Earthwatch 2015 Annual Field Report WHALES AND DOLPHINS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA SUN Lei Lani Stelle, Ph.D. REPORT COMPLETED BY: Lei Lani Stelle PERIOD COVERED BY THIS REPORT: Summer, 2015 1
Dear Volunteers, This summer of 2015 was one of the most exciting we ve had yet. Breaching whales: Minkes, Bryde s, and humpbacks, along with feeding frenzies and multiple observations of the infamous Patches (leucistic bottlenose dolphin) were some of the biggest highlights. The warm water blob (yes, that is the official NOAA term for the unusually warm water found off the northern Pacific) continued but we still saw lots of animals, including the awesome blue whales. Your efforts contributed to both ongoing and new research projects. Our photo-id efforts have improved, especially thanks to Elle Walters work with organizing our catalogs and using DARWIN to automate our identification of dolphins. We added nearly 200 individual Bottlenose dolphins and now have a total of 315 in our catalogs with few resightings indicating a large offshore population. Blue whales were abundant this year, peaking in July over 40 sightings in the season. In fact on one day we observed at least 10 individuals from the shore. It was difficult to track them since they stretched from one end of the horizon to the other! Our blue whale catalog now numbers 70 animals and we have added additional details on some individual animals gleamed from our collaboration with Cascadia Research Collective and our exchange of scholars (former EW crew: Haley Thiltgen and Elle Walters). Behavioral observations continued this summer. Although hiking along the jetty can feel intimidating, everyone enjoyed observing the sea lions on the nearby buoys to determine if boat traffic was disturbing the animals. We ve updated the data collection protocol and our most recent analysis has shown that sea lions increase their Active and Alert behaviors when vessels are nearby. Detecting changes in whale behavior is more challenging since we can only get a glimpse of their activity at the water s surface. Most captains, especially the whale watch vessels, follow the guidelines yet many private boaters ignore (or are unaware of) the regulations and we have observed (and reported) numerous violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Although we have not documented a significant response of blue whales to boat presence, we think this is likely because we are losing the extremes in the noise of the data. Future analyses will separate the effects of boat distance, number, and type on the responses of the animals, and results will be used in campaigns to educate boaters about sustainable viewing. All of the time you spent recording data and mapping our surveys is really helpful. We are noticing trends that the majority of animals were utilizing the productive habitat along the continental shelf edge. We are currently examining our long-term datasets to see if the El Nino event is influencing these distribution patterns. Next steps are to conduct spatial statistics analyses and use agent-based modeling to predict animal movements and assess the impacts of vessel traffic. Many of you helped us test out our citizen science mobile application, Whale mapp, and provided useful feedback. We have a new, revised version that is being used by researchers and the general public worldwide. Presentations at international conferences have been well received and there is a real buzz surrounding this important tool. As you learned, field work can be exhilarating, tiring, tedious, and wet but always rewarding. This work would not be possible without your keen observations, meticulous records, careful data entry, and enthusiasm. Thank you for helping us to understand the risks faced by the marine mammal community sharing our waters! Thank you! Lei Lani Stelle, Ph.D. Professor, Biology, University of Redlands 2
Summary We had many unusual and exciting sightings during the summer of 2015 which are likely linked to unusually warm water from the persistent blob. For example, we observed a Minke whale breach repeatedly; although we frequently see Minkes in our study area, breaching is very rare. This individual was also covered with Penella (a parasitic copepod) that are not typically founds in our cooler waters; it appeared that the Minke was trying to dislodge these parasites. In addition, we observed a Bryde s whale which is typically found in tropical regions. Goals, Objectives, and Results Our research investigates anthropogenic impacts on marine mammal populations in the Southern California Bight. This region is home to a diversity of species, many of which are classified as endangered, while other populations are stable or even increasing. We focus on both migratory species, such as Blue and humpback whales, along with resident species including bottlenose and common dolphins, and California sea lions. Our study area is also home to a very large population of humans, and one of the busiest ports in the world. Thus, a major goal is to provide essential baseline data on the identity, distribution, and behaviors of all marine mammal species encountered, providing a unique perspective of the species assemblage and their interactions. In addition, no other research program in the region is monitoring both recreational and commercial vessel traffic, which is necessary for successful management of marine mammal populations. Our summer 2015 expeditions were one to two weeks in duration and ran from mid-june to early August, based from Orange County, with visits to Catalina Island. Boat-based transects were conducted to record sightings of all marine mammals and vessel traffic via charters from Dana Point Harbor and Avalon Harbor (Catalina), along with opportunistic data collection from whale watch vessels out of Dana Point. In addition, we recorded sightings from shore stations in Laguna Beach and Dana Point and observed sea lions from the Dana Point jetty. We have made substantial progress on our four primary research objectives which have contributed greatly to senior thesis projects: Elise Walters Summer research & B.S. Honors thesis (2016) - Photo identification of offshore Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Southern California (Objective 1) Kaitlin Kehoe BA thesis (2016) - Using GIS to Visualize the Effects of El Niño on Marine Mammals (Objective 1) Ian Lee B.S. thesis (2016) Human disturbance on California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) in Dana Point (Objective 3) 3
Objective 1: Species Monitoring and Distribution Patterns Monitoring species numbers and distribution is an essential research goal to provide baseline data for comparison over time. This requires careful observation along survey transect paths and recording the precise locations of all sightings to examine both daily and seasonal trends in each species habitat use. GIS maps are created to show the locations of all marine mammal and boat sightings, and allow analyses in relation to a variety of oceanographic layers such as SST (sea surface temperature) and bathymetry (bottom depth and slope). In summer of 2015, we observed eight different species of cetaceans (Figure 1); as typical Common dolphins (both long- and short-beaked) were the most frequently observed species and also the most abundant, while Blue whales were the most commonly observed mysticete (baleen whale). This summer was notable for a number of unusual sightings. We observed our first record of a Bryde s whale, which are typically found in the tropics but likely attracted to our study area by the unusually warm waters. We also had humpback whales feeding in the area for most of the summer, occasionally found in large feeding frenzies formed of many species (e.g. dolphins, sea lions, minke whales, humpback whales). Breaching was also more frequently noted: including a Minke whale that breached over 30 times (Figure 2) and a humpback breaching for over an hour directly in front of Avalon Harbor (first time we ve even observed area humpback from Catalina). Figure 1: Cetacean sightings (number of individuals or pods) observed during the 2015 summer season. 4
Figure 2: Minke whale breaching repeatedly in front of Dana Point Harbor. Notice the many Penella copepods attached to its body. Photographic identification is one of the major tools used to study marine mammals, as individual animals can provide insight into population size, habitat use, site fidelity, and social networks. We collect photographs to identify individuals of all species observed (e.g. Blue, Humpback, Fin, and Minke whales, Bottlenose and Risso s dolphins, and Harbor seals), except the species with extremely large populations (e.g. California sea lions and Common dolphins). We share our photo-id catalogs with collaborators (e.g. CRC - Cascadia Research Collective, CDOC California Dolphin Online Catalog) to better improve our understanding of the populations. We also provide the whale watch companies we work with (e.g. Dana Wharf Whale Watch and Catalina Coastal Tours) copies of the catalogs for public outreach. Our blue whale photo-id catalog now has 70 individual animals. One of the 2015 summer research students (Elle Walters) spent a couple of weeks working with CRC before our Earthwatch season to learn their methods of photo-id and modify our database to facilitate photo sharing. We ve now updated our blue whale catalog to include details on the animals that have been observed in other regions and in some cases we now have data on sex and calving history (Figure 3- example). Blue whales were observed throughout the season, with sightings nearly every week and a peak in early July (Figure 4). The animals were clustered close to the harbor entrance (Figure 5) and easily observed from shore; 5
we also did one survey further south of our typical study area and observed Blue whales there as well. Although we don t plan to expand our study area further, we recognize that we only observe a snapshot of the animals which is another argument for the importance of collaboration. Figure 3: Blue whale Photo-ID Catalog. Two animals are included as examples of photos used to identify individuals and additional details provided from our collaboration with CRC. 6
Figure 4: Number of blue whale sightings over the 2015 surveys. Note: typically a sighting is a single individual but a pair would still be represented as a single sighting. Figure 5: Map of all blue whale sightings symbolized by date; track lines show survey paths. 7
In the summer 2015 season, we observed bottlenose dolphins on nine dates, with sightings both from Dana Point and Catalina Island (Figure 6); peak sightings occur in the summer months. Our catalogue of offshore Bottlenose dolphins has been growing exponentially and the large number of animals in the area makes it difficult to manually compare images so we switched to using a program to automate the matching process. Dorsal fin images are traced from photographs, and then the digital traces compared to the existing database (Figure 7). Utilizing Darwin, we now have 315 individual dolphins in our catalog with only four animals resighted. This low rate suggests that the population is much larger than represented in our catalog and that this species has a large home range. Of course, a confounding issue is that many of the dolphins have clean fins with no identifiable marks, which makes it impossible to identify those animals. This is illustrated by one animal who is very distinguishable; Patches is well known in southern California due to his pink and white patches of skin (likely due to leucism; Figure 8). We ve observed Patches three times (first in 2013, twice in July 2015) but none of the other animals in the pod were resightings, suggesting that is the dolphins form loose aggregations, consistent with a fission-fusion society, but could instead be indicative of the difficulty in resighting the same animals in large groups. Figure 6: Map of all bottlenose dolphin sightings: 9 total, 6 offshore groups and 3 coastal, symbolized by date. Track lines of the same color show survey effort. 8
Figure 7: DARWIN program used to trace dolphin dorsal fins and automate the matching process. Figure 8: Patches, a leucistic bottlenose dolphin we have observed 3 times in our research, twice in the summer of 2015. Objective 2: Behavioral Investigations Understanding how marine mammals allocate their time (e.g. energy) is essential for ecological studies. Thus, we record the activity state for all sightings, categorized as Feeding, Traveling, Milling, Socializing, Resting, and Other (or Unknown). These general states work well when describing a single animal or a pair, but tend to be less accurate representations of large groups such as dolphin pods, where many individuals can be displaying different behaviors simultaneously. We ve developed a new protocol (led by Taylor Dee (summer 2014 intern, UR Honors thesis 2015) to provide additional details on dolphin behaviors. An ethogram of 30 discrete behaviors (e.g. lateral leap, horizontal leap, tail slap, etc.) was developed and illustrations with written descriptions provided. The program Quizlet was used to train crew and volunteers to be able to quickly recognize the large variety of behaviors. In the field, we used Esri s Collector App to record all behaviors observed in two 9
minute intervals. During 178 hours in the field, 42 dolphin pods were observed, displaying 27 of the 30 behaviors with tail slaps being the most frequent event. Common dolphins spent most of their time feeding while Risso s spent more time traveling (Figure 9). Spatial analyses are especially useful to analyze if there are environmental influences on behaviors; for example a map of horizontal leap occurrence demonstrates obvious differences between species (Figure 10). Figure 9: Activity states observed by species; based on data recorded with Collector App. 10
Figure 10: Hot spot analysis of the occurrence of the behavior horizontal leap, calculated using the Getis-Ord Gi statistic, from 2 minute samples weighted by occurrence for a) all dolphin species, b) Bottlenose dolphins, c) Long-beaked common dolphins, d) Short-beaked common dolphins. Objective 3: Vessel Disturbance One of the major human impacts facing marine mammals in our study area is the high level of boat traffic. These interactions can lead to stress, changes in behavior including reduction in feeding or other essential activities, injury, or even death. Therefore, we are investigating if vessels comply with existing regulations and if they act as a disturbance by tracking individual animal s movement patterns, swim speeds, behaviors, and respiration patterns, with simultaneous data collection on boat presence and activity. Specific indicators that vessels are causing a disturbance would include any change in diving and respiratory patterns, a shift in their swim speed or direction of travel, and a change in behavioral state. Many people, both residents and tourists, are attracted to Southern California for its beautiful coastline which means there are lots of boaters on the water. We record all vessels observed and have mapped their locations in relationship to marine mammal sightings for summer 2015 (Figure 11). The majority of vessels are observed near the harbor entrances, but many are near the whale sightings as recreational boats commonly follow the whale watch boats to observe the animals. We are continuing to 11
analyze the patterns of vessel traffic and will be using this data in an agent-based model of animal distribution and movements in collaboration with a math professor, Dr. Joanna Bieri. Our earlier analyses of respiration data showed no significant effects of vessel traffic on blue whale dive duration or breathing rates; this is likely due to the large inherent variation in these parameters. This data is still being recorded as it will require a substantial dataset to conduct more nuanced statistical analyses, such as Markov chain models, to determine if vessel interactions are causing a shift in breathing patterns. Figure 11: Map of all vessel (yellow triangles) and marine mammals (blue circles) observed during the summer, 2015. Sea lions frequently rest on a buoy near the entrance to Dana Point Harbor. During the summer of 2015, we continued a project to determine if vessels disturbed those animals by observing from a jetty bordering Dana Point harbor using a spotting scope so that our presence did not have any influence. Sampling was revised so that sea lion behaviors were recorded at one-minute intervals while nearby boats were observed continuously. During 200 minutes of observation, 67 boats passed within 100 feet of the buoy mainly sailboats, speedboats and fishing boats. Based on 1048 sea lion behaviors, there was a significant increase in Active (χ 2 =8.6 p=0.003) and Alert (χ 2 =9.3 p=0.002) activity in the presence of vessels compared to when no vessels were nearby (Figure 12). A reduction in time spent 12
resting could cause energetic stress, especially in times of reduced prey availability. We plan to continue this project and with a larger dataset, identify which boat activities cause most reactions so we can share our findings with local boaters and develop guidelines for sustainable viewing practices. Figure 12: Influence of vessel traffic on sea lion activity states. Sea lions spent the majority of their time Inactive, followed by Alert, and least amount of time Active but this varied with vessel presence (p=0.0006 χ 2 =21.6 df=5). In the presence of vessels, Alert behaviors increased significantly (p=0.003 χ 2 =8.6 df==1) along with Active behaviors (p=0.002 χ 2 =9.3 df=1). A) Overall frequency of sea lions observed in each activity state; B) Same data presented as percent of observations when boats present vs. absent. Objective 4: Injury Assessment Each year, we take extensive photographic records of all marine mammals observed both for photo-id and also to help document the behaviors. These images can also be used to assess type and frequency of injuries sustained by marine mammals observed in our study area. While conducting a transect out of Avalon Harbor (July 1, 2015), we observed a sea lion impaled by a fishing spear (Figure 13
13); we reported it to the Marine Mammal Rescue organization in Catalina Island but unfortunately the animal was not found. Our goal is to compare species in terms of type of injuries (e.g. natural vs. anthropogenic) and rates within the populations. These data will provide important information on human impacts and risks faced by the various species. We have continued to collect photographs to address this question but have not done any further analysis since the prior work completed in 2014. In the next academic year, this will likely be one of the senior research projects to examine photographs from 2014-2016. Figure 13: Injured California sea lion on a buoy near Avalon Harbor. It s impaled by what appears to be a spear used in fishing. Blood was observed dripping from the wound and the animal appeared lethargic. 14
Project Impacts 1. INCREASING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE Grey Literature and Other Dissemination of Your Results Book Chapters: *Graduate student co-author, **Undergraduate student co-author Stelle, L.L., King, M.* (2015) Whale mapp: Citizen Scientists Contribute and Map Marine Mammal Sightings. Chapter in Ocean Solutions, Earth Solutions, ESRI Press, Redlands, CA. Note: we have also submitted an updated version for the 2 nd edition. Kinzel, M., Stelle, L.L. (2015) Pacific Cetaceans: Ecological Studies Mapped Using GIS. Esri Spatial Labs Published Lesson http://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=525d926b301246ce9fd1bbff7ad6e4e4 Stelle, L.L. (in review) Should we be watching whales? Using citizen scientists to study human impacts on marine mammals off Southern California Invited submission for Chapter in Marine and Coastal Citizen Science; Earthscan Publisher. Editorials: Stelle, L.L. (2015) Technology and GIS Make Citizen Science More Accessible: How the General Public Can Regain the Thrill of Scientific Discovery ArcNews (Esri); Vol. 27, No. 2. Conference Proceedings: Stelle, L.L., Hann, C*, King, M.* Mapping Marine Mammals with Whale mapp (speed talk) Society for Marine Mammalogy 21 st Biennial Conference, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 14-18, 2015 Dee, T.**, Stelle, L.L. Behavioral Patterns of Bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus), Long-beaked common (Delphinus capensis), and Pacific White-sided (Lagernorhynchus obliquidens) Dolphins using Esri s Collector Application in Dana Point, California (poster) Society for Marine Mammalogy 21 st Biennial Conference, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 14-18, 2015 Hann, C*, Stelle, L.L., Szabo, A., Hanshumaker, B., Torres, L. Citizen Science: Benefits and Limitations for Marine Mammal Research and Education (talk) Society for Marine Mammalogy 21 st Biennial Conference, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 14-18, 2015 Walters, E**, Camper, T**, Stelle, L.L. Photo Identification of Offshore Bottlenose Dolphins in Southern California (poster) Society for Marine Mammalogy 21 st Biennial Conference, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 14-18, 2015 Stelle, L.L., King, M.* Whale mapp: Mobile and Web Application to Encourage Contributions of Marine Mammal Sightings (poster) Citizen Science 2015, San Jose, CA. February 11-12, 2015 Dee, T.**, Thiltgen, H.**, and Stelle, L.L. Distribution and Behavioral Analysis of Marine Mammals off the Southern California coast (poster) Pacific Life Foundation s Southern California Marine Mammal Workshop, Newport, CA, Jan 30-31, 2015. Invited Seminars: Should we be Watching Whales? Investigation of Human Impacts on Marine Mammals off Southern California Redlands Forum, Esri Headquarters, Redlands, CA, November 16, 2015 How Citizen Scientists Contribute to Research and Conservation of our Local Marine Mammals American Cetacean Society, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Monterey, CA, October 29, 2015 15
Whale mapp: How the Public can Help Scientists Map Marine Mammals for Conservation, Biology Department Seminar, Sonoma State University, Sonoma, CA, September 8, 2015 How Citizen Scientists Contribute to Research and Conservation of our Local Marine Mammals American Cetacean Society, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, CA, May 15, 2015 Anthropogenic Impacts on Marine Mammals in the Southern California Bight. Earthwatch Summit 2014, Keynote Speaker, Harvard University, MA, November 8, 2014. 2. DEVELOPING ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERS Education What groups and individuals have benefited from educational experiences as part of your project this year? The students who assist on this project have benefitted greatly, both in terms of the assistance provided by volunteers to their individual research questions, but also by gaining experience in a professional research setting. Volunteers frequently comment on the poise and maturity of my students. During the summer program, these students took on significant leadership responsibilities and roles which greatly increased their confidence and skill sets. Elise Walters (UR, BS Biology 2016) continued her 2014/15 thesis research which she conducted as a junior, as she spent the fall of 2015 studying abroad. Her research is focused on photo-id of the offshore population of bottlenose dolphins and she successfully defended it as an Honors project. Another student, Devi Veytia (UBC, BS Zoology, 2015), was recruited from the University of British Columbia, after she participated in a field course I taught in BC during the summer of 2014. Devi contributed to all of our summer projects and is now working in Hawaii at Hanauma Bay, and will be starting a graduate program in Scotland in the fall of 2016. Both summer students from 2014 returned in 2015 to help train my new students so we could continue their research on dolphin behavior and sea lion disturbance. Two current UR seniors are utilizing data from the summer for their senior projects: Ian Lee (UR, BS Biology, 2016) is continuing Haley Thiltgen s project on the impacts of human disturbance on sea lion behavior and Kaitlin Kehoe (UR, BA Biology, 2016) is using GIS to assess ENSO effects on species distributions. 3. PARTERNSHIPS Organizations Actively Engaged The University of Redlands has continued to support the research efforts of the PI along with the students who are key members of the team. Data collected during Earthwatch expeditions has contributed to the senior thesis projects of many students in the biology and environmental science departments. Dana Wharf whale watch, especially owner Donna Kalez and Captain Todd Mansur, have been incredibly supportive of our research efforts and we are working with their non-profit Gray Whale Foundation which takes students on educational whale watch trips. We are continuing to work with Catalina Coastal Tours to provide boat transects from Avalon on Catalina Island. Our collaboration with Cascadia Research Collective helps to provide details on the animals we observe, many of which are documented in their long-term photo-id catalogs and we contribute useful sightings to their efforts. I have also sent two students to their office in Olympia, Washington for internships which is helping to further strengthen our relationships. We contribute photographs of coastal bottlenose sightings to the California Dolphin Online Program (CDOC), a collaborative effort to facilitate long-term studies of coastal bottlenose dolphins along the Pacific coast of California. 16
4. CONTRIBUTIONS TO POLICIES OR MANAGEMENT PLANS International Policies or Management Plans: Last spring (May 2015), I had the opportunity to participate in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Scientific Meetings as a local researcher. I contributed to writing a working paper Considering new technology and redistribution of species as emerging issues of concern (SC/66a/WWWP05) focused on identifying new issues in terms of whale watching impacts. 5. ENHANCING NATURAL AND SOCIO-CULTURAL CAPITAL Conservation of Taxa Are you enhancing, restoring, or maintaining populations of any species of conservation significance as part of your project? Our impact is focused on assessing the risks to the populations listed below. We are documenting their distribution patterns, activities, habitat use, and with our photo-id catalogues we can inform knowledge of site fidelity, stock structure, and estimates of local population sizes. 1) Blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus - they are the largest animal to have ever lived and have been observed more frequently in coastal waters off Southern California in the last decade. 2) Humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae- they undergo an extensive migration and are well-known due to their acrobatics and vocalizations. Endangered status is under debate. 3) Common dolphins, long-beaked Delphinus capensis, and short-beaked Delphinus delphis - the ecology of the two species is very similar, so they are often grouped together which means that there is a lack of data on distribution and abundances of each distinct species. They live in pods ranging from less than fifty to thousands and are commonly observed in the study area. We are also mapping and comparing the distribution of the two species. Conducting detailed behavioral analysis to improve ability to accurately record activity state and associate with spatial habitat use. 4) Bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus - bottlenose are culturally significant as they can be observed from the coast and are well-known to the public from Flipper and their roles in sea life parks. There are two populations, coastal and offshore, in our study area; the coastal are much better studied than the offshores for which little is known. We are also mapping and comparing the distribution of the two populations. Conducting detailed behavioral analysis to improve ability to accurately record activity state and associate with spatial habitat use. 5) Risso s Dolphin, Grampus griseus- this species is not well studied but frequently observed harassing other marine mammal species. 6) Harbor seals, Phoca vitulina- coastal animals that are commonly seen but they face human pressure as they can be scared away from breeding haul-outs that are utilized by humans. There is an ongoing debate in La Jolla regarding access to the only mainland rookery in Southern California. 7) California sea lions, Zalophus californianus- there are continual conflicts with fisheries both in terms of entanglements and perceived competition which may result in intentional kills. We are also assessing boat disturbance with the goal of establishing guidelines for interactions with sea lions resting on buoys. Conservation of Habitats Are you enhancing, restoring, or maintaining habitats as a result of your project? Although our research is not directly focused on enhancing, restoring, or maintaining habitats per se, we are examining the relationship between habitat and species distribution patterns. Our efforts provide essential data on habitat use by species which can be used to help protect their natural habitats since marine mammals serve as umbrella species. 17
Conservation of Ecosystem Services Are you enhancing, restoring, or maintaining ecosystem services as a result of your project? This project should enhance ecosystem cultural services through adding information value to recreation and ecotourism. Impacting Local Livelihoods Are you enhancing, restoring, or maintaining livelihoods in the local community as a result of your project? We contribute to the economy of the local communities in and near Dana Point and Catalina Island. We stay in locally owned rental properties, eat at local restaurants, buy groceries from local stores, and conduct our research from whale watch vessels. As much as possible we try to work with individually and locally-owned businesses. For example, Dana Wharf Whale Watching is owned by a local family and began in 1971 as the first whale watching outfit in Orange County. ANYTHING ELSE After presenting my work on Whale mapp at the Society for Marine Mammalogy Conference in New Zealand (2014), I was contacted by a graduate student at Oregon State University, Courtney Hann, who was interested in evaluating Whale mapp as a citizen science mobile application tool for monitoring marine mammals and improving marine mammal literacy. She surveyed users in Southeast Alaska and found that educational benefits included specific content learning gains, a developing interest in science, and engagement in scientific practices. The majority of participants enjoyed using Whale mapp (~86%), found the mobile application intuitive (~81%), and most (91%) said they would recommend Whale mapp to a friend. As one ecotourism captain wrote, I loved being able to use the app, and our passengers loved that I was sending information to you. It gives us and our guests a better sense of purpose and that the things we see might help you collect data. Our collaboration has led to additional funds for Whale mapp revisions suggested from her investigations. This study supports Whale mapp s goal of providing a method for engaging citizen scientists, while providing educational benefit to users who are helping collect important data on marine mammals. Earthwatch volunteers have also been involved in testing Whale mapp and we are excited that this program will expand our base of contributors to the research. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS University of Redlands, University of Redlands Stauffer Science Center Summer Research Program, Dana Wharf Whale Watch Donna Kalez (owner, manager) and Todd Mansur (Captain and leader of Gray whale Foundation), Coastal Ecosystems Research Foundation, Catalina Coastal Tours - Dave Carlisle (owner and Captain) 18