Hal Whitehead is a biologist specializing in the study of the
sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
(''Physeter macrocephalus''). Whitehead is professor at
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus in Saint John, New Brunswick. Dalhousie offer ...
. The primary field research vessel of his laboratory is the ''Balaena'', a
Valiant 40 ocean-going cruising boat, which normally does its work off the coast of
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. Other marine mammals studied by Whitehead's laboratory include
beluga whales
The beluga whale () (''Delphinapterus leucas'') is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus ''Delphinapterus''. It is also known as the whi ...
,
pilot whales
Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus ''Globicephala''. The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (''G. melas'') and the short-finned pilot whale (''G. macrorhynchus''). The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, ...
,
northern bottlenose whales, and
bottlenose dolphins
Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...
.
Research findings
Whitehead's research is focused primarily upon the behavior, population biology, and ecology of the sperm whale. Topics include social structure, cultural transmission of behavior, as well as acoustic communicative behavior such as click trains.
Selected publications
* Whitehead, H. (2003). ''Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean.'' 456 p., 60 halftones, 84 line drawings, 41 tables. 6 x 9. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
* Whitehead, H. and Luke Rendell. (2014).
The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins'' 408 p., 15 color plates, 7 halftones, 4 line drawings, 5 tables. 6 x 9. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, .
See also
*
Beaked whale
Beaked whales (systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 species are reasonably well-k ...
*
Sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
External links
Dalhousie University Whitehead Lab
Cetologists
Living people
1952 births
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