Dr. Fred Sharpe
Fred has been studying the foraging ecology of humpback whales in SE Alaska since 1987 with his primary research topics including acoustics, social behavior, and bubble tools.
Dr. Sharpe has been studying the foraging ecology of humpback whales in SE Alaska since 1987. He received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University with his primary research topics including acoustics, social behavior, and bubble tools. Fred’s interest in conservation biology has led him to follow the whales south to their Hawaiian wintering to document their historical ecology and legacy impacts from commercial whaling. He has been awarded the Fairfield Award for Innovative Marine Mammal Research and the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Communication. Fred volunteers with NOAA as a large whale entanglement responder. He is a naturalist in the classical tradition and enjoys botanizing and preserving oak grasslands. During his botany undergraduate days (University of Washington), he co-authored and illustrated Wild Plants of the San Juan Islands. After graduation, he continued his work in the archipelago and co-authored and illustrated Birding in the San Juan Islands.
