The presentations reflect the breadth of our team’s work in marine mammal science and conservation, with research spanning North Atlantic right whales, humpback whales, and grey seals; emerging technologies and passive acoustic monitoring; entanglement and vessel-strike risk; species distribution modeling; and fisheries management.

Featured Research: Winter Occurrence of North Atlantic Right Whales in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic

Azura scientists Amy Whitt, Lenisa Blair, and Anna Banda will present findings from four winter seasons of systematic aerial surveys examining the distribution and occurrence of endangered North Atlantic right whales in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. The research provides new insight into how right whales use this region during winter and is being conducted under contract to the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Learn more about the research and view the poster.

Azura Presentation Schedule:

Brusa, J.L., D.W. Linden, M.P. Gahm, E.M. Patterson, C.P. Good, D.E. Pendleton, J.J. Roberts, T.V.N. Cole, H. Blondin, and D.M. Cholewiak. 2026. Predicting spatiotemporal persistence conditional on an initial detection: An example with North Atlantic right whales. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Poster presentation).

• Program ID: CM-965
• Session: Conservation and Management 1
• Date: October 20, 2026
• Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
• Room: Exhibit Hall

Craighill, M., C. Khan, L. Connor, K. Goetz, J. Wall, D. Palacios, C. Robinson, J. Wyman, M. England, E. Krapf, and D. Cholewiak. 2026. Evaluating satellite imagery for North Atlantic right whale detection in Cape Cod Bay: A multi-year comparison with aerial survey observations (2020-2024). 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Poster presentation).

• Program ID: ETM-637
• Session: Emerging Technology and Methods 1
• Date: October 20, 2026
• Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
• Room: Exhibit Hall

Craighill, M., D. Cholewiak, D. Pendleton, L. Keith-Diagne, R. Brownell, and S. Cerchio. 2026. Passive acoustic monitoring off Senegal, West Africa reveals occurrence of Northern and Southern Hemisphere humpback whale breeding populations. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Poster presentation).

• Program ID: AC-113
• Session: Acoustics and Communication 1
• Date: October 20, 2026
• Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
• Room: Exhibit Hall

Heywood, E.I. and K.T. Murray. 2026. Drivers of movement and habitat selection in young-of-the-year northwestern Atlantic grey seals. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Poster presentation).

• Program ID: E-524
• Session: Ecology 2
• Date: October 22, 2026
• Time: 5:30–7:30 PM
• Room: Exhibit Hall

Hilton, J., A.S. Miller, L. Sollinger, A. Huamani, and M.J. Asaro. 2026. Using the COVID-19 slowdown as an ecological experiment to assess changes in cetacean entanglement and vessel strike risk. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Poster presentation).

• Program ID: MMHI-804
• Session: Marine Mammal–Human Interactions 2
• Date: October 22, 2026
• Time: 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
• Room: Exhibit Hall

Sigourney, D., A.S. Miller, L. Solinger, B. Shank, M.J. Asaro, A. Huamani, and J.J. Roberts. 2026. The models we choose: A comparison of different species distribution models on estimates of line entanglement risk of humpback whales in the Northwest Atlantic. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Oral presentation).

• Presentation Format: Long Presentation
• Session: Conservation and Management
• Date: October 21, 2026
• Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM (Presentation Time: 4:11 PM – 4:22 PM)
• Room: Grand Ballroom A

Whitt, A.D., L. Blair, and A. Banda. 2026. Winter occurrence of North Atlantic right whales in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Poster presentation).

• Program ID: E-524
• Session: Ecology 2
• Date: October 22, 2026
• Time: 5:30–7:30 PM
• Room: Exhibit Hall

Zou, C., K. Hill, and M. Asaro. 2026. Evaluating the impacts of on-demand gear configuration on American lobster fishery profitability in the Northeast United States. 26th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 19–23 October. (Oral presentation).

• Presentation Format: Short Presentation
• Session: Conservation and Management
• Date: Oct 23, 2026
• Time: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM (Presentation Time: 2:03 PM – 2:08 PM)
• Room: Grand Ballroom A