About Us
DR PETER GILL
Director, Blue Whale Study Inc.
And
Honorary Research Fellow, Whale Ecology Group
School of Life & Environmental Sciences
Deakin University, Warrnambool Victoria.
Research summary: Pete’s main research interest since 1998 is the ecology of Endangered blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in the Bonney Upwelling and surrounding waters of south-east Australia. His Ph.D. (Ecological linkages within the Bonney Upwelling blue whale feeding area), awarded through Deakin University in 2004, focused on the dynamic linkages between weather, oceanography, prey and blue whales in this region, using aerial and boat surveys, satellite remote sensing and deployed oceanographic instruments to demonstrate that these waters are an important seasonal feeding aggregation area for blue whales. This work has progressed into description and modelling of blue whale feeding habitat in this region.
MARGIE MORRICE
Director, Blue Whale Study Inc.
and
Ph.D. candidate, Whale Ecology Group
School of Life & Environmental Sciences
Deakin University
B.Sc. Marine Biology and Zoology 1988 (James Cook University, Townsville, Australia)
B.Sc. (Hons) Zoology 1990 (University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia) ‘Characteristics of Weddell seal, Leptonychotes weddellii (Lesson 1826), underwater vocalisations during the 1989/90 breeding season at Davis Station, Antarctica.’
Ph.D. thesis title: The foraging ecology of blue whales in the Bonney Upwelling, southern Australia
Supervisors: Dr Alecia Bellgrove and Dr Debbie Thiele
Research Summary: The Bonney Upwelling region, south-east Australia, is one of very few known feeding grounds worldwide for the endangered blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). The whales’ prey, Nyctiphanes australis, is also one of the few species of krill that regularly swarms at the surface, allowing unique opportunities to observe blue whale feeding behaviour in detail. This study will collect data on blue whale foraging behaviour and diet and relate these to their prey and foraging habitat. This information will form the basis of a conservation and management-oriented framework that defines habitat critical to maintain blue whales in this region. The development of this region as an offshore gas province of national significance and other human activities creates an immediate need to understand blue whale behaviour and ecology.
IMAGE GALLERY
The Blue Whale Study has an extensive gallery of images which are used to record each research trip and for identifying blue whales.
BWS NEWS
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October 2009, The Upwelling Festival view more
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December 2009: Launch of website view more
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October 2009: Portland Upwelling Festival view more
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