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ORCAWALE 2008 Scientists at Sea
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My husband (and colleague) and I, on top of Clipperton Rock, Clipperton Island, Eastern Tropical Pacific
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Lisa T. Ballance – Cruise Leader
Hometown: Los Alamos, NM
Current home base: La Jolla, CA
Educational background: B.A. Biology, M.S. Marine Science, Ph.D. Marine Ecology
Years studying cetaceans and seabirds: 25
Favorite ship food: Freshly caught yellowfin tuna
Favorite port call: Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
Most amazing at-sea experience: Killer whale attack on 8 adult sperm whales |
I came to NOAA Fisheries as a Ph.D. student, studying seabird ecology in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP). I stayed on as a post-doctoral researcher, became the Chief Scientist of our ETP cruises in 1999, the lead of our Ecosystem studies Program in 2001, and the Director of our Protected Resources Division in 2007. Our sea-based research is the cornerstone of our work and I continue to spend as much time in the field as possible. My research passions include seabird and cetacean foraging ecology, species diversity patterns, and conservation ecology. |
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Michael Force – Senior Seabird Observer
Hometown: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Current home base: Lake Country, BC, Canada
Educational background: B.A. Geography, University of British Columbia
Years seabirding: 35+
Favorite ship food: Fresh mahi on the barbi
Favorite port call: Mahe, Seychelles; Callao, Peru; Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Most unique sighting: Chatham Island Petrel off Peru; breaching Baird’s Beaked Whales off southern Baja California, Mexico
Favorite shore-based activity: birding, swimming, and traveling |
I was born in Vancouver, BC, Canada at a time when the Crested Myna was a common bird in the family yard. A boyhood yearning to identify it ignited an everlasting passion for birds. A pelagic birding trip off Westport, Washington in 1974 introduced me to the charismatic birds of the open ocean, leaving me hopelessly addicted to seabirds ever since. My first NOAA cruise was aboard the NOAA ship McArthur for the Monitoring of Porpoise Stocks (MOPS) survey in 1990. Over the course of more than 3000 days at sea, I’ve ended up working as a seabird and marine mammal observer, oceanographic technician, and zooplankton picker on a variety of oceanographic and fisheries research vessels. |
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Rich Pagen – Marine Mammal Observer
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Current home base: At sea
Educational background: M.S. Wildlife Biology, B.S. in Environmental Science
Current favorite pastime: Playing guitar
Years watching the sea: 6
Favorite ship food: Sushi, sushi and sushi
Favorite port call: San Francisco, CA & anywhere in Latin America
Favorite shore-based activity: Live music, watching the seasons unfold |
I first stepped aboard a NOAA ship in 2003, gathering with the rest of the team to assemble the flying bridge for survey work. The bottom of one of my running shoes fell off within an hour; now my feet adorn themselves in Keen shoes. My main work has been the seabird survey aspect of these cruises, both on the west coast and the east coast. But my interests and expertise overlap many areas of ship surveys (including an involvement in the world-renowned Aft Deck Café)– I am particularly interested in biopsy sampling and photo ID of mammals, though turtle and shark tagging, and oceanography are welcome endeavors as well. |
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Richard Rowlett – Senior Marine Mammal Observer
Hometown: Maryville, MO
Current home base: Seattle/Bellevue, WA
Educational background: B.S. Zoology, Geology (1970-Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO)
Current favorite pastime: Travel, birding, photography, rock collecting/polishing, and at home, yard and garden work
Years observing: 35+
Favorite ship food: Eggs benedict
Favorite port call: Manta, Ecuador; Panama City, Panama; Fremantle, Australia; Honolulu, HI
Most unique sighting: Bright *RED* southern right whale off South Africa 100% encrustrated with whale lice that came up along side the ship during a transit from Antarctica to Mauritius and I could literally reach over the side and scrape lice off with my hand
Favorite shore-based activity: Birding, gardening, rock collecting/polishing |
I started as a recreational birder which evolved into a decade of organizing and running seabird and whale watching trips off the East Coast (Ocean City, MD and Cape Hatteras, NC) through the 1970’s while my ‘day job’ was with the Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian, Washington, DC). These first ever pioneering efforts into previously and amazingly ‘uncharted’ waters led to a significant data base simply through self teaching and growing experience, that I moved on to the first ever marine mammal, turtle, and seabird surveys in the NW Atlantic off US East Coast (University of Rhode Island project acronym CETAP) and from there these ‘dangling carrots’ just kept escalating and expanding to a decade (1980’s) of marine mammal surveys circumnavigating Antarctica (southern summers) and North Pacific Alaska/Aleutian/Bering Sea (northern summers) with the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Seattle, WA, working with Dall’s porpoise and the Japanese high seas drift net salmon fishery. Foreign fisheries work filled some gaps in between until coming on with NOAA Fisheries and Southwest Fisheries Science Center (La Jolla, CA) in 1989 as a marine mammal observer in annual marine mammal surveys including Eastern Tropical Pacific, U.S. West Coast, Alaska, and Hawaii projects in addition to 15 seasons monitoring gray whale calf migration along the central California coast at an extraordinarily unique shore based study site, Pt. Piedras Blancas Light Station near San Simeon, CA. |
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Sophie Webb – Bird Observer
Hometown: Felton, CA
Educational background: B.A. Biology
Current favorite pastime: Watching birds, drawing and hiking
Years watchin' critters: As long as I can remember
Favorite ship food: Anything involving chocolate
Favorite shore-based activities: Travel, art, wildlife and hiking, and reading |
I have been working as field biologist studying mostly birds, occasionally mammals, for, yikes. over 25 years! I first started observing for SWFSC in 2000 as a contractor although my first cruise on a NOAA ship was on the East Coast in 1983 working for Manomet Bird Observatory. Over the years I have worked as a contractor for a variety of other folks which has taken me many places from the Arctic to the Antarctic and many tropical countries in-between. Never far from me are my binoculars and drawing pad. The latter being part of the second half of my life. I am also an artist. I illustrate field guides, (mostly neotropical birds although currently I am working on a marine mammal guide) and write and illustrate children's books about various research projects I have worked on. Currently I am one of the directors of the non-profit Oikonos. |
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Liz Zele – Acoustician
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Current home base: Same spot!
Educational background: B.A. Marine Science, Biology emphasis
Current favorite pastime: Movie watching!
Years listening: 3
Favorite ship food: The backdeck BBQ setup
Favorite port call: San Francisco, CA; Manta, Ecuador
Most unique vocals heard: Love those minke whales
Favorite shore-based activity: Wine tasting and travel |
I joined Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 2003 and spend some time on land getting to know marine mammal acoustics. My first year at sea on the Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpback whales survey (SPLASH) afforded me the role of a marine mammal observer, with occasional acoustics stints. My second ship year changed my role to an oceanographer aboard the Collaborative Survey of Cetacean Abundance and Pelagic Ecosystem (CSCAPE). Acoustics called to me again though as I boarded the Stenella Abundance Research (STAR) 2006 survey as an acoustic technician. |
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Last modified:
10/21/2008 |
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