyard. It’s been both my classroom … Continue reading Little bit of Kayaking, Lot a bit of Zoops

“So, I hear you’re an expert in marine mammal ecology?”

Oceana Powers-Schmitz, Brookings-Harbor High School student, TOPAZ/JASPER GEMM Lab Project, MMI Oregon State University Hi, I’m Oceana Powers-Schmitz and while I am not quite an expert in marine mammal ecology (yet!), I am quite the expert in bringing the team together through a clever game and a heartfelt laugh. One game I turned the team … Continue reading “So, I hear you’re an expert in marine mammal ecology?”

Getting to the Bottom of it

Sophia Kormann, NSF REU Intern in the GEMM Lab, St. Olaf College Hello! My name is Sophia Kormann and I am an NSF REU intern this summer in the GEMM lab being mentored by PI Leigh Torres, Allison Dawn, and Clara Bird. I was introduced in last week’s blog as part of our awesome whale … Continue reading Getting to the Bottom of it

Kelp to whales: New GEMM Lab publication explores indirect effects of a classic trophic cascade on gray whales

By Lisa Hildebrand, PhD candidate, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab As many of our avid readers already know, the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) of gray whales employs a wide range of foraging tactics to feed on a number of different prey items in various benthic substrate types (Torres … Continue reading Kelp to whales: New GEMM Lab publication explores indirect effects of a classic trophic cascade on gray whales

GEMM Lab 2023: A Year in the Life

Edited by Rachel Kaplan* & Lisa Hildebrand** * PhD student, OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences and Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (FWCS), Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna (GEMM) Lab ** PhD candidate, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences (FWCS), Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna (GEMM) Lab Another year has come and … Continue reading GEMM Lab 2023: A Year in the Life

Intermittent upwelling impacts zooplankton and their gray whale predators

Allison Dawn, MSc, GEMM Lab graduate, OSU Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab  The second year of my master’s flew by. Gone were the days of feeling new to graduate school. While I was feeling more comfortable navigating courses, balancing time at both Corvallis and HMSC campuses, and … Continue reading Intermittent upwelling impacts zooplankton and their gray whale predators