Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
50th Anniversary Program Highlight
Marine Ecology: Oceans of Life
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.
Northern elephant seals off Southern
Long-term ecological studies are essential for making
California where HSWRI has been
sound management decisions for long-lived species like
conducting a diversity of research
since 1978.
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.
The lake is an important staging area
for migrating shorebirds and seabirds.
Dr. Brent Stewart and Dr. Pamela
Yochem in 2007 aboard the Swedish
Icebreaker Oden in Antarctica's Ross
Sea while conducting surveys of
marine mammals and seabirds.
Indian River Lagoon bottlenose
dolphins sighted while conducting an
aerial survey to estimate abundance.
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 esigler@hswri.org.
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN: 95-2304740