Stories

Whale Scientists Story — Clare Andvik 

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Clare Andvik is a marine mammal toxicologist and PhD student studying pollution effects on Norwegian orcas at the University of Oslo. Despite initially studying Philosophy due to discouragement from teachers and working unrelated jobs, a passion for marine biology led her to Norway, where she began a biology degree and later interned at the Norwegian Orca Survey. Ultimately her master’s thesis focused on pollutant levels in orcas correlated with their diet. Juggling parenthood and her career, Clare advocates for normalized parenthood within academia. Her present focus lies in publishing more research papers while expecting her second child.

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Whale Scientists Story — Joëlle De Weerdt

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Joëlle De Weerdt is a 35-year-old Belgian marine mammalogist currently doing her PhD in Nicaragua on humpback whales. She developed her own NGO in Nicaragua and funded her own PhD research! Here is her story… Joëlle’s education I completed my studies in 5 years (3 years bachelor’s + 2 years master’s). I did my master’s

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Whale Scientists Story – Agathe Serres

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Agathe Serres is a 29 years old French postdoctoral marine mammalogist currently conducting research in China. She tells us how she traveled from France to China, following her passion for dolphins. She also tells us about how she used her good adaptation skills to learn mandarin and start a new life dedicated to the conservation

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Whale Scientists Story – Jasmin Groß

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Jasmin Groß is a 33-year-old german postdoctorate research fellow. She works on humpback whale ecology at the Helmholtz Institut for Functional Marine Biodiversity, in Oldenburg, Germany. Jasmin’s education took her around the world I completed my studies at seven different universities all around the world. I did a gap year in the USA after high

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Whale Scientists Story – Erica Wirth

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Erica Wirth is a 26-year-old American naturalist and captain working in California. She also is the founder of a successful podcast, Breaching Extinction. Here is her story. Erica earned a dual degree in Environmental Studies and Psychology I attended Eckerd College, earning a dual degree in 3.5 years. Eckerd was my dream college, and I

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The Northern Bottlenose Whale

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We are wrapping this year with a lesser-known, but very well studied ziphiid, or beaked whale, the northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus). The northern bottlenose whale is the largest member of the beaked family found in the North Atlantic Ocean. They have a bottle-shaped beak and a hooked dorsal fin, hence the “bottlenose” in their

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Whale Scientists Story: Leanne Rosser

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Leanne Rosser is a 30-year-old British marine mammalogist currently studying the behavior of Pacific white-sided dolphins in Japan. Here is her story. From music to English literature I had a slightly longer journey than most. Throughout the majority of high school, I wanted to become a classical pianist. Music was my first love before dolphins

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3 steps to a better work-life balance

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In first grade, I remember the look of shock when I told my friends that my mom was a teacher. They couldn’t imagine teachers ever leaving school. They thought teachers just lived in the classroom, and their sole purpose in life was to teach.  Similarly, I think people (both scientists and non-scientists) often believe that their

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Whale Scientists Story: Fadia Al Abbar

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Fadia Al Abbar is a 31 years-old half Dutch half Kuwaiti marine mammalogist. She is currently doing her PhD on common dolphins in the Azores. Here is her story… Fadia’s education A focus on policy making I started my bachelor’s degree in environmental science, with a focus on policymaking at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands.

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