Dr. Nicola Ransome is the recipient of ACS-SF Bay chapter’s 2023 Christine Fitzsimmons cetacean research grant. Her primary research focus is on the study of anthropogenic impacts on large whales of the Eastern Tropical Pacific. She has used the grant proceeds toward her ongoing research of a threatened “distinct population segment” (DPS) of humpback whales, whose migratory corridor is Central America through the west coast of North America. The research is focused on seasonal (early season) timing and identification of the whales through tail flukes and the Happywhale identification platform. Please join us as Nico shares her findings and the impact of the results from this empirical research.

This free event is open to the public. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED. A suggested donation of $10 per participant is encouraged and greatly appreciated. Donations help cover webinar costs and support our education and cetacean research grant programs. To donate, please visit our website https://www.acs-sfbay.org/donate. We are grateful for your support!

Nico Ransome is a whale biologist with 18 years of experience. In addition to her MSc in Marine Science and Management, she completed her PhD in May 2023 in the spatial ecology of humpback whales in mainland Mexico. She runs a research project in Mexico and helps run one in El Salvador. She is a research associate of Murdoch University in Western Australia as well as a researcher in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. She describes her main research focus as the study of anthropogenic impacts on large whales of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, but she has a special passion for behavioural ecology and migration ecology of humpback whales.