Researching seals and sea lions or rescuing humpback whales may not even be on the radar for many Mahomet youth, but 1998 Mahomet-Seymour graduate Ryan Berger is living out his dream on a team of researchers for Point Blue Conservation Science on the Farallon Islands off the coast of California.
“I remember having career day at Lincoln Trail Elementary School where we had to create a poster of what we wanted to be when we grew up,” Berger said. “Without hesitation, I slapped together a collage of a person scuba diving in the ocean, photos of a coral reef with spectacular fish, pictures of marine mammals and other ocean scenes. For whatever reason, it seemed so natural and it seemed so different from my world in Illinois. I think the unknown was the attraction.”
Berger was heavily influenced by nature shows such as Marty Stouffer’s “Wild America” and Mutual of Omaha’s “Wild Kingdom” as a child, but he said it really was his parents willingness to let him explore the outdoors that instilled a deep appreciation of nature within him. He also gained a curiosity for ocean life as he visited family in Florida every summer.
“Florida seemed so foreign to me, and gave me a whole other appreciation for what wildlife represented,” he said.
Knowing he had an affinity towards the outdoors, Berger decided to major in biology while he also wrestled at the University of Illinois. While Berger did not focus on marine biology during his undergrad years, he feels that he “gained a well-rounded view of what biology had to offer.”
After graduation, he realized his personality was not fit for the lab setting as he worked as a laboratory technician for the Smithsonian Institute’s Conservation and Research Center located in Virginia. This led him to pursue a Masters of Science in biology from Georgia Southern University.
“My graduate work was the vehicle that really allowed me to challenge myself and begin to understand that my passion had a focus on marine mammals,” he said.
At this time, Berger worked with an advisor who allowed him to develop and implement a study looking at Florida manatee behavior and distribution in Crystal River, Florida. As he collected data in the field, he began to network, which led to his first job as a marine mammal biologist in the Jacksonville Field Lab.
Berger spent the next three years rescuing injured manatees from boat strikes, necropsying bottlenose dolphins and researching Right whales. Although the job required a lot of personal time, including weekends and holidays, he was able to respond to marine mammal emergencies and to research causes of death.
During this time, he acquired necessary skills such as boat handling and trailering and aerial survey methods. Through gaining an understanding of marine mammal behavior and anatomy, Berger was then able to take another leap to study seals and sea lions in the Pacific Ocean in 2010.
“Plain and simple there is never a day I wake up and dread going to work,” he said. “I feel inspired at the beginning and rejuvenated at the end of each day. Doing what I am passionate about is very important and rewarding to me.”
On Farallon Islands, 30 miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge, Berger leads of team of researchers who focus on the breeding success of northern elephant seals and seabirds to collect information on the health of the surrounding ecosystem known as the California Current. Point Blue Conservation Science has collected data on the island every day since 1968.
“With these long term data sets and continued efforts, we hope to be able to detect any potential changes that climate change may have on the wildlife using the island,” he said. “This will hopefully allow us to provide recommendations on how to manage unique habitats in the future that can be applied to other areas as well.”
And while data collection may seem mundane, Berger has also encountered surprises such as an elephant seal giving birth from 10-feet away and watching adult male elephant seals battle to near death while staking out claims of their respective harems.
He has also witnessed great white sharks rip a young elephant seal to shreds while feeding around the island and has seen countless Blue, Humpback and Gray whales majestically cruise by the island as they try to make a living in the open ocean.
“I like how unique the northern elephant seals are compared to the other seals and sea lions we have on the island,” he said. “They are the only species that breeds during the winter months, the spend about eight to 10 months out at sea working very hard to forage for prey and can dive as deep as 5,000 feet holding their breath for up to two hours at a time. So impressive.”
But growing up in Illinois, Berger never expected to assist in a humpback whale disentanglement .
On April 27, the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program was notified of a 25-foot humpback whale that was entangled in crab fishing gear and struggling to swim along the Central California Coast.
Berger is a member of the Whale Entanglement Team (WET), which arrived on the scene to access the whales condition. They determined that the severity of the entanglement was life-threatening and over the next two-and-a-half weeks, worked through dangerous weather conditions to free the whale, who had traveled approximately 610 nautical miles from where it was first found.
“The teamwork involved with the event was probably one of the reasons the whole experience was so rewarding,” Berger said. “Our group came together and put many other priorities aside to make this a success. We also came without egos and communicated extremely well, which created a fantastic work environment.”
The entangling line wrapped around the tail three times and several inches into the whale.
“I am happy to share that this animal has since been seen back in Monterey Bay swimming and feeding with other Humpback whales and the wound on its tail is healing very nicely.”
The story of the whale’s rescue will be featured on “Sea Rescue” on ABC Saturday at 10 a.m.
While Berger loves his life in San Francisco, he said “When it is all said and done I owe a great deal to my family for giving me an explorers curiosity and for their continued support throughout all of my distant adventures.”
