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American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter

LXCL:The mission of the American Cetacean Society is to protect whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their habitats through public education, research grants, and conservation actions. The Puget Sound Chapter takes an ecosystem approach to improving the lives of marine mammals and the ecosystems that support them throughout the Salish Sea region.

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society in Room 6 (Blue Building) of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our June chapter meeting. Our guest speaker this month will be Arial Brewer, who will present her talk entitled:&nbsp; Listening to Whales: Using Bioacoustics and Behavior as a Tool for Conservation Communication allows social species to exchange important information among group members, including collective decision-making, group coordination and movement decisions, the location of predators or prey, and markers of individual or group identity. In aquatic environments, acoustic signals are among the most effective forms of communication and are important for many species, including cetaceans. Beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are highly social and vocal, yet little is known about the functionality of their social calls or how those calls may be impacted by human-generated noise. In this talk, we will explore the bioacoustics and behavior of Alaska&#39;s endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale population, which numbers around 300 individuals. We will take a deep dive into their complex vocal repertoire, as well as the behavioral, social, and environment contexts in which they produce specific calls. Further, we will explore how human-generated noise may be disrupting their communication space and ways to mitigate these impacts. This work contributes to our understanding of beluga whale ecology, communication, behavior, and the impacts threatening this endangered population. Arial is a PhD candidate in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington where she is investigating the vocal behavior, genetic population structure, and epidermal microbial patterns of Alaska&rsquo;s endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale population. Arial also works as a marine mammal biologist at NOAA and studies the acoustic ecology of cetaceans, primarily Cook Inlet belugas and Southern Resident killer whales. Prior to her work with NOAA and UW, Arial earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and worked at Long Marine Lab, the National Marine Mammal Foundation, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Arial is broadly interested in the ecology, behavior, communication, and sociality of marine mammals and hopes to further the conservation efforts of endangered marine species after her PhD.&nbsp; Doors open at 7pm, socializing with guests at 7:15pm, and talk starts at 7:30pm

Listening to Whales: Using Bioacoustics and Behavior as a Tool for Conservation

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society in Room 6 (Blue Building) of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our May chapter meeting. Our guest speaker this month will be Cascadia Research Collective founder John Calambokidis who will present his talk entitled:&nbsp; Gray whales in crisis: Observations from Washington State provide a unique view of what is happening and how they are adapting The overall gray whale population is facing an unprecedented challenge with a greater than 50% decline in the last 10 years. Observations in Washington State provide a unique view of different groups of gray whales from those migrating past, those who have found a very successful high-risk feeding strategy (Sounders) to supplement their diet, to the PCFG whales that feed in the Pacific NW for most of the year. Through stranding records, long-term photo-ID, sampling, and tagging, this talk will provide an important perspective on what is going on with gray whales and how some have found a way to deal with the crisis the overall population is facing. John Calambokidis is a Senior Research Biologist and founder in 1979 of Cascadia Research Collective, a non-profit organization based in Olympia, Washington. His primary work focuses on abundance, trends, and movements of blue, humpback, and gray whales and the impacts of human activities including ship strikes, entanglement, and underwater sound. He authored two books as well more than 200 publications in journals. He served as a Director or PI for hundreds of projects such as the SPLASH Pacific-wide study of humpback whales and studies on the impact of sonar. His work has been covered on shows by National Geographic, Discovery Channel, BBC, and others. He has received awards from the American Cetacean Society (Lifetime Achievement in Marine Mammal Science in 2012), the Wildlife Society Washington Chapter (Lifetime Leadership in Conservation 2019), Evergreen State College (Distinguished Alumni of 2025) and the Olympia Rotary Club (Environmental Protection 2018). Doors open at 7pm, socializing with guests at 7:15pm, and talk starts at 7:30pm

Gray whales in crisis: Observations from Washington State provide a unique view of what is happening and how they are adapting

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society on April 24th and 26th at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church for special Earth Day gatherings bringing together music, storytelling, and conversation about our connection to the Southern Resident Orcas and the Salish Sea. The Sunday matinee will include a pre-concert panel discussion exploring the ecological and cultural significance of the Southern Resident orcas. The events feature The Orca Cantata and related environmental works composed by&nbsp;Frederick West, performed by the Turquoise Vocal Ensemble, with special guest speaker Marcia Henton Davis (author and longtime carer of Tokitae). In addition to the beautiful music, you will learn more about the obstacles the Southern Resident Orcas face and hear the remarkable story of Tokitae and her relationship with Marcia. <a fr-original-style="" href="https://tokispirit.org/marcia-henton-daviss-story/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: initial; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Read Marcia&#39;s story here</a>. Your attendance and ticket donation help us to highlight the challenges that these magnificent orcas face and the actions you can take to help them. In addition, you will learn all the ways you can help Toki&rsquo;s remaining family. Several organizations will also be tabling at the event to provide more information on things you can do to help the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas. For more information about Fred West and to listen to samples of the music, <a fr-original-style="" href="https://tokispirit.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: initial; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">see this link</a>. Song Excerpt...The OrcasFor all their beauty, for all their Majesty, Their own home they cannot defend, It&#39;s up to us, we who arose from stardust, We who walk upon the landWe Must Protect the Seas

Earth Day Orca Cantata

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our April chapter meeting. Our guest speaker this month will be Whale Trail founder Donna Sandstrom who will present her talk entitled:&nbsp; Working Together to Save the Whales&nbsp;Stories of Hope, from Springer to the Southern Residents In 2002 a young orca named Springer was discovered near Seattle - lost, alone and 300 miles away from home. Six months later she was rescued, rehabilitated and returned to her pod on the north end of Vancouver Island. Today she is thriving, with two calves of her own. It&#39;s the only successful orca reintroduction in history! Donna Sandstrom will share the riveting story of Springer&#39;s rescue, and how it led her to found The Whale Trail. From 16 inaugural sites in Washington there are now more than 160 along the west coast. In 2018, Donna served as a member of Governor Inslee&#39;s Orca Recovery Task Force, where she championed solutions to reduce noise and disturbance around the endangered southern resident orcas, including a recommendation to license commercial whale-watching. Today all boaters are required to stay 1000 yards away from southern residents. A sea change is underway, against great odds, and the whales show signs of responding.&nbsp; What do these stories have in common? Donna will share the lessons she learned from Springer, and reasons for hope in a turbulent time. Donna Sandstrom is the Founder and Executive Director of The Whale Trail, a west coast-wide series of sites to watch whales from shore. In 2002 she was a community organizer on the successful effort to return Springer, an orphaned orca, to her pod. Donna recently served as a member of Gov. Jay Inslee&#39;s Orca Recovery Task Force, and as a member of WDFW&#39;s ORCA Advisory Group. Prior to founding The Whale Trail, she was a team and project manager at Adobe Systems. Donna is the author of &quot;Orca Rescue, the true story of an orphaned orca named Springer&quot; (Kids Can Press 2021). The middle-grade non-fiction book follows Springer&#39;s story as it happened, from initial discovery through rescue, rehabilitation and reunions. Orca Rescue was a nominee for the 2025 Sasquatch Award and honored as Best Children&#39;s Book 2022 by the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada.&nbsp; Donna studied psychobiology at UC Santa Cruz, and she lives in West Seattle. Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

Working Together to Save the Whales: Stories of Hope, from Springer to the Southern Residents

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our March chapter meeting and a thought provoking evening with Orca Network founder, Howard Garrett. What does belonging mean for orcas &mdash; as social, cultural, and ecologically embedded beings in the Salish Sea?What have we learned about orca personhood and emotional lives?How can we relate to orcas in a way that goes beyond observation into real ethical connection?How do orca social structures (pods, matrilines, dialects) challenge typical human assumptions about individuality and community?&nbsp;How have narrative, myth, scientific understandings and public imagination influenced how we see and relate to orcas?How do issues like salmon decline and habitat loss reflect our disconnections from the natural world?&nbsp;If orcas could speak to us about their experience of belonging &mdash; to their family, their waters, or the planet &mdash; what do you think they would want humans to understand or change? Shortly after graduating with a Sociology degree from The Colorado College in 1980, Howard began working with the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island. In 1995 he began campaigning to return Lolita/Tokitae, a Southern Resident orca captured on Whidbey Island in 1970. In 2001 he and his wife Susan Berta founded Orca Network, a non-profit organization based on Whidbey Island, dedicated to connecting people with whales in the Pacific Northwest, and the importance of providing them healthy habitats filled with Chinook salmon.&nbsp; Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

Orcas as Relational Beings

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our February chapter meeting. Instead of a guest speaker this month, we&#39;ll be holding an open house where you can learn more about our chapter&#39;s mission and what we do, meet and ask questions of our board members, and let us know what ACS means to you and how you would like to see us evolve.&nbsp; We look forward to talking with you and sharing some refreshments! Doors open at 7:15pm

Puget Sound Chapter Open House

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our January chapter meeting and an evening dedicated to Southern Resident Orca advocacy by our intrepid guest speakers:&nbsp;sisters&nbsp;Emma and&nbsp;Annie Stafki. Emma (21) and Annie (17) will share their journey through their award-winning documentary <a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPar05MCYTE" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: initial; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">Echos of the Sound</a>, which tells the untold story of Hugo, the orca captured in 1968 in Vaughn Bay and sent to Miami Seaquarium. They will also discuss their Every Day for Orcas Instagram campaign, in which they are cold-plunging every day for a year to raise awareness for the Southern Resident Orcas (<a fr-original-style="" href="https://www.instagram.com/two_girls_take_on_the_world" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: initial; user-select: auto; box-sizing: inherit;" target="_blank">@two_girls_take_on_the_world</a>). The evening includes a film screening and a Q&amp;A session focused on their documentary and advocacy work, offering insights into their unique approach as young advocates. Emma&nbsp;and&nbsp;Annie Stafki are a dynamic sister duo from Washington State, known for their work as filmmakers, photographers, and environmental advocates. Together they co-founded Two Girls Take on the World and created the award-winning documentary&nbsp;Echos of the Sound, blending their passion for storytelling with a commitment to protecting marine life. Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

Two Girls Take On The World to Help Southern Resident Orcas

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our December chapter meeting, where our guest speakers will be Whitney Neugebauer and Rachael Kutz from Whale Scout.&nbsp; Once a private golf course, the former Wayne property features nearly a mile of shoreline along the Sammamish River and Waynita Creek. Now Bothell&rsquo;s largest public park, an enormous opportunity now exists to restore salmon habitat, benefitting endangered Southern Resident killer whales. Whale Scout has led the community in restoration efforts for six years and counting utilizing a creative, grassroots approach that engages students and diverse audiences. Today, the future of the river is about to be determined as the community gives feedback during a master plan for the park.&nbsp; Whale Scout Director, Whitney Neugebauer, completed degrees in Geology and Anthropology from Eckerd College prior to receiving her master&rsquo;s degree in Marine and Environmental Affairs from the University of Washington. She went on to found Whale Scout in 2013. She lives in Bothell, Washington where she enjoys camping with her family and exploring all that the PNW has to offer. Whale Scout Field Biologist and Education Manager, Rachael Kutz, realized her true passion was to care for wildlife any way she could through means of conservation and habitat restoration. Ever since a child, she would visit Seattle in hopes of one day living here. Now that she&#39;s accomplished that dream, she wants to do everything in her power to protect the wildlife here, both on land and in the sea. When not out with Whale Scout, she&rsquo;s volunteering at the Seattle Aquarium, baking, painting, snowboarding, or caring for nearly 60 house plants! Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

From Fairways to Fish Habitat: The Story of How a Former Golf Course Can Help Save Endangered Orcas

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our November chapter meeting, where our guest speaker will be Joe Gaydos from the SeaDoc Society.&nbsp; Lack of available salmon, increased vessel noise and disturbance, and high levels of persistent organic pollutants hinder Southern resident killer whale recovery. In addition to addressing these threats, the population is small enough that understanding and addressing health concerns also is important for recovery. Numerous agencies and organizations have been developing tools for remotely assessing individual and population health in killer whales and are collaborating on developing an electronic health database and electronic medical records for tracking information and for assisting managers with adaptive management and action where needed. Joe Gaydos is a respected wildlife veterinarian and the Science Director for the SeaDoc Society, a science-based marine conservation program of the UC Davis Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center. For the last two decades, Joe has been working on wildlife and ecosystem conservation in the Pacific Northwest. He&rsquo;s an expert on diseases that impact both human and wild animal health and works on species like seabirds, harbor seals, river otters, porpoise, and killer whales. Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm Photo of UAV collecting orca breath by Maya Sears collected under NMFS Permit #21348

Health Assessments and Electronic Medical Records: Tools for Saving Southern Resident Killer Whales

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society on October 18th at 7:30pm at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church as we present the premier of Orca Cantata: Songs for the Orcas in Homage to Tokitae composed by Frederick N. West.&nbsp; The event features the Turquoise Vocal Ensemble, with special guest speaker Marcia Henton Davis (author and longtime carer of Tokitae), youth speaker Nateli Sanderson, violinist Matthew Weiss, and guest soloists&nbsp;Eliza Woodyard and Sarah Bodin. In addition to the evening&#39;s beautiful music, you will learn more about the obstacles the Southern Resident Orcas face and hear the remarkable story of Tokitae and her relationship with Marcia. Your attendance and ticket donation help us to highlight the challenges that these magnificent orcas face and the actions you can take to help them. Marcia will give a presentation and readings from her book, Unfathomable, describing her friendship with Tokitae and the years they spent together. She will also discuss efforts to breach the lower four Snake river dams and how doing so will help restore chinook salmon runs. In addition, you will learn all the ways you can help Toki&rsquo;s remaining family. Orca Network, Snake River Savers, and organizations will also be tabling at the event to provide more information on things you can do to help the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas. Song Excerpt...The OrcasFor all their beauty, for all their Majesty, Their own home they cannot defend, It&#39;s up to us, we who arose from stardust, We who walk upon the landWe Must Protect the Seas Orca/Moon image by&nbsp;<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: ProximaNova, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted" style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: ProximaNova, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important; box-sizing: inherit;">Michelle Istanish

Orca Cantata:Songs for the Orcas in Homage to Tokitae

Join the Puget Sound Chapter of the&nbsp;American Cetacean Society in Room 6 of the Phinney Neighborhood Center for our first chapter meeting of the 2025-6 season where our guest speaker will be Dr. Kim Goetz from NOAA&#39;s National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle.&nbsp; The Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is a critically endangered, genetically distinct population found only in Alaska&rsquo;s Cook Inlet. Over the past several decades, their numbers have declined dramatically due to subsistence hunting, habitat degradation, and human disturbance, falling to approximately 300 individuals by the early 2000s. This decline prompted their listing as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2008. Recent aerial surveys indicate a potential stabilization, with current estimates near 330 individuals; however, the population remains highly vulnerable. To better understand this population, researchers at the Marine Mammal Laboratory employ a diverse array of tools&mdash;including aerial surveys, drone surveys, acoustic monitoring, and high-resolution satellite imagery&mdash;to assess distribution, abundance, and survival. This presentation will provide an overview of these research methods and highlight the insights they offer toward a comprehensive understanding of Cook Inlet beluga whales. Kim Goetz currently works at NOAA, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle Washington where she focuses on the ecology, movement, distribution, and abundance of cetaceans. Kim produced the most recent abundance estimate for Cook Inlet belugas and is the pilot in command for beluga unmanned surveys. Kim is also currently co-leading a new initiative - Geospatial Artificial Intelligence for Animals (GAIA) - with the aim of creating an AI pipeline for detecting marine species in very high-resolution satellite imagery. Prior to NOAA, Kim completed her PhD at University of Santa Cruz where she studied the movement and foraging behavior of Weddell seals in the western Ross Sea Antarctica. Her research interests include Spatial ecology, marine mammal &amp; seabird conservation, movement &amp; behavior of animals, and science communication. Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

Every Whale Counts! Scientific approaches for estimating abundance and survival of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska

<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Join us in Room 5 at the Phinney Neighborhood Center along with our guest speaker, Casey Mclean, Executive Director and Veterinary Nurse at SR3 (Sealife Response, Rehabilitation and Research), for a behind-the-scenes look at SR3&rsquo;s work since opening the Pacific Northwest&rsquo;s first dedicated marine animal hospital in 2021. Casey will share insights into the organization&#39;s role in marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation, and how their efforts support research and conservation in the region. She will also provide updates on SR3&rsquo;s cetacean health research, which employs non-invasive methods such as drone-based photogrammetry to assess body condition and monitor health trends in populations like the endangered Southern Resident killer whales. This research aims to understand the impacts of human activities&mdash;including entanglement, vessel disturbance, and prey availability&mdash;on whale and dolphin health, thereby informing conservation strategies in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" id="isPasted" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Casey Mclean&nbsp;is a licensed veterinary technician who has a degree in marine biology and a long-standing passion and experience in marine animal medical care, rehabilitation, and conservation. She has worked in areas of sea turtle rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitation, and marine mammal rehabilitation for over 12 years. She is an active member of the Marine Mammal Stranding Network in the Puget Sound and works on a variety of marine animals including stranded seal pups, sea otters, and sea lions. Casey is also a trained oil-spill responder.<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" id="isPasted" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" id="isPasted" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Photo credit: Lara Horstmann&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">

Casey Mclean - On the Frontlines: Marine Mammal Response and Health Surveillance in a Changing Ocean

<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(14, 14, 93); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 50px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted" style="color: rgb(14, 14, 93); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 50px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important; box-sizing: inherit;">Join the Puget Sound chapter of the American Cetacean Society, Orca Nexus, and Tree Action Seattle at 7400 Woodlawn on June 6th along with our guest speakers, Geof Donovan and Lynne Barre, to learn about the benefits trees provide for both orca and human health. There will be Q&amp;A and a chance to have your photo taken with Southern Resident Killer Whales. Doors open at 6:30pm and talks start at 7:00pm Lynne will present her talk entitled <span fr-original-style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" id="isPasted" style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important; box-sizing: inherit;">Orca Recovery and Ecosystems. Geof will present his talk entitled Trees are a matter of life and death.&nbsp; Lynne Barre was the Southern Resident killer whale recovery coordinator for NOAA Fisheries and the Seattle Branch Chief for the Protected Resources Division since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 2005. She worked with NOAA for 25 years, implementing the ESA and Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) beginning her career at the headquarters office in Silver Spring, MD. After moving to the Seattle office in 2003, Lynne worked on the endangered listing of the Southern Resident killer whales, designated critical habitat, finalized a Recovery Plan and implemented actions to conserve and recover the whales, including vessel regulations put in place in 2011. In addition to her work on killer whales, Lynne&rsquo;s work supported recovery of Puget Sound rockfish, salmon, and other aspects of the marine mammal program, such as the stranding network. Her background is in marine mammal research including fieldwork in Southern California and Shark Bay, Western Australia studying social behavior, mothers and infants, and genetic relationships of local dolphins. &nbsp;Prior to her work at NOAA, Lynne worked with the Crittercam team at National Geographic, putting underwater cameras on marine animals to learn about their lives under the surface. Lynne has a B.S in Biology from Georgetown University and an M.S. in Animal Behavior from San Diego State University. Dr. Donovan received his PhD in forest economics from Colorado State University in 2001. He then worked for 23 years as an economist for the USDA Forest Service in Alaska and Oregon. Currently he&rsquo;s the owner of Ash and Elm Consulting, which is focused on making the business case for urban trees. His primary research focus has been quantifying the benefits of urban trees. These have ranged from intuitive benefits &mdash; reduced summertime cooling costs and increased home values, for example &mdash; to less intuitive benefits such as crime reduction. He has worked extensively on the relationship between trees and public health finding that mothers with trees around their homes are less likely to have underweight babies, and when trees are killed by an invasive pest, more people die from cardiovascular and lower-respiratory diseases. Currently, he is focusing on how exposure to plant diversity may protect against a range of immune diseases.

Healthy Habitats & Homes: Orcas, Trees, and People

<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Join us in Room 5 at the Phinney Neighborhood Center along with our guest speaker, ACS/PS Student Travel Grant recipient Chloe Kotik, to learn about the health of eastern North Pacific killer whales (Orcinus orca).&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Effective management strategies for marine mammals depend on accurate scientific reporting of individual and population-level health, but monitoring the condition and survival of wild whales comes with challenges. Long-term survey programs, in combination with innovative observation and sampling techniques developed over decades of experimentation, allow researchers to examine the body condition, endocrine activity, contamination, survival, and reproduction of free-swimming cetaceans. Current research efforts led by Chloe Kotik and collaborators seek to understand the mechanisms of population growth and determine potential effects of contamination in mammal-eating killer whales of the eastern North Pacific.&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Chloe Kotik is an early-career cetologist who has been researching killer whales in the eastern North Pacific since 2019. She holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Marine Biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is currently a PhD candidate in the Horstmann Marine Mammal Lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. With a background in drone photogrammetry and marine mammal emergency response, her current work tackles several aspects of life history, ecology, and health in mammal-eating killer whales in collaboration with Bay Cetology and DFO. Chloe is also the Board Secretary of the Society for Marine Mammalogy&rsquo;s Alaska Student Chapter, an associate researcher with the Orca Conservancy, and a scientific illustrator specializing in watercolor and digital media.&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" id="isPasted" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;"> <p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" id="isPasted" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">Photo credit: Lara Horstmann&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<p fr-original-style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;" style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;">

Chloe Kotik - Monitoring killer whale health in the eastern North Pacific

<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Join us in Room 5 at the Phinney Neighborhood Center along with our guest speakers, Dr. Fred Sharp and Rachel Meade, for a talk that'll be out of this world, and we're not fooling!        Baleen whales exhale with loud, conspicuous “semi-explosive” spouts when they return to the surface to breathe. Modern behavioral research makes extensive use of these sounds to detect and track animals, as well as infer dive depths, oxygen consumption and disturbance.  In contrast, the acoustic features of spouts have received far less attention.  We will review these understudied aerial sounds: (normal blows, wheezed blows and trumpet blasts) and discuss their connection to whale behavior. We also describe several new blowhole sounds (pew, hoot, thrum and gargle) that were documented during the previous summer’s research at Five Finger Lighthouse in SE Alaska. We are also examining the conservation applications of whale spouts, including their use in censusing, distance estimation, and disentangling.  One additional intriguing aspect of this work is the link to Astrobiology. It is not surprising that we struggle to detect life in the universe, given that thus far we have barely acknowledged the potential complexity imbedded in whale breathing sounds.  We will reflect on the notion of missed signals, the Fermi Paradox and its implications for the study of life in the universe.<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Fred Sharpe <span fr-original-style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 18px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" style="color:rgb(34, 34, 34);font-family:Tahoma;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit">has been studying the foraging ecology of humpback whales in SE Alaska since 1987. He received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University and is currently a Co-Investigator with the WhaleSETI Research Team. He is a co-founder of the Alaska Whale Foundation and currently serves as AWF’s stranding coordinator and as a volunteer with NOAA’s Large Whale Disentanglement Response. His research interests include paralinguistic communication (aerial sounds) at Five Finger Lighthouse in Frederick Sound, Alaska. Fred’s interest in conservation biology has led him to Hawaiian to investigate Polynesian Traditional Ecological Knowledge and impacts to Hawaii’s baleen whales from commercial whaling. He has been awarded the Fairfield Award for Innovative Marine Mammal Research and the Society for Marine Mammology’s Award for Excellence in Scientific Communication. He is a naturalist in the classical tradition and enjoys botanizing and conserving native grasslands. During his botany undergraduate days (University of Washington) he co-authored and illustrated Wild Plants of the San Juan Islands. After graduation, he continued his work in the archipelago and co-authored and illustrated Birding in the San Juan Islands.<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Rachel Meade is an early-career marine mammalogist dedicated to understanding and conserving marine mammal behavior and culture through hands-on field research, bioacoustic analysis, scientific collaboration and public engagement. She holds a B.S. in Marine and Coastal Science from Western Washington University and is a key researcher on humpback whale non-vocal sounds. Her work includes field seasons in Southeast Alaska and the San Juan Islands, bioacoustic analysis, marine mammal rehabilitation, and public outreach to bridge science and conservation. Rachel has experience in marine mammal rehabilitation, stranding response, and necropsies, working with organizations such as SR3 and the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network. She is also an AAUS Scientific Diver, a Level 1 Large Whale Entanglement Response Responder, and presented this research at the Society for Marine Mammalogy Conference (SMM 2024) and is currently working towards publication on the team's humpback whale bioacoustic research. <p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

Dr. Fred Sharpe & Rachel Meade - "Humpback Whales, Inscrutable Spouts, and the Search for Life in the Universe"

<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Join us in Room 6 at the Phinney Neighborhood Center along with our guest speaker, Dr. Anais Remili, for an in-depth look at how molecular ecology is transforming our understanding of killer whale diets. Using lipids from blubber biopsies, researchers can now reconstruct what these top predators eat over the long term—without the need for continuous monitoring. This technique has been applied to multiple North Atlantic populations and is now being used to predict the diet of endangered Southern Resident killer whales. We will also explore how dietary preferences influence the accumulation of harmful contaminants like PCBs and other "forever chemicals," and the implications for the health of some killer whale populations.<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Anaïs Remili is a postdoctoral fellow at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada), studying ecotoxicology (contaminants and diets) in marine mammals, with a focus on killer whales. She is also the editor-in-chief of <a href="https://whalescientists.com/" style="color:rgb(0, 51, 153);text-decoration:none;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit" target="new">Whale Scientists</a>, a marine mammal website by early-career researchers.<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:museo-sans, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;font-size:16px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit">Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

Dr. Anais Remili - "You Are What You Eat: Blubber Holds Clues to Killer Whale Diets … and Toxic Threats"

<span fr-original-style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; display: inline !important; float: none;" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:-apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, &quot;Segoe UI&quot;, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;float:none;display:inline !important;box-sizing:inherit">Help ACS/PS protect the southern resident orcas and other whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their Salish Sea habitats through public education, research grants, and conservation actions.

Help ACS/PS protect the southern resident orcas and other whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their Salish Sea habitats through public education, research grants, and conservation actions.

Your patronage is requested to support the production of two special Earth Day weekend performances of the Orca Cantata. This music and our speakers will strive to inspire more tangible actions for the recovery and ultimate thriving of the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas of Washington State. On 24 and 26 April 2026 at 7500 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, you will learn more about the obstacles they face and hear the remarkable story of Tokitae and her relationship with her carer - <a fr-original-style="text-decoration-color:initial;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit;" href="http://marciahentondavis.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color:initial;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit;" target="_blank">Marcia Henton Davis</a>. We want to honor that unique bond with song and story created in collaboration with Seattle Composer<a fr-original-style="text-decoration-color:initial;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit;" href="https://seattlepeacechorus.org/about/history-of-the-chorus/fred-west/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color:initial;user-select:auto;box-sizing:inherit;" target="_blank">&nbsp;Fred West</a>, who is the founder of the San Juan Island OrcaSing. The event will be hosted by and help fund the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society. Your contribution will help us to highlight the challenges that these magnificent orcas face and the actions you can take to help them. Marcia will give a presentation and readings from her book, Unfathomable, describing her friendship with Tokitae and the years they spent together. She will also discuss efforts to breach the lower four Snake river dams and how doing so will help restore chinook salmon runs. In addition, you will learn all the ways you can help Toki&rsquo;s remaining family. 85% of your contribution goes directly to paying the expenses of this event.

Your patronage is requested to support the production of two special Earth Day weekend performances of the Orca Cantata. This music and our speakers will strive to inspire more tangible actions for the recovery and ultimate thriving of the critically endangered Southern Resident Orcas of Washington State. On 24 and 26 April 2026 at 7500 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle, you will learn more about the obstacles they face and hear the remarkable story of Tokitae and her relationship with her carer - Marcia Henton Davis. We want to honor that unique bond with song and story created in collaboration with Seattle Composer Fred West, who is the founder of the San Juan Island OrcaSing. The event will be hosted by and help fund the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society.Your contribution will help us to highlight the challenges that these magnificent orcas face and the actions you can take to help them. Marcia will give a presentation and readings from her book, Unfathomable, describing her friendship with Tokitae and the years they spent together. She will also discuss efforts to breach the lower four Snake river dams and how doing so will help restore chinook salmon runs. In addition, you will learn all the ways you can help Toki’s remaining family.85% of your contribution goes directly to paying the expenses of this event.

American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter

American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter

Past events

Past events

Listening to Whales: Using Bioacoustics and Behavior as a Tool for Conservation

Gray whales in crisis: Observations from Washington State provide a unique view of what is happening and how they are adapting

Earth Day Orca Cantata

Working Together to Save the Whales: Stories of Hope, from Springer to the Southern Residents

Orcas as Relational Beings

Puget Sound Chapter Open House

Two Girls Take On The World to Help Southern Resident Orcas

From Fairways to Fish Habitat: The Story of How a Former Golf Course Can Help Save Endangered Orcas

Health Assessments and Electronic Medical Records: Tools for Saving Southern Resident Killer Whales

Orca Cantata:Songs for the Orcas in Homage to Tokitae

Every Whale Counts! Scientific approaches for estimating abundance and survival of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska

Casey Mclean - On the Frontlines: Marine Mammal Response and Health Surveillance in a Changing Ocean

Healthy Habitats & Homes: Orcas, Trees, and People

Chloe Kotik - Monitoring killer whale health in the eastern North Pacific

Dr. Fred Sharpe & Rachel Meade - "Humpback Whales, Inscrutable Spouts, and the Search for Life in the Universe"

Dr. Anais Remili - "You Are What You Eat: Blubber Holds Clues to Killer Whale Diets … and Toxic Threats"

More ways to support us

Donate to the American Cetacean Society's Puget Sound Chapter!

Donate today

Become an Earth Day Orca Cantata Patron

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