Homeport 2019: Special Guest Speaker

A humpback whale breaches off American Samoa, a study site in the South Pacific. Image was taken by CCS under NOAA permit 774-1714 and the approval of the Government of American Samoa.

Homeport by the Bay 2019

Special Guest Speaker:
Jooke Robbins, Ph.D.
Director, Humpback Whales Studies Program, Center for Coastal Studies
“Whales in a Changing Climate”

Whales face a range of threats in the modern world, including the effects of climate change. Investigating impacts on whales is challenging and a key focus of the Center for Coastal Studies’ Humpback Whale Studies Program. In this talk, Dr. Jooke Robbins will highlight new climate change findings from the Center’s long-term research in the North Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans. She will describe molecular genetic indications of strong and lasting population effects stemming from a similar period of rapid global warming in geological time. She will also highlight findings from American Samoa, a humpback whale breeding site in the South Pacific. That site is already at the upper end of the known water temperature range for a humpback whale breeding ground, and further warming is expected to have a major impact on this species across Oceania. These long-term studies provide critical insight into how humpback whales have already responded to global warming and the potential outcome of environmental changes that we see today.

Dr. Jooke Robbins, Director, Humpback Whale Studies Program at Center for Coastal Studies

Dr. Jooke Robbins is a senior scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies and the director of its Humpback Whale Studies Program. She is also research faculty at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. Dr. Robbins holds a Ph.D. in marine biology from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. She has studied whales since 1994, with a primary focus on large whale biology, population structure & dynamics and human impacts. Her research in North Atlantic, North Pacific and South Pacific Oceans has led to more than 50 scientific publications to date. Dr. Robbins has also been a long-time member of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team and the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission.

Money raised through this year’s Fund-A-Need will support the Humpback Whale Studies Program, the longest running research program at Center for Coastal Studies. In particular, funds will be dedicated to continuing studies that focus on the impact of climate change on whale populations, distribution, and behavior.

 

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We are very grateful for the support of the following 2019 Corporate Sponsors and Homeport Patrons:

GLOBAL SEAS Sponsors
Bay State Cruise Company
Boston Harbor Cruises
Cape Air
Cape Cod Five
Cape Cod Life Publications
Dolphin Fleet
Napi’s Restaurant
Nauset Marine
Provincetown Aquasports

ATLANTIC OCEAN Sponsors
Aquatic Adventures
Nauset Disposal
Seamen’s Bank

GULF OF MAINE Sponsors
Ed Feijo/Coldwell Banker

CAPE COD BAY Sponsors
8 Dyer
Harwich Port Boat Yard
Joseph H. Helfgot Foundation
Land Ho! Restaurant
Rogers & Gray Insurance
Robert Paul Properties
Tocci and Lee, LLC
Truro Vineyards

HOMEPORT Patrons
Scott Allegretti, DDS
Liz Frankel & Charlie Steinhorn
Roy F. Coppedge
Mary Beth & Stephen Daniel
Judy & Dan Katz
Pam & John King
Melinda Krasting
Harriet & Richard Larsen
Jeanne Leszcynski & Diane DiCarlo
Jeanne McNett & Nick Athenassiou
Nan Poor
Jan & Herb Raffaele
Alix Ritchie
Mary & James Sexton

Special thanks to Rosemary G. Conroy for the use of her beautiful painting “Lady in Waiting” to promote Homeport. Rosemary is a wildlife artist and avid naturalist from New Hampshire whose artwork is inspired by her encounters with wildlife, and most recently by her swim with humpback whales on Silver Bank. Hoping to make a positive difference for wildlife through her art, she donates 10% of her profits each year to conservation groups like the Center for Coastal Studies. www.rosemaryconroyart.com

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