{"id":3193,"date":"2019-12-23T14:22:09","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T21:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?p=3193"},"modified":"2019-12-23T14:22:17","modified_gmt":"2019-12-23T21:22:17","slug":"gemm-lab-2019-a-year-in-the-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/12\/23\/gemm-lab-2019-a-year-in-the-life\/","title":{"rendered":"GEMM Lab 2019: A Year in the Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>By <a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/people\/lisa-hildebrand\">Lisa Hildebrand<\/a>, MSc student, OSU Department of Fisheries &amp; Wildlife, <a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/gemm-lab\">Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another year has come and gone, and with the final days of 2019 upon us, it is fulfilling to look back and summarize all of the achievements in the GEMM Lab this year. So, snuggle up with your favorite\u00a0holiday drink and enjoy our recap of 2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We wrapped up two intense but rewarding gray whale field seasons this summer. Our project investigating the health of Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales through\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/gemm-lab\/research-projects\/evaluation-gray-whale-hormone-body-condition-variation-response-variable\">fecal hormone and body condition sampling in the context of ocean noise<\/a> went into its fourth year, while the <a href=\"https:\/\/mmi.oregonstate.edu\/gemm-lab\/foraging-ecology-gray-whales\">Port Orford project<\/a> where we track whales and prey at a very fine-scale celebrated its wood anniversary (five years!). The dedication and hard work of lots of people to help us collect our data meant that we were able to add a considerable amount of samples to our growing gray whale datasets. Our trusty red RHIB Ruby zipped around the Pacific and enabled us to collect 58 fecal samples, fly the drone 102 times, undertake 105 GoPro drops and record 141 gray whale sightings. Our Newport crew was a mix of full-time GEMMers (Leigh, Todd, Dawn, Leila, Clara, and myself) as well as part-time summer GEMMers (Ale, Sharon, and Cassy). Further south in Port Orford, my team of undergraduate and high school students and I had an interesting field season. We only encountered four different individuals (Buttons, Glacier, Smudge, and Primavera), however saw them repeatedly throughout the month of August, resulting in as many as 15 tracklines for one individual. Furthermore, we collected 249 GoPro drops and 248 zooplankton net samples.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_2527.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3205\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3205\" class=\"wp-image-3205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_2527.jpg 640w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_2527-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Leila taking photos of gray whales from Ruby&#8217;s bow pulpit. Photo: Leigh Torres<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/FA6EDB5A-08AE-4EBA-B7F1-359C37BDE96A_1_105_c-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3206\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/FA6EDB5A-08AE-4EBA-B7F1-359C37BDE96A_1_105_c-1.jpeg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3206\" class=\"wp-image-3206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/FA6EDB5A-08AE-4EBA-B7F1-359C37BDE96A_1_105_c-1.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/FA6EDB5A-08AE-4EBA-B7F1-359C37BDE96A_1_105_c-1-225x300.jpeg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">2019 Port Orford team members Anthony &amp; Lisa collecting prey samples from research kayak &#8216;Robustus&#8217;.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/BAA6DD71-9B79-4506-AEE7-222CC425822F_1_105_c-1024x683.jpeg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3194\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3194\" class=\"wp-image-3194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/BAA6DD71-9B79-4506-AEE7-222CC425822F_1_105_c-1024x683.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/BAA6DD71-9B79-4506-AEE7-222CC425822F_1_105_c-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/BAA6DD71-9B79-4506-AEE7-222CC425822F_1_105_c-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/BAA6DD71-9B79-4506-AEE7-222CC425822F_1_105_c.jpeg 1086w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Gray whale fluke. Photo: Lisa Hildebrand.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The GEMM Lab\u2019s fieldwork was not just restricted to gray whales. After last year\u2019s successes aboard the NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada, Alexa and Dawn both boarded the ship again this year as marine mammal observers for the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/05\/14\/marine-mammal-observing-standardization-is-key\/\">May<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/10\/01\/surveying-for-marine-mammals-in-the-northern-california-current\/\">September<\/a> cruises, respectively. They spied humpback, blue, sperm, and fin whales, as well as many dolphins and seabirds, adding to the GEMM Lab\u2019s growing database of megafauna distribution off the Oregon coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/05\/IMG_3776-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2787\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/05\/IMG_3776-e1557798840473.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/05\/14\/marine-mammal-observing-standardization-is-key\/img_3776\/\" class=\"wp-image-2787\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Alexa observing on the R\/V Shimada in May 2019, all bundled up. Image Photo: Alexa Kownacki<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/05\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_3154-1024x656.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2785\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/05\/EditNoWatermark-IMG_3154-e1557797940565.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/05\/14\/marine-mammal-observing-standardization-is-key\/editnowatermark-img_3154\/\" class=\"wp-image-2785\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/BE8A0266_reduced.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3011\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/BE8A0266_reduced.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/10\/01\/surveying-for-marine-mammals-in-the-northern-california-current\/be8a0266_reduced\/\" class=\"wp-image-3011\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/BE8A0266_reduced.jpg 900w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/BE8A0266_reduced-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/BE8A0266_reduced-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"993\" height=\"558\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/Dawn_Shimada.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3019\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/Dawn_Shimada.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/10\/01\/surveying-for-marine-mammals-in-the-northern-california-current\/dawn_shimada\/\" class=\"wp-image-3019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/Dawn_Shimada.jpg 993w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/Dawn_Shimada-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/10\/Dawn_Shimada-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 993px) 100vw, 993px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Dawn Barlow on the flying bridge of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, heading out to sea with the Newport bridge in the background. Photo: Anna Bolm. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After winning the prestigious L&#8217;Or\u00e9al-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship and the inaugural Louis Herman Scholarship, GEMM Lab grad Sol\u00e8ne Derville lead her first research cruise aboard the French R\/V Alis. She and her team conducted line transect surveys and micronekton\/oceanographic sampling over several seamounts to try to solve the mystery of why humpbacks hang out there. We are also very excited to announce that Sol\u00e8ne will be returning to the GEMM Lab as a post-doc in 2020! She will be creating distribution models of whales off the coast of Oregon with the data collected by Leigh during helicopter flights with the US Coast Guard. The primary aim of this work is to identify potential whale hotspots in an effort to avoid spatial overlap with fisheries gear and reduce entanglement risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3197\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3197\" class=\"wp-image-3197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_1464-scaled.jpg 1707w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Sol\u00e8ne soaking wet after spending several hours observing cetaceans and seabirds on R\/V Alis. Photo: J\u00e9r\u00f4me Jambou<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/20190719_maracas7B_EVourey_tursiops-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3199\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/20190719_maracas7B_EVourey_tursiops.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3199\" class=\"wp-image-3199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/20190719_maracas7B_EVourey_tursiops-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/20190719_maracas7B_EVourey_tursiops-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/20190719_maracas7B_EVourey_tursiops.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">A group of bottlenose dolphins observed over one of the seamounts. Photo: Elodie Vourey<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3198\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-scaled.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3198\" class=\"wp-image-3198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/photo2-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Sol\u00e8ne at the L&#8217;Or\u00e9al ceremony in the French National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Photo: Jean-Charles Caslot<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Switching the focus from marine mammals to seabirds, Rachael has had an extremely busy year of field work all across the globe. She island-hopped from Midway (Hawaiian Northwest island) to the Falkland Islands in the first half of the year, and is currently overwintering on South Georgia, where she will be until end of February. Rachael is tracking albatross at all three locations by tagging individual birds to understand movements relative to fishing vessels and flight energetics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6868-copy-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2646\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6868-copy.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/02\/25\/midway-atoll-2\/img_6868-copy\/\" class=\"wp-image-2646\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6868-copy-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6868-copy-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6868-copy.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Albatross chick. Photo: Rachael Orben<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"813\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/6F3A0767-1024x813.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2650\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/6F3A0767.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/02\/25\/midway-atoll-2\/6f3a0767\/\" class=\"wp-image-2650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/6F3A0767-1024x813.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/6F3A0767-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/6F3A0767-768x609.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/6F3A0767.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Recording data. Photo: V. Ternisien<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6758-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"2634\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6758.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/02\/25\/midway-atoll-2\/img_6758\/\" class=\"wp-image-2634\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6758-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6758-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6758-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/02\/IMG_6758.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Albatross chick and mother. Photo: Rachael Orben.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides several field efforts, the GEMM Lab was also busy disseminating our research and findings to various audiences. Our conferences kicked off in late February when Leigh and Rachael both flew to Kauai to present at the Pacific Seabird Group\u2019s 46<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0Annual Meeting. In the spring, Leila, Dawn, Alexa, Dom, and myself drove to Seattle where the University of Washington hosted the Northwest Student Society of Marine Mammalogy chapter meeting and we all gave talks. Additionally, the Fisheries &amp; Wildlife grad students in the lab also presented at the department\u2019s annual Research Advances in Fisheries, Wildlife, and Ecology conference. Later in the year, Dom and I attended the State of the Coast conference where Dom was invited to participate in a panel about the holistic approaches to management in the nearshore while I presented a poster on preliminary findings of my Master\u2019s thesis. Most recently, the entire GEMM Lab (bar Rachael) flew to Barcelona to present at the <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/12\/02\/barcelona-bound-the-gemm-lab-heads-to-the-world-marine-mammal-conference\/\">World Marine Mammal Conference<\/a> (WMMC).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3200\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3200\" class=\"wp-image-3200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_3098.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">GEMM Lab at the WMMC. Photo: Karen Lohman<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our science communication and outreach efforts were not just restricted to conferences though. Over the course of this year, the GEMM Lab supervised a total of 10 undergraduate and high school interns that assisted in a variety of ways (field and\/or lab work, data analyses, independent projects) on a number of projects going on in the lab. Leigh and Dawn boarded the R\/V Oceanus in the fall to co-lead a STEM research cruise aimed at providing high school students and teachers hands-on marine research. <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/dawn-barlow-saving-blue-whales-south-taranaki-bight\/id1337404264?i=1000429659670\">Dawn<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/lisa-hildebrand-kayaks-computers-gray-whale-research\/id1337404264?i=1000429659671\">I<\/a> were guests on <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/inspiration\/\">Inspiration Dissemination<\/a>, a live radio show run by graduate students about graduate research going on at OSU. Our weekly blog, now in its fifth year, reached its highest viewership with a total of 14,814 views this year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The GEMMers were once again prolific writers too! The 13 new publications in 10 scientific journals include contributions from Leigh (7), Rachael (6), Sol\u00e8ne (2), Dawn (2), and Leila (1). Scroll down to the end of the post to see the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Academic milestones were also reached by several of us. Most notably and recently, Dom successfully defended his Master\u2019s thesis this past week \u2013 congratulations Dom!! Unsurprisingly, he already has a job lined up starting in January as a Science Officer with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.oceansciencetrust.org\">California Ocean Science Trust<\/a>. Dom is the 6<sup>th<\/sup> GEMM Lab graduate, which after just five years of the GEMM Lab existing is a huge testament to Leigh as an advisor. Leila, who is in the 4<sup>th<\/sup>\u00a0year of her PhD, anticipates finishing this coming March. We also had three successful research reviews \u2013 I met with my committee in late March to discuss my Master\u2019s proposal, while Alexa and Dawn met with their committees in the summer to review their PhD proposals. All three reviews were fruitful and successful. And we want to highlight the success of a GEMM Lab grad, Florence Sullivan, who started a job in Maui with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificwhale.org\/pacific-whale-foundation\/\">Pacific Whale Foundation<\/a> in September as a Research Analyst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3202\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3202\" class=\"wp-image-3202\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/47ec5ed6-86f9-45ab-b551-8695f03152f6.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Dom during his MS seminar. Photo: Leila Lemos<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"963\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474-1024x963.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"3201\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474.jpg\" data-link=\"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/?attachment_id=3201\" class=\"wp-image-3201\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474-1024x963.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474-300x282.jpg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474-768x722.jpg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474-1536x1444.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/37fc8bf8-b480-4c51-a4a6-6df0c5360474.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-item__caption\">Post-defense happiness. Photo: Karen Lohman<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Leigh was recognized for her expertise in gray whale ecology and was appointed to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iucn.org\/western-gray-whale-advisory-panel\">IUCN Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel<\/a> (WGWAP). The western gray whales are a critically endangered population. At one point in the 1960s, the population was so scarce that they were believed to have been extinct. While this concern did not prove to be the case, the population still is not doing well, which is why the IUCN formed WGWAP to provide advice on the conservation of the western gray whales. Leigh was appointed to the panel this year and traveled to Switzerland and Russia for meetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_52529EFF041E-1-768x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3203\" width=\"227\" height=\"302\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_52529EFF041E-1-768x1024.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_52529EFF041E-1-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/IMG_52529EFF041E-1.jpeg 1100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px\" \/><figcaption>Clara aboard Ruby on her first day of gray whale field work in Oregon. Photo: Leigh Torres<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We are excited about a new addition to the lab. Clara Bird started her MS in Wildlife Science in the Department of Fisheries &amp; Wildlife this fall. She jumped straight into field work when she came in early September and got a taste of the Pacific. Clara joins us from the Duke University where she did her undergraduate degree and worked for the past year in their Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab. Clara is digging into the gray whale drone footage collected over the last four field seasons and scrutinize them from a behavioral point of view.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are reading this post, we would like to say that we really appreciate your support and interest in our work! We hope you will continue to join us on our journeys in 2020. Until then, happy holidays from the GEMM Lab!\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/9FBC6C3B-2F97-49F8-97E9-6CAF24E5CE08_1_105_c-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3204\" srcset=\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/9FBC6C3B-2F97-49F8-97E9-6CAF24E5CE08_1_105_c-1.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/9FBC6C3B-2F97-49F8-97E9-6CAF24E5CE08_1_105_c-1-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/2115\/files\/2019\/12\/9FBC6C3B-2F97-49F8-97E9-6CAF24E5CE08_1_105_c-1-768x576.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>GEMM Lab at the beginning of June with some permanents GEMMs and some temporary summer GEMM helpers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Barlow, D. R., M. Fournet, and F. Sharpe. 2019. Incorporating tides into the acoustic ecology of humpback whales. Marine Mammal Science 35:234-251.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Barlow, D. R., A. L. Pepper, and L. G. Torres. 2019. Skin deep: an assessment of New Zealand blue whale skin condition. Frontiers in Marine Science doi.org\/10.3389\/fmars.2019.00757.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Baylis, A. M. M., R. A. Orben, A. A. Arkhipkin, J. Barton, R. L. Brownell Jr., I. J. Staniland, and P. Brickle. 2019. Re-evaluating the population size of South American fur seals and conservation implications. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 29(11):1988-1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Baylis, A. M. M., M. Tierney, R. A. Orben, et al. 2019. Important at-sea areas of colonial breeding marine predators on the southern Patagonian Shelf. Scientific Reports 9:8517.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Cockerham, S., B. Lee, R. A. Orben, R. M. Suryan, L. G. Torres, P. Warzybok, R. Bradley, J. Jahncke, H. S. Young, C. Ouverney, and S. A. Shaffer. 2019. Microbial biology of the western gull (<em>Larus occidentalis<\/em>). Microbial Ecology 78:665-676.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Derville, S., L. G. Torres, R. Albertson, O. Andrews, C. S. Baker, P. Carzon, R. Constantine, M. Donoghue, C. Dutheil, A. Gannier, M. Oremus, M. M. Poole, J. Robbins, and C. Garrigue. 2019. Whales in warming water: assessing breeding habitat diversity and adaptability in Oceania\u2019s changing climate. Global Change Biology 25(4):1466-1481.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Derville, S., L. G. Torres, R. Dod\u00e9mont, V. Perard, and C. Garrigue. 2019. From land and sea, long-term data reveal persistent humpback whale (<em>Megaptera novaeangliae<\/em>) breeding habitat in New Caledonia. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 29(10):1697-1711.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Fleischman, A. B., R. A. Orben, N. Kokubun, A. Will, R. Paredes, J. T. Ackerman, A. Takahashi, A. S. Kitaysky, and S. A. Shaffer. 2019. Wintering in the western Subantarctic Pacific increases mercury contamination of red-legged kittiwakes. Environmental Science &amp; Technology 53(22):13398-13407.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Holdman, A. K., J. H. Haxel, H. Klinck, and L. G. Torres. 2019. Acoustic monitoring reveals the times and tides of harbor porpoise (<em>Phocoena phocoena<\/em>) distribution off central Oregon, U.S.A. Marine Mammal Science 35:164-186.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Kroeger, C., D. E. Crocker, D. R. Thompson, L. G. Torres, P. Sagar, and S. A. Shaffer. 2019. Variation in corticosterone levels in two species of breeding albatrosses with divergent life histories: responses to body condition and drivers of foraging behavior. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 92(2):223:238.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Loredo, S. A., R. A. Orben, R. M. Suryan, D. E. Lyons, J. Adams, and S. W. Stephensen. 2019. Spatial and temporal diving behavior of non-breeding common murres during two summers of contrasting ocean conditions. Journal of Experimental Biology and Ecology 517:13-24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Monteiro, F., L. S. Lemos, J. Fulg\u00eancio de Moura, R. C. C. Rocha, I. Moreira, A. P. Di Beneditto, H. A. Kehrig, I. C. A. C. Bordon, S. Siciliano, T. D. Saint\u2019Pierre, and R. A. Hauser-Davis. 2019. Subcellular metal distributions and metallothionein associations in rough-toothed dolphins (<em>Steno bredanensis<\/em>) from southeastern Brazil. Marine Pollution Bulletin 146:263-273.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Orben, R. A., A. B. Fleischman, A. L. Borker, W. Bridgeland, A. J. Gladics, J. Porquez, P. Sanzenbacher, S. W. Stephensen, R. Swift, M. W. McKown, and R. M. Suryan. 2019. Comparing imaging, acoustics, and radar to monitor Leach\u2019s storm-petrel colonies. PeerJ 7:e6721.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Yates, K. L., &#8230;, L. G. Torres, et al. 2019. Outstanding challenges in the transferability of ecological models. Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution 33(10):790-802.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Lisa Hildebrand, MSc student, OSU Department of Fisheries &amp; Wildlife, Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna Lab Another year has come and gone, and with the final days of 2019 upon us, it is fulfilling to look back and summarize all of the achievements in the GEMM Lab this year. So, snuggle up with your &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/2019\/12\/23\/gemm-lab-2019-a-year-in-the-life\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">GEMM Lab 2019: A Year in the Life<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9218,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[1211813,1310532,712899,1237664,712846,635445,635712,712919,1237710,513,155,704807],"class_list":["post-3193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alexa-kownacki","tag-clara-bird","tag-dawn-barlow","tag-dom-kone","tag-florence-sullivan","tag-gemm-lab","tag-leigh-torres","tag-leila-lemos","tag-lisa-hildebrand","tag-marine-mammals","tag-oregon-state-university","tag-solene-derville"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3193"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3193\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3209,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3193\/revisions\/3209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/gemmlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}