How an SFU Prof Uses Statistics to Give Killer Whales a Chance

published on August 14, 2019 by Steve Burgess, in The Tyee

For Ruth Joy, data’s the key to smart decisions. Part of a series introducing innovative thinkers in BC’s post-secondary sector.

The rooftop patio at 55 Water St. offers a lovely view of Coal Harbour — the SeaBus gliding across to North Vancouver, a monstrous white cruise ship preparing to chug back out to sea and, at this moment, a helicopter clattering down to the landing pad east of Canada Place.

On a sunny August afternoon, SFU professor Ruth Joy reflects on what all that activity means for life under the sea.

“Imagine having all that noise above you all of the time,” she says. “Not so much the helicopters, but more the boats. They’re the real problem. It’s the cavitation of the propellers — bubbles created by a propeller moving through the water creating small explosions and a lot of noise.”

Noise that interferes with the lives of many sea creatures — including the endangered southern resident killer whale population. Which is why Joy was out in Coal Harbour the previous day, accompanied by a couple of her Simon Fraser University students, pulling up underwater listening devices called hydrophones that have been measuring just how noisy our underwater neighbourhood has been getting. It’s part of her work for the Sea Mammal Research Unit, a side gig from her main job as a lecturer at SFU. When she’s not out measuring the ocean racket, Joy is in the classroom teaching the wonders of statistics.

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How an SFU Prof Uses Statistics to Give Killer Whales a Chance

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