ORIGINS THE SOCIETY

The Society for Marine Mammalogy was established in 1981 to advance the study, conservation, and understanding of marine mammals through international collaboration. Since its founding, it has grown into a global community, supporting the field through publications, conferences, and the collective efforts of researchers dedicated to marine mammal science.

Dr. Kenneth S. Norris viewing dolphins through a tank window. / © The Regents of the University of California.

THE SOCIETY ACROSS TIME

Foundations: Early Conferences (1964–1977)

The origins of the Society trace back to a series of conferences that predate its formal establishment. These meetings were successors to the late Tom Poulter’s Annual Conference on Biological Sonar and Diving Mammals, held at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in Menlo Park, California, beginning in 1964.

Following the tenth annual conference in 1973, Poulter transferred relevant conference materials to Kenneth S. Norris at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Norris subsequently organized the First Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, held in Santa Cruz in 1975, which was attended by approximately 300 participants. A second Biennial followed in 1977 in San Diego, supported by the U.S. Naval Ocean Systems Center, and attendance grew to approximately 480.

After the second conference, discussions began about the need for a formal society to organize and sustain these meetings.

Formation of the Society (1978–1981)

In 1978, George Harry, then Director of what is now the National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, initiated discussions about forming a professional society. Responses from the community were strongly supportive.

Kenneth S. Norris led the effort by preparing a Preliminary Design of a Society of Marine Mammalogy and establishing an organizational committee. The committee included Tom Dohl, George Harry, Burney Le Boeuf, John Lilly, Ken Norris, Bill Perrin, Bill Powell, and Forrest Wood, and was later expanded to include Bob Elsner, Bill Evans, Lou Herman, and Ron Schusterman.

The proposed Society was envisioned as a means to promote the science of marine mammalogy and support the growing research community. Its proposed functions included:

Organizing and sponsoring regular meetings
Sponsoring workshops on specialized topics
Improving the quality of marine mammal research and management
Facilitating information exchange among researchers
Providing a voice for marine mammal science in public policy
Sharing scientific knowledge with broader audiences
Potentially establishing a dedicated scientific journal

Establishment and Leadership (1981)

The organizational committee met during the Third Biennial Conference in Seattle in 1979 to refine the Society’s structure, including membership criteria and by-laws. These plans were finalized through continued correspondence.

At the Fourth Biennial Conference in San Francisco in 1981, Norris formally presented the proposal to establish the Society. The proposal was accepted, and he was elected the first President by acclamation.

The inaugural leadership included:

President: Kenneth S. Norris
President-elect: Jim Mead
Secretary-Treasurer: Bruce Mate

Committee leadership appointments included:

Bill Schevill – Publications Committee
Carleton Ray – Conservation and Public Policy Committee
Forrest Wood – Membership Committee
John Prescott – Conference Committee

Norris played a central role in confirming charter members (listed below), drafting the constitution and by-laws, and securing official incorporation. He is widely regarded as the founding force behind the Society.

Since its inception, the Society’s Biennial Conferences have grown substantially, with attendance increasing from approximately 300 participants in 1975 to more than 2,000 at some recent meetings. A full list of Biennial Conferences is available on the conference page.

Charter Full Members

The individuals listed below are acknowledged as Charter Full Members of the Society at its founding.

Adeduji, Kehimde
Aguilar, Alex
Ainley, David G.
Albert, Thomas F.
Allen, K. Radway
Allen, Sarah Gardner
Allen, Sonny
Alverson, Franklin G.
Amelia, Giordano
Ames, Jack Alfred
Amstrup, Steven C.
Anderson, Paul K.
Anderson, Sheila Scott
Andre, Jean Marc
Ansley, Henry
Antrim, Jim
Arai, Kazutoshi
Aron, William
Asper, Edward D.
Atkins, Natasha
Au, David W.
Au, Whitlow W. L.
Aubin, David J. St.
Awbrey, Frank T.
Babus, Bela S.
Bain, David Edmund
Baker, Alan Noel
Baker, James L.
Baker, Ken
Balcomb, Kenneth C., III
Baldridge, Alan
Bannister, John Leonard
Barlow, Jay
Barnes, Lawrence G.
Barrett, Izadore
Barrett, Peigin C.
Barria, Jorge Abraham Oporto
Barstow, Robbins
Bastida, Ricardo
Baxter, Barbara A.
Beach, Douglas W.
Beamish, Peter C.
Beckman, Kimberlee
Beekman, Gerard K.
Bengtson, John L.
Benirschke, Kurt
Benz, Carl T.
Bergey, Michael
Best, Peter B.
Best, Robin C.
Bigg, Michael A.
Bird, James E.
Birdwise, Cynthia
Blanco Rincon De Arellano, Carmen
Blasko, Daniel E.
Blaylock, Robert Alvie
Bloedel, Prentice
Bodkin, James L.
Bonde, Robert K.
Boness, Daryl J.
Bonnell, Michael L.
Bonner, W. Nigel
Boone, Irene Seipt
Bossart, Gregory D.
Bouchet, G. Christopher
Bowen, W. Don
Bowlby, C. Edward
Bowles, Ann E.
Boyde, Alan
Brandis, Durward Porter
Branson, Jim H.
Bree, Peter J.H. Van
Breiwick, Jeffrey M.
Breton, Mimi
Briggs, Kenneth T.
Brill, Randall L.
Brisby, William L.
Britten, Barbara H.
Brooks, James W.
Brown, Robin F.
Brownell, Robert L., Jr.
Brownlee, Shannon Millani
Brownson, Robert H.
Brumsted, Robert B.
Bryden, Michael Maclaren
Buck, John D.
Bullock, Theodore H.
Burns, John James
Butcher, David G.
Butterworth, Douglas S.
Calambokidis, John
Caldwell, David K.
Caldwell, Melba C.
Calkins, Donald G.
Cameron, Ian Stuart
Carlson, Carole A.
Carlson, Cynthia E.
Carter, Gary R.
Carter, Nick
Cass, Virginia L.
Castellini, Michael
Cawthorn, Martin W.
Cesar Weber Rosas, Fernando
Chapman, Douglas George
Cheater, Mark
Cheeseman, Douglas G., Jr.
Chu, Kevin
Chun, Chan-Il
Clapham, Philip J.
Clark, Christopher W.
Clarke, Robert
Clayton, James W.
Cleator, Holly
Cohen, Joel L.
Collet, Anne
Condy, Patrick Richard
Connor, Richard
Cooke, Justin G.
Corkeron, Peter
Cormany, David Robert
Cornell, Lanny H.
Costa, Daniel Paul
Cowan, Daniel F.
Cowman, Charles F., Jr.
Cowperthwaite, Leslie
Cranford, Ted Wayne
Crespo, Enrique Alberto
Crovetto, Angel E.
Cubbage, James C.
Cue, James E.
Dahlheim, Marilyn Elayne
Dangelo, Guy
Danton, Carol Lynn
Darling, James D.
Davis, Randall William
Davis, Rolph A.
Dawson, Pierre
Dawson, William W.
de Assis Ribeiro, Gilberto
de Oliveira Gomes, Luiz Antonio
Debus, Bemi
Defran, R. H.
Deimer, Petra
Demaster, Douglas P.
Diaz, Camille Goebel
Dierauf, Leslie A.
Doak, Wade
Dohl, Thomas P.
Dolphin, William
Domning, Daryl P.
Donovan, Gregory Paul
Dorsey, Eleanor M.
Dos Santos, Manuel E.
Douglas, Michael
Drabek, Charles M.
Dubsky, Paul A.
Dudley, Gordon
Duguy, Rene
Duman, Marilyn Lawrie
Dunbar, M.J.
Dunn, J. Lawrence
Early, Greg
Edds, Peggy L.
Eisenbud, Robert
Eley, Thomas J.
Ellis, Richard
Elsner, Robert
Erickson, Albert W.
Evans, Charles D.
Evans, William E.
Everitt, Robert D.
Fabrikant, Irene B.
Fairfield, Frederic M.
Fay, Francis H.
Fedak, Michael A.
Ferm, Lisa M.
Ferrari, Mark J.
Ferraro, Richard F.
Ferreira Da Silva, Vera Maria
Findley, Lloyd T.
Fiscus, Clifford H.
Fisher, H. Dean
Fisher, Kimberley Goodrich
Fisher, Sheldon R.
Fitzgerald, James W.
Flanigan, N. J.
Fleischer, Luis A.
Folkens, Pieter Arend
Folleman, Frederic L.
Ford, John K.B.
Ford, Thomas J., Jr.
Fordyce, Robert E.
Forestell, Paul
Foster-Turley, Pat
Foster, Larry & Valerie
Foster, Sherrard C.
Fowler, Charles W.
Fraker, Mark A.
Francis, John
Free, Charles Allison
Friedl, William A.
Friedrichsen, Gary L.
Frost, Kathryn J.
Galeazzi, Alejandro Rodolfo
Gallivan, G. J.
Gamboa, David Aurioles
Gard, Richard
Gaskin, David Edward
Geiger, Anne
Gentry, Roger
Geraci, Joseph R.
Gerrodette, Timothy
Gewalt, Wolfgang
Gilbert, James R.
Gillie, R. Bruce
Gilmartin, William R.
Gilmore, Mark Kevin
Gisiner, Robert
Glockner-Ferrari, Deborah A.
Goebel, Mike
Gomercic, H.
Goodall, R. Natalie P.
Goodman, Daniel
Goodyear, Jeffrey D.
Gosho, Merrill E.
Gray, Neal L.
Graybill, Michael
Green, Robert G.
Greendale, Ronald
Greene, Susan
Greenwood, Andrew George
Griffiths, David James
Grim, Francis, Jr.
Grimes, Mark
Griner, Lynn A.
Guerrero, Diana L.
Guinee, Linda
Hacker, Elizabeth
Hain, James H.W.
Haldiman, Jerrold
Hall, John D.
Handley, Charles
Hansen, Donald J.
Hansen, Larry J.
Harrison, Richard J.
Harry, George V.
Hart, Carol J.
Harvey, James
Haun, Jeffrey E.
Hawes, Sandra D.
Hay, Keith
Hazard, Katherine
Heath, Carolyn
Heffernan, Barbara
Heimlich-Boran, James R.
Heimlich-Boran, Sara L.
Heinonen, Kurt C.
Heinsohn, George E.
Helle, Eero S.
Helm, Roger
Henderson, John R.
Herder, Michael J.
Herman, Louis M.
Hershkovitz, Philip
Herzing, Denise Lore
Heyning, John E.
Hickie, John
Hindley, M. Patricia
Hinga, Kenneth R.
Hoban, Esme
Hoek, Wybrand
Hofman, Robert J.
Hohn, Aleta A.
Holt, Sidney Joseph
Holts, David B.
Hoover, Agnes Anne
Horikawa, Hideo
Horton, H. Curtis
Hoste, Robert Douglas
Houck, Warren J.
Hoyt, Erich
Huber, Harriet R.
Hudnall, James
Humphreys, Richard H.
Hussenot, Eric
Hyman, Jay
Irons, David Bruce
Irvine, Blair
Jackson, Alan R.
Jackson, Terry
Jacobs, Myron S.
Jacobsen, Jeff
Jaeckel, Lawrence Jay
James, Percival H.R.
Jameson, Ronald J.
Jarrell, Gordon
Jeffries, Steven
Jehl, Joseph R., Jr.
Jenkins, Robert Lee
Johnson, Brian W.
Johnson, Kirk
Johnson, Murray L.
Johnson, Pattie A.
Johnston, Debby
Jones, Mary Lou
Jones, S.
Jones, Sherman Calaway, III
Kajimura, Hiroshi
Kamiya, Toshiro
Kang, Ingrid
Karnella, Charles
Kasuya, Toshio
Kato, Hidehiro
Katona, Steven K.
Kaufman, Gregory Dean
Kaufmann, Milton M.
Kawamura, Akito
Kaza, Stephanie
Kelly, Brendan Patrick
Kelly, John Ellison
Kemf, Elizabeth
Kendrew, Claudia D.
Kent, Donald Bruce
Kenyon, Karl W.
Kerley, Graham I.H.
Kesteven, Geoffrey Leighton
Keyes, Mark Chenault
King, George R.
King, Judith Eveleigh
Kingsley, Michael C.S.
Kinnaird, Margaret
Kirby, Vicky Lee
Kirkevold, Barbara C.
Klevezal, G.A.
Kooyman, Gerald L.
Kozicki, V. Michael
Krajniak, Edward F., Jr.
Kraus, Scott D.
Kubota, Kinziro
Kugler, Richard C.
Kuljis, Barbara A.
Kuzmin, A. A.
Lambertsen, Richard Hill
Lancaster, Winston C.
Larsen, Finn
Lavigne, David M.
Laws, Richard M.
Lawton, William
Le Beouf, Burney J.
Leatherwood, Stephen
Lehman, Jacob W.
Lentfer, Jack W.
Lesser, Michael P.
Levenson, Coleman
Lewis, Jackson E.
Lichter, Alfredo
Lichtschein, Victoria
Lidicker, William Z., Jr.
Lien, Jon
Lilly, John C.
Ling, John Kynaston
Lingle, George
Little, Gerald Joseph
Ljungblad, Don K.
Lloze, Rene
Lobo, Anelio Aguayo
Lockyer, Christina
Loughlin, Thomas
Lowry, Lloyd F.
Macnow, Alan
Mager, Andreas , Jr.
Magnusson, William Ernest
Magor, Diana Marion
Majluf, M. Patricia
Major, Peter F.
Maltais, Bernard
Mandojana, Ricardo M.
Manning, T.H.
Mansfield, Arthur W.
Marchessaux, Didier
Markowitz, Hal
Marmontel Rosas, Miriam
Marquette, William M.
Marsh, Helene
Martin, Anthony R.
Martin, Kenneth Robert
Martineau, Daniel
Mate, Bruce R.
Matthews, L. Harrison
Mattison, James A., Jr.
Mattlin, Robert Henry
Mayo, Charles A.
Mcbrearty, Dennis A.
Mcfarland, William N.
Mcintyre, Diana Ryan
Mcintyre, Thomas J.
Mclaren, Ian Alexander
Mclean, Craig Norman
Mcleod, Samuel A.
Mcsheehy, Donald I.
Mead, James Glen
Medway, William
Mermoz, Jorge F.
Merrick, Richard L.
Merritt, David B.
Miller, Edward H.
Miller, R. V.
Miller, Ruth B.
Mitchell, Edward
Miyazaki, Nobuyuki
Mizroch, Sally A.
Montague, Jerome
Moore, Jim
Moore, Karen E.
Moore, Patrick W. B.
Moore, Sue Ellen
Morton, Alexandra
Moshenko, Robert W.
Mufford, Barry Keith
Mullen, James G.
Murie, Debra Jean
Murison, Laurie Diane
Myrick, Albert Charles, Jr.
Nachtigall, Paul E.
Neugebauer, Edward Guy
Newman, Murray A.
Nichols, George , Jr.
Nishiwaki, Masaharu
Nitta, Eugene T.
Nofziger-Spurgeon, Ann
Nollman, Jim
Nores, Carlos
Norris, Kenneth
Notarbartolo Di Sciara, Giuseppe
Nusunginya, Percy
O’Connor, Verna
O’shea, Thomas J.
Odell, Daniel
Oftedal, Olav T.
Ohsumi, Seiji
Oldfield, Margery Lee
Olesiuk, Peter F.
Oliver, Charles William
Oliver, Guy W.
Oliver, Jacqueline Jennings
Omura, Hideo
Ono, Kathrine Anita
Orr, Robert T.
Ortiz, C. Leo
Osborne, Richard W.
Overstrom, Neal A.
Owings, Margaret W.
Packard, Jane M.
Palacio, Francisco J.
Palazzo, Jose Truda, Jr.
Parry, Katherine
Pascal, Michel
Pastene Perez, Luis Alberto
Pastene, Luis
Patla, Laurie J.
Paton, David
Patten, Donald R.
Patterson, Paul H.
Payne, Katherine B.
Payne, Roger
Penner, Ralph H.
Pentis, Al
Perdomo, Angel
Perez, Concepcion
Perez, Michael A.
Perkins, Judith S.
Pernia, Sherman D.
Perrin, William F.
Perryman, Wayne L.
Pilson, Michael E.Q.
Pirlot, Paul
Pitkin, Jamie
Pittman, Sharon
Plowden, Campbell
Poole, M. Michael
Porter, Homer O.
Potter, Charles W.
Powell, Bill A.
Powell, James A.
Powers, Donald R.
Praderi, Ricardo
Prescott, John H.
Prescott, Robert
Price, Carol A.
Price, William Stephen
Provancha, Jane A.
Pryor, Karen W.
Puckett, Randy
Raga Esteve, Juan Antonio
Rajaguru, A.
Ralls, Katherine
Rathbun, Galen B.
Ratnaswamy, Mary Joanne
Ray, Clayton E.
Ray, G. Carleton
Read, Andrew Justin
Reeves, Randall Robert
Reichley, Nancy E.
Reijnders, Peter J. H.
Reilly, Stephen B.
Reiss, Diana
Rennie, Charles J., III
Renouf, Deane
Reynolds, John E., III
Rice, Dale W.
Richard, Pierre
Ridgway, Sam H.
Riedman, Marianne L.
Rioux, Jean
Ripoll, Angeles Raduan
Robbins, Wayne A.
Robineau, Daniel
Roest, Aryan I.
Ronald, Keith
Rosenblum, Edwin E.
Rosenfeld, Mary
Ross, Graham James Berry
Ross, James Perran
Rossiter, William
Roth, Flemming
Rothausen, Karlheinz
Rough, Valerie
Rowntree, Victoria J.
Rugh, David J.
Sadove, Samuel S.
Sakagawa, Gary
Samaras, William F.
Scaliebe, Scott L.
Scarff, James E.
Scheele, Lesley
Scheffer, Victor B.
Schevill, William E.
Schmidly, David J.
Schneyer, Alan
Scholl, John Phillip
Schonewald, Jacqueline
Schroeder, J. Pete
Schusterman, Ronald J.
Schwab, E. Gregory Lee
Scordino, Joe
Scott, Michael
Seagars, Dana J.
Sears, Richard
Sergeant, David E.
Shallenberger, Edward W.
Shane, Susan H.
Shaughnessy, Peter Douglas
Shelnut, Jeff
Shippee, Steven F.
Shouse, Lee Elledge
Sigurjonsson, Johann
Silber, Gregory
Silva, Jack Da
Simons, Laurie Stuart
Sinclair, M.S.
Siniff, Donald B.
Sissenwine, Michael P.
Skoch, Edwin J.
Smith, Gary J. D.
Smith, Thomas G.
Smith, Tim D.
Smolka, John Reginald
Sokolov, A.S.
Solangi, Mobashir A.
Sonafrank, Nancy Belon
Sorensen, Fred
Spencer, Merrill P.
Spotte, Stephen
Starratt, Patricia E.
Steiger, Gretchen H.
Stern, S. Jonathan
Sterns-Jones, Diane Lee, III
Stevens, Christine
Stewart, Brent S.
Stewart, Robert E. A.
Stirling, Ian
Stoel, Peter
Storro-Patterson, Ronn
Stoskopf, Michael Kerry
Strong, John Thomas
Stuntz, Warren E.
Sugarman, Peter
Sullivan, Timothy
Sumich, James L.
Swartz, Steven L.
Sylvestre, Jean-Pierre
Szczepaniak, Isadore D.
Takemura, Akira
Taylor, Barbara L.
Taylor, Leighton
Taylor, Mitchell
Taylor, Sherryl M.
Tedman, Ray A.
Temte, Jonathan Lane
Terhune, J. M.
Thomas, Jeanette A.
Thomas, Peter Owen
Tillman, Michael F.
Tinney, Richard T., Jr.
Tobayama, Teruo
Torgerson, R. William
Townsend, Forrest I.
Treacy, Stephen O.
Trillmich, Fritz
Tumosa, Thomas J.
Turl, Charles W.
Turley, Patrick
Uchida, Senzo
Van Foreest, A.W.
Vanblaricom, Glenn R.
Varoujean, Daniel H.
Vedros, Neylan A.
Vertefay, Larry
Vetter, Elizabeth F.
Villa-Ramirez, Bernardo
Wada, Kazuo
Wada, Shiro
Waerebeek, Koen Van
Wahlen, Bruce Edward
Walker, Gregory Ernest
Walker, Robert V.
Walker, Sandy
Walker, William Allan
Ward, Natalie F.R.
Waring, George H.
Waring, Gordon T.
Warneke, Robert Maxwell
Wartzok, Douglas
Watkins, William
Watson, Alastair G.
Weaver, Patt
Webber, Marc
Weeden, Robert B.
Weinrich, Mason T.
Wells, Randall S.
Wenzel, Frederick W.
West, John
Wheeler, Gary P.
Whitehead, Hal
Whitmore, Frank C., Jr.
Williams, Terrie M.
Williamson, J. Michael
Wilson, Graham J.
Winn, Howard E.
Winning, Birgit
Withrow, David Earl
Wolman, Allen A.
Wolz, James P.
Wood, Forrest G., III
Wood, R. Kevin
Woodhouse, Charles Douglas
Woodyard, Howard Dale
Worthy, Graham A. J.
Wray, Phoebe
Würsig, Bernd
Wynne, Kate M.
Yablokov, A.V.
Yamakoshi, Megumi
Yochem, Pamela K.
Young, John A.
Young, Nina Marie
Zagaeski, Mark
Zapol, Warren M.
Zenker, Wolfgang G. E.
Zoeger, J.

Charter Associate Members

The individuals listed below are acknowledged as Charter Associate Members at the time of the Society’s founding.

Azzam, Nancy C.
Ballance, Lisa Taylor
Beavers, Sallie
Bennett, Lyle
Brandt, Janis
Briggs, Laurie J.
Buonaugurio, Andrea
Burdick, Jay D.
Caron, Robert J.
Chamberlain, Leo J.
Chambers, William M.
Clarke, Janet
Cobb, Winslow S.
Cole, Daniel
Conel, Cheryl S.
Croll, Donald A.
Desmond, Timothy J.
Devers, Deborah E.
Dodt, Evelyn K.
Dougherty, Susan
Doyle, Patricia
Duffield, Dennis Wilson
Earhart, Anne Getty
Ellis, Robert H., Jr.
Fallrot, Ellen R.
Feldkamp, Steven D.
Fellers, Gary M.
Finkelstein, Stuart
Fleuer, Karen
Flynn, Tish
Frank, Stuart M.
Fredin, Reynold A.
Gailey-Phipps, Janet J.
Garner, Holly A.
Garrigan, Charlotte A.
Gilbertson, Cay
Goodwin, Thomas
Green, Robert J.
Gress, Franklin
Guerrero, Diana Laurel
Hamstreet, Clyde
Harley, Heidi Elaine
Harzen, Stefan
Haycock, Carl R.
Hecker, Nedra Foster
Henk, William G.
Hermes, Jeanette
Hersh, Sandra L.
Hodda, Paul Michael
Jones, Gwilym S.
Joyce, Gerald G.
Keller, Ronald W.
Kelly, Dennis
Kendall, Lily
Kenney, Robert D.
King, Steven G.
Kinneary, Joseph J.
Landauer, Lyn
Larsen, Dorothy S.
Lawson, Shirley
Ledder, Diane A.
Lomax, Ronald John
Manzanilla, Silvja
Mason, Mark B.
Mathews, Elizabeth A.
Mattingly, David
McChrystal-Landy, Margaret
Mccullough, Gale R.
Mccully, George E.
Mcdevitt, Charles Austin
McManus, Milo W.
Mendez, Jose David
Mercer, Scott
Munoz, Jose E., Jr.
Newcomer, Michael W.
Northrup, Ann
Nyren, Philip E.
Ostman, Jan
Page, Katherine Elizabeth
Patterson, Sue Anne
Prentice, Geraldine
Reames, David
Reddy, Michelle Lynn
Reetz, Gordon A.
Roberts, Donna G.
Robinson, John H.
Roletto, Jan
Rook, Maribeth Fitzgerald
Rumage, William Timothy
Savitz, Barry C.
Schnell, Gary D.
Sease, John L.
Seavey, Tyler W.
Seeger, Leinaala R.
Shawver, Mark R.
Siegel, Jeff W.
Sineti, Donald
Smalley, Joanne B.
Smith-Powell, Leslie A.
Southworth, Tom
Stengle, James B.
Sweet, Constance Marie
Terry, R. Paul
Tomich, P. Quentin
Tooker, Mildred Ann
Verpy, Debra Ann
White, Sue Difloure
Witt, Ron

Charter Institution Members

The organizations listed below are acknowledged as Charter Institutional Members at the time of the Society’s founding.

Establishing Marine Mammal Science

A major milestone following the Society’s formation was the creation of a dedicated scientific journal. Several titles were considered, including Journal of Marine Mammalogy and Marine Mammals, before Marine Mammal Science was selected.

The first issue was published in 1985. Joe Geraci served as the founding Editor, followed by Doug Wartzok, Bill Perrin, Don Bowen, Jim Estes, and Daryl Boness.

Publications and Legacy

The Society expanded its contributions to the field through a series of influential publications. The first book-length special publication, Marine Mammal Energetics (edited by Huntley et al.), appeared in 1987. Subsequent notable works included:

The Bowhead Whale (1993, Burns et al., eds.)
Molecular Genetics of Marine Mammals (Dizon et al., eds.)
Marine Mammals of the World (Rice, 1998)

Continuing the Mission: Building on Our Legacy

The Society continues to advance marine mammal science through its support of students and early-career researchers via funding opportunities that reflect its founding commitment to education, collaboration, and the cultivation of future leaders in the field. Alongside these ongoing efforts to build capacity within the discipline, the Society’s direction and growth have been guided by a distinguished succession of Presidents. Each has contributed unique vision, leadership, and service, helping to shape the organization’s priorities, expand its global reach, and strengthen its impact on marine mammal research and conservation. The following list recognizes those individuals who have served in this role and highlights their collective contributions to the advancement and stewardship of marine mammal science over time.

Past Presidents

The leadership of the Society has been shaped by a distinguished group of Presidents whose vision and dedication have guided its growth and impact. The following list recognizes those individuals who have served in this role and contributed to advancing marine mammal science.