The Marine Conservation Ecology group at Duke has joined the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project, funded by the National Science Foundation, to study the ecology of whales and krill along the AntarcticContinue reading
Author: Andy Read
Dr. Read's is Rachel Carson Associate Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC. His research interests are in the conservation biology of long-lived marine vertebrates, particularly marine mammals, seabirds and sea turtles.
Palmer Station
During the last couple of days we came into Palmer Station to drop off Doug and Ari (they are heading home early on a cruise ship) and pick up a dive team from UAB,Continue reading
Setting the Record Straight on Antarctic Birds
OK, time to set a few things straight after Matt’s blog – particularly before Josh Stoll comments on Matt’s inability to identify Antarctic birds. First of all, the bird in Matt’s picture labeled ‘SomeContinue reading
Killer Whales
Sunday was another great day for Cetacean Research along the Antarctic Peninsula (just in case you’d forgotten the acronym). We worked in Charlotte Bay, the northernmost of the four bays along the Peninsula inContinue reading
Best in Snow
After retrieving our minke whale tag on Valentine’s Day, we dropped Nick Gales off at Port Lockeroy and headed back to Wilhelmina Bay. We had hoped to go ashore in Port Lockeroy, but itContinue reading
All the Diamonds in the World
For the last week we have been working in pretty cloudy conditions with – as you may remember from Matt’s blog – snow, sleet, and all manner of other frozen precipitation. When we wokeContinue reading
Tagging Minke Whales
Tagging a whale sounds like a difficult proposition. After all, they are very big, wet and blubbery and spend most of their lives underwater. So clever scientists must find ways to reduce the degreeContinue reading
Whales, Whales, Whales…
Those of you who followed our blogs in previous years know that we worked in the autumn and early winters, when humpback whales pack into the bays and fjords along the west side ofContinue reading
Every Project Needs an Acronym
One of the most important parts of planning a project like this is to come up with a title that has a snappy acronym. We don’t really know why, but it seems to beContinue reading
Living the High Life Aboard the M/S Prinsendam
To get to our field site on the Antarctic Peninsula we typically sail on a research vessel, departing from Punta Arenas, Chile and crossing the Drake Passage to Palmer Station. This year, however, weContinue reading