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POPs, Plastic and Hawai`i's Marine Life
Earth Month Lecture Series
| Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i and Ecology Club UHM present "POPs, Plastic & Hawai`i`s Marine Life" - a series of free, public lectures in April, 2013. Everyone is welcome to attend these educational events on Monday evenings from 6:30pm at UH Manoa. Free on street parking along University Avenue after 5:30pm. Click here for flyer. |
| “Plastic: Impacts on Our Health, Marine Life and the Environment" Monday 8th April, 2013, 6:30pm-8:00pm UHM Architecture auditorium click here for flyer |
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Suzanne Frazer, Co-Founder of Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai‘i, will discuss the issue of plastic in the environment and how it is both harmful to our health as well as marine life. Learn about chemicals in plastic, POPs (persistant organic pollutants), the impacts of marine debris on marine life and solutions beneficial to our health, marine life and the environment. Suzanne Frazer founded B.E.A.C.H. with Dean Otsuki in 2006. Suzanne and Dean received the 2012 Astrid and Donald Monson Community Action Award given for outstanding contributions to protecting Hawai`i's environment and marine life. They received the 2008 Living Reef Award which honours groups and individuals that go above and beyond in their actions to make a difference in preserving the reefs. |
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| Nurdles photo: © Suzanne Frazer | ||
| “Persistant Organic Pollutants in Endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals” Monday 15th April, 2013, 6:30pm-8:00pm UHM Architecture auditorium click here for flyer |
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| Jessica Lopez, field research supervisor for the NOAA Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, will discuss the biology of endangered Hawaiian monk seals and the threats faced by the species, including entanglement in marine debris and persistant organic pollutants (POPs). Jessica will discuss the results of her recent research into POPs in Hawaiian monk seals and how this issue fits in the context of monk seal health and survival. Jessica Lopez has worked for the Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research as a contractor for NOAA's Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program since 2005. Her work with NOAA has included five summer field seasons in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands studying Hawaiian monk seals. Jessica completed her Master of Science degree in Marine Science at Hawai`i Pacific University and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. |
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| Hawaiian monk seal photo: © James Watt | ||
| “POPs and Marine Debris in Hawai‘i’s Whales and Dolphins” Monday 22nd April, 2013, 6:30pm-8:00pm UHM Architecture auditorium click here for flyer |
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Dr. Brenda Jensen will discuss the diversity and unique ecology of the whales and dolphins found in Hawai‘i. Dr. Jensen will present her team’s recent findings and ongoing research measuring persistant organic pollutants and marine debris in marine mammals as well as evidence for impacts of contaminants on whale and dolphin health. Dr. Brenda Jensen is an Associate Professor of Biology and the Associate Dean of the College of Natural and Computational Sciences at Hawai‘i Pacific University. Dr. Jensen is a Co-Principal Investigator of the HPU Marine Mammal Stranding Program. She received her PhD in Biological Oceanography from Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and completed a Post-doctoral Fellowship at Boston University. |
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| Humpback whales photo: © Silke Stuckenbrock | ||
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“Assessing the Toxicity of Plastic Marine Debris & Harm to Marine Life”
Monday 29th April, 2013, 6:30pm-8:00pm UHM Architecture auditorium click here for flyer |
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| Dr. Magnus Engwall will speak about his research into the issue of POPs and what he has found in his investigation of plastic marine debris from Hawai‘i’s beaches. He will share recent findings from using new methods to detect toxic compounds on plastic marine debris and assess the risk of these chemicals to ecosystems. Dr. Magnus Engwall is a Professor of Ecotoxicology at Örebro University, Sweden and Director of MTM, an environmental research centre for risk assessment of persistant organic pollutants at Örebro University. At MTM he leads a research group with two areas of research - one focusing on avian developmental toxicology and the other on the development and application of methods for risk assessment of complex environmental mixtures of persistant organic pollutants. Currently he is a visiting professor at U.C. Davis Department of Environmental Toxicology where he is conducting research into plastic marine debris. He received his PhD in Ecotoxicology from Uppsala University, Sweden. |
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| Kahuku Beach photo: © Suzanne Frazer | ||
The "POPs, Plastic and Hawai`i's Marine Life" Earth Month lecture series is sponsored by:
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