Bishop Museum Hosts WHALE TALKS Lecture Program
Using Suction Cup Tags to Learn to Speak “Whale” is the subject of the first in a series of five Whale Talks offered about whales during the exhibit WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN on view at Bishop Museum May 17 through September 21, 2008. This first lecture will be presented by Alison Stimpert, Zoology Ph.D. Candidate, University of Hawaii,on May 17 from 11 a.m. to Noon in the Castle Memorial Building, 2nd Floor at Bishop Museum.
Ever wonder what whales are doing (and saying) during all the time they spend under water? Are you curious about how scientists study this behavior? Come learn about high-tech suction cup tags that record sound and body orientation of humpback whales under water during Stimpert’s presentation, Using Suction Cup Tags to Learn to Speak “Whale.” This lecture will include videos of tagging whales. Lecture participants will have the chance to hear sounds that the whales make while they’re feeding, and to try using one of the tagging poles.
Speaker Alison Stimpert is a Ph.D. Candidate in Zoology at the University of Hawaii, working at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Her current project is to study the acoustic behavior of humpback whales here in the breeding grounds of Hawaii during the winters, and during feeding in the North Atlantic and Southeast Alaska in the summers.
Subsequent Whale Talks will be offered on June 22, July 19, August 16, and September 20 from 11 a.m. until Noon on the second floor of Castle Memorial Building. All Whale Talk lectures are free with admission. Seating is limited and offered on first-come, first-served basis.
The following Whale Talks will be offered:
Using Suction Cup Tags to Learn to Speak “Whale”
Saturday, May 17; 11 a.m. – noon
Castle Memorial Building; 2nd Floor; Bishop Museum
Speaker: Alison Stimpert is a PhD student in zoology at the University of Hawai'i, working at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology. Her current project is to study the acoustic behavior of humpback whales here on the breeding grounds in Hawai'i during the winters, and during feeding in the North Atlantic and Southeast Alaska in the summers.
Ever wonder what whales are doing (and saying) during all the time they spend under water? Are you curious about how scientists study this behavior? Come learn about high-tech suction-cup tags that record sound and body orientation of humpback whales under water. We'll show videos of tagging whales, play sounds that the whales make while they're feeding, and you can even try using one of our tagging poles!
When Is It Too Late - The Functional Extinction of the Baiji (Yangtze River Dolphin)
Saturday, June 22; 11 a.m. - noon
Castle Memorial Building; 2nd Floor; Bishop Museum
Speaker: Michael Richlen is a Ph.D. student at the University of Hawaii working at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology. Michael has been researching marine mammals around the world for over a decade and was an expedition leader on the Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Survey in 2006. His current research is on the foraging ecology and the acoustic behavior of pantropical spotted dolphins in Hawaiian waters.
In 2006 a group of international researchers completed an expedition surveying the known home range of the baiji (Yangtze River Dolphin). The team conducted visual and acoustic observations from two different boats and failed to detect a single dolphin during the round trip between Yichang and Shanghai on the Yangtze River, China. These unfortunate results prompted a change of the species status from critically endangered to functionally extinct. It is possible that a handful of animals still remain, however, a population size necessary to ensure the survival of the species is highly unlikely. This event is the first documented human caused extinction of a species of dolphin, porpoise, or whale. Despite the loss of the baiji, valuable lessons can be learned and applied to the conservation efforts of other endangered species around the world.
Marine Mammal Conservation Issues and Management Programs in the Main Hawaiian Islands
Saturday, July 19; 11 a.m. - noon
Castle Memorial Building; 2nd Floor; Bishop Museum
Speaker: David Schofield has worked in the marine mammal field for nearly 20 years. He holds a Masters degree from University of Maryland with his thesis focusing on neonatal behavioral development of bottlenose dolphins. The majority of David's marine mammal experience comes in from his work in "marine mammal rehabilitation" where had worked to care for stranded seals, whales, and dolphins for the goal of reintroduction to the wild. Currently, David works as the Marine Mammal Response Coordinator for NOAA's Pacific Islands Regional Office overseeing marine mammal response in Hawaii, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa with a majority of his job relating to monk seal response here in the Main Hawaiian Islands.
This presentation will focus on the Pacific Islands Regional Marine Mammal Response Network and the work involved with Hawaiian monk seal recovery strategies along with a focus on cetacean (dolphin and whale) strandings -why they strand and what we can all do to help.
Whales and Dolphins of Hawaii: Results of 1993-03 Aerial Surveys
Saturday, August 16; 11 a.m. - noon
Castle Memorial Building; 2nd Floor; Bishop Museum
Speaker: Dr. Joe Mobley is a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He has been researching marine mammals in Hawaii, primarily humpback whales, since 1980. His research specialty areas include population and distribution of marine mammals in Hawaii as well as the effects of sound on whales.
A ten-year series of aerial surveys (1993-2003) has told us a great deal about the 17 species of whales and dolphins found in Hawaii’s waters, including where they can be found as well as their population status. The speaker will also summarize his research studying the effects of underwater sound on humpback whales off the north shore of Kauai.
Testing the Hearing of Dolphins, Whales and Polar Bears
Saturday, Sept 20; 11 a.m. - noon
Castle Memorial Building; 2nd Floor; Bishop Museum
Speaker: Dr. Paul Nachtigall is the head of the Marine Mammal Research Program at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology on Coconut Island, Oahu.
Dr. Nachtigall in collaboration with Alexander Supin from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow Russia has developed a way to quickly measure the hearing of marine mammals. That has allowed Dr. Nachtigall, and his students at the University of Hawaii, to travel all over the world to test the hearing of white-beaked dolphins in Iceland, Risso's dolphins in Portugal, False killer whales here in Hawaii and Polar Bears in Sweden. Dr. Nachtigall will explain how he tests animal hearing and show pictures of catching, and testing the hearing, of these animals.
The Whale Talks are being presented in conjunction with the Museum’s presentation of WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN, a traveling exhibit by WonderWorks, on view May 17 through September 21, 2008. The exhibit tells the 54-million-year-old story of whales, from their early life on land to their journey back to the sea. Visitors will see an ample share of toothsome prehistoric beasties, including six robotic whales and dolphins.
Life-size robotic whales in the exhibit illustrate the major categories of whale origins, adaptations and behavior from feeding and reproduction to swimming, vocalization, respiration and diving. The exhibit will feature full-sized robotic versions of a Baby Gray whale, Humpback whale, and an Orca, and static heads of a Northern Right whale and a Sperm whale. This exhibit offers an educational encounter that can’t be duplicated.
The Whales exhibit is sponsored in part by Wyland Waikiki, NOAA’s Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Wodehouse Trust, Horizon Lines, and Bank of Hawaii. Normal museum admission applies, except on Family Sunday, June 22, when Hawaii residents and Military with ID are offered reduced admissions of $3 per person.
For more information about WHALES: WONDERS OF THE OCEAN, or Whale Talks and other educational programming, call (808) 847-3511 or visit www.bishopmuseum.org.
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