A new book is available entitled The lives of Hawai‘i’s dolphins and whales: natural history and conservation, published by the University of Hawai‘i Press. The book synthesizes our work in Hawai‘i over the last 17 years,
including results from satellite tagging, photo-identification and genetic analyses, as well as incorporating results from other researchers and early work on whales and dolphins in Hawaiian waters. The book includes 173 full color photographs, maps and illustrations,
and retail cost in the U.S. is $24.99.
It is now available through the University of Hawai‘i Press web site
http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9708-9780824859985.aspx (use PACS16 for a 20% discount, available through the end of the year) and is available for pre-order on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0824859987/ref=cm_sw_su_dp both in paperback and Kindle version
The description from the publisher is below, and there are a number of examples of two-page spreads from the book at
http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/Hawaii/HawaiiDolphinsandWhales.htm
The full citation is: Baird, R.W. 2016. The lives of Hawai‘i’s dolphins and whales: natural history and conservation. University of Hawai‘i Press, Honolulu, Hawai‘i. 352 pages.
Robin
Description from the publisher
Ocean currents, winds, and rainfall all work together to create a marine oasis around the Hawaiian Islands, providing a home for many species of dolphins and whales normally found in the deep oceans of the world. The Lives of Hawai‘i’s
Dolphins and Whales provides a window into the world of these mysterious creatures with stories and observations from the author’s work with Hawaiian whales and dolphins over the last seventeen years. The book includes full-color photos of each species,
life history descriptions, conservation threats, and maps showing sighting locations and movements of tagged individuals among the islands and offshore.
Although this work covers the well-known resident spinner dolphins and the visiting humpback whales, it particularly highlights the ten species of lesser-known open-ocean dolphins and whales that are resident to the marine slopes of the
islands. These include endangered false killer whales, deep-diving Cuvier’s and Blainville’s beaked whales, abundant spotted dolphins, coastal bottlenose dolphins, cryptic dwarf sperm whales, family units of short-finned pilot whales, and social melon-headed
whales, among others. The book also describes thirteen species of dolphins and whales that are found in offshore waters or visit the Hawaiian waters seasonally or occasionally, including killer whales, the iconic sperm whale, and even blue whales and North
Pacific right whales.
More is known about the social organization and natural history of many of these species in Hawai‘i than anywhere else in the world. For all of these species, information from long-term photo-identification studies is given, with distinctive
individuals tracked through time and space; for many of them, findings from studies using genetics and satellite tagging are also included. Information on predators and prey, social organization, diving, and night-time behavior, along with suggestions on how
to tell some of the more difficult to identify species apart are also included. Conservation issues, as well as conservation success stories, are explored, as well as what can and should be done to help protect Hawai‘i’s unique assemblage of resident dolphins
and whales.
===============================================================================
Robin W. Baird, Ph.D.
Research Biologist, Cascadia Research Collective
Affiliate Faculty, Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology
Mailing address:
Cascadia Research Collective
218 1/2 W. 4th Avenue
Olympia, WA 98501 USA
New book on Hawai'i's whales and dolphins