Virtual Science Sunday—Hidden in the Ice: Uncovering the Secret Lives of Antarctic Minke Whales

Inhabiting remote, ice-covered areas typically inaccessible to researchers, Antarctic minke whales are one of the most poorly-studied baleen whales, despite being the most abundant. As climate-driven changes rapidly occur around the Antarctic, understanding the lives and habits of minke whales—and how climate-driven changes manifest in them—has become critical. With the advent of unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) and video-recording tags, in conjunction with traditional oceanographic sampling mechanisms, researchers now have the tools necessary to study these cryptic whales. Over the past three years, Ari Friedlaender has led several expeditions to study these whales and uncover mysteries about how these animals feed, interact with one another, and use sea ice.

Join the Seymour Marine Discovery Center and Ari Friedlaender for an intimate look into the lives of these enigmatic whales both from above the ocean’s surface and below the sea ice.

Ari Friedlaender, Ph.D.
Associate Researcher, Institute of Marine Sciences, and
Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UC Santa Cruz

Register in advance for the online Science Sunday webinar (required) via the Seymour Center's website or the link below:
ucsc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SEDko5CoSeyqVIQSlr0OBQ

For more information, visit: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/ongoing-education/science-sundays