Ted Cheeseman: Bellwethers of change: Humpback whales in the North Pacific Ocean
North Pacific humpback whales have been recovering from a low of about 1000 individuals at the end of commercial whaling in the 1970s. What has happened since? Are our oceans the same healthy environments that the whales were hunted out of last century? Ted recently completed his PhD using the AI-powered web platform Happywhale to build the world’s largest whale ID dataset and model North Pacific humpback whale populations changes over the last 20 years. He found that the 2014-2016 Pacific Marine Heatwave, a global record breaking event dubbed ’The Blob’ caused a population crash in Hawaii’s whales but not Mexico’s. Join us to learn more as he shares his findings.
Dr. Cheeseman grew up whale watching in California's Monterrey Bay. In 1980 his parents, both naturalists and educators, founded Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris. In 1994 Ted joined the company as a leader of ecology based wildlife safaris working on all seven continents. After earning a Masters of Science in Conservation Biology from Duke University, Ted returned to the company to lead polar expeditions.
With over three decades of experience in eco-tourism, much of it in Antarctica, Ted experienced first-hand the impacts of humans on marine ecosystems. While some current trends are encouraging – the recovery of many great whale populations for example – many trends highlight the challenges facing marine wildlife.
In 2015 Ted stepped down from his role with Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris to found and build the AI enabled web platform Happywhale to focus on whale science and marine conservation. Ted has recently completed a PhD in whale science, using research collaboration and innovative citizen science to better understand and protect ocean ecosystems.
