The Graceful Giants of the Oceans
When the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station was established, Bruce Mate and his Marine Mammal Program (MMP) became part of the new organization. As MMP expanded, additional faculty - Scott Baker and Markus Horning - were hired. When the MMP became an OSU Institute - the Marine Mammal Institute (MMI) - Scott and Markus were given split appointments in both organizations. For simplicity's sake, Scott and Markus maintain their web pages on the MMI site, which is linked here.
Scott, his staff and his students comprise the Cetacean Conservation and Genomics Laboratory (CCGL), through which they pursue an ever greater understanding of the ecology and behavior of whales, dolphins and porpoises. The research done by Scott and his lab has been pivotal in the fight against illegal whaling and the illegal trade in whale meat. His research was also a critical component of the work that resulted in the Academy Award winning movie The Cove.
Markus heads up the well-known Pinniped Ecology Applied Research Lab (PEARL). His work focuses on pinnipeds - seals, sea lions, and walruses - and studies predator-prey interactions, and man-made and natural variations in environmental conditions. One of the many difficulties researchers experience when dealing with these marine creatures is their ability to live most of the lives in a world mostly inaccessible and/or hostile to us. As a result, Markus has become well-known for his work in the development and use of new technologies to study these animals.