One Ocean Expeditions carefully selects research partners who execute important and relevant research projects around the world. California Ocean Alliance (COA) is a trusted and highly recognized organization, conducting research in Antarctica to improve our understanding of the habits and behaviour of whales in the region.
For the past four years, California Ocean Alliance’s Director of Research, Dr. Ari Friedlaender has been travelling with One Ocean Expeditions to Antarctica to conduct his whale research. Below, Ari Friedlaender explains the latest research findings that his team has compiled:
“We left the wild beauty of Antarctica and its whales several months ago. Since then we have been sifting through data, analyzing videos, measuring whales, and recounting all of the magical moments we had this past season with One Ocean Expeditions. It was an incredibly productive season where we deployed suction-cup and video recording tags on humpback whales, revealing unique information about how these ocean giants behave, how they navigate the icy waters, and find their food. Each of these shows some amazing footage and explains what we are doing when we go out to do our work.
The information we collected is critical for us as scientists to learn about the behavior of Antarctic whales. It is also fascinating for passengers to learn more about the animals they are going to see and experience, and is necessary for the policy makers and managers to be able to accurately determine where and when certain places need to be protected from human activities. It is our goal to make all of the information that we learn available to the passengers travelling with One Ocean Expeditions so that their time in the Antarctic is enhanced and they are treated to a unique experience in witnessing cutting edge science.
Recently, we published a set of scientific papers that shed light on the movement patterns and behavior of humpback whales around the Antarctic Peninsula, and provide evidence to show where the critical foraging areas for these whales are in relation to where the commercial krill fishery now operates. We hope that by understanding the critical times and places for whales, we can create protected areas that will benefit all krill predators and remove any possibility of them experiencing competition for their food with the commercial krill fishery.
Join us this season as we continue our scientific collaboration with One Ocean Expeditions! Every day is different and we learn new things about whales literally every time we go out to study them. We look forward to doing our work and sharing it with the passengers on the ship. This season we will be continuing the work described above, but also seeking help from passengers to collect photos of individual humpback whale flukes so that we can increase our catalog of known individuals in the population that feeds around the Antarctic Peninsula. Find out more when you board the ship for the greatest adventure of your life!”
Travel tip:
Our ‘Marine Mammals of Antarctica’ is an excellent opportunity to see whales in their natural environment while feeding on krill in the abundant ecosystem of Antarctica.
Do you want to travel with Dr. Ari Friedlaender and his team? Speak with your travel agent or call our experts to learn more.
Give us a call or send through an email.