Dr. Moira Brown is a Canadian-born North Atlantic right whale

Right whale

Right whales are three species of large baleen whales consisting of two genera in the family Balaenidae of order Cetacea. Their bodies are very dark gray or black and rotund....

 researcher and senior scientist instrumental in spearheading the initiative to get the Government of Canada

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

, shipping industry and scientists to address ship strikes and North Atlantic right whale mortality in the Bay of Fundy

Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. After a five-year effort, the year 2003 marked the first time in the history of the International Maritime Organization that shipping lanes were amended to avoid an endangered marine species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

.

History

About 25 years ago, before her quest to save the North Atlantic right whale began, Moira Brown taught Physical Education Class

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 in schools across the West Island District of Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. After four years of teaching, Moira decided to return to McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 in Montreal, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, to study renewable resources, which resulted in her acquiring a Bachelor of Science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 Degree.

In 1985, after working as a research assistant for Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, frequently referred to as DFO , is the department within the government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland waters...

 (DFO) on a project about the history of whaling

History of whaling

The history of whaling is very extensive, stretching back for millennia. This article discusses the history of whaling up to the commencement of the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986....

, Moira started to work as a volunteer at the New England Aquarium

New England Aquarium

The New England Aquarium is an aquarium located in Boston, Massachusetts.In addition to the main aquarium building, attractions at the New England Aquarium include the Simons IMAX Theatre and the New England Aquarium Whale Watch, which operates from April through November...

, studying North Atlantic right whales in the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

After working with and studying these whales for ten years, Moira made the decision to return to university yet again: This time, she was in pursuit of a Doctorate

Doctorate

A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...

 Degree from the University of Guelph

University of Guelph

The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...

 in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

.

Research

Moira Brown has been researching right whale population biology

Population biology

Population biology is a study of populations of organisms, especially the regulation of population size, life history traits such as clutch size, and extinction...

 and demographic studies in Canadian waters since 1985 and in Cape Cod Bay

Cape Cod Bay

Cape Cod Bay is a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Measuring below a line drawn from Brant Rock in Marshfield to Race Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts, it is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south and east, and Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to the west....

 since 1997. Her studies on right whale genetics

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 commenced in 1988. She focuses her marine conservation

Marine conservation

Marine conservation, also known as marine resources conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems...

 efforts on diminishing the human-related threats to the right whale population in Canadian waters. As a result, she, along with many other researchers under the direction of Dr. Scott Kraus (Vice President for Research at the New England Aquarium), has contributed to one of the most comprehensive databases of individual whales: The Photo Identification Catalogue which was originally created by Dr. Kraus in 1980 and now considered to be the best profile of any endangered species yet.

Photo Identification Catalogue

Photo identification is a non-invasive technique developed in the 1970s for South Atlantic whales on which most modern whale studies are based. Identical to humans, each right whale has physical features that make it unique and distinguishable from the rest. Photo identification is a process that involves photographing right whales, recording their natural markings and entering their information into a computer database for future retrieval.

At the New England Aquarium, the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalogue contains extensive information related to over 30,000 whale sightings of over 500 individual whales since 1935—the most compared to any other marine species. Using this information, scientists and researchers are able to estimate population numbers: in 2007, the right whale population was estimated to be at 400 whales.

Using this information, researchers are able to determine when and where an individual whale has travelled throughout their lifetime, and monitor whale population demographics, reproductive efforts, mortality, behavior, migration patterns and occurrence rates of human-caused scarring. Results gathered from this research can then be used to discover species-wide problems and implement recovery strategies, such as the Bay of Fundy Traffic Separation Scheme, enforced in 2003.

Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre

In addition to the Photo Identification Catalogue, the Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre in Canada has introduced high-resolution genetic profiling for North Atlantic right whale study. In Canada, right whale genetics can be divided into two categories: historical and contemporary analysis.

Historical Analysis

Of all the large whales, the North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered. To investigate the reason why the right whale population has so drastically declined in numbers, Dr. Brown has worked as a member of a team of researchers who worked to solve this mystery. A popular belief is that Basque whaling in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Gulf of Saint Lawrence

The Gulf of Saint Lawrence , the world's largest estuary, is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean...

 is responsible for the demise:

At Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

Red Bay is a fishing village and former site of several Basque whaling stations on the southern coast of Labrador in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Between 1550 and the early 17th century, Red Bay was a major Basque whaling area. The site is home to three Basque whaling galleons...

, in 1978, the most important whaling centres of the Strait of Belle Isle (Gulf of St. Lawrence) was discovered. Whale bones were identified in the vicinity of a Basque galleon

Galleon

A galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with the demi-culverin type of cannon.-Etymology:...

 that sunk in 1565. Researchers from Parks Canada and the Canadian Museum of Nature conducted analyses on the morphology and genetics of 21 humeruses, a bone contained in the pectoral fin of the whale.

However, after examining the North Atlantic whale bone DNA

DNA

Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

, scientists arrived at the conclusion: the Basques primarily hunted bowhead whales, not right whales. Therefore, right whales, in general, started off with a smaller population size to begin with.

Contemporary Analysis

For contemporary purposes, Moira extracts North Atlantic right whale bone DNA by using a Crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

 and biopsy tip to collect whale skin samples. She, in collaboration with a team of geneticists at Trent University under the leadership of Dr. Bradley White, analyzes and records these samples to create a right whale "family tree

Family tree

A family tree, or pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. The more detailed family trees used in medicine, genealogy, and social work are known as genograms.-Family tree representations:...

". The data collected from this research will provide key information regarding right whale reproductive biology and the factors that contribute to their reproductive success.

Key Positions

Moira Brown worked at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, for three years and then became Director at the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts

Provincetown, Massachusetts

Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...

, for seven years dedicating her time to the conservation of marine mammals and their ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

.

She is Co-Chair of the North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery-Implementation Team, is currently the senior scientist at the Canadian Whale Institute and has been the senior scientist at the New England Aquarium's Edgerton Research Laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts, since 2004.

Achievements

By implementing one of the most important marine mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

protection measures in Canada, Dr. Brown has been recognized with the following awards:

• Gulf of Maine Visionary Award (2002)
• Canadian Environment Award (2003)
• International Fund for Animal Welfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2006)

External links

• Shipping Lanes and Whales
• Shipping Lanes
• Whale Collision with Ships, historical article with statistics
• Right Whale Conservation
• Bay of Fundy Shipping Lanes
• Right Whales