David St. Aubin (1952-2002)

Abstract

Imagine the scene, Dave, strong, youthful and sharp-eyed, poised to leap off the bow of a swift-turning zodiac, hurl himself into the frigid Arctic waters, and deftly place a hoop-net over the head of a thrashing beluga whale. Each evening we would sit quietly on the cliffs, sharing the satisfaction of a good day's work .... The spectacle of the hundreds of belugas just below the bluff, rubbing in the shallows of Cunningham Inlet, made this one of Dave's favourite places. He was, after all, the one who had found out why belugas were there. ... Dave was the first to document that a whale could actually moult, in a peculiar kind of mammalian way. Dave started his research career as an assistant at the Arctic Biological Station, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Québec, .... Dave was clear in his vision and goals. In 1973, he decided on graduate training. Riding a wave of powerful recommendations, he arrived at the University of Guelph .... Dave earned his Master's degree and Ph.D., both with honours. ... From the moment Dave arrived at the university until the day he left 21 years later, ... three of us worked together from the Arctic to the tropics, from Maritime Canada to Florida, from Holman Island to South America to Hawaii- observing, studying, documenting, learning. ... In 1993, Dave went to Mystic Marine Life Aquarium as Director of Research and Veterinary Services. While south of the Canadian border, his interests and involvement in Arctic research grew stronger than ever. ... By today's measure, 50 years is a disappointingly short life, but Dave never wasted a moment and accomplished much. ...