10 Years of whale research - over 3000 individual humpback whales identified!!
While we love taking people out on the ocean, our true focus is research. This year we will be celebrating 10 years of La Orca. We are also celebrating that our humpback whale fluke identification catalog has now surpassed 3000 individuals! This is the second largest catalog on Happywhale in the eastern North Pacific breeding areas!!! The US, Canadian and Mexican governments are all using our catalog to help manage the humpback whale populations of the North Pacific, and none of this would be possible without all of you coming out on our trips!! THANK YOU!
Recent Publications
1. Ransome N, Frisch-Jordán A, Cheeseman T, Calambokidis J, Kew A et al. (2024) Environmental drivers of persistent humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae feeding events in a Mexican breeding area. Marine Ecology Progress Series 726:161-79.
2. Cheeseman T, Barlow J, Acebes JM, Audley K, Ransome N et al. (2024) Bellwethers of change: population modelling of North Pacific humpback whales from 2002 through 2021 reveals shift from recovery to climate repsonse. Royal Open Science.11:231462. doi:10.1098/rsos.231462
3. Ransome N, Frisch A, Titova O, Filatova OA, Hill MC et al. (2023) A trans-Pacific movement highlights regular migrations between Russia and Mexico. Endangered Species Research 52:65-79. doi: 10.3354/esr01263
4. Ransome N (2023) The spatial ecology and population structure of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in mainland Mexico; Implications for management and conservation, PhD Thesis of Murdoch University, Western Australia, Australia.
5. McMillan CJ, Ford JKB, Cheeseman T, Calambokidis J, Ransome N et al. (2023). Spatial patterns in the migratory destinations of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) encountered in Canadian Pacific waters, based on photo-identification data and ocean basin-wide collaboration. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Ocean Canada.
6. Lazcano Pacheco C, Ortega-Ortiz C, Castillo-Sánchez A, Martínez-Serrano I, Ransome N et al. (2023) Ecological aspects of the population ecology of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) from Mexican Pacific and Southern California waters. Marine Mammal Science 39: 1344-1355. doi: 10.1111/mms.13056
7. Ransome N, Castaneda MG, Cheeseman T, Calambokidis J & Sharp F (2023) Migratory destinations of endangered humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) from El Salvador. Revista de Biología Tropical 71: e57283 doi: 10.15517/rev.biol.trop.v71iS4.57283
8. Douglas A, Garita F, Acevedo-Gutiérrez A, Mahaffy SD, Ransome N et al. (2023) False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens, Cetacea: Delphinidae) along the Pacific coast of Central America and Mexico: Long-term movements, association patterns and assessment of fishery interactions. Revista de Biología Tropical 71: e57189. doi:10.15517/rev.biol.trop.v71iS4.57189
9. Cheeseman T, Southerland K, Acebes JM, Calambokidis J, Ransome N et al. (2023) A collaborative and near-comprehensive North Pacific humpback whale photo-ID dataset. Scientific Reports 13, 10237. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-36928-1.
10. De Weerdt J, Pacheco AS, Calambokidis J, Castaneda M, Ransome N et al. (2023) Migratory destinations and spatial structuring of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) wintering off Nicaragua. Scientific reports. 13:15180. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41923-7.
11. Martínez-Loustalot P, Audley K, Cheeseman T, De Weerdt J, Ransome N et al. (2023) Towards the definition of the humpback whale population units along the Mexican and Central American coasts in the Pacific Ocean. Marine Mammal Science 39:422-37. doi: 10.1111/mms.12980
12. Castaneda MG, Martínez de Navas E, Ransome NL, Benito PC, Pineda L et al. (2022) Eventos de cetáceos enmallados en El Salvador. Revista Minerva 5:81-9. doi:10.5377/revminerva.v5i1.15698
13. Ransome N, Kew A, Duque E, Morais M, Wright W, Smith JN (2022) Escorting of a mother humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and the death of her calf during aggressive mating behavior. Marine Mammal Science 38:1643 – 1653. doi: 10.1111/mms.12922.
14. Curtis KA, Calambokidis J, Audley K, Castaneda M, Ransome N et al. (2022). Abundance of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) wintering in Central America and southern Mexico from a one-dimensional spatial capture-recapture model. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-661. doi: 10.25923/9cq1-rx80.
15. Medrano L, Ransome N, y Rodriguez E (2022) Assessing the risk of vessel collision for large whales in the Mexican Pacific. A special report for WWF Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, as part of the Blue Corridors Project.
16. Ransome N, Bejder L, Jenner M, Schimpf R, Penfold G et al. (2021), Parturition in female humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and observations of escorting and competitive behaviour during birthing events. Marine Mammal Science 38:408-32. doi: 10.1111/mms.12864.
17. Ransome N, Medrano L, Felix F, Loneragan N, Smith J (2021) Vessel strikes of large whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific: A case study of regional underreporting. Frontiers in Marine Science. 1130. doi: 10.3389/fmars. 2021.675245.
18. Taylor BL, Martien KK, Archer FI, Audley K, Ransome N et al. (2021a). Evaluation of Humpback Whales Wintering in Central America and Southern Mexico as a Demographically Independent Population. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 3:103–111.
19. Taylor BL, Martien KK, Archer FI, Audley K, Ransome N et al. (2021b). Evaluation of Mexican Distinct Population Segment of Humpback Whales as units under the Marine Mammal Protection Act Karen. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 5:40–51.
20. Frisch-Jordan A, Ransome NL, Aranda-Men O, Romo-Sirvent F (2019) Intensive feeding of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the breeding ground of Banderas Bay, Mexico. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 14:27 – 33. doi: 10.5597/lajam00251
21. Pacheco AS, Silva S, Duque E, Ransome N, Suarez AP, Jaramillo-Calle V et al. (2019) Cetacean diversity revealed from whale-watching observation in Northern Peru. Aquatic Mammals 45:116 – 122. doi: 10.1578/AM.45.1.2019.116.
22. Ransome N (2014) Anthropogenic scaring of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) of the Mexican Pacific, MSc Thesis of Southern Cross University, NSW, Australia.