On this week’s episode, Liah McPherson, a graduate student working on Hawaiian spinner dolphins, talks about her research on population abundance and age structure and her experiences entering the field of marine mammal science.

Marine Mammal Science

MMS 109: Spinner dolphins and becoming a marine mammal scientist

In week's episode, Dr Naomi Rose explains a proposed coastal resilience project that could have negative impacts on a dolphin population living near New Orleans.

MMS 108: Potential Jeopardy for Barataria Bay Dolphins

On this week’s episode,  Jordan Lerma from Cascadia Research Collective talks to Dr. Ashley Scarlett about his work with drones and sampling the breath of cetaceans, as well as research on the behavior of false killer whales.

MMS 107: Hawaiian Cetacean Studies

On this week’s episode, Dr Ashley Scarlett chats to Dr Jay Barlow, an award winning  marine mammal researcher whose natural ability to tinker with technology has helped with the conservation of many species. He discusses his newest paper on the unique calls and acoustic characteristics of hard to find beaked whales off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.

MMS 106: Using Acoustics to detect hard-to-find whales and dolphins

On this week’s episode guest Dr. Lindsay Porter, a marine biologist whose work focuses on the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise, talks to Dr. Ashley Scarlett about how important regional, collaborative efforts are when working towards conservation.

MMS 105: Hong Kong’s Indo-Pacific finless porpoise

This week’s episode is the recording of the Internship Equality webinar co-hosted by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation and the  Society for Marine Mammalogy Diversity & Inclusion committee. While we all rely on the ocean for half our oxygen, our climate, and our economy, not everyone has a voice in marine science and conservation, a field which has little racial diversity. Recognizing and removing the barriers preventing access to this field is critical to the health of our planet. In this webinar, two organizations will present their experiences, outlining how they evaluated the barriers to accessing opportunities in this field and how they are working to remove them. Mentioned published paper: ​​The problem of toxic internships in the environmental field: Guidelines for more equitable professional experiences https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13412-020-00629-2

MMS 104: Internship Equality Webinar

This week’s episode has our guest,  Dr. Rebecca Lent, the International Whaling Commission's Executive Secretary, talking to Dr. Ashley Scarlett about the IWC’s 75th anniversary. They also talk about its latest cetacean conservation initiatives and programs. Dr. Lent describes the valuable resources that the IWC provides for the general public, including scientific reports and informative guides to help protect marine mammals.   Link to the details about the Virtual Special Meeting (VSM): https://iwc.int/iwc-virtual-special-meeting Thursday and Friday events (9 and 10 September) will be broadcast on YouTube, and you can find the link to the IWC YouTube address on this same page.

MMS 103: The Oldest Whale and Dolphin Conservation Organization

This week’s episode is part 2 of a two-part interview with Dr Kathleen Hunt, where she teaches us about the history and importance of fecal hormone studies and other ways to test hormones in whales.

MMS 102: Poopology 102

This week’s episode is part 1 of a two-part interview with Dr Kathleen Hunt, where she teaches us about the history and importance of fecal hormone studies and other ways to test hormones in whales.

MMS 101: Poopology 101

This week’s episode marks the 100th Marine Mammal Science podcast recording. To celebrate, we speak to Dr. Chris Parsons, the creator of the podcast and the Membership Chair of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. He joins Dr. Ashley Scarlett to discuss the podcast, what the Society for Marine Mammalogy offers and ways for those interested in marine mammals to engage with the society. Join us at the 24th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, December 13-17, 2021. Go to marinemammalscience.org to register.

MMS 100: The 100th episode!

On this week’s episode Guest Dr. Lindsay Porter, Chair of the International Whaling Commission’s Small Cetaceans Sub-Committee, talks to Dr. Ashley Scarlett about the work of the Sub-Committee on the conservation of dolphins, porpoises, and beaked whales. One current issue is the threat posed by “wild meat” - the hunting and killing of small cetaceans for food and bait.

MMS 99: Conservation of small cetaceans and the IWC

In this week’s episode Dr. Ashley Scarlett talks to Dr. Caroline Weir who has dedicated herself to helping achieve a key biodiversity area for the endangered Sei Whales in the Falkland Islands. They talk about how important the Falkland Islands are to sei and southern right whales, and the scientific discoveries made on both species.

MMS 98: The importance of the Falkland Islands for sei and southern right whales

In this week's episode, Dr. Drasko Holcer tells us more about the whales and dolphins of the Adriatic Sea, like long-finned pilot whales, sperm whales, and common dolphins. He also talks about victories with Marine Protected Areas and shares a conservation message for the marine mammals of this region.

MMS 97: The history of cetacean research in the Adriatic Sea, part 3

In this week's episode, Dr. Ashley Scarlett talks to Dr. Drasko Holcer about the history of the Blue Whale Institute - which spearheaded cetacean research in the Adriatic Sea. They discuss the history of marine mammals in the Adriatic and the locals' attitudes towards the marine environment.

MMS 96: The history of cetacean research in the Adriatic Sea, part 2

This week’s episode will be part 1 of 3 episodes with Dr. Ashley Scarlett talking to one of our legendary marine mammal science champions  Dr. Drasko Holcer. They talk about the history of cetacean research in the Adriatic Sea, threats to cetaceans in this region, and the work of the Blue World Institute.

MMS 95: The history of cetacean research in the Adriatic Sea, Part 1

Marine Mammal Science is a podcast covering some of the latest scientific research on marine mammals – whales and dolphins, polar bears, seals and sea lions, manatees and dugongs, and sea otters. The podcast is produced by Speak Up For Blue Media on behalf of the Society for Marine Mammalogy and the journal Marine Mammal Science. The host is Dr. Chris Parsons.