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Marine Mammal Workshops in Cambria
Camp
Ocean Pines is hosting three weekend retreats
in January focused on Marine Mammals. We have the world’s
leading researchers coming to share their latest research and exciting
discoveries! Here is the preview to pass along to your friends!
Cost of the weekend workshop is $250/person and includes 2 nights lodging
in passive
solar designed cabins made with strawbale
construction, 6 excellent meals, great lectures and activities
with the leaders in the field, and all materials and instruction. You
can spend your Saturday free time taking a nap, driving up the coast to
observe the amazing Elephant Seals,
or visit Hearst Castle, or go Kayaking with
the otters in Morro
Bay or San Simeon
Cove, or hike in Big
Sur.
Register online at http://www.campoceanpines.org/,
or over the phone at 805-927-0254. Limited to the first 25 participants
to register.
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Workshops Schedule
Friday
4-6 pm Arrive, reception, cabin assignments, settle in
6-7 pm Dinner at camp
7-9 pm Marine mammal presentation by speaker
Saturday
7-8:30 am Breakfast at camp
9-Noon Speaker leads participants on field studies
12-1 pm Hot Lunch at camp
1-4:30 pm Field studies, free time in Cambria, activities at camp
5-6 pm Dinner at camp
7-8:30 Community presentation of research by speaker
Sunday
7-9 am Breakfast at camp, pack up, prepare a sack lunch for the road
9-Noon Field observations with speaker, activities at camp, free time,
12 pm Depart from camp, sack lunch on the road
Workshop Overviews
Jan 6-8: Dan Costa's presentation overview:
In an effort to understand and locate biological hotspots in the North Pacific
Ocean, the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics program is using biologging technology
to simultaneously map the location of marine vertebrates including sharks,
tuna, albatrosses, seals and whales. Hot spots are regions of high biological
activity where linkages occur between physical forcing, primary production,
secondary consumers and top pelagic predators. Although it is generally accepted
that these hotspots occur and are important, surprisingly little is known about
these congregating spots for marine organisms in the open ocean. Our lack of
understanding of the aggregating forces in the pelagic ocean ecosystem stems
largely from limitations of available technology. Prior studies have focused
on single species tracking and few have attempted to examine interactions among
top pelagic species. TOPP is coupling electronic tagging data with satellite
remote sensing technologies to simultaneously map the movements of diverse
pelagic species and link their movements to oceanographic processes. To date
we have tagged and tracked mako, salmon and white sharks, elephant seals, bluefin
and yellowfin tuna, black-footed and Laysan albatross, California sea lions
and leatherback sea turtles. To date our analysis indicates that frontal features
associated with the North Pacific Transition zone and the California Current
are the major regions of common habitat utilization for these species.
Jan 13-15: Burney
Le Boeuf’s
overview:
“ Sleuthing Mother Nature with Seals: Revelations from Long-Term Study”
Advances in the study of marine mammals have come mainly from two different
approaches: 1) Advances in instrumentation that have allowed us to measure
and observe things that were previously inaccessible; and 2) Long-term study
of marked individuals in nature have revealed insights into the fundamental
processes of survival and reproduction - the variables on which natural selection
acts - that are not evident in studies of one or a few years. I will provide
supportive evidence for this second statement with revelations gleaned from
a four decade study of northern elephant seals in central California.
Jan 20-22: Terrie Williams
and Jim Estes overview:
The cute and cuddly otter has engendered public support. Jim and Terrie have
been behind much of the research and leading theories regarding the northern
and southern otter populations. Participants will help investigate the death
of an otter through the necropsy process; and will help prepare specimens for
educational purposes.