SPLASH

SPLASH (Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpback Whales) was an international cooperative effort to understand the population structure of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) across the North Pacific, and to assess the status, trends and potential human impacts to this population.  As part of this effort, OSI was contracted by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary to help survey humpback whales occurring off the island of Oahu. OSI built a database of whales that visited Oahu between 2004 and 2006 by applying photo identification and tissue sampling techniques that yielded a unique record for each whale.  These data were then pooled with other SPLASH researchers to develop a comprehensive understanding of the abundance, movements and associations of humpback whales throughout the North Pacific.

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Calambokidis, J., Falcone, E.A., Quinn, T.J., Burdin, A.M., Clapham, P.J., Ford, J.K.B., Gabriele, C.M., LeDuc, R., Mattila, D., Rojas-Bracho, L., Straley, J.M., Taylor, B.L., Urban R, J., Weller, D., Witteveen, B.H., Yamaguchi, M., Bendlin, A., Camacho, D., Flynn, K., Havron, A., Huggins, J. and Maloney, N. 2008. SPLASH: Structure of populations,levels of abundance and status of humpback whales in the North Pacific. Final report for Contract AB133F-03-RP-00078, US Department of Commerce Western Administrative Center, Seattle, Washington. Available here.