The SeaDoc Board is instrumental to our mission here in the Salish Sea. Scott, Barb, and Jeff bring unique expertise, passion, and dedication to our team and we’re so excited to have them! View the whole board here and learn more about Scott, Barb and Jeff below.
Drones can be powerful tools in gathering important health data about wildlife, including marine species like the Salish Sea’s endangered killer whales. Scientists have already established the benefits of collecting breath samples to monitor orca health, but we wanted to scientifically understand if it is less invasive than previous sampling methods–namely the use of a long pole with a petri dish extended from a nearby boat toward the whale’s blowhole.
A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal, Marine Mammal Science, led by SeaDoc Society Research Assistant Catherine Lo, answered that question by analyzing more than 1,000 drone-collected killer whale breath samples.
This summer, our brilliant Scientific Advisory Committee gathered in Seattle to assess and ultimately determine funding for five new critical research projects here in the Salish Sea. You can read about those here.
Our Science Advisors are a vital part of our mission, and we’re excited to introduce two exciting new additions. They are Caitlin Magel of Puget Sound Institute and Phil Bloch of Confluence Environmental Company. We asked them a few questions so you can get to know them a bit better.
Welcome Caitlin and Phil!
We're excited to announce that SeaDoc Society will fund five new scientific research projects aimed at improving the longterm health of the Salish Sea. Each project was carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and funded through your donations from people like you.
We look forward to sharing more about each of these as fieldwork ramps up, but here is a brief look at the newly funded projects:
It’s easy when you live in the Salish Sea to feel like you’re sort of perpetually camping. Water surrounds you, trees line up on the horizon, the air is fresh, etc. etc. etc. But you also have a phone in your pocket and bills to pay and new series to binge on Netflix. Sure it’s beautiful outside, but those are the trappings of regular nine-to-five type stuff. The forays into nature are carved out and fleeting.
SeaDoc is excited to announce our newest addition to the team, Justin Cox, who will serve as Communications and Marketing Manager starting in January. If Justin’s name rings a bell, it’s because he has contributed to SeaDoc for the past few years in his role with the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at UC Davis. He and his family will arrive at the island at the end of January. Allow Justin to introduce himself:
My family and I are extremely excited for this opportunity and we look forward to our arrival on the island come January! A few years ago, while editing the UC Davis Wildlife Health Center’s online magazine, I pitched the idea of a themed volume dedicated to the Salish Sea.
I connected with the SeaDoc team and booked a three-day stay on the island, with only a vague idea at the time of the specific stories we would create. Joe Gaydos lent me his pickup truck (Rage Against the Machine queued up in the CD player) and stacked my agenda with boat trips, interviews, lunch meetings and more. I used the gaps in my schedule to film b-roll atop Mt. Constitution, watch Joe’s daughter play in a high school soccer game, edit video in Eastsound cafes and bars, etc. I was amazed by the place (the sea, the town, the mountains, the valleys…all of it) and I shared that with my family upon returning home.
In the years that followed, I began working with SeaDoc more routinely, which resulted in more trips to Orcas for the Wine and Sea Auction. I turned the most recent auction into a family road trip so that they could experience it as well. They were equally amazed.
All of which is to say, we’re thrilled by this exciting opportunity! SeaDoc is a special program, and I absolutely love working with the team and its dedicated supporters. Aside from that dense reporting trip a while back, I’ve never had time to dedicate myself fully to telling their stories, but in January that will change. There’s so much potential for SeaDoc in the coming years, and I can’t wait to be a part of realizing it.
A bit more about me: I have a Bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Monterey Bay and a Master’s degree in multimedia storytelling from Northwestern University. I worked in journalism (online and print) prior to joining the UC Davis One Health Institute/Wildlife Health Center four years ago. Outside of work, I write music and play in a band. I snuck in a couple of songs at the Random Howse open mic last time I was on island and look forward to doing it again sometime.
I’m moving to Orcas with my wife (Bianca) and two kids (Noah, 5 and Milo, 2). Bianca is a photographer, gardener and lover of libraries. Noah has deep affinity for marine life (especially octopuses and other cephalopods) and Milo is into whatever his big brother is playing with at any given moment. They both have fond memories of their time on Orcas Island. Oh, we also have a cat named Pele.
Please come by and say Hi if you find yourself near the SeaDoc office in late January, and reach me anytime at jcox@ucdavis.edu.
