CFOS Keynote Seminar: 'When Predators Turn into Prey'

April 9, 2021

Alice Bailey

The College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences will hold its weekly seminar on Wednesday, April 14, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. via Zoom. The talk will be offered by Terrie Williams, who is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the director of the Center for Marine Mammal Research and Conservation at the University of California Santa Cruz. 

"When Predators Turn into Prey: Physiological and Ecological Consequences of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Arctic Mammals"

For decades, biologists have reported a steady decline in the population size of many iconic large marine and terrestrial mammals. Often, the primary threat to survival is attributed to habitat destruction resulting from development, pollution, the degradation of critical resources, altered physical risks, and climatic events. Nowhere is this challenge more apparent than in polar mammals living on or under diminishing Arctic ice. The first line of defense by animals is to move out of harm’s way, but relatively little is known about the biology of escape in this highly specialized mammalian group, or their capacity to respond to unanticipated disturbances.

Williams has 35 years of research experience concerning the energetics, biomechanics, and thermoregulation of terrestrial and aquatic mammals such as African lions, elephants, narwhals, dolphins, polar bears, otters, and Weddell seals. By examining the functional relationships between animals and their environment, she strives to understand the ecological significance of a species and the physiological adaptations required for survival in a constantly changing world. 

Join Zoom meeting

Meeting ID: 880 8296 4152, Passcode: 064031

Please email Andrés López at jalopez2@alaska.edu for more information.