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Publications (36)
The California coastal stock of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) expanded its range north from the Southern California Bight, its historical range, into Central California coincident with the 1982-1983 El Niño event. Since the late 1980s, bottlenose dolphin sightings north of Central California have been increasingly reported. To determine...
Exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can significantly impact marine mammal health, reproduction, and fitness. This study addresses a significant 20-year gap in gray whale contaminant monitoring through analysis of POPs in 120 blubber biopsies. The scope of this substantial sample set is noteworthy in its range and diversity with collec...
Recent findings that some gray whales that feed off Sakhalin Island (SI), Russia, in the western North Pacific (WNP) overwinter in the eastern North Pacific (ENP) indicate that population structure in this species is more complex than originally thought. We generated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences and microsatellite genotypes (n...
Population genetic studies of non-model organisms often rely on initial ascertainment of genetic markers from a single individual or a small pool of individuals. This initial screening has been a significant barrier to beginning population studies on non-model organisms (Aitken et al., Mol Ecol 13:1423–1431, 2004; Morin et al., Trends Ecol Evol 19:...
Uncertainty in marine mammal taxonomy is increasingly being addressed using molecular genetic data. We examined 32 peer-reviewed articles published between 1994 and 2011to review methodological practices, consistency of markers and analytical methods, and overall quality of arguments used when genetic data have been employed to delimit new species...
Taxonomy is an imprecise science that delimits the evolutionary continuum into discrete categories. For marine mammals, this science is complicated by the relative lack of morphological data for taxa that inhabit remote and often vast ranges. We provide guidelines to promote consistency in studies relying primarily on molecular genetic data to deli...
Correlations between morphological and genetic data provide evidence to delineate species or evolutionarily significant units, which then become the units to conserve in management plans. Here, we examine the distribution and genetic differentiation of two morphotypes of short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in the Pacific Ocean. Mi...
A population assessment of the Sakhalin feeding aggregation of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) was conducted using photo-identification data collected on their summer feeding ground off Sakhalin Island from 1994 to 2015, fitted to an individually-based population model. The model is structured by age, sex and reproductive status, and annual tra...
Boat-based photo-identification research has been carried out on bottle- nose dolphins in eastern North Pacific coastal waters off northern Baja California, Mexico and southern and central California, USA from 1981 to 2001. Within these waters, bottlenose dolphins routinely travel back and forth between coastal locations while generally staying wit...
Counts of southbound migrating whales off California form the basis of abundance estimation for the eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Previous assessments (1967–2007) have estimated detection probability (p) from the detection-non detection of pods by two independent observers. However, tracking distinct pods in th...
Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) were among the most intensively exploited species of whales in the world. As a consequence of this intense exploitation, blue whale sightings off the coast of Chile were uncommon by the end of the 20th century. In 2004, a feeding and nursing ground was reported in southern Chile (SCh). With the aim to investigate...
Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are found worldwide in temperate and tropical regions, often occurring as distinct coastal and offshore ecotypes. Along the west coast of the United States, two stocks are recognized for management based on morphological and photo-identification studies: a California coastal stock, estimated at 450–50...
Range and movement data from boat-based photo-identification surveys of Pacific coast common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), carried out over a 6-yr period from 1996 to 2001, were collated and analyzed. Primary data sources were from surveys carried out in four Southern California Bight study areas: Ensenada (12 surveys), San Diego (95 su...
Although most eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whales feed in the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas during summer and fall, a small number of individuals, referred to as the Pacific Coast Feeding Group (PCFG), show intra- and interseasonal fidelity to feeding areas from northern California through southeastern Alaska. We used both mitochondrial DN...
Although two bottlenose dolphin skulls have been dredged from San Francisco Bay (SF Bay), and their bones discovered in bayshore middens, this species has not been part of the SF Bay marine fauna in recent history. The presumed northern range limit of Pt. Conception was surpassed by a range extension into Central California, including a northernmos...
bottlenose dolphin; coastal bottlenose dolphin; California; San Francisco Bay; Baja California, Mexico; Range; Movement; photo-identification; dorsal fin; scientific collaboration; California Dolphin Online Catalog; CDOC
The western North Pacific (WNP) population of gray whales Eschrichtius robustus is redlisted by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. As part of a long-term study on whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia, photo-catalog comparisons of gray whales in the western and eastern North Pacific (ENP) were undertaken to assess population mixing. These comparisons...
Previous studies have documented genetic differentiation between gray whales in the eastern and western North Pacific on the basis of both mtDNA haplotype and microsatellite allele frequencies. In these studies, the eastern North Pacific (ENP) population of gray whales has been represented by a sample set comprised primarily of samples from animals...
Within the North Pacific, gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are recognized as distinct eastern and western populations. Although both populations were severely reduced by whaling, the eastern population is generally considered to have recovered while the western population has remained highly depleted. Previous studies have documented genetic dif...
Age at first reproduction (AFR) is a basic component of age-structured whale assessment models, but direct estimates of this parameter do not exist for either the abundant eastern or critically endangered western population of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus). Instead, assessments of both populations have utilized either of two recognized estima...
A collaborative Russia-U.S. research program on western gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) summering off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, has been ongoing since 1995 and has produced important information on the present day conservation status of this critically endangered population. This paper reviews findings from 2008 research activities...
Determining the birth-interval at which reproductive females produce calves is an indispensable component of studies on the population biology of large whales. In theory, shorter birth-intervals will result in a faster rate of population increase. Therefore, estimating this reproductive parameter is particularly important for modeling exercises des...
A collaborative Russia-U.S. research program on western gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) summering off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, has been ongoing since 1995 and has produced important new information on the present day conservation status of this critically endangered population. This interim report reviews preliminary findings from...
Attention deficits are a hallmark of the teratogenic effects of alcohol. However, characterization of these deficits remains inconclusive. Children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and nonexposed controls were evaluated using a paradigm consisting of three conditions: visual focus, auditory focus, and auditory-visual shift of attention. For the...
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences and microsatellite loci length polymorphisms were used to investigate genetic differentiation in spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and to examine the intraspecific structure of the coastal subspecies (Stenella attenuata graffmani). One-hundred and thirty-five ani...
Research on the western gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) population summering off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, has been ongoing since 1995. This collaborative Russia-U.S. research program has produced important new information on the present day conservation status of this critically endangered population. This report reviews recent find...
Objective:
Executive function deficits, including verbal fluency, have been documented in children with histories of prenatal alcohol exposure. Whereas nonverbal fluency impairments have been reported in adults with such exposure, these abilities have not been tested in children. Deficits in both verbal and nonverbal fluency were predicted and ass...
Monitoring of the critically endangered western gray whale population on its primary feeding ground off Sakhalin Island, Russia, has led to the collection of genetic samples from 83% of animals photographically identified from this area. The high proportion of sampled animals provides a rare opportunity to learn more about the mating system of a ba...
Thesis (M.S.)--San Diego State University, 2002. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-78).