Short-finned pilot whales in Hawai‘i

In our sample of over 3,500 sightings of odontocetes in Hawaiian waters since 2000, short-finned pilot whales are the most frequently encountered species, representing almost 25% of all odontocete encounters. We have been studying various aspects of the behavior and ecology of short-finned pilot whales in Hawai‘i, photo-identifying individuals in every group encountered (collecting over 450,000 photos), collecting biopsy samples being used for stock structure, pollutant, and trophic ecology studies (over 290 samples), making acoustic recordings (from some groups), and studying their diving behavior and movement patterns using LIMPET tags (from almost 150 deployments). At the bottom of this page you can find copies of a number of publications and reports on our work with short-finned pilot whales in Hawaiian waters.

ShortfinspyhopJul8_DLW_0
Short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, breach, Kona, Hawaii
pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, predation, fish, Kona, Hawaii, Globicephala

Videos of short-finned pilot whales in Hawai'i

We occasionally collect video footage of short-finned pilot whales as part of our field work in Hawai‘i – you can view some of our videos below!

Playlist

2 Videos

Below are a number of references on short-finned pilot whales

  • Baird, R.W., C.J. Cornforth, S.M. Jarvis, N.A. DiMarzio, K. Dolan, E.E. Henderson, S.W. Martin, S.L. Watwood, S.D. Mahaffy, B.D. Guenther, J.K. Lerma, A.E. Harnish, and M.A. Kratofil. 2021. Odontocete Studies on the Pacific Missile Range Facility in February 2020: Satellite-Tagging, Photo-Identification, and Passive Acoustic Monitoring. Prepared for Commander, Pacific Fleet, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006 Task Order N6274219F0101 issued to HDR Inc., Honolulu, HI. Download PDF copy. 
  • Apprill, A., C.A. Miller, A.M. Van Cise, J.M. U’Ren, M.S. Leslie, L. Weber, R.W. Baird, J. Robbins, S. Landry, A. Bogomolni, and G. Waring. 2020. Marine mammal skin microbiotas are influenced by host phylogeny. Royal Society Open Science 7:192046. doi: 10.1098/rsos.192046. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W. 2019. How we learn about Hawaii’s dolphin and whale populations. Hawaii Fishing News 44(9):31-32. Download PDF copy. 
  • Andrews, R.D., R.W. Baird, J. Calambokidis, C.E.C. Goertz, F.M. Gulland, M.P. Heide-Jorgensen, S.K. Hooker, M. Johnson, B. Mate, Y Mitani, D.P. Nowacek, K. Owen, L.T. Quakenbush, S. Raverty, J. Robbins, G.S. Schorr, O.V. Shpak, F.I. Townsend, JR, M. Uhart, R.W. Wells, and A.N. Zerbini. 2019. Best Practice Guidelines for Cetacean Tagging. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 20:27-66. Download PDF copy. 
  • Howe, M., M.O. Lammers, and R.W. Baird. 2019. Participatory Science and Directed Survey Methods: A Case Study with Odontocetes in the Maui Nui Region of the Hawaiian Islands. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 20:101-109. Download PDF copy. 
  • Howe, M., M.O. Lammers, and R.W. Baird. 2019. Participatory Science and Directed Survey Methods: A Case Study with Odontocetes in the Maui Nui Region of the Hawaiian Islands. Poster presented at the World Marine Mammal Conference, Barcelona, Spain, December 7-12, 2019. Download PDF copy. 
  • Owen, K., R.D. Andrews, R.W. Baird, G.S. Schorr, and D.L. Webster. 2019. Lunar Cycles Influence the Diving Behavior and Habitat Use of Short-Finned Pilot Whales Around the Main Hawaiian Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series 629:193-206. doi: 10.3354/meps13123. Available from Marine Ecology Progress Series, or contact us for a copy. 
  • Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, S.M. Jarvis, E.E. Henderson, S.L. Watwood, S.D. Mahaffy, B.D. Guenther, J.K. Lerma, C.J. Cornforth, A.W. Vanderzee and D.B. Anderson. 2019. Odontocete studies on the Pacific Missile Range Facility in August 2018: satellite-tagging, photo-identification, and passive acoustic monitoring. Prepared for Commander, Pacific Fleet, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006 Task Order 6274218F0107 issued to HDR Inc., Honolulu, HI. Download PDF copy
  • Van Cise, A.M., R.W. Baird, C.S. Baker, S. Cerchio, D. Claridge, R. Fielding, B. Hancok-Hanser, J. Marrero, K.K. Martien, A.A. Mignucci-Giannoni, E.M. Oleson, M. Oremum, M.M. Poole, P.E. Rosel, B.L. Taylor and P.A. Morin. 2019. Oceanographic barriers, divergence, and admixture: phylogeography and taxonomy of two putative subspecies of short-finned pilot whales. Molecular Ecology doi: 10.1111/mec15107. ​
  • Yahn, S.N., R.W. Baird, S.D. Mahaffy and D.L. Webster. 2019. How to tell them apart? Discriminating tropical blackfish species using fin and body measurements from photos taken at sea. Marine Mammal Science doi:10.1111/mms.12584. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., E.E. Henderson, S.W. Martin, and B.L. Southall. 2019. Assessing Odontocete Exposure and Response to Mid-Frequency Active Sonar During Submarine Command Courses at the Pacific Missile Range Facility: 2016-2018. Prepared for Commander, Pacific Fleet, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006 Task Order KB16 issued to HDR Inc., Honolulu, HI. Download PDF copy. 
  • Van Cise, A.M., S.D. Mahaffy, R.W. Baird, T.A. Mooney and J. Barlow. 2018. Song of my people: dialect differences among sympatric social groups of short-finned pilot whales in Hawai’i. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 72. doi.org/10.1007/s00265-018-2596-1. Download PDF copy​
  • Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, S.D. Mahaffy, A.M. Gorgone, E.M. Walters, and D.B. Anderson. 2017. Studies of dolphins and whales on and around the Pacific Missile Range Facility using photo-identification and satellite tagging: evidence for resident and non-resident species. Prepared under Contract No. N66604-14-C0145 from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. Read introduction
  • Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, R. Morrissey, B.K. Rone, S.D. Mahaffy, A.M. Gorgone, D.B. Anderson, E.E. Henderson, S.W. Martin, and D.J. Moretti. 2017. Odontocete studies on the Pacific Missile Range Facility in February 2016: satellite-tagging, photo-identification, and passive acoustic monitoring. Prepared for Commander, Pacific Fleet, Honolulu, HI. Download PDF copy. 
  • Baird, R.W., S.W. Martin, R. Manzano-Roth, D.L. Webster, and B.L. Southall. 2017. Assessing exposure and response of three species of odontocetes to mid-frequency active sonar during submarine commanders courses at the Pacific Missile Range Facility: August 2013 through February 2015.  Prepared for U.S. Pacific Fleet, submitted to NAVFAC PAC by HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction, Inc., Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Download PDF copy
  • Van Cise, A. 2017. Gene-Culture Coevolution in a Social Cetacean: Integrating Acoustic and Genetic Data to Understand Population Structure in the Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Ph. D. Thesis, University of California, San Diego. 226 pp. Download PDF copy.
  • Van Cise, A., P. Morin, K.K. Martien, R.W. Baird, S.D. Mahaffy, D.L. Webster, A. Mooney, E.M. Oleson, and J. Barlow. 2017. Song of my people: short-finned pilot whales in Hawai’i use vocal repertoire diversity to maintain social and genetic population structure. Abstract (Proceedings) 22nd Biennial on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Halifax, Nova Scotia, October 22-27, 2017. View abstract
  • Walker-Milne, N., Y. Papastamatious, R.W. Baird and S.D. Mahaffy. 2017. Seasonal prevalence of cookiecutter shark (Isistius brasiliensis) bites on short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in Hawai’i. Abstract (Proceedings) 22nd Biennial on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Halifax, Nova Scotia, October 22-27, 2017. View abstract Download poster PDF
  • Walters, E.M., R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, D.B. Anderson, S.D. Mahaffy, G.S. Schorr, R. Andrews. 2017. Definining key habitats: An analysis of short-finned pilot whale communities in Hawai’i using satellite tag data. Abstract (Proceedings) 22nd Biennial on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Halifax, Nova Scotia, October 22-27, 2017. View Abstract
  • Yahn, S.N., R.W. Baird, S.D. Mahaffy, D.L. Webster. 2017. How to tell them apart? Blackfish species discrimination using fin and body morphometrics obtainable from photos at sea. Abstract (Proceedings) 22nd Biennial on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Halifax, Nova Scotia, October 22-27, 2017. View abstract Download poster PDF
  • Van Cise, A.M., M.A. Roch, R.W. Baird, T.A. Mooney and J. Barlow. 2017. Acoustic differentiation of Shiho- and Naisa-type short-finned pilot whales in the Pacific Ocean. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America doi: 10.1121/1.4974858. Download PDF copy
  • Van Cise, A. M., K. K. Martien, S. D. Mahaffy, R. W. Baird, D. L. Webster, J. H. Fowler, E. M. Oleson, P. A. Morin. 2017. Familial social structure and socially driven genetic differentiation in Hawaiian short-finned pilot whales. Journal of Molecular Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/mec.14397 Download PDF copy
  • Van Cise, A.M., P.A. Morin, R.W. Baird, A.R. Lang, K.M. Robertson, S.J. Chivers, R.L. Brownell, Jr., and K.K. Martin. 2016. Redrawing the map: mtDNA provides new insight into the distribution and diversity of short-finned pilot whales in the Pacific Ocean. Marine Mammal Science doi: 10.1111/mms.12315. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W, D. Cholewiak, D.L. Webster, G.S. Schorr, S.D. Mahaffy, C. Curtice, J. Harrison and S.M. Van Parijs. 2015. Biologically important areas for cetaceans within U.S. waters – Hawai’i region. Aquatic Mammals 41:54-64. Download PDF copy​
  • Abecassis, M., J. Polovina, R.W. Baird, A. Copeland, J.C. Drazen, R. Komokos, E. Oleson, Y. Jia, G.S. Schorr, D.L. Webster, and R.D. Andrews. 2015. Characterizing a foraging hotspot for short-finned pilot whales and Blainville’s beaked whales off the west side of the Island of Hawai‘i with tagging and oceanographic data. PLOS ONE doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0142628. Download PDF copy​
  • Mahaffy, S.D., R.W. Baird, D.J. McSweeney, D.L. Webster and G.S. Schorr. 2015. High site fidelity, strong associations and long-term bonds: short finned pilot whales off the island of Hawai‘i. Marine Mammal Science doi: 10.1111/mms/12234. Download PDF copy
  • Foltz, K., R.W Baird, G.M. Ylitalo, and B.A. Jensen. 2014. Cytochrome P4501A1 expression in blubber biopsies of endangered false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and nine other odontocete species from Hawai’i. Ecotoxicology. doi: 10.1007/s10646-014-1300-0. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, S.D. Mahaffy, G.S. Schorr, J.M. Aschettino, and A.M. Gorgone. 2013. Movements and spatial use of odontocetes in the western main Hawaiian Islands: results of a three-year study off O’ahu and Kaua’i. Final report under Grant No. N00244-10-1-0048 from the Naval Postgraduate School.
  • Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, J.M. Aschettino, G.S. Schorr and D.J. McSweeney. 2013. Odontocete cetaceans around the main Hawaiian Islands: habitat use and relative abundance from small-boat sighting surveys. Aquatic Mammals 39:253-269. Download PDF copy​
  • Mahaffy, S.D. 2012. Site fidelity, associations and long-term bonds of short-finned pilot whales off the island of Hawai’i. M.Sc. Thesis, Portland State University. 151 pp. Download PDF copy
  • Van Cise, A.M., R.W. Baird, S. Baumann-Pickering, S. Rankin, and J. Barlow. 2012. Characterization of short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) clicks and calls near the Hawaiian Islands. Poster presented at the 13th International Conference of the American Cetacean Society, November 9-11, 2012, San Diego, CA. Download PDF copy
  • Andrews, R.D., G.S. Schorr, R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, D.J. McSweeney and M.B. Hanson. 2011. New satellite-linked depth-recording LIMPET tags permit monitoring for weeks to months and reveal consistent deep nighttime feeding behavior of short-finned pilot whales in Hawai’i. Poster presented at the Fourth International Science Symposium on Bio-logging, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, March 14-18, 2011. Download PDF copy
  • Sakai, M., K. Aoki, K. Sato, M. Amano, R.W. Baird, D.L. Webster, G.S. Schorr and N. Miyazaki. 2011. Swim speed and acceleration measurements of short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) in Hawai‘i. Mammal Study 36:55-59. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., G.S. Schorr, D.L. Webster, D.J. McSweeney, M.B. Hanson, and R.D. Andrews. 2008. Multi-species cetacean satellite tagging to examine movements in relation to the 2008 Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercise. A quick look report on the results of tagging efforts undertaken under Order No. D1000115 from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., G.S. Schorr, D.L. Webster, S.D. Mahaffy, A.B. Douglas, A.M. Gorgone, and D.J. McSweeney. 2006. A survey for odontocete cetaceans off Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, Hawai’i, during October and November 2005: evidence for population structure and site fidelity. Report to Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, under Order No. AB133F05SE5197 with additional support from the Marine Mammal Commission and Dolphin Quest. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., 2006. Hawai’i’s other cetaceans. Whale and Dolphin Magazine 11: 28-31. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., D.J. McSweeney, M.R. Heithaus and G.J. Marshall. 2003. Short-finned pilot whale diving behavior: deep feeders and day-time socialites. In Abstracts of the 15th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Greensboro, NC, December 2003.Download PDF copy
  • Chivers, S.J., R.G. LeDuc and R.W. Baird. 2003. Hawaiian island populations of false killer whales and short-finned pilot whales revealed by genetic analyses. In Abstracts of the 15th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Greensboro, NC, December 2003. Download PDF copy
  • Baird, R.W., D.J. McSweeney, D.L. Webster, A.M. Gorgone and A.D. Ligon. 2003. Studies of odontocete population structure in Hawaiian waters: results of a survey through the main Hawaiian Islands in May and June 2003. Report prepared under Contract No. AB133F-02-CN-0106 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Western Administrative Support Center, 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98115 USA. PDF available at ResearchGate
  • Baird, R.W., and P.J. Stacey. 1993. Sightings, strandings and incidental catches of short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus, off the British Columbia coast. Reports of the International Whaling Commission Special Issue 14:475-479. Download PDF copy
  • Stacey, P.J., and R.W. Baird. 1993. Status of the short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus, in Canada. Canadian Field-Naturalist 107:481-489. Download PDF copy
  • Shane, S.H., and D. McSweeney. 1990. Using photo-identification to study pilot whale social organization. Reports of the International Whaling Commission Special Issue 12: 259-263. Download PDF copy

Updated January 2022.

Return to the Hawaiian Dolphin and Whale Species Page

Got photos? We have photo-ID catalogs for several Hawaiian cetacean species! If you have photos that you would be willing to share, you can learn how to submit those to us at this link, or contact us at Hawaii@cascadiaresearch.org