50Th Anniversary Program Highlight

Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute 50th Anniversary Program Highlight

Marine Ecology: Oceans of Life

Northern elephant seals off Southern California where HSWRI has been conducting a diversity of research since 1978. 40 Years of Sea-Scape Solutions

Ecology is a sub-discipline of science that aims to document, understand, and predict patterns of distribution and abundance of life forms, and to understand how those patterns are shaped by interactions among individuals of a species, by interactions of populations of a species with each other, by interactions among species, and by the effects of physical (i.e., temperature, wind, water, geology) factors on those interactions. Ecologists must consider all biological and physical factors that might explain why an animal occurs in some places and not others, why its population is growing or shrinking, and how the species interacts with other elements of the communities within an ecosystem. Knowledge of these patterns and interactions is the first step in predicting a species' responses to human activities, to other species, and to environmental changes.

Long-term ecological studies are essential for making sound management decisions for long-lived species like marine mammals, sea turtles, sea birds, and large fishes. The Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute’s Marine Vertebrate Ecology Laboratory (MarVEL) has conducted an uninterrupted study of seals and sea lions at the California Channel Islands since 1978. This 35-year investment in long-term ecosystem research, almost unheard-of for large mammals, has provided a strong foundation for addressing questions about the factors that limit and regulate populations of these protected species. Sunrise at California's Mono Lake. Dr. Brent Stewart and Dr. Pamela Yochem Indian River Lagoon bottlenose dolphins The lake is an important staging area for in 2007 aboard the Swedish Icebreaker sighted while conducting an aerial survey migrating shorebirds and seabirds. Oden in Antarctica's Ross Sea while to estimate abundance. conducting surveys of marine mammals and seabirds.

For more information, or to make a donation to the Ecology program, please visit our website at www.hswri.org, or contact Development Director, Eileen Sigler at (619)226-3881 or [email protected]. Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 95-2304740