Stephanie H. Stack

I am a marine mammalogist with over two decades of cetacean field experience, specialising in humpback whale behavioural ecology and conservation. My research bridges individual-level biology and population-level dynamics, with a particular focus on how climate-driven environmental change shapes the body condition, growth, and reproductive output of large whales.

My doctoral research at Griffith University examines how variability in Antarctic feeding conditions propagates through the body condition of humpback whales across the eastern Australian (E1) migratory corridor. I combine drone-based photogrammetry, epigenetic ageing, and biologging to link individual energy allocation to growth, reproduction, and population dynamics under a changing climate.

Prior to returning to graduate school, I spent a decade as Chief Research Biologist at the Pacific Whale Foundation, where I designed and led field research programmes on humpback whales and odontocetes throughout the Pacific. My research has been cited over 700 times, has generated 37 citations across 33 policy documents, and has directly informed US federal regulation and Australian government policy.

Research highlights

• Led the documentation of the longest recorded movement of an individual humpback whale, linking breeding grounds on opposite sides of the globe and revealing unprecedented connectivity between the eastern Australian and Brazilian populations
• First documentation of male–male sexual behaviour in humpback whales (2024; Altmetric score: 1,582 — top 5% of all research outputs)
• First documented sighting of a southern right whale north of the equator
• First description of epimeletic behaviour directed toward an entangled humpback whale
• First direct evidence of humpback whale calf nursing in Australian waters via animal-borne tagging

Selected metrics

• 700+ citations
• 37 citations in government and international policy documents
• 30+ peer-reviewed publications as first, senior, or co-author
• Research covered by the Washington Post, BBC, National Geographic, The Guardian, and People Magazine

Service & professional affiliations

• Member, South Pacific Whale Research Consortium
• Member, IWC Whale Watching Communications Steering Group
• Invited Participant, Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC)
• Member, Society for Marine Mammalogy

I am affiliated with the Humpback Whale Sentinel Programme at Griffith University and Saltwater Science.