Northern Right Whale Dolphins viewed from an airplane

Two Northern Right Whale Dolphins (Lissodelphis borealis), one below the water and another cresting the surface captured during a test flight in March 2019. This image was zoomed in to show the lack of a dorsal fin, a definitive trait in this species.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.