When most people think of seabirds, they picture the familiar species found along BC's shorelines and coastal waters...but what lies over the horizon? Some 40-50 miles off the coast of Vancouver Island the continental shelf drops off and an entirely different ecosystem begins, one populated by tens of millions of birds which call the open ocean home and rarely stray within sight of land. The pelagic waters of BC are part of a dynamic ocean environment in which shifting currents and strong upwelling attract and sustain huge numbers of seabirds. Some species breed nearby, while others travel from opposite ends of the earth to feed in the rich waters off the coast. Anybody who has spent time offshore will have caught at least a glimpse of some of these remarkable birds, but this talk will provide a behind-the-scenes look into their biology and ecology.
From Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic to South Georgia Island in the Southern Ocean, Mark's passion for seabirds has taken him around the globe. Although he specializes in Arctic species, Mark's recent work has focused on learning more about some of BC's most interesting and enigmatic seabirds including rhinoceros and Cassin's auklets - two species which breed and winter in our waters. Mark spent many years living in Bamfield and now resides in Victoria where he works for the Wildlife Research Division of Environment Canada studying colonial seabirds. In addition to his work with the government, Mark is also a founding member of the High Arctic Gull Research Group, a collaborative team of scientists currently conducting research on some of the rarest and least-known seabirds in the world.
http://raincoasteducation.org/education-programs/speaker-series
=0D=0A=DTSTART:19691231 DTEND:19700101 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR