Aquarium Audio

The Aquarium of the Pacific is pleased to announce Brent Maxwell Ward as its 10th Anniversary Scholar in May for his efforts in marine science and conservation. Ward has shown a strong interest in marine biology and conservation. He studied ocean life and the tides during the summer in a NAACP sailing program. There, he learned to work with shipmates of all backgrounds. He has also volunteered at beach clean-ups at Colorado Lagoon. His interest in water extends to his participation in water polo and on the swim team. Maxwell wishes to study biology in college, and become an anesthesiologist.

Sibling rivalry takes on a whole new meaning in the case of sand tiger shark reproduction. Discover how these embryonic sharks become experienced predators even before they are born.

Tiny drifters or determined swimmers? New research is discovering some startling information about how larval fish find and populate new reef ecosystems.

Sea otters, bald eagles, and orcas are all Alaskan marine predators. These three very different species are linked through a complex series of relationships that reach across ecosystems and species.

At the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Aster is Professor of Geophysics, the Chair of Earth and Environmental Science, and the Geophysics Program Coordinator in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science. Aster earned his Masters in Geophysics from the UW Madison and his PhD in Earth Sciences from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Aster serves on the Seismological Society of America’s Board of Directors. He received the National Science Foundation’s Antarctic Service Medal in 1999.

Deep sea mining, once the realm of science fiction, is now an impending reality. The impacts of mining on the organisms of the deep sea are poorly understood as fundamental research on this ecosystem remains to be done.

Jesse Ausubel is a Program Director for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and Director of the Program for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University in New York City. During the past decade he helped launch and lead three major international scientific programs in biodiversity science: the Census of Marine Life, the Barcode of Life Initiative, and the Encyclopedia of Life. Ausubel was a main organizer of the first UN World Climate Conference (Geneva, 1979), which substantially elevated global warming on scientific and political agendas.

Roger McManus has extensive experience and a strong record of accomplishment in marine conservation policy and non-government conservation management. He built the U.S. Center for Marine Conservation (currently named The Ocean Conservancy), into the largest NGO in the world devoted to marine conservation. Mr. McManus has served in several U.S. Administrations, including with the Clinton Administration, as the Ocean Advisor to the Office of the Secretary in the Department of the Interior. Mr. McManus is Conservation International’s Vice President for the Marine Programs Division.

William W. Fox, Jr., Ph.D., was born in San Diego, California, and was educated in oceanography, marine biology and fisheries at the University of Miami (FL) and University of Washington. The early half of his career was spent as a research scientist and science manager with the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In 2008, Dr. Fox joined the World Wildlife Fund U.S. (WWF-US) as Vice President and Managing Director for Fisheries. Dr. Fox has authored or co-authored over 60 scientific publications.

William Deverell is Director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, and Professor of History at USC. He earned his undergraduate degree in American Studies from Stanford and his M.A. and Ph.D. in American history from Princeton. Prior to coming to USC, Professor Deverell taught at the California Institute on Technology and the University of California, San Diego. Professor Deverell is the author of numerous studies on the 19th and 20th century American West.

Stan Wilson began his career as a marine biological collector. He traveled to Antarctica twice, the second time operating from a 30-foot fishing boat when he wintered over. He has been honored by having both an island and a new marine species named after him. Switching fields, he received a PhD in physical oceanography from the Johns Hopkins University. He has worked at the Office of Naval Research, at NASA Headquarters, and at NOAA. Most recently, he has been leading efforts to extend NOAA’s operational satellite program to incorporate ocean capabilities that he helped develop at NASA.

Tidal power provides a renewable energy source that is clean and reliable. Generators harvest the energy of moving water as tides flood and ebb. Tidal power generation requires suitable environmental conditions to be efficient and effective.

The Aquarium of the Pacific is pleased to announce Chansopary Karen Soum as its March 10th Anniversary Scholar. Chansopary is active in helping out members of the local community who are homeless and hungry. She works as a volunteer at the Thanksgiving banquet at Ernest McBride Park every year, and contributes to feeding individuals and families who are less fortunate. Chansopary also helps to pass out food at the United Cambodian Community twice a month. Her level of personal caring and compassion is clear, and she even helps orphans in Cambodia by raising money at car washes and teaching Cambodian seniors to speak English. She helps preserve and celebrate cultures with her involvement with the Cambodian community and her participation in Polynesian dancing.

Parasites may be harmful to living organisms. A relationship called the cleaning symbiosis describes how some animals, the cleaners, remove parasites from other animals, the clients. Because of the close interaction between cleaner and client, a question arises: instead of picking off parasites, do cleaners ever bite their clients instead?

In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the Aquarium is honoring Long Beach students who have shown outstanding efforts in the areas of science, environment, ocean science/marine biology, promoting cultural diversity, and exceptional community service.