About Us
The UNCW Marine Mammal Stranding Program is proud to be part of the federal Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (MMHSRP).
Overseen by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this national network of teams is permitted and trained to respond to whales, dolphins and other marine mammals that become stranded on shore. All MMSP stranding response work is conducted under a federal Stranding Agreement between UNCW and NOAA.
Who We Are
As UNCW’s dedicated hub for marine mammal stranding response and research, the MMSP is currently headed by Dr. Michael Tift – Director and Associate Professor in the UNCW Department of Biology and Marine Biology, Dr. Tiffany Keenan – Stranding Coordinator and research faculty, and Alison Loftis – Assistant Stranding Coordinator. They are joined by UNCW Biology & Marine Biology faculty Dr. Julia Buck, Dr. Patrick Erwin, Dr. Kerri Smith, and Dr. Lori Schweikert, who directly support the program through research collaborations, grants, and facilitating student involvement. The MMSP veterinary team is made up of Dr. Stephen Anderson - veterinarian, and Celeste Anderson - veterinary technician and response personnel.
UNCW undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to volunteer for the program, gaining valuable research experience as they work alongside experts in marine mammalogy. Although the UNCW MMSP's primary response region is southeastern North Carolina coast, the reputation of the MMSP research program often finds the team packing up and heading anywhere along the East Coast, and sometimes worldwide.
Together, the MMSP team continues its work dedicated to the research and conservation of marine mammal species.
Program Beginnings
For more than two decades, UNCW’s main hub for stranding research was the Vertebrate Anatomy and Biomechanics Lab (also known as the VABLAB"). Dr. Ann Pabst and Mr. William "Bill" McLellan, who met while working at the Smithsonian Institution, established the VABLAB when they came to UNCW in 1995. As some of the earliest researchers in the marine mammal stranding field, Pabst and McLellan's efforts gave rise to the UNCW Marine Marine Mammal Stranding Program.
When the carcass of a subadult male whale washed up at Carolina Beach in 2003, the team’s response was one of the first under a grant through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's then-new Prescott Stranding Assistance Program. Seventeen years later, the whale carcass was confirmed by NOAA researchers to be a member of a previously undiscovered baleen whale species now known as Rice’s whale.
Other noteworthy responses by the Marine Mammal Stranding Team during Pabst and McLellan’s tenure included rescuing a young Arctic seal on Wrightsville Beach and discovering an abundance of rare beaked whales off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
For 20 years, Pabst and McLellan conducted aerial surveys for the U.S. Navy and NOAA. Under their leadership, the VABLAB surpassed $10 million in research grants and contracts, earning Pabst and McLellan membership in the exclusive UNCW James F. Merritt Ten Million Dollar Club in 2019. Despite their research and accolades, one of their greatest points of pride is the family they nurtured in the VABLAB. Many of their students have continued on to successful careers in marine biology and become leading experts in their fields. These individuals include Dr. Michelle Barbieri - a wildlife veterinarian with NOAA Fisheries who leads the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, and Dr. Tiffany Keenan - current UNCW Stranding Coordinator and researcher specializing in marine mammal anatomy.
Join the Wave of Support!
Our Marine Mammal Stranding Program depends on the support of individuals like you. Every contribution, whether big or small, helps support our mission to understand, preserve & protect our marine mammals.
Join Our Team as a Volunteer!
Dive into a world of hands-on learning & marine exploration. Our dynamic team is a mix of volunteers, students, faculty & staff from the Department of Biology & Marine Biology. Fill out our volunteer interest form below & become a valued member of our volunteer community.