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Humpback Whales |
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Introduction |
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The humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, is an endangered species known for its dramatic aerial behaviors and complicated songs. Follow this link for a summary of humpback biology, distribution, behavior, and conservation status...more |
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Season Updates |
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Keep abreast of PCCS humpback whale research activities year-round ... more |
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Feeding Ground Research |
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The Gulf of Maine is the southern-most humpback whale feeding population in the North Atlantic Ocean. Each year, PCCS surveys this population across its geographic range to better understand population biology, recovery status and anthropogenic impacts ... under construction |
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Breeding Ground Research |
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All oceanic humpback whale populations migrate annually between summer feeding grounds and tropical breeding grounds. Learn about our research on breeding populations in the West Indies, the Hawai'ian Islands and American Samoa...under construction |
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Years of the North Atlantic Humpbacks |
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The Years of the North Atlantic Humpback (YoNAH) project is an international collaboration to study North Atlantic humpback whales across most of their known range. It was conceived to address large-scale issues, such as the size and structure of the population, vital rates, migratory movement and the structure of the mating system...more |
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Research Tools |
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The ability to recognize individual animals, whether by naturally-occurring marks or "genetic tags," facilitates the study of their demography and behavior....more |
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Publications |
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Learn more through PCCS scientific publications...more |
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Right Whales |
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Introduction |
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North Atlantic right whales, Eubalaena glacialis, are considered the rarest of the baleen whale species. Distinct populations of right whales were scattered across the oceans of the world until they were decimated by heavy and consistent whaling...more |
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Cape Cod Bay Aerial Survey |
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During the winter and spring, PCCS conducts regular aerial surveys for right whales in Cape Cod Bay (federally designated as a critical habitat for these whales in 1994) and surrounding waters. Leaving from the airport in Provincetown or Chatham on the Cape, the survey plane...more |
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Habitat Studies |
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During the winter months the wide, shallow bay, protected by the arm of Cape Cod, creates the perfect habitat for blooms of phytoplankton, the basis of a complicated and poorly understood food web. Right whales, searching for food, become part of this habitat. For over a decade...more |
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Publications |
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See a complete list of the Center's Publications...more |
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Map of Habitats |
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The map below depicts the Gulf of Maine, a semi protected body of water bounded by Cape Cod and Georges Bank to the south and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to the north. The Northeast Channel opens the Gulf to the currents of the open Atlantic. Light blue areas represent the shallow coastal...more |
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Report on Habitat Quality and Calving Rates |
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Survival of the endangered northern right whale might be linked to the abundance and caloric richness of plankton, collectively called zooplankton, that are found in Cape Cod Bay. In a scientific paper just...more |
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Reports on Monitoring & Management in Cape Cod Bay |
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In 2003, the right whale surveillance program for the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), Commonwealth of Massachusetts was conducted in Cape Cod Bay and adjacent waters by the right whale research team at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) from 1 January through...more |
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Listening to Right Whales |
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Late in spring 2001, during a calm evening on Cape Cod Bay, PCCS researchers, in collaboration with Christopher Clark at Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, set out five passive acoustic monitors, or pop-ups, adding a new dimension to right whale research: listening from afar. Sitting at the bottom...more |
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Alerting mariners to Right Whale presence in Cape Cod |
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The Cape Cod Canal has entered into cooperative agreement with The Center for Coastal Studies, Right Whale Early Warning System. The agreement's goal is to reduce commercial vessel collisions with endangered Right Whales, through broadcasting Right Whale sighting reports to vessel operators so that...more |
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Right Whale Map |
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The map below depicts the Gulf of Maine, a semi protected body of water bounded by Cape Cod and Georges Bank to the south and New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to the north. The Northeast Channel opens the Gulf to the currents of the open Atlantic. Light blue areas represent the shallow coastal waters and banks (above 100m in depth)...more |
