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MERS Newsletter - January Edition
Happy New Year from all of us at MERS!
2025 marks our 15th year as a non-profit organization! Fifteen years in, we continue our dedication to promoting conservation and understanding of marine ecosystems through scientific research, environmental education, and marine wildlife response. Stay tuned, we’ll be sharing some ways to celebrate this anniversary with us in the near future.
We’re kicking off this year recapping some more highlights from 2024, sharing a brand new publication, and organizing several learning opportunities for our community (that's YOU!). Read on to find out more…
MERS in Australia!
Ever wondered what happens when 1,300 marine mammal scientists from over 80 countries meet in-person? The answer: a lot of science, networking, passion, nerding out about statistics and methodology, and of course, a lot of coffee!
In November, two of MERS staff, Nicole Doe (Director of Operations) and Dr. Felicia Vachon (Research Coordinator) flew to Perth, Australia to attend the 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. This was a great opportunity for MERS to share our ongoing research on entanglement risk in Humpback Whales by presenting a talk titled “Scarred survivors: Comparing aerial and boat-based methods for assessing non-lethal entanglement rates of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)” on a world stage.
Photo: Nicole presenting MERS entanglement research at the 25th Biennial Conference on Marine Mammals in Perth, Australia.
The theme of the conference was “Culture and Conservation: Fishing for Change” and this was reflected in many of the presentations and discussions that occurred throughout the week. Some highlights from the conference include:
- Networking with other Humpback Whale researchers from near and far to compare methodologies, research projects, results, and Humpback Whale behaviour.
- Gathering information on emerging technologies and methods that can help marine mammal science such as the use of infrared technology to detect entanglements, eDNA to assess prey distribution and whale genetics, drones to deploy suction cup tags, as well as habitat modelling tools to assess whale and vessel overlap.
- Meeting other inspiring organizations from all around the world which share our passion and commitment towards ocean conservation.
Photo: MERS team members Felicia and Nicole
We are grateful for this opportunity, which was made possible by the Canada Nature Fund for Aquatic Species at Risk, as well as our supporters, including two amazing individuals that supplied the plane tickets for our team members. Stay tuned for more about our scar study research (and new research projects inspired by this conference!) in the near future.
Marine Mammal Naturalist Courses Announced for 2025
Each year, the MERS team hosts two, 4-day intensive workshops for those working as whale watch naturalists, kayak guides, park staff, or others interested in gaining a deeper knowledge of BC’s marine mammals. Our goal with these courses is to create ambassadors along the coast that can amplify conservation messaging with their own audiences.
In 2025, we will be hosting two workshops:
Registration for both courses is open now. Learn more about our courses and snag your spot ASAP.
To improve accessibility to the workshops, we are offering two bursaries for each of the 2025 courses for those who reside in B.C. and have a financial barrier to being able to attend but whose participation will strongly benefit local marine conservation / education.
The bursary covers the cost of the course and a Marine Mammals of British Columbia book (best resource to complement the content of the course).
One of the 4 bursaries will be eligible for coverage of travel and accommodation (up to $740 in value). Support for the combined course and travel bursary was generously provided by the Alway-Connors Charitable Fund.
Apply for the bursary here. Application deadline for bursaries is February 15, 2025.
A Mola tecta, the "Hoodwinker Sunfish", spotted opportunistically by Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s CeMoRe Research Team.
Community Sciences Shines Light on Mysterious Mola
Until 2019, it was assumed that any Mola spotted in temperate waters off our coast were Mola mola, the Ocean Sunfish. However, in 2017 a new Mola was described by science, the Mola tecta, also known as the Hoodwinker Sunfish. While first thought to be found only in the southern hemisphere, in 2019 the question of whether it ranged into the north arose. It turned out, they do! They've just been mistaken as being Mola mola up until now!
In 2021, MERS began collaborating with three international fish scientists to gather community science sightings (and photos) of Mola species off the coast of western North America to learn more about these animals and their range. This month, a new research paper was published in Frontiers in Marine Science using these community science contributions. The paper is titled “Hook, line, and social media: crowd-sourced images reveal size and species patterns of ocean sunfishes (Tetraodontiformes, Molidae) from California to Alaska” and free to access.
MERS is thrilled to be among the authors on this collaborative paper led by Dr. Marianne Nyegaard and Tor Mowatt-Larssen.
The public was of great importance in the success of this research that also defined ID criteria for discerning the two species. From the paper: "In this study, we use crowd-sourced images of 1,213 ocean sunfishes to determine if molid morphology visible in citizen-science images permits reliable species determination”.
A big thank you to those who helped by contributing their sightings to shed light on the Mola species off our coast.
Learn more about this research and MERS’s involvement here.
Read the Paper
Join us for "Master's Night" on February 18th
The last half of 2024 was an exciting time for two of our MERS Research Associates. Both Ali Gladwell and Joan Moreaux successfully defended their Master’s theses on projects they did in collaboration with MERS.
As they each wrap up their associateships with MERS, we’ve invited both researchers to share the findings from their work with our community. Join us on February 18th for “Master’s Night” to hear about their projects.
- Joan Moreaux: "Humpback Whale prey consumption and the effects of a growing population on the food web in the Northern Strait of Georgia"
- Ali Gladwell: "Social influence on vessel behaviours around cetaceans in the waters of Northeast Vancouver Island"
Photo: Whale Interpretive Centre (www.killerwhalecentre.org)
Tragedy in Telegraph Cove
The small historic community of Telegraph Cove on Northern Vancouver Island was the base from where MERS' long-term Humpback Whale monitoring began and central to the formation of our oganization. Therefore, we were heartbroken to hear of the fire that consumed part of the boardwalk and many buildings, including the superb Whale Interpretive Centre (WIC), on December 31, 2024. Our hearts go out to the businesses and individuals impacted by this fire, including the Graham and Borrowman families.We’re pleased to pass on that the WIC plans to rebuild. This centre is so important to marine conservation and education on Vancouver Island. Each skeleton was a compelling ambassador for their species with a story connecting the threats marine mammals face and how to create positive change. You can support the rebuild by donating to their fundraising efforts here.
Please note, besides being big fans and supporters, MERS is not involved in the running of or rebuilding of the WIC, which is governed by the Johnstone Strait Killer Whale Interpretive Centre Society. All inquiries and donations to support the WIC should be directed to them. Learn more at killerwhalecentre.org.
2024 Annual Report Available
2024 was another exciting and busy year for MERS. If you missed our December newsletter highlighting our annual report, you can learn more about some of our top 2024 MERS moments here.
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Caitlin Birdsall
Executive Director
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