Jens Currie is a PhD candidate and the Chief Scientist at Pacific Whale Foundation, specializing in the energetics, ecology, and conservation of endangered cetaceans. His research uses drone photogrammetry, CATS biologging tags, and bioenergetic modeling to investigate the health and recovery of the Main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale population. He has authored more than 35 peer-reviewed publications on humpback whale behavior, dolphin population dynamics, and fisheries interactions. His dissertation examines nutritional stress, energy expenditure, and prey requirements to inform management and recovery actions.
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Jens Currie
Jens's Research Aims
Jens’s doctoral research investigates the energetic, ecological, and demographic dynamics of the endangered Main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale population. Using an integrated approach that combines drone photogrammetry, CATS biologging tags, long-term photo-identification, and bioenergetic modeling, his work aims to:
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Quantify individual- and cluster-level body condition using drone-based photogrammetry to assess how nutritional stress varies across age classes, sexes, and social clusters, and how these changes relate to long-term sighting histories and foraging behavior.
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Estimate total energy expenditure across major life-history stages by combining CATS tag-derived kinematics with metabolic rate estimates to evaluate how movement, foraging, and social behavior influence energetic costs.
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Develop a bioenergetic model that predicts prey requirements and daily energy needs under different ecological scenarios, including declining prey size, reduced availability, and varying levels of fisheries overlap.
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Evaluate population-level implications by linking energetics, body condition trends, and demographic rates to provide science that directly informs the false killer whale recovery plan and provides management actions for this endangered population.
Biography
Jens is originally from the East Coast of Canada and earned both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology from Memorial University of Newfoundland. He moved to Hawaiʻi in 2013 to join Pacific Whale Foundation, where he now serves as Chief Scientist and oversees research programs in Hawaiʻi, Australia, Ecuador, and Chile. Since arriving in the Pacific, Jens has worked extensively across the region studying whales and dolphins through photogrammetry, biologging, population ecology, and long-term monitoring. He is currently pursuing his PhD at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, focusing on the energetics, ecology, and conservation of the endangered Main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whale population. In addition to his research, Jens serves as a NOAA marine mammal first responder, Research Chair on the Sanctuary Advisory Council, and a Level 3 large-whale entanglement responder.