Gray Whale Ecology and Conservation

Background

Gray whales have experienced major population declines over the past decade, with widespread reports of poor body condition and elevated mortality. These whales complete one of the longest mammalian migrations on Earth, and rely on the energy they acquire on high latitude feeding grounds to sustain their multi-month fasting period in the breeding lagoons of Baja California where they calve and nurse young. Understanding how gray whales acquire, store, and expend energy across both feeding and breeding grounds is critical for interpreting recent declines.

Amidst these declines, unusually large numbers of gray whales have begun arriving in Sitka Sound, Southeast Alaska, each spring to forage on Pacific herring eggs, revealing a novel and potentially energetically important strategy with implications for local prey dynamics and whale health. Our project integrates vessel surveys, drone-based photogrammetry, and biologging tag deployments to examine population dynamics, foraging behavior, and energetic effort in this emerging foraging hotspot, while also evaluating energetic costs and requirements across the breeding grounds and the wider migratory cycle. Together, these efforts provide important context for assessing gray whale health, interpreting population change, and understanding how whales are adapting to shifting environmental conditions, while supporting management decisions grounded in ecosystem and community stewardship.