SPEAKER SERIES 2007-2008

A73 "Springer" spyhopping near Vashon Island, photo courtesy Mark Sears, © 2002, All Rights Reserved Speaker Series Event Information All speaker series events meet on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, Room 6, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, just north of the Woodland Park Zoo. [Directions to meeting] Doors open at 7pm and the program starts at 7:30pm. Plenty of free parking is available in the upper and lower parking lots. Admission is free. Previous Speakers 2007-2008 Speaker Series 2006-2007 Speaker Series 2005-2006 Speaker Series 2004-2005 Speaker Series See the video of the Puget Sound Chapter's first general meeting featuring: Makah elder, Alberta Thompson who discussed her insights into the Makah whale hunt.

The Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society Speaker Series does not meet during the months of July, August, & December. We have made a slight change in the 2007-2008 schedule (as compared to previous years). We are starting a month earlier, in September instead of October, and we are taking December off.

16 April 2008 - Jonathan Stern
Minke Whales: At the Crossroads

Jonathan Stern is the ACS National Conservation Chair, and has represented us at the International Whaling Commission meetings for the last few years. He is also a charter member of Whales Need Us. Jon has studied minke whales since 1980. He has also conducted research on killer, pilot, fin, humpback and gray whales as well as bottlenose dolphins. He has Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Biology and a Ph.D. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. In addition to field work, he uses computer models to investigate a variety of ecological questions. He first got interested in whales at the age of 8, when his father's ship was struck and its rudder disabled by a whale, about 500 miles from Australia.

21 May 2008 - Jessie Huggins
CSI: Cetacean Stranding Investigation

Stranded cetaceans provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into cetacean physiology and health. Through thorough assessment of stranded animals, we can monitor several areas of concern, including disease prevalence, contaminant levels, and frequency of human interactions. We will discuss tools and techniques of stranding response and examination, and using the recent 2006-2007 Northwest Harbor Porpoise Unusual Mortality Event (UME) as an example, look at the collaborative efforts required for a large-scale stranding investigation

Jessie has worked as a Research Assistant at Cascadia Research since 2004 and has been heading up Cascadia's stranding response program for over three years. She received a BS in Zoology from the University of Washington in 2001 and is currently serving as the On-Site Coordinator for the 2006-2007 Northwest Harbor Porpoise Unusual Mortality Event.

18 June 2008 - Lynne Barre

Lynne Barre, of NOAA Fisheries, will talk about implementation of the Orca Recovery Plan. More details to come.