Page 7 - Coastwatch_2024_v5b

Humpback Whale Studies

Happywhale

This spring, the CCS
partnered with
Happywhale.com, an online
citizen science platform that
helps the public connect
with whales. Now, when
members of the public
upload humpback whale
fluke pictures from this
Humpback whale fluking off the coast of Provincetown. CCS Image, NMFS ESA-MMPA Permit #21485 region to Happywhale,
they are also matched
The Humpback Whale Studies Program started the year by leading the community in to the CCS Gulf of Maine
naming over 100 Gulf of Maine humpback whales. Among the names assigned was Humpback Whale
Champion, who was named for specific marks on its tail, but also in honor of the late Dr.
Carole Carlson. Carole was a champion for whales and the people who care about them. Catalog, which represents
over four decades of
Program staff spent most of the spring and summer conducting population research population research. CCS
in and adjacent to the Gulf of Maine, from Nantucket to Nova Scotia. The team then scientists collaborate with
headed to the South Pacific to continue the Center's long-term research on a Southern
Hemisphere breeding ground at American Samoa. Happywhale to share these
matches, and the results
Humpback Whale Studies Program staff were part of nine papers that were published or contribute to CCS’s long-
accepted for publication in scientific journals in 2024. These papers focused on a wide
range of topics, including: ocean-scale population structure, impacts of satellite tagging, term research efforts.
genetics, contaminant and dietary studies, behavior and predation.

CCS Genetics Lab Brings State-of-the-Art Science to the Outer Cape

POPULATION GENETICS • GENETIC TAGGING

BIOINFORMATICS • EPIGENETICS • WILDLIFE DISEASE MONITORING

CCS continues to advance cutting-edge marine
science with the establishment of the new genetics lab at the
Hiebert Marine Laboratory. This lab is a collaboration with geneticists
Drs. Per Palsbøll and Martine Bérubé, and their well-established lab
at the University of Groningen. It was funded by an equipment grant
from the National Science Foundation and took shape with the special
help of Frank Villa and Jim Robshaw, who generously donated their
expertise in lab design and installation.

In addition to research, the lab will prioritize the participation of under-
represented groups and will educate the public on the importance of
genetic for understanding coastal and marine life.
CCS Humpback Whale Studies Research Associate
Vania Rivera-León conducts analysis in the new genetics lab.
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