[CINC] May 12 & 13 From Shore to Sea Lecture: New Insights into Blue and Humpback Whales off Southern California

[Shauna Bingham]

Channel Islands National Park* *News Release
May 6, 2009

For Immediate Release

Yvonne Menard, Channel Islands National Park (805) 658-5725

Shauna Bingham, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (805) 382-6151 
#102

 

*New Insights into *Recovery *Blue and Humpback Whales off Southern 
California* 

Research biologist, John Calambokidis, will discuss his work tracking 
the movements and estimating the populations of blue and humpback whales 
in the North Pacific at the May "From Shore to Sea"  lecture.   

Calambokidis will unveil recent findings on the behavior of blue whales 
in the Santa Barbara Channel shipping lanes and strategies for avoiding 
ship strikes. His lecture will include stunning footage of blue whales 
obtained while filming a National Geographic special that aired in 
March. Blue whales, an endangered species with an estimated population 
of 2,000 animals, are found in higher concentrations off California than 
in any other location in the world.

Additionally, in his presentation, Calambokidis will chart the abundance 
of humpback whales in the entire North Pacific Ocean using 
photo-identification data. He is a principal investigator for an 
international humpback whale research project known as SPLASH (Structure 
of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks) and works 
with over 400 scientists from 10 countries.

Calambokidis, co-founder of Cascadia Research, served as the principal 
investigator of more than 50 research studies on marine mammals, marine 
birds, and pollution. He has co-authored over 60 papers in scientific 
journals and two books: the award-winning /A/ /Guide to Marine Mammals 
of Greater Puget Sound/ and /Blue Whales/. Calambokidis, is an adjunct 
faculty member of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.  

The "From Shore to Sea" lecture series is jointly sponsored by Channel 
Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary with 
generous support from Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. The purpose of the 
series is to further the understanding of current research on the 
Channel Islands and surrounding waters. The lectures occur at 7:00 p.m. 
on Tuesday, May 12, 2009, at Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor 
Way in the Santa Barbara Harbor and Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at the 
Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino Visitor Center, 1901 
Spinnaker Drive in the Ventura Harbor. The programs are free and open to 
the public. 

This publication is available on line at: 
www.nps.gov/chis/parknews/newsreleases.htm 
<http://www.nps.gov/chis/parknews/newsreleases.htm>

-- 
Shauna Bingham 
Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator
NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
3600 S. Harbor Blvd. #111
Oxnard, CA 93035
Shauna.Bingham at noaa.gov
(805) 382-6149 ext. 102
Fax (805) 382-9791
http://channelislands.noaa.gov

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