[The Team]

The Research Team

The research team combines the internationally renowned expertise of specialists in the field of humpback whale biology and dolphin systematics, with the extensive knowledge of local ecology and cetacean distribution held by the local members of the Oman Whale and Dolphin Research Group.

Core Team:

- Rob Baldwin -

• Robert Baldwin has lived and worked in Oman for over 14 years, most of which have been dedicated to the study and conservation of marine life. He is the co-author of Whales and Dolphins along the Coast of Oman and Whales and Dolphins of the United Arab Emirates. He has also authored numerous chapters in other books, various scientific publications on the cetaceans of Oman and Arabia, and many articles for the popular press.

• Tim Collins  is a biologist who has worked in Oman for three years. In addition to working as an environmental consultant, he has dedicated much time to building an extensive knowledge of Oman's whales and dolphins through numerous boat and beach surveys. He has also written many articles on whales and dolphins and other forms of wildlife for local and regional magazines. 

• Gianna Minton is based in Muscat and is pursuing a M.Phil with the University Marine Laboratory Station at Millport, UK. Her thesis will address seasonal distribution and habitat use of humpback whales in Oman. She also acts as a part-time guide on dolphin watching tours, maintains the Oman Cetacean Database, and coordinates a number of fund-raising and planning activities for the research group.

  - Tim & Gianna -

• Dr Fergus Kennedy has lived in Oman for several years. A recognized expert on beach ecology, he also has extensive experience with cetacean research and acts as the group's "media man" with rapidly developing expertise in wildlife photography and videography.

• Rashid Barwani is a student in his final year of the Fisheries Science programme at Sultan Qaboos University. When not attending lectures or sitting exams, Rashid joins the group in fieldwork, and will be conducting his final year project on beach surveys for cetaceans with support from the OWDRG.

• Lamya Kiyumi is a scientist working at the Marine Science and Fisheries Centre. She is closely involved with the group's planning and acts as a liaison between the group and various government bodies, helping to ensure that the results of research are implemented in Oman's conservation and fisheries policies.

• Anna Hywell-Davies worked for many years in the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Environment as well as the Oman Natural History Museum. Her experience in fieldwork, education and information dissemination make her a valuable member of the group.

  - Dr Ken Findlay -

   

• Siddiqa Rhamadhan Al Lawati is the Supervisor of the Oman Natural History Museum. Over the past several years has ensured that the museum supports the team's work by housing the Oman Cetacean Database and curating cetacean specimens that are collected in the field. Among the many internationally renowned cetacean researchers with whom the group regularly corresponds and cooperates, three researchers in particular have invested a great deal of time in researching Oman's cetaceans. All three of these scientists have joined the OWDRG in fieldwork In the past two years, and it is hoped that they will take part in future research in Oman as well.

Associated Scientists:

• Dr Ken Findlay is currently working as an independent consultant in South Africa, specialising in tourism development, environmental management and photojournalism. A member of the International Whaling Commission's Scientific Committee, he has extensive experience in whale biology and research and has participated in numerous projects in Africa, Chile, and the Antarctic. Ken's PhD thesis focused on the migrations of African East Coast Humpback whales and he has published many scientific papers on various aspects of humpback whale distribution, migration and gene-flow. He joined the team for fieldwork in February 2001 and is committed to future work with Oman's humpback whales.

• Dr. Koen Van Waerebeek of the Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC) is an expert on toothed cetaceans. Having visited Oman on several occasions, he has gained extensive experience here and has published a number of scientific papers on aspects of taxonomy and systematics of the cetaceans of the Sultanate.

  - Dr Koen Van Waerebeek -

• Dr. Howard Rosenbaum is a geneticist working with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the American Natural History Museum in New York. He coordinates and actively participates in humpback whale research throughout the Indian Ocean and the West Coast of Africa, and conducts the genetic analysis of humpback whale, humpback dolphin, and Bryde's whale tissue sample from Oman.

• Dr. Vic Cockcroft currently runs the Centre for Dolphin Studies in Plettenburg Bay South Africa, where he combines responsible whale-watching tourism with the training of university students studying whales and dolphins. He also acts as an advisor to many national and international bodies concerned with cetacean research and conservation.

• Dr Phillip Clapham directs the large whale research program at the Northeast Fisheries Science Centre in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Dr Clapham has had twenty years of experience with whales, particularly with humpbacks, with which he has worked in various places worldwide. Prior to his current position, he was at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, and before that directed a long-term study of humpback whales at the Centre for Coastal Studies in Massachusetts. He holds a PhD in biology from the University of Aberdeen (Scotland), and has advised several governments and other bodies on whale research and conservation. He currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. Dr Clapham has published two books and more than sixty refereed papers on whales.

- Whale Hall at the Natural History Museum -

Supported by:

• Oman Natural History Museum. The team works closely with the museum and all whale and dolphin skeletal samples are donated to the museum for ongoing analysis and classification.

• Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Environment. The team are regularly joined by staff from this government department.

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