Whale Migration Tracking

Overview

Great whales undertake some of the longest migrations of any animal on Earth. Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) travel over 10,000 miles annually between Arctic feeding grounds and tropical breeding lagoons along the Baja California coast. Humpbacks cross entire ocean basins. North Atlantic right whales move up and down the eastern seaboard, threading through some of the busiest shipping lanes on the planet.

These routes aren't random. They correlate with ocean temperature, prey distribution, currents, and bathymetry. Understanding what drives migration decisions is critical for conservation—knowing where whales go and why helps identify the habitats that matter most and the threats they face along the way.

What You'll Do

Follow satellite-tagged whale pods on an interactive ocean map as they migrate between feeding and breeding areas. Toggle environmental data layers on and off: sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration (a proxy for primary productivity and prey abundance), ocean current vectors, and bathymetric contours.

Record whale positions over time and build a movement dataset. Analyze what environmental factors best predict the migration route, stopover locations, and travel speed. Compare routes across different years and individual whales to see how much variation exists and what drives it.

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze animal movement data using map-based tracking tools
2. Correlate migration routes with oceanographic variables (SST, chlorophyll, currents)
3. Identify critical habitat areas—feeding grounds, breeding sites, and migration corridors
4. Evaluate how inter-annual environmental variation affects migration timing and routing

Background

Whale migration research was revolutionized by satellite telemetry in the 1990s. Before that, scientists relied on whaling records, photo-identification catalogs, and opportunistic sightings to piece together movement patterns. Satellite tags changed everything. For the first time, researchers could follow individual whales continuously for months, through storms and across open ocean where no observers could go.

The emerging picture is more complex than the simple "north in summer, south in winter" narrative. Individual whales show considerable variation in their routes. Some follow the continental shelf closely; others cut across deep water. Stopover duration at feeding sites varies with local prey density. Migration timing shifts from year to year, apparently tracking oceanographic conditions like sea surface temperature and upwelling intensity.

From a conservation standpoint, the data are invaluable. Identifying migration corridors helps managers route shipping traffic to reduce strike risk. Mapping critical feeding areas informs decisions about offshore energy development and fisheries management. This simulation puts that same kind of data in your hands and asks you to draw the same kinds of conclusions.