National Geographic features Cascadia's blue whale research

In February and March National Geographic will be featuring some of the work on blue whales by Cascadia Research. This included the following (with links to additional information from the National Geographic website:

Article in the March 2009 National Geographic magazine

2-hour special on blue whales to air 8 March 2009 at 8:00 PM on National Geographic Channel

Interactive web site with information on blue whales and blue whale research

Interactive blue whale research game (conduct your own expedition and try your hand at tagging and photo-ID)

Mother and calf blue whale on the Costa Rica Dome, January 2008. Photo by John Calambokidis

 

Radio or video stories on Cascadia's blue and humpback whale research

National Geographic Weekend interview by Boyd Matson with John Calambokidis on 17 May 2008

National Geographic video on blue whales with John Calambokidis (2 min 22 sec story)

NPR radio expedition on humpback whales off California (8 min Alex Chadwick w/ John Calambokdis)

Lecture on blue whales by John Calambokidis at New England Aquarium (1 h 20 min. Audio or video)

 

Read more about Cascadia's blue whale research:

Crittercam footage taken off a blue whale (2nd whale nearby) with a loud AB call

Preliminary cruise report from 2008 expedition to the Costa Rica Dome

Cruise report from 1999 expedition to the Costa Rica Dome

Blue whale sighted off Washington outer coast, 13 January 2009

Cascadia in the News

Current Projects

Cascadia's Reports and Publications 

 

Ways you can support Cascadia's blue whale research

Make a donation to our research (Mail-in form) or call us at 800-747-7329 

Adopt or name a blue whale through a joint program by Oceanic Society and Cascadia Research

 

Tagging a blue whale in the Santa Barbara Channel. Photo by Alexei Calambokidis

 

PDFs of other publications on Cascadia's blue and humpback whale research

Objectives of Expeditions to study blue whales on the Costa Rica Dome

In January 2008, Cascadia conducted an expedition to the Costa Rica Dome on collaboration with Oregon State University, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and National Geographic. (read cruise report from expedition) The month-long expedition had a number of objectives that would be addressed using several techniques:

  1. Determine presence of blue whale calves and mating activities on the Costa Rica Dome

  2. Examine occurrence of feeding by blue whales on the Costa Rica Dome

  3. Examine movements and habitat use of blue whales using satellite tags, including relocation to determine tag status, biopsy, and possible association with calves

  4. Examine underwater behavior using suction-cup data-logging acoustic tags and underwater filming

  5. Obtain identification photographs of blue whales to examine population structure and movements

  6. Determine vocalizations of blue whales on a breeding ground

  7. Obtain samples for genetic determination of population structure

  8. Examine the oceanographic and prey occurrence on the Dome and relationship to blue whale occurrence