Minke whales are the most numerous whale species worldwide, yet relatively little is known about this small whale. In the Northeast Pacific, the minke is surprisingly rare despite never being subject to the commercial hunts that other large whale species were. Eleanor Dorsey started the first study of minke whales in the San Juan islands in 1980. This study has since become the longest-running study of the species in the Pacific, if not the world. Data spanning 40 years have been collected through dedicated fieldwork and sightings and photos donated by enthusiastic naturalists and whale watch captains, providing insights into individual presence, distribution, habitat use, and foraging ecology. This talk will summarize some of this work and present the latest findings on long-term individual presence, highlighting the importance of the Salish Sea to minke whales in the Northeast Pacific.
This talk is dedicated to the late, great Dr. Jonathan Stern, who was the heart and soul of the minke project and continues to influence it to this day.
This webinar is offered for free to the public. A suggested donation of $10 per participant/viewer is encouraged and appreciated. Donations help cover webinar costs and support our education and cetacean research grant programs. Click here to donate.
ABOUT FRANCES ROBERTSON, Ph. D.
Dr. Robertson is a wildlife biologist based in Washington State. She is currently the Marine Program Coordinator for San Juan County. Frances has over a decade of marine mammal research experience, mainly focused on understanding the impacts of human activities on cetaceans. Her research has taken her from the Alaskan Arctic to British Columbia, Scotland, and the San Juan Islands in Washington State.
Dr. Robertson earned her Ph.D. in 2014 from the University of British Columbia in the Marine Mammal Research Unit. Her doctoral research investigated the effects of seismic survey operations on bowhead whales in the Beaufort Sea.
In her work for the County, Frances leads the local government’s efforts for the recovery of the endangered Southern Resident killer whale and manages numerous projects focused on reducing the impacts of vessel disturbance to the Southern Residents and other cetacean species. Frances’s current research interests include the presence, foraging ecology, and habitat selection of minke whales in the Salish Sea and historical whaling by Washington State coastal tribes.
