Speaker: Clarissa Teixeira, Postdoctoral Scholar, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center

Topic: What biomarkers can tell us about the trophic interactions of marine mammals and their responses to human activities

Marine mammals are widely distributed predators that regulate prey populations and contribute to the stability of their ecosystems. Because of their large home ranges and high capacity for moving long distances, some species can connect food webs by transporting nutrients within and across different habitats. Given such ecological importance, understanding their trophic ecology is central to assess how human activities and potential variation in prey sources can influence their population dynamics, interactions, and structure. However, investigating the trophic ecology of marine mammals by conventional methods, such as direct observation, can be hampered by their ability to feed underwater and to remain submerged for long periods of time. 

In this talk, I’ll briefly discuss my PhD research in which I analyzed the trophic ecology of the Guiana dolphin at the individual, population, and community levels; and share some results of my current postdoctoral research where I assessed how the Deepwater Horizon oil spill influenced movements and diet of Gulf of Mexico sperm whales. Come join me and navigate from the Southwest Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico, and learn more about how the integration of multiple approaches (e.g., stomach content, stable isotope analysis, compound specific amino acids, and tracking data) can provide critical information on marine mammal species, thereby improving our capacity to predict behavioral and physiological changes to future environmental disturbances.