American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter

### Context Profile for American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter

1. **Organization Mission & Cause**:
   - The American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter is dedicated to the protection and conservation of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) and their habitats. Their mission emphasizes raising awareness about the challenges faced by marine mammals, particularly the Southern Resident Orcas, and advocating for their preservation through education, research, and community engagement.

2. **Type of Activities**:
   - The organization engages in various activities, including:
     - **Educational Events**: Hosting presentations and discussions about cetacean conservation, such as the "Orca Cantata" event, which combines music with awareness-raising about the Southern Resident Orcas.
     - **Fundraising Campaigns**: Organizing events to raise funds for cetacean conservation efforts and community programs.
     - **Community Outreach**: Collaborating with local organizations to provide resources and information on how individuals can contribute to the protection of marine life.

3. **Tone of Voice**:
   - The tone of the website and communications is **inspiring, friendly, and informative**. The language used is accessible and encourages community involvement while conveying a sense of urgency regarding the conservation of cetaceans. The organization uses a narrative style that highlights personal stories and emotional connections to the cause.

4. **Emoji Usage**:
   - The organization does not prominently use emojis in their website content or email communications. Their focus remains on clear and professional language to convey their message effectively.

5. **Key Facts**:
   - **Founding Info**: The American Cetacean Society was established in 1967 and has local chapters, including the Puget Sound Chapter.
   - **Scale**: The Puget Sound Chapter has conducted 10 forms and sent out 16 email campaigns, indicating an active engagement with their community.
   - **Impact Metrics**: Specific metrics on the impact of their programs were not detailed on the website, but they emphasize community involvement and education as key components of their mission.
   - **Volunteer Info**: The organization encourages volunteer participation and provides opportunities for community members to get involved in conservation efforts.

6. **Writing Guidelines**:
   - **Style**: Use clear, concise language that is engaging and accessible to a broad audience. Incorporate storytelling elements to connect emotionally with readers.
   - **Structure**: Organize content with headings and bullet points for easy readability. Use short paragraphs and avoid jargon to ensure clarity.
   - **Call to Action**: Always include a strong call to action, encouraging readers to participate in events, donate, or engage in advocacy efforts.
   - **Personalization**: Where applicable, personalize communications to create a connection with the audience (e.g., using names in emails).

This context profile aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter, enabling AI assistants to generate tailored and effective content that aligns with the organization’s mission and values.

Please RSVP for our April 1st Chapter Meeting and Speaker Event! 
One reservation per person. 
Our meetings are always free to attend. Any amount that you chose to donate helps us pay for the room rental and speaker expenses.
Thank you!

RSVP for ACS-PS Meeting on 4/1/25

<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

Hi <span contenteditable="false" data-custom-variable="{{firstname}}" fr-original-class="fr-deletable styled-tag-chip" fr-original-style style="background-color:rgb(248, 248, 255);border:1px solid rgb(191, 191, 255);border-radius:4px;color:rgb(42, 42, 196);padding:1px 8px;font-size:11px;display:inline-block;margin:0px;overflow-wrap:anywhere;user-select:none;box-sizing:inherit">First name , Thank you for your RSVP to our upcoming chapter meeting and speaker event! We look forward to seeing you on April 1st. If you would like to contribute further, contact us to become a volunteer, or talk to your friends about ACS-PS! Joe Olsonpresident@acspugetsound.org

<p style="margin:0px;text-indent:50px;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;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%">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;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;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%">Fred Sharpe 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;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;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%">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;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;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;line-height:1.5;box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%">Doors open at 7pm and talk starts at 7:30pm

American Cetacean Society - Puget Sound Chapter

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

Upper Parking Lot

RSVP for ACS-PS Meeting on 4/1/25

Free