American Cetacean Society

Thank you to everyone who joined the American Cetacean Society International Conference yesterday! You were part of a truly international event we had participation from over 40 countries! Did you miss the webinar? No worriesThe meeting was recorded. Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com//UCJ_4GEqiuS-jCQ6JGi/playlistsonce If you are interested in supporting our efforts to continue advocacy for whale conservation and education, please donate here: https://www.acsonline....org/. We also invite you to support ACS by becoming a member of our organization here: https://www.acsonline.org/membership We’d love for you to join our community that works together to protect whales, dolphins, porpoises and their habitats. Want an official conference tee or mug to remember the event? There are still a few days to order your fave design at: https://www.bonfire.com/store/the-acs-shop/ Thanks again for all your support, we couldn’t protect cetaceans without you!

Want to help the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales? Check out this Year of the Right Whale event on Wednesday: Come chat with experts about North Atlantic right whales! We'll be here to answer questions and tell you how you can help right whales RIGHT NOW! This event will be held via Facebook Live.

COOL SCIENCE SATURDAY: People often ask if it’s really possible for vaquita to recover as a species from just a few individuals. New research confirms the answe...r is YES. Vaquita has the genes to survive! So, let’s continue to fight for and fund protection for the THREE CALVES who were recently sighted. For my nerdy friends, the science here is fascinating. A brief explanation... It is generally believed that when a population is reduced too far, inbreeding destroys genetic variance (heterozygosity) in the genome (DNA, mDNA, etc.). In biology this is called a ‘population bottleneck.’ As offspring inherit more harmful mutations (deleterious alleles), they become less and less likely to survive and the species dies out. BUT... in an isolated population where interbreeding is the norm for thousands of years, the genetic composition is designed for low numbers. Deleterious alleles are eliminated over many generations for the species to survive. Makes sense, right? Turns out, VAQUITAS have survived more than 200,000 years with almost no genetic variance in their genome (only 0.01% heterozygosity!). This 2020 graph by Morin and colleagues shows the heterozygosity of several dozen species (remember, high heterozygosity = susceptibility to bottlenecking if the population crashes). Notice that vaquita is at the very bottom. In conclusion, the species can recover from just a few individuals because it hasn't suffered lethal genetic decline. STOP THE GILLNETS AND VAQUITA IS SAVED FROM EXTINCTION. It’s as simple as that. Ok, not so simple politically. Want to dig a little deeper? I’ve linked the full scientific paper and Vaquita in the comments. PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Jefferson

Want to celebrate our Virtual Conference now being available to watch for FREE on the ACS YouTube Channel?! What better way than with some awesome Science of Whales Conference merch? LAST CALL to snag the limited edition conference logo design on a tee or a mug. Sales close TOMORROW night! Get your orders in by Saturday at midnight EST to ensure you don't miss out. Link to watch the conference sessions is in the comments... https://www.bonfire.com/the-science-of-whales-conference-t/ See more

ACS VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 2021 - January 30 - TO REGISTER, click here: https://bit.ly/3qc9Dw5 Attendance is FREE!

Miss our ACS Virtual Conference on Saturday, January 30? Watch all sessions from SCIENCE OF WHALES: Understanding the History - Informing Conservation Today on our YouTube channel! Presenters:... Erich Hoyt, Gianna Minton, Peter Corkeron, J.G.M. ‘Hans’ Thewissen, Lori Marino, Michelle Fournet, Louisa Ponnampalam. https://www.youtube.com//UCJ_4GEqiuS-jCQ6JGiKCo2w/playlists

Orcas of Sri Lanka: citizen-science initiative "Orca Project of Sri Lanka" (OPSL) uses photos to identify and count orcas, and compiles reports/data on sighting...s and behaviours. OPSL’s had identified about six pods of 27 orcas (as of 2016). Their prey includes sperm whales and blue whales. Some interesting insights into their natural history and behavior. See more

Did you miss our Virtual Conference, Science of Whales: understanding the history, informing conservation today? Don’t worry! All sessions are now available on the ACS YouTube Channel! Click here: https://youtube.com/playlist to watch at your convenience and catch all of the awesome cetacean talks from the conference that was live on January 30th. Thanks again to everyone who tuned in 1,700 people from over 40 countries registered! It’s been our most international confer...ence to date! #ScienceOfWhales2021 See more

Have you ever wondered how researchers ID right whales?

Registration for our upcoming American Cetacean SocietyVirtual Conference, is now OPEN! Theme: SCIENCE OF WHALES: Understanding the History - Informing Conservation Today Date: Saturday, January 30, 2021 Starting time: 09:30 am, US Pacific Time... Ending time: 5 pm (17:00), US Pacific Time Cost: FREE Presenters: Erich Hoyt, Gianna Minton, Peter Corkeron, J.G.M. ‘Hans’ Thewissen, Lori Marino, Michelle Fournet, Louisa Ponnampalam. Register Today! To view our schedule (times are US Pacific Time), go to the comments of this post.

A huge victory for all Arctic wildlife!