Paula Olson
Research Associate – Cetos Scientific Advisory Board
Paula A. Olson has over 20 years of field experience studying whale and dolphin populations in the tropical and temperate regions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, as well as the polar seas of the Arctic and Antarctic. She has worked on multiple projects for international, national, and private research organizations. She has co-authored over 30 scientific papers. During the past 10 years Paula has spent a great deal of time at sea for the International Whaling Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service collecting line-transect survey data on the abundance and distribution of cetaceans for population monitoring, management and conservation. Paula’s specific interest is the geographic movement and stock structure of cetacean populations using photo-identification as a primary research tool. Recently she and co-author Tim Gerrodette of the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center published a catalog of photo-identified killer whales from the eastern tropical Pacific. Currently she is establishing a catalog of blue whales from the Antarctic for the International Whaling Commission. Additional research on blue whales investigates the identity of feeding aggregations in the Antarctic and the movement of blue whales in the southeastern Pacific. Paula is also a wildlife photographer with photographs published in many books and field guides about marine mammals. Paula holds a Master of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Rhode Island. Presently she is a visiting scientist at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. She has participated in Cetos research projects led by Dr. Tom Jefferson and in the future plans to lead projects of her own through Cetos on some of her research interest areas. When she’s not at sea you’ll find her hiking, camping, or running.
Dan Dendanto, Ph.D.
Research Associate – Cetos Scientific Advisory Board
Dan Dendanto is on the Cetos Scientific Advisory Board. He received his Masters Degree in Zoology in 1998 from the University of Maine. He has studied genetics of finback whales in the North Atlantic Ocean, and has done habitat and foraging studies of baleen whales. His background includes being a senior field scientist at Allied Whale and a research associate of the College of the Atlantic. Dan has assisted Cetos in previous years in the field in Kaua’i and Maui. On other fronts, he is an expert at marine mammal skeletal articulation as well as on the preparatory design of specimens for museums and scientific collections.
Elizabeth (Liz) Ferguson
Research Associate – Marine Educator & Acoustic Analyst
Liz Ferguson is involved in both the education and scientific components of Cetos. Her primary interests lie in the education of conservation efforts and scientific explorations undertaken by Cetos, with a focus on middle and high school curricula development. She is currently working on the development of educational materials that highlight minke whale research off the Hawaiian Islands. This curriculum is intended for distribution and use in Hawaii’s middle school science classes to help students gain a better understanding and interest in their local marine ecology. As a field biologist, she primarily studies marine mammal bio-acoustics and ecology. Liz has spent several months a year at sea on large research vessels affiliated with government and university sponsored projects. Liz works with Cetos analyzing acoustic data that we have collected, sounds from different marine mammal species from various projects. Most recently her work involved analyzing calls of minke whales around the Hawaiian Islands, and also analyzing orca calls from the Pacific NW. Liz lives in San Diego enjoys the beach and other outdoor activities.