Aquarium Audio

Judith Weis, who spoke at the Aquarium on October 18, 2011, is a professor of biological sciences at Rutgers University and the author of Do Fish Sleep? Fascinating Answers to Questions about Fishes. She is also the chair of the Science Advisory Board of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The IUCN lists the Arctic Fox as one of the species most vulnerable to the effects of climate change in its environment.

Throughout history, penguins have captured the hearts and imagination of people of all ages. Comical and endearing, our perception of this awkward creature belies its amazing abilities to survive in the ocean and on land.

The exhibit is home to the first penguins in the Aquarium’s collection and includes a crawl-in space, allowing you to feel as if you are in the exhibit with the animals.

The largest geographic feature of our planet is the ocean, almost inconceivable in size to the imagination. It is in this vast environment that microscopic plants and animals make our planet habitable.

LuAnn Dahlman, who spoke at the Aquarium on September 22, 2011, spent a season at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, working with an international group of scientists and drillers who are doing this innovative research. Dahlman is part of the Communications and Education group at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office and develops climate-related educational materials.

Rob Mortensen, who spoke at the Aquarium on October 25, 2011, is the Aquariums assistant curator of birds and mammals. He previously served as a zookeeper at the Santa Barbara Zoo, a senior aquarist at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and an attack helicopter crew chief for the U.S. Army.

Daniel Beltrá and Larry McKinney presented a joint lecture at the Aquarium on October 13, 2011, and discussed the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Beltrá is a professional photographer based in Seattle. His photography covering the Gulf spill was exhibited at the Aquarium. McKinney provided the scientist’s perspective. He serves as the executive director of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.

Craig Heberer, who spoke at the Aquarium on October 11, 2011, works as a fisheries biologist with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, Southwest Region, Sustainable Fisheries Division. He serves as the lead biologist for the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species. Heberer was born and raised in San Pedro, California and grew up in the Croatian commercial tuna fishing industry.

Joe Roman spoke at the Aquarium on September 28, 2011 about his research into the ecological role of whales in the ocean. He is a conservation biologist, freelance writer, and researcher at the University of Vermont. His research appears in the journals Science, BioScience, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, among others.

Dr. Lori Hargrove, who spoke at the Aquarium on September 15, 2011, began volunteering at the San Diego Natural History Museum in 1995 and is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the museum’s department of birds and mammals. She is working with a team on an ongoing project to document wildlife distribution and abundance in the San Jacinto Mountains and compare the results to information gathered 100 years ago.

Dr. Richard Feely, who spoke on May 23, 2011, is a senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Seattle. He also holds an affiliate full professor faculty position at the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography. His major research areas are carbon cycling in the ocean and ocean acidification processes.

Nan Ellin, who spoke at the Aquarium on March 22, 2011, is a professor and chair of the Department of City and Metropolitan Planning at the University of Utah. She has served on the faculty of Arizona State University, the University of Cincinnati, Southern California Institute of Architecture, the University of Southern California, and New York University.

Michele Westmorland, who spoke at the Aquarium on March 30, 2011, is a photojournalist with a twenty-year history of traveling the world documenting the marine life that inhabits the oceans. Her work has appeared in national and international publications, including National Geographic Traveler, Outside, Sport Diver, and Scuba Diving.

Dr. James Lindholm, who spoke at the Aquarium on April 27, 2011, is the James W. Rote Distinguished Professor of Marine Science and Policy and the founder and director of the Institute for Applied Marine Ecology at California State University, Monterey Bay. His research interests include the landscape ecology of fishes, the recovery of seafloor habitats following the cessation of fishing activity, and the design and efficacy of marine protected areas.