Our friend and colleague, Thomas F. Norris, passed away peacefully in San Diego, California, on 9 September 2020, after a seven-month battle with pancreatic cancer.  At the time of his death, at the young age of 55, he was held by his wife, soulmate, and love of his life, Danielle.  He was surrounded by family and a few close friends.

 

Tom was a leader in the field of marine mammal bioacoustics, having founded his own company, Bio-Waves, in 2006, which at times employed several full-time biologists.  He was well known in marine mammal science and worked with many colleagues over the years on projects throughout the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.  His passion for marine science and his respect for others led him to give many young scientists opportunities to step into the field and his advice has been referred to by many as critical to their future.  He published dozens of papers, mostly on acoustic behavior of cetaceans, with humpback whales and minke whales being his favorite subjects.  Tom developed or co-developed a number of important passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) devices.  He was also Senior Scientist at Cetos Research Organization.

 

Tom’s passion for travel was established soon after his birth, on June 8, 1965, in the UK.  He moved to California as a young child ready to embrace the ocean he grew to love so much.   He returned to Europe in high school, attending the American School of the Hague, where he established a passion for Holland, travel and the friends he stayed so close to until his passing.  After moving back to the US, he started college in Florida before moving back to the west coast, his first love, to complete his B.Sc. degree in 1987 (UC, Santa Barbara, where he graduated with Dean’s Honors) and his M.Sc. in 1995 (Moss Landing Marine Laboratories; MLML).   His master’s thesis was on acoustic behavior of humpback whales of the Hawaiian Islands.

 

During his time at MLML, Tom met like-minded people who became life-long friends and colleagues. Among his friends, he is remembered as a kind, big-hearted, passionate, and intelligent surfer dude who could be goofy and serious at the same time.  He was known for always having time for his friends, even in the midst of his cancer battle, he continued running his business and supporting friends in need. During his battle with cancer, his friends gathered through Zoom every Sunday evening to chat with him and Danielle to provide moral support. Tom cared about his friends so much that he made sure to ask how everyone was doing, even when he himself was not feeling well.  

 

Surfing was a favorite pastime for Tom, and he often impressed his colleagues with his ability to split his time between catching waves and working, seeming to strike a seamless and healthy balance between the two.  Always very fit and outdoorsy, Tom also enjoyed mountain biking and other outdoor activities.  This worked well with his great respect for nature and all forms of life.  He expressed a desire to “do good for others” and went out of his way in recent months to help other cancer survivors who were going through tough times, even when his own battle was painful and disheartening.

 

Tom was well respected and had many good friends in the marine mammal and surfing communities.  He was a devoted son, taking time regularly to support his parents, and always looking to bring back a small gift for his mom on every trip abroad.  He is survived by his loving wife, Danielle, his parents Patrick and Marliese, his brother Peter, and his in-laws Ted and Wendy (his father/mother-in-law) and Julie and Mike (his sister and brother-in-law).  He will also be missed as a doting uncle to Riley, Cooper and Mason.  We have all lost a treasured colleague and dear, dear friend.  Tom’s infectious smile, laughter, good will, charm, and generous spirit will be missed by more than we can count.

 

Branch, T. A., K. M. Stafford, D. M. Palacios, C. Allison, J. L. Bannister, C. L. K. Burton, E. Cabrera, C. A. Carlson, B. G. Verbazzni, P. C. Gill, R. Hucke-Gaete, K. C. S. Jennner, M. N. M. Jenner, K. Matsuoka, Y. A. Mikhalev, T. Miyashita, M. G. Morrice, S. Nishiwaki, V. J. Sturrock, D. Tormosov, R. C. Anderson, A. N. Baker, P. B. Best, P. Borsa, R. L. Brownwell Jr, S. Childerhouse, F. K. P., T. Gerrodette, A. D. Ilangakoon, M. Joergensen, B. Kahn, D. K. Ljungblad, B. Maughan, R. D. Mccauley, S. Mckay, T. F. Norris, O. W. a. D. R. Group, S. Rankin, F. Samaran, D. Thiele, K. Van Waerebeek and R. M. Warneke. 2007. Past and present distribution, densities and movements of blue whales Balaenoptera musculus in the Southern Hemisphere and northern Indian Ocean. Mammal Review 37:116-175.

 

Cerchio, S., G. C. M., T. F. Norris and L. M. Herman. 1998. Movements of humpback whales between Kauai and Hawaii on population structure and abundance estimation in the Hawaiian Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series 175:13-22.

 

Cerchio, S., J. K. Jacobsen and T. F. Norris. 2001. Temporal and geographical variation in songs of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae: synchronous change in Hawaiian and Mexican breeding assemblages. Animal Behaviour 62:313-329.

 

Mobley, J. R., M. Smultea, T. Norris and D. Weller. 1996. Fin whale sighting north of Kaua'i, Hawai'i. Pacific Science 50:230-233.

 

Norris, T. F. 1994. Effects of boat noise on the acoustic behavior of humpback whales. Journal of The Acoustical Society of America 96(5 Pt.2):3251. Abstract Only.

 

Norris, T. F. 1995. Effects of boat noise on the singing behavior of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). M.Sc. thesis, Moss Landing Marine Labs.

 

Norris, T., J. Barlow and M. Mcdonald. 1997. Detections of singing humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) across the northeast Pacific during the SWAPS97 sperm whale cruise. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 102:3121.

 

Norris, T., M. Mcdonald and J. Barlow. 1999. Acoustic detections of singing humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the eastern North Pacific during their northbound migration. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 106:506-514.

 

Norris, T., J. Jacobsen and S. Cerchio. 2000. A comparative analysis of humpback whale songs recorded in pelagic waters of the eastern North Pacific: Preliminary findings and implications for discerning migratory routes and assessing breeding stock identity. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC 295:29 pp.

 

Norris, T., B. Hanson, D. Noren and L. Jones. 2004. Acoustic surveys of killer whales during winter along the Pacific Northwest coast. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 116:2589.

 

Norris, T., T. M. Yack, S. Martin, J. N. Oswald, A. J. Cummins and L. Thomas. 2010. The acoustic ecology and behavior of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) near tropical and subtropical North Pacific Islands. Journal of The Acoustical Society of America 128(4 Pt 2):2412. Abstract Only.

 

Norris, T., J. N. Oswald and R. Sousa-Lima. 2010. A review and inventory of cabled and radio-linked hydrophones for passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals. Journal of The Acoustical Society of America 128(4 Pt 2):2438. Abstract Only.

 

Norris, T., S. W. Martin, T. M. Yack, L. Thomas and J. Oswald. 2011. The acoustic ecology of minke whales in the tropical North Pacific. Journal of The Acoustical Society of America 130(4 Pt 2):2321. Abstract Only.

 

Norris, T., S. Martin, L. Thomas, T. Yack, J. N. Oswald, E. M. Nosal and V. M. Janik. 2012. Acoustic ecology and behavior of minke whales in the Hawaiian and Marianas Islands: Localization, abundance estimation, and characterization of minke whale boings. Pages 149-153 in A. N. Popper and A. Hawkings eds. The Effects of Noise On Aquatic Life. Springer Science.

 

Norris, T. 2012. Analysis of passive acoustic recordings made during a three month survey of cetaceans off the Northern Mariana Islands in the western North Pacific. Journal of The Acoustical Society of America 131(4 Pt 2):3456. Abstract Only.

 

Norris, T. F., J. Oswald, T. M. Yack, E. Ferguson, A. Kumar, N. J. and B. Bell. 2013. Monitoring of marine mammal occurrence and acoustic behaviors in relation to mid-frequency active sonar using autonomous recorders deployed off the undersea warfare training range, Florida. Journal of The Acoustical Society of America 134(5 Pt 2):4045-4046. Abstract Only.

 

Norris, T. F., K. J. Dunleavy, T. M. Yack and E. L. Ferguson. 2017. Estimation of minke whale abundance from an acoustic line transect survey of the Mariana Islands. Marine Mammal Science 33:575-592.

 

Oswald, J. N., J. Barlow and T. F. Norris. 2003. Acoustic identification of nine delphinid species in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Marine Mammal Science 19:20-37.

 

Rankin, S., T. F. Norris, M. A. Smultea, C. Oedekoven, A. M. Zoidis, E. Silva and J. Rivers. 2007. A visual sighting and acoustic detections of minke whales, Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Cetacea: Balaenopteridae), in nearshore Hawaiian waters. Pacific Science 61:395-398.

 

Sousa-Lima, R. S., T. F. Norris, J. N. Oswald and D. P. Fernandes. 2013. A review and inventory of fixed autonomous recorders for passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals. Aquatic Mammals 39:23-53.

 

Thode, A., T. Norris and J. Barlow. 2000. Frequency beamforming of dolphin whistles using a sparse three-element towed array. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 107:3581-3584.