Orca Quest 2020: In Search of Killer Whales
In August 2020, Marine Mammal Research Unit (MMRU) researchers set sail to determine whether there are enough chinook salmon to support southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea.
Research into bowhead whales finds unique foraging behaviour
Understanding the needs of bowheads is a crucial first step taken to learn how they will respond to climate change.
Harbour seals respond differently to pulses of out-migrating coho and Chinook salmon smolts
UBC researchers set out to determine who was eating juvenile salmon, and when and where it was occurring by capturing and tracking harbour seals that carried cell-phone-like devices that recorded everything and everywhere the seals went.
STUDENT PROFILE: Ana Pozas
Focusing her research on the diets of California sea lions, Pozas enjoys working with the ‘dogs of the sea’, proving that the “ocean is not such a scary place and that there’s so much to learn still.”
What’s Killing Killer Whales?
Despite there being no singular common cause of death, the study found a common theme: Human-caused deaths occurred in every age class — from juveniles to subadults and adults.
Andrew Trites and Daniel Pauly join UBC’s Quarter Century Club, Eden Fellner joins 25 Year Club
The Quarter Century Club honours faculty who have spent 25 years at UBC. The 25 Year Club honours staff who have achieved that same milestone.
New footage gives whale’s-eye view of northern and southern resident orcas
UBC and Hakai Institute researchers have just returned from a 30-day research trip in the northern and southern waters of Vancouver Island, where they gathered stunning new aerial and underwater footage of northern and southern resident killer whales that offers an unparalleled glimpse into the underwater lives of these whales. The research is part of […]
Swimming with the pod
For the past two weeks, Marine Mammal Research Unit (MMRU) researchers led by Dr. Andrew
Trites have been studying the feeding behaviours of northern resident killer whales.
Bowhead whales feed year-round in Cumberland Sound, Nunavut
Satellite telemetry and time-depth recorders are providing new and surprising insights into the secret lives of bowhead whales
Aerial drones offer new perspective on resident killer whale behaviour
Scientists got a rare glimpse into the underwater behaviour of killer whales off the B.C. coast, with the help of aerial drones.