Conservation Connection

Latest Episodes:

Erik Sotka: Evolutionary Ecologist at Grice Marine Lab | History's Logbook | Episode 032 Feb 09, 2020

Show notes

Listen in as we sit down with Erik Sotka, an evolutionary ecologist with the Grice Marine Lab at the College of Charleston. He's an expert on invasive species and the ways in which they're changing the ecological make up of marine habitats in the eastern United States. Did you know that the vast majority of introduced species do not go on to become invasive, but instead fizzle out? Erik Sotka is fascinated by why some species succeed where others fail, and the effects that they may have once they're established!

Click here to learn more about our nonprofit: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

Rafael Pacchiano: Former Mexican Minister of the Environment | The Plight of the Vaquita | Episode 031 Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

Listen in to this EarthX micro-episode to hear what the Mexican government is doing for the critically endangered vaquita! This species of shy porpoise is endemic to the Gulf of California, and is on the brink of extinction. Often caught as bycatch in illegal nets set for a species of fish called totoaba, the number of vaquita remaining in the wild is estimated to be fewer than 30 individuals!

If you'd like to learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

If you'd like to learn more about vaquitas, click here: http://www.vivavaquita.org

Janet Neilson: Humpback Whale Biologist at WhaleFest 2019 | Longterm Monitoring of Humpback Whales | Episode 030 Jan 27, 2020

Show notes

Join us for our final interview to come out of WhaleFest 2019 as we sit down with Janet Neilson, a whale biologist who works at Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Janet's job is to understand how many whales are in Glacier Bay each summer, and to figure out where they're concentrating! She and her team use a variety of techniques to monitor their whales, and spend the entirety of the off-season analyzing all the data they collect in the few short months that the humpbacks visit the park. If you've ever wondered what the day-to-day life of a whale researcher is like, this is a must-listen episode!

If you'd like to learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

If you'd like to learn more about Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, click here: https://www.nps.gov/glba/index.htm

If you'd like to explore the "humpback yearbook" click here: http://alaskahumpbacks.org

Blue Latitudes | Turning Oil Rigs into Coral Reefs! | Episode 029 Jan 20, 2020

Show notes

Join us for another episode recorded in Dallas at EarthX 2019! This week we're sitting with Emily Hazelwood and Amber Jackson-Sparks, two leaders in the Rigs-to-Reefs movement and the co-founders of Blue Latitudes! Their company designs sustainable, creative, and cost effective solutions for environmental issues in the offshore industry. Offshore oil rigs are massive pieces of infrastructure that are put in place for decades at a time to extract petroleum, but once the oil reserve has been depleted a new issue arrises: what to do about the infrastructure left behind? Emily and Amber argue that after decades in the ocean the structure has built up an incredible amount of sea life, and that it's beneficial to allow everything below the surface to remain. In fact, these man-mad oases can become important safe-houses for marine life in an increasingly over-harvested ocean! To learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com To learn more about Blue Latitudes, click here: http://www.rig2reefexploration.org

Mayumi Arimitsu: Research Ecologist at WhaleFest 2019 | Why Are The Birds Dead? | Episode 028 Jan 12, 2020

Show notes

Join us for another gripping episode coming all the way from Sitka, Alaska! We sit down at WhaleFest 2019 across the table from Mayumi Arimitsu, a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center, to discuss the shift that the mysterious "Blob" has caused to the food chain in the eastern Pacific! A massive die-off of critical sea birds puzzled scientists, and Mayumi's work has helped clarify some of the possible links and mechanisms behind it!

To learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

To learn more about the Alaska Science Center, click here: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/asc/

Candace Chandra: Fresh Food Connect | Fighting Food Deserts | Episode 027 Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

Join us for another EarthX episodes with the CEO of Fresh Food Connect, Candace Chandra! Fresh Food Connect is a tech platform that allows small-scale urban agriculturalists to connect with the people who need their produce the most, and was launched as a way to lessen the impact of food deserts- urban areas with no easy access to fresh produce. It's important to remember that environmental issues go beyond just preserving habitats or species: if your family has no access to nutritious food you've got a lot more on your mind than trying to go green.

If you would like to learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

If you would like to learn more about Fresh Food Connect, click here: http://www.freshfoodconnect.org

Rob Suryan: Research Ecologist at WhaleFest 2019 | Forage Fish in Hot Water! | Episode 026 Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

Join us this week as we continue our Sitka WhaleFest series with Rob Suryan, Research Ecologist with the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center and Science Coordinator for Gulf Watch Alaska! Listen in as Rob unravels the mystery behind the disappearance of a critical link in the Alaskan marine food chain! If you've been listening to our other WhaleFest episodes you're probably already familiar with "The Blob", a several year phenomenon of unusually warm water in the northern Pacific ocean. With the appearance of the warm water came a drastic decline in the number of forage fish, a group of fish that serve as a critical food supply to animals higher up the food chain, and Rob's job was to figure out exactly what happened!

To learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

To learn more about the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, click here: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/alaska

To learn more about Gulf Watch Alaska, click here: https://gulfwatchalaska.org

Christian Fritz: K9s 4 Conservation | Turtle Sniffing Dogs | Episode 025 Dec 23, 2019

Show notes

This episode tells the story of how some very special dogs are helping to protect one of the most iconic marine animals found in the US! Listen in to the hilarious Christian Fritz, Founder and Chief of Operations for K9s 4 Conservation, an organization that trains dogs to sniff out sea turtle nests so that marine biologists can protect the precious hatchlings within. Believe us, recording this episode with an adorable pup in the studio was a highlight of our week!

If you'd like to learn more about our nonprofit, click here: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

If you'd like to read more about K9s 4 Conservation, click here: https://www.k9s4conservation.org

Jackie Hildering: The Marine Detective at WhaleFest 2019 | Positive Change | Episode 024 Dec 16, 2019

Show notes

This week's episode is with one of the most driven and passionate guests we've ever had; Jackie Hildering, the keynote speaker at WhaleFest 2019! She calls herself the Marine Detective in part because she always asks the question "Why?", and she believes that a sense of wonder is the most important tool in the conservationist's toolkit. Listen to her journey from the classroom to the co-founder of the Marine Education and Research Society, and all of her crazy stops along the way!

Click here to learn more about our nonprofit: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

Click here to learn more about the Marine Education and Research Society: https://mersociety.org

Click here to learn more about the Marine Detective: https://themarinedetective.com

Guardians of the Kingdom at EarthX 2019 | The Power of VR Films | Episode 023 Dec 08, 2019

Show notes

This week's episode is a power-packed panel of film makers and producers discussing the massive impact that virtual reality films can have for conservation. We sit down with Christophe Balihache (an underwater filmmaker and co-founder of Underwater Earth), Sophie Ansel (a virtual reality filmmaker), Raymond Chavez (a producer for Guardians of the Kingdom), and Susan Grella (an associate producer for emerging media at Vulcan Productions) to hear about the process behind the incredible VR film, Guardians of the Kingdom! The film tells the story of the Tongan people as they transitioned from a whaling economy to one based on eco-tourism.

Click here to learn more about our nonprofit: https://www.lastchanceendeavors.com

Click here to learn more about the VR film Guardians of the Kingdom: https://www.vulcanproductions.com/guardians-of-the-kingdom

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