Robert Pitman
Robert Pitman has participated in over 150 scientific research cruises in all the oceans of the world, including more than 30 trips to Antarctica. He has published over 150 papers in the peer-reviewed literature and co-authored two editions of a Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.
From 1976-2019, Bob worked as a marine ecologist for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service in La Jolla, California. He participated in over 150 scientific research cruises in all the oceans of the world, including more than 30 trips to Antarctica. He has published over 150 papers in the peer-reviewed literature and co-authored two editions of a Guide to Marine Mammals of the World.
Bob’s main research interest has been the ecology of killer whales. He led efforts to describe five different ‘ecotypes’ of killer whales from the Southern Ocean, each with their own unique color patterning and different food and foraging habits, and recent genetics analyses suggest that these might, in fact, be separate species. He is an expert on beaked whales, was a member of the expedition that chronicled the extinction of the Yangtze River dolphin, and has continued to be closely involved in efforts to prevent extinction of the vaquita porpoise, now the most critically endangered marine mammal on the planet.
Currently, Bob lives in Newport, Oregon, and is an affiliate of the Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University; his wife and colleague, Lisa Ballance, is Director of the Institute.
