Summer Lecture: Social Structure of Resident Killer Whales at the Whale Museum
Posted August 14, 2016 at 5:20 am by Peggy Sue McRae
Orca Whales in South Haro Strait – James Maya photo
The Whale Museum’s 2016 Summer Lecture Series gets off to a start Monday, August 15 at 6:30 pm with a lecture by Michael Weiss on the social structure of our resident killer whales linking environment, social structure, and culture. This talk will explore the drivers of social change and the cultural consequences of these changes, and discuss the future of research into the temporal dynamics of killer whale culture.
Weiss co-founded the Orca Behavior Institute with Monika Wieland. The OBI mission is to conduct non-invasive research on the Southern Resident Killer Whales, with a focus on social associations, acoustics, and behavioral response to prey availability.
Michael’s fascination with whales started at a young age with the gray whales of San Ignacio Lagoon in Mexico. He started working with the Southern Residents in 2013, and presented his first research project at an American Cetacean Society conference in November 2014. He’s interned at The Whale Museum, volunteered on Soundwatch, and currently works as a naturalist for Western Prince Whale and Wildlife Tours.
The lecture is free to the public. For more information, call (360) 378-4710 ext. 30.
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Categories: Around Here
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