Join ACS San Francisco Bay Chapter for a fascinating evening of insights into gray whale biology and ecology. After being driven to the brink of extinction by commercial whaling, the eastern North Pacific population has made a remarkable recovery. They remain subject to threats including, but not limited to, lack of prey abundance, entanglements, and ship strikes. As many people living and visiting the West Coast witnessed, in 2019, these majestic whales suffered an unusual mortality event primarily attributed to a decline in prey abundance in their Arctic feeding grounds.
In this webinar, Dr. Jim Sumich discusses the past and current distributions, migration patterns, and genetics of gray whale populations, and some likely future scenarios for this species in the context of our changing global climate.
Watch the webinar!
This webinar is offered for free to the public. A suggested donation of $10 per participant/viewer is encouraged and appreciated. Donations help cover webinar costs and support our education and cetacean research grant programs. Click here to donate.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
DR. JAMES SUMICH
Jim Sumich is the author of a best-selling textbook on marine biology (now in its 11th edition) and co-author of the widely adopted Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology. He has taught marine mammal biology at the college and university level for more than four decades and has conducted research on gray whales from British Columbia to Baja California. Jim currently holds an Affiliate Faculty appointment at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center.
Jim has been a long-time friend to ACS and was guest editor of the Whalewatcher issue on gray whales. A renowned expert on gray whales, Jim has authored or co-authored nearly twenty papers on gray whales and has published a general audience book, E. Robustus: The Biology and Human History of Gray Whales.
