Diane Claridge
Diane Claridge | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 November 1963 Nassau, The Bahamas |
| Alma mater | Florida Institute of Technology (BSc) University of Aberdeen (MSc) University of St Andrews (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Zoology, mammalogy, marine bioacoustics and environmental science |
| Institutions | Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization Friends of the Environment in Abaco |
| Thesis | Population ecology of Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) (2013) |
| Doctoral advisor | Phil Hammond John W. Durban |
Diane Elaine Claridge (born 1 November 1963) is a Bahamian mammalogist most known for her work on beaked whales. She founded the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization and is a director of Friends of the Environment in Abaco.
Biography
Claridge was born in Nassau in The Bahamas.[1]
Claridge studied a bachelor's degree in environmental science at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, United States. She completed an overseas research degree to complete a master's degree in zoology from the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland. She studied a PhD in biology at St. Andrews University in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, focusing on the spatial processes in the population ecology of beaked whales.[1]
In 1991, Claridge founded the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organization,[1] based in Marsh Harbour, Abaco Islands, which she co-directs with Ken Balcomb and is supported by Earthwatch.[2]
In 2000, Claridge found a deceased dense-beaked whale in a lagoon at Cross Harbour Creek, Abaco, which was subsequently studied in a post-mortem in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.[3]
By 2005, Claridge and her research team of Earthwatch volunteers had documented the presence of twenty-three species of marine mammals, including beaked whales, bottlenose dolphins, hooded seals, manatees and toothed whales, for the Bahamas Marine Mammal Survey (BMMS).[4]
Claridge contributed photography and behavioural observations of Blainville's beaked whales to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2009).[5] Her research into mammal behaviour and marine bioacoustics has enabled the development of understanding about why Blainville's beaked whales are particularly susceptible to naval sonar.[6][7] She has also contributed research to genomics and morphology work, which helped to reveal a new species of beaked whale.[8]
Claridge is a director of Friends of the Environment in Abaco.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Meet the Board". Friends of the Environment. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Hoyt, Erich (1999). The Potential of Whale Watching in the Caribbean: 1999+. Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. p. 12.
- ^ Ketten, Darlene R. (2005). Beaked Whale Necropsy Findings for Strandings in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Madeira, 1999-2002. WHOI. pp. 19–22.
- ^ "The Voyage of the Odyssey - Track the Voyage - ATLANTIC OCEAN". PBS. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Perrin, William F.; Würsig, Bernd; Thewissen, J. G. M. (26 February 2009). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press. p. 1006. ISBN 978-0-08-091993-5.
- ^ Whalewatcher: Journal of the American Cetacean Society. American Cetacean Society. 2009. p. 21.
- ^ Malakoff, David (26 January 2001). "A Roaring Debate Over Ocean Noise". Science. 291 (5504). doi:10.1126/science.291.5504.576. Retrieved 10 February 2026.
- ^ Carroll, Emma L.; McGowen, Michael R.; McCarthy, Morgan L.; Marx, Felix G.; Aguilar, Natacha; Dalebout, Merel L.; Dreyer, Sascha; Gaggiotti, Oscar E.; Hansen, Sabine S.; van Helden, Anton; Onoufriou, Aubrie B.; Baird, Robin W.; Baker, C. Scott; Berrow, Simon; Cholewiak, Danielle (27 October 2021). "Speciation in the deep: genomics and morphology reveal a new species of beaked whale Mesoplodon eueu". Proceedings. Biological Sciences. 288 (1961) 20211213. doi:10.1098/rspb.2021.1213. ISSN 1471-2954. PMC 8548795. PMID 34702078. Retrieved 10 February 2026.