Dawn Goley Ph.D.

Professor - Zoology and Marine Biology

Dawn Goley
pdg1@humboldt.edu
(707) 826-4168
SciB 236

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Professor Dawn Goley, has taught at Cal Poly Humboldt since 1996. 

Education Overview

Dr. Dawn Goley completed her Ph.D with Dr. Ken Norris at UC Santa Cruz studying the behavioural ecology of Pacific White-sided dolphins.  She continued on at UCSC to conduct her post-doctoral work with Dr. Dan Costa. Prior to her doctoral work, she obtained her Master of Science degree in Biology from the University of Victoria in British Columbia studying the behavioural ecology of shore birds in the Yukon, Arctic and song birds on Vancouver Island. Her undergraduate training was in Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington where she conducted her thesis work on stranded marine mammals and on the Carolina Marsh Clam.

Education

B.S. University of North Carolina at Wilmington
M.S. University of Victoria, British Columbia
Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz

Courses Taught

Mammalogy
Biology of Marine Mammals
Comparative Animal Behaviour
Marine Mammal Field Techniques
Desert Ecology
Introduction to Undergraduate Research
Science 100: Becoming a STEM Scientist in the 21st Century

Research

Dr. Goley has been actively studying marine mammal biology in northern California and southern Oregon since her arrival to Cal Poly Humboldt in 1996.  Dr. Goley’s research program the Marine Mammal Education and Research Program (MMERP) originated in 1996 with the dual purpose of studying local marine mammal populations and to offer inclusive opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to gain valuable hands-on training in marine mammal science.  Dr. Goley and MMERP began studying the behavioural ecology of PCFG gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in northern California and southern Oregon in 1997 and the population dynamics of Steller’s Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in 2010 in close collaboration with the National Marine Mammal Laboratory.  In 2015, MMERPs research expanded to include the study of the population dynamics of an emerging colony of northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) in southern Humboldt County. 

As the Director of the Humboldt Marine Mammal Stranding Program (Humboldt MMSP) and as the stranding authority for the NMFS Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response program, Dr. Goley and her students have been documenting stranded marine mammals in Del Norte, Humboldt and Mendocino Counties since 1997.  Students in the Humboldt MMSP conduct systematic monthly surveys of over 200 miles of coastline in northern California and respond to calls from public reports of stranded marine mammals.  From these data, the Humboldt MMSP describes patterns in the distribution, abundance, health and diversity of marine mammals.

In addition to marine mammal research, Dr. Goley has been part of a team that has developed, implemented and assessed two Place Based Learning Communities for first year students at Humboldt - Among Giants (Biology Majors) and Rising Tides (Marine Science Majors).  She has also been instrumental in the development and implementation of a specialized course to support first-year STEM students in the College of Natural Resources and Sciences - Science 100: Becoming a STEM Scientist in the 21st Century.  These efforts were developed to support retention and success of a diverse community of student scholars in STEM at Humboldt. 

View Dawn's research page

 

Publications

Select Publications and Presentations

  • Sprowles, A. , Goldenberg, K. , Goley, P. D. , Ladwig, S. , Shaughnessy, F. J. , Malloy, K. J. , Baldy, C. R. , Mola, M. M. and Smith, J. R. 2019. Place-Based Learning Communities on a Rural Campus: Turning Challenges into Assets. Learning Communities Research and Practice, 7(1).

  • Cumeras, R., Cheung, W. H., Gulland, F., Goley, D., & Davis, C. E. 2014. Chemical Analysis of Whale Breath Volatiles: A Case Study for Non-Invasive Field Health Diagnostics of Marine Mammals. Metabolites, 4(3), 790-806.

  • Gosho, M., Gearin, P., Jenkinson, R., Laake, J., Mazzuca, L., Kubiak, D., Goley, D. & Deecke, V. 2011. Movements and diet of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) off Kodiak Island, Alaska, 2002–2005 (Vol. 11). Paper SC.

  • Harvey, J. and D. Goley. 2011. Determining a correction factor for aerial surveys of harbor seals in California. Journal of Marine Mammal Science. Journal of Marine Mammal Science. Volume 27, Issue 4, pages 719–735.

  • Thibault, J, G.J. McChesney, R.T. Golightly, D. Goley, and H.R. Carter. 2010. Decline of the Common Murre colony at Redding Rock, California, and restoration options. Unpublished draft report, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Newark, California and Humboldt State University, Departments of Wildlife and Biological Sciences, Arcata, California. 132 pp.

  • Calambokidis, J. , J. D. Darling, V. Deecke, P. Gearin, M.l Gosho, W. Megill, C. M. Tombach, D. Goley, C. Toropova and B. Gisborne.   2002. Abundance, Range and Movements of a Feeding Aggregation of Gray Whales from California to Southeastern Alaska in 1998. Journal of Cetacean Research and management 4(3):267–276.

Relevant Presentations:

  • Goley, P.D. A. Sprowles, K. Overeem. 2018. Integrating Place-based Learning Community Learning through SCI 100 : Being a STEM Professional in the 21st Century. 20th Annual National Summer Institute on Learning Communities, Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education.

  •  Goley, P.D, J. Graham, A. Bickel, M. Flannery, K. Lindquist, J. Roletto, J. Lindsey. 2016. Effort-based monitoring of marine mammal strandings in Northern and Central California – a template for a collaborative approach. National Marine Animal Health and Stranding Conference, Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

  • Goley, P.D., J. Calambokidis, C. Hayslip, M. Gosho and A. Lang. 2013. Gray Whales in Northern California and Southern Oregon – What role do they really play in the PCFG? Presented at the Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Dunedin, New Zealand.

  • Calambokidis, J. , J. D. Darling, V. Deecke, P. Gearin, M.l Gosho, W. Megill, C. M. Tombach, D. Goley, C. Toropova and B. Gisborne.   2002. Abundance, Range and Movements of a Feeding Aggregation of Gray Whales from California to Southeastern Alaska in 1998. Journal of Cetacean Research and management 4(3):267–276.

  • Archibald, W*. and D. Goley. 2013. Seasonal changes in the numbers and distribution of hauled out Pacific harbor seals (Phoca vitulina richardii) in South Humboldt Bay, California: Implications of a newly enacted marine protected area. Presented at the Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Dunedin, New Zealand.

  • Goley, D, Hillemier, D., Wilkin, S., Gulland, F. De Angelis, M., Fuller, A.*, Donnell, A**. 2012. Klamath River Whales : A multi-agency response to a Gray Whale cow and Calf in the Klamath River. American Cetacean Society Conference, San Diego, California.

  • Goley, D., S. Allen, S. Chivers, Susan and D. Monie. 2011. Marine Mammal Conservation and California’s Marine Protected Areas. Presented at the Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Tampa Florida.

  • Hudson, C*., P.D.Goley, J. Calambokidis, R. Jenkinson*, C. Toropova, A*. Fuller*, A. Lui**,M. Gosho . 2011..Gray whales in Northern California – Habitat Utilization, Identity and Feeding Ecology. Presented at the Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Tampa Florida.

  • Fuller, A.R.*, P.D. Goley, and R. Brown. 2011. Spatial and Temporal Distribution, and Habitat Use of Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Northern California. Presented at the Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Tampa Florida.

Graduate Students

Current:

  • Ashley Jacob
  • Allison Lui
  • Robyn Norman

Former:

  • Wiley Archibald
  • Allison Fuller 
  • Emma Levy
  • Aicha Ougzin
  • Mary Beth Pacewicz
  • Stephanie Holzwarth
  • Ryan Jenkinson
  • Caitlyn Toropova