Marine mammals

humpback whales

In 2016, the North Pacific Humpback Whale Population that visits Hawaii each winter to breed and give birth, was finally delisted from the endangered species list after nearly 30 years due to steady population increases each year. But shortly thearafter, scientists were reporting low numbers of sightings, both on the Hawaiian breeding grounds and the Alaskan feeding ground that corresponded with an unprecedented heating event known as the Pacific Marine Heatwave (PMH).

This prompted an investigation of whale densities focused on the Maui Nui Region (Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kaoolawe), where most whales like to congregate in the winter time. To examine the resilience of this population, distance sampling methods using aerial surveys are being conducted to compare densities today with those estimated in earlier surveys between 1993 and 2003.