Category Archives: WhaleTimes Updates
Thank you to all our summer camps and Science Teams!
Wow, it has been the fastest summer yet! Kindergarten to 8th grade kids from across the country participated in two WhaleTimes’ virtual research missions. They danced to DNA, made vaquita wind socks, and created elephant seal tags. The kids also dazzled the Science Team members with their knowledge and challenged them with thought-provoking questions during the 30+ Skype™ sessions.
Our Creep into the DEEPEND Summer Camp program took kids to the deep sea in the Gulf of Mexico with the DEEPEND Science Team. They met cool animals and even cooler research and researchers while discovering DEEPEND Consortium’s important deep-sea research.
Kids joined Patrick W. Robinson, Dave Weller, Barbara Taylor, Daniel Costa and their Science Teams from the UC-Santa Cruz, Costa Lab, UC Año Nuevo Island Reserve and Southwest Fisheries Science Center/NOAA (vaquita and gray whale research) as part of our Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita. Summer camp kids learned about the beautiful gray whale, the amazing elephant seal, and the shy vaquita. The kids heard the successful conservation stories of the elephant seal and gray whale. Conservation efforts that saved both species from extinction. Summer campers also learned that the vaquita’s conservation story is still being written. With less than 30 vaquita left, we don’t know if it’ll have a happy ending or not.
Through both WhaleTimes’ programs our summer camp kids learned two important lessons. 1) Everybody makes a difference when it comes to conservation; 2) Everyone can help save ocean animals by only buying and/or eating sustainably caught seafood (when you are hankering for seafood).
Thank you to our Science Team Members, volunteers, and the museums and science centers for making it another amazing summer!
- DEEPEND Research and Creep into the DEEPEND program funded by funded by Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) award number GOMRI2014-IV-914
- The Celebration of Conservation Elephant Seal Team’s research funded in part by: The Office of Naval Research, Joint Industry Program, Año Nuevo Reserve; gray whale and vaquita research supported by Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries. The education program portion funded by WhaleTimes and supported by volunteer time and effort from the Science Teams themselves and WhaleTimes’ volunteers.
Thank you to our museum and science centers for letting us make a splash at your summer camps!
If you missed your chance to join us at a summer camp near you, the program will be back next year.
7-12th graders, learn about shark research with our friends at the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network
Learn about shark tracking research by joining our friends at the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network (ON) from August 28 to September 1, 2017, for “Tracking Sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.” The feature will highlight the research of Dr. Michelle Heupel, a pioneer in the acoustic tracking of sharks and rays. Dr. Heupel’s studies on the movements of large predators are helping Australian scientists create better management plans to protect these often imperiled species, while assessing how changing ocean conditions are affecting their life-cycles. The program is free and will consist of daily blogs, videos, downloadable items and more. This program is hosted exclusively on the Oceanscape Network website.
You can also read more about the Dr. Michelle Heupel and shark conservation efforts in MISSION SHARK RESCUE (National Geographic Children’s Books, 2016 / ISBN-13: 978-1426320903)
Vaquita Update June 2017: Next Step
Fifty vaquitas left, no, thirty, wait…seven more found dead in the last few months. The news is bleak for vaquitas as the population continues to decline.
A vaquita is a porpoise and the most endangered whale in the world. Less than 30 survive.
Efforts to stop illegal fishing of the (critically endangered) totoaba and use of gillnets has been at the forefront of scientists and the Mexican Government. Unfortunately, vaquitas (and totoabas) continue to die. With the latest CIRVA report, scientists now believe the only way to save vaquita from extinction is to try to capture the porpoises and put them in safety away from gillnets. “The Mexican government and its conservation partners have organized a live capture effort to try to save the vaquita from extinction….” Read more in this Vaquita Update (courtesy of the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
When you eat seafood, and only eat or buy sustainable seafood. Find out how: What is Sustainable?
Are you doing everything you can to protect the ocean? Take the 30 Days to a Sustainable You Survey and find out.
The power to protect ocean animals like the vaquita is in your hands.
Celebration of Conservation SUMMER CAMPS!
NEW! Celebration of Conservation Summer Camps. This summer, museums and science centers throughout the country will offer WhaleTimes’ Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephants Seals, and Vaquita Summer Camps.
Our Celebration of Conservation highlights three important marine conservation stories – two successful stories and one still being written. As part of TEAM VAQUITA, students learn about gray whales, elephant seals, and vaquita. Gray whales and elephant seals were once so close extinction it’s amazing either species survived. Due to protection efforts and public awareness, both species are thriving. Both have been delisted (removed) from the endangered species list. Vaquita, a kind of porpoise, needs that same kind of happy ending. It is the most endangered whale in the world. There are only 30 vaquita left in the world.
To register or find out more, check out the list below and contact the museum or science center near you.
| Adventure Science Center | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Catawba Science Center | Hickory, North Carolina |
| Liberty Science Center | Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Maine Discovery Museum | Bangor, Maine |
| Museum of Discovery and Science | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
| Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network | Newport, Oregon |
| Pacific Science Center | Seattle, WA |
| St. Louis Science Center | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Tallahassee Museum | Tallahassee, Florida |
| Univ of Michigan Museum of Natural History | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Museum of Discovery and Science | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida |
DEEPEND at GoMOSES, New Orleans
In February, WhaleTimes Director Ruth Musgrave joined the DEEPEND Science Team at the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Ecosystem (GoMOSES) annual conference in New Orleans. Several members of the DEEPEND Science Team presented their research through talks, papers, and posters. After the conference concluded, the Team met for their annual all-hands meeting.
Our annual DEEPEND meetings are a fast-paced day when Science Team members shares their latest research and plans. Groups worked together to discuss the research and next steps. Watching the scientists collaborate was an amazing time to see the scientific process in action. So much news. Keep up with the DEEPEND Science Team members and find out more about the latest news at: deependconsortium.org.
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- Ruth Musgrave, Director of WhaleTimes at Outreach/Education Poster Sesson
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- Tammy Frank and Heather Judkins
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- DEEPEND Team listening to research updates
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- Rosanna Milligan sharing the latest on DEEPEND’s deep-sea fish research
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- April Cook and Squirt
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- Tammy Frank and Richard Hartland
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- Dante Fenolio, Travis Richards, Cole Easson, and Jose Lopez
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- Laura Timm and Heather Bracken-Grissom
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- DEEPEND Outreach/Education Poster
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- Kevin Boswell shares findings from DEEPEND research
Vaquita video
Year of the Vaquita 2017
This 60 second video created by Oregon Coast Aquarium, part of TEAM VAQUITA, will quickly introduce you to the vaquita and the challenges being addressed by the Year of the Vaquita.
6-12th grade teachers, looking for vaquita-related activities and fact sheets for older students? Visit Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network.
K-5 Teachers, check out our Save the Vaquita K-5 fact sheets and activities. Better yet, enroll in our Celebration of Conservation program to learn more about vaquita, elephant seals, and gray whales.
Video courtesy of the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network
New Year’s Resolution – Save ocean animals — Eat sustainable seafood
Happy 2017 from all of us at WhaleTimes.
WhaleTimes plans on celebrating the entire year, starting with celebrating 2017 The Year of the Vaquita. In March, we celebrate the first ever Save the Vaquita Month.
This spring and this summer we’re planning our Celebration of Conservation: Gray Whales, Elephant Seals, and Vaquita programs. Classrooms and museum and science center summer camps throughout the country will join TEAM VAQUITA to help us support scientists and the Mexican government to save vaquita and other ocean animals.
Celebrate 2017 by only eating sustainably caught seafood.
Happy New Year!
WhaleTimes visits Broward County Schools
Dr. Tamara Frank talks deep-sea DNA
“Four days, 25 schools, 525 kids…and it was awesome!” said WhaleTimes Director, Ruth Musgrave. Deep-sea expert Dr. Tamara Frank (Nova Southeastern University) and Musgrave spent the week in Broward County Florida visiting 1st to 6th grade classrooms as part of a National Science Foundation grant. “We had a blast using music to teach about DNA sequencing, secret light codes to introduce communication of bioluminescent animals, and what it’s like to see through a deep-sea animal’s eyes.” adds Musgrave.
The school visits, entitled, “Deep See in the Deep Sea” share the on-going research of Dr. Frank and Dr. Heather Bracken Grissom (Florida International University) who are studying the evolution of bioluminescence and light detection in deep-sea shrimp.
“We can’t wait to go back next year and meet more of the incredible kids from Broward County to share our latest discoveries.” said Tamara Frank
Special thanks to STEM teacher Michele Parsons who helped us coordinate the program and find such amazing schools and motivated students.
Project funded through NSF Award No. 1556279
Kids see through the eyes of a deep-sea animal
It’s Hagfish Day!
Today we once again salute the slimy, the ugly, the misunderstood beauties of the deep, hagfish and friends! Celebrate the beauty of ugly with us, on the 8th annual Hagfish Day
The beautiful hagfish.
Hagfish hanging out.