PhD in Plant Biology and Physiology in 1985 (University of Montpellier, France)

Claire Garrigue is an honorary research fellow at the School of Biological Sciences in Auckland University, Laboratory of Ecology and Evolution, studying the genetic structure of the humpback whale population of New Caledonia.

Claire has lived in the South Pacific since 1983. She has been employed as a marine biologist at IRD (Institut pour la Recherche et le Développement) since 1989. She was involved in different programs studying the benthic ecosystem of coral areas, based in Noumea (New Caledonia).

Founder and scientific advisor of Opération Cétacés, an NGO that was created in 1994, Claire has developed a research programme on marine mammals in New Caledonia. The main focus is on humpback whales that winter in the lagoons of New Caledonia, but other cetaceans are also studied. Every year she manages a three-month field programme, coordinating a team of four to five field assistants. Claire has represented New Caledonia at the IWC in 2000 (Adelaide), and at the SPREP meeting in Apia 2001 (Samoa).

She has also been involved in marine mammals research in Hawaii (January 1996) and in Canada (June 1993). Claire spends part of her time creating projects on marine mammals to educate school children and whale watchers about the conservation of marine mammals, and has developed presentations and leaflets. She has written a book on humpback whales in New Caledonia.

Publications relevant to humpback whale project:
1. Garrigue C., Greaves, J. and Chambellant. 2001. Characteristics of the New Caledonian humpback whales. Memoirs of Queensland Museum. (in press).
2. Garrigue, C., Forestell, P., Greaves, J., Gill, P., Naessig, P., Baker, C.S. and Patenaude, N. 2000. Migratory movement of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) between New Caledonia, East Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 2 (2) : 111-115.
3. Garrigue C., Greaves J. a,nd Chambellant M. 2000. Characteristic of the New Caledonian humpback whales population. Humpback 2000 conference, august to 1 september 2000, Brisbane, Australia.
4. Garrigue C. and Greaves, J. 2000. The status of humpback whales in New Caledonia (South Pacific). SC/52/IA8.
5. Garrigue C., Aguayo, A., Baker, C.S., Caballero, S., Clapham, P., Constantine, R., Denkinger, J., Donoghue M., Florez-Gonzalez, L., Greaves, J., Hauser, N., Olavarria, C., Pairoa, C., Peckham, H., and Poole, M. 2000a. Movements of humpback whales in Oceania, South Pacific. SC/52/IA6.
6. Olavarria, C.B., Baker, C.S., Medrano, L.G., Aguayo, A.L., Caballero, S.G., Florez-Gonzalez, L., Capella, J.A., Rosenbaum, H.C., Garrigue, C., Greaves, J., Bannister, J.L., Jenner, M. and Jenner, C. 2000. Stock identity of Antarctic Peninsula Humpback Whales inferred from MtDNA variation. SC/52/IA15.
7. Garrigue C. and Greaves J. 1999. Nouvelle-Calédonie : un rendez-vous pour les baleines. C. Ledru (ed.), Nouméa, 160 p. (Ouvrage bilingue français - anglais).
8. Rosenbaum H.C., Y. Razafindrakoto, L. Florez-Gonzalez, J. Capella, C. Garrigue, J. Greaves, C.Jenner, M-N., Jenner, M.R. Robles-saavedra, R. DeSalle and C.S. Baker. 1998. Variation and geographic structure of humpback whale mitochondrial DNA from the wintering grounds of Areas III, IV, V and VI in the Southern Hemisphere. IWC SC/50/CAWS35.
9. Garrigue C. and Greaves J.A. 1998. Preliminary estimation of the humpback whales population of New Caledonia (South Pacific). World Marine Mammal Science Conference, Monaco (Poster).
10. Gill P., Eyre E.J., Garrigue C. and Dawbin W.H. 1995. Observations of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on a cruise to New Caledonia and the Chesterfield reefs. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 38 (2) : 505-511.
11. Garrigue C. and Gill P. 1994. Observations of Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in New Caledonian waters during 1991-1993. Biological Conservation, 70 (3) : 211-218.