Speaker: Leigh Torres,  Associate Professor OSU Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Sciences, Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon Sea Grant Extension

Topic: Life as a PCFG: A close look at the ecology and health of Pacific Coast Feeding Group gray whales in Oregon waters

Over the past seven years, Torres and her team have studied the ecology and health of Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG) gray whales that forage in the coastal waters of Oregon. They use multiple tools to understand these whales’ health, behavior and environment, including drones, poop collection, suction cup video tags, hydrophones, underwater GoPro videos and prey collection. In this talk Torres will discuss recent findings, including the prey quality and estimated microplastic consumption rates of PCFG whales, changes in stress levels relative to vessel traffic, the consequences of entanglement and vessel strike events, contrasting body condition and morphology, unique foraging behaviors, and impacts of rapid habitat change on PCFG foraging rates. These findings highlight the unique life history strategy, threats, and culture of PCFG
gray whales.
We hope you can join us for this conversation about our local gray whales.