When people feel cold they can put on a jacket. Sea lions, on the other hand, have a hard time finding a good tailor out in the ocean. So what can they do when they feel a chill? The answer is called thermoregulation. Recently our sea lion demonstrated their method of thermoregulation in the pinniped exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

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My last blog was about how I’d seen the same fin whale fluke three times in the last year. What makes this exciting is that fin whales don’t fluke. If you happen to have read the last blog, you might have been wondering how I figured out that it was the same fin whale all three times. This week’s blog is about how I use the pictures I take to tell whales apart!

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Last Saturday on Halloween day the husbandry staff shared Jack-o-Lanterns with some of the critters of the Aquarium of the Pacific. This week’s blog highlights a couple of the pumpkin encounters.

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Fin whales are the second largest animal in the world, only second to the blue whale. If you were to read up on the fin whale you would probably learn the longest recorded is about 89 feet, they look similar to blues, and that they rarely raise their tale out of the water while diving (fluking). Having read up on fin whales myself numerous times, when I saw a fin whale fluke I couldn’t believe my eyes! And even more amazing, I’ve seen fin whales fluke three times this year!

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Its been a little over a year now that the Aquarium has been conducting informal monthly observations of the Green Sea Turtle colony in the San Gabriel River. This week’s blog is a short summary of what has been seen during that time.

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James B. Wood, PhD is the Aquarium of the Pacific’s director of education. He has published numerous peer-reviewed and popular papers on cephalopod behavior, life history, physiology, and husbandry. Dr.Woods is webmaster of The Cephalopod Page, one of the longest running biological web sites and is a founding executive member and board member for MarineBio.org. He has worked with the Census of Marine Life since 1998 and co-developed one of their pilot species databases–CephBase.

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Dr. Seager is the president and CEO of Population Connection . He attained a PhD in animal ecology and population dynamics and a BSc in Zoology at the University of Wales. Dr. Seager believes there is a clear connection between human population growth and virtually every global challenge from poverty to climate change and from species extinction to the political instability of failed nation-states.

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Professor Zender is an atmospheric physicist and educator. He leads the Climate, Health, Aerosols,Radiation, and Microphysics (CHARM) group in the Department of Earth System Science at UC Irvine. CHARM studies the distribution and fluxes of energy and trace species in Earth's atmosphere. Prior to joining UCI in 1999, Zender received degrees from Harvard, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

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I’ve calculated the number of whales we’ve seen from June 1, 2009 until last week from our logs! What an incredible amount of sightings and the numbers seem to be holding strong daily!

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Miller the sea lion adds his artwork to Sea Fare.

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The Aquarium of the Pacific sea lions have finished their masterpieces that will up for auction at this year’s Sea Fare. This week’s blog is a sneak peek at their artwork.

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Anyone that’s ever chatted with me about whales has probably learned that my all-time favorite animal is the orca a.k.a. killer whale. Out of everything I want to study and be around, orcas are my number one! I’ve recently gotten a report that a pod of orcas are on the way and might be in Long Beach this week!

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The Aquarium of the Pacific launched its new Seafood for the Future program on Tuesday, September 22 with a press event featuring its first-ever Top Dish: Sustainable Seafood Competition with chefs from SAVOR…, McKenna’s on the Bay, Renaissance Long Beach, and Walt’s Wharf. Each contestant was challenged to create their top dish using the featured ingredient of sustainable wild Alaskan halibut. Each dish was presented to the panel of three judges, including: Providence Restaurant's Executive Chef Michael Cimarusti, who has been featured on Iron Chef and Top Chef Masters; Robert Haskall, senior vice president of public affairs, Pacific Life Foundation--the official sponsor of Seafood for the Future; and John Rabe, Off-Ramp radio host on KPCC 89.3 FM. After much deliberation, the judges made the announcement that the sous-vide halibut from McKenna’s on the Bay was the ‘Top Dish’ winner.

To enjoy sustainable seafood at these and other restaurants participating in the new program, look for the Aquarium's Seafood for the Future logo. You'll be rewarded with a FREE ticket to the Aquarium of the Pacific for making a green choice by ordering sustainable seafood at partner locations http://seafoodforthefuture.org/partners/. You are also invited to learn more about sustainable seafood during the Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood: Good for Your Health and Good the Your Planet lecture, Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

Some of our intelligent and highly talented sea lions are learning a new way to express themselves. They are adding the art of painting to their abilities.

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In order to give our tiger shark more space, the Aquarium of the Pacific has transferred her to another AZA-accredited aquarium that has a larger shark exhibit. We wish to commend our husbandry staff who worked countless hours and showed outstanding dedication in caring for this shark. We are thrilled that we had the rare opportunity to have her at the Aquarium of the Pacific these past six months and on exhibit this past summer. She has served as an ambassador to those in the wild and created greater awareness for the plight of tiger sharks and their need for protection. We also have learned much about this species in the process of caring for her. We wish her well in her new home.

Even though our summer has winded down, the blue whales and other wildlife haven’t seemed to notice. The blue whales won’t be here for too much longer, but they’re still showing strong. On my trip out a few days ago I saw six blue whales and bottlenose dolphins! What a trip!

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September 17, 2009—Today the Aquarium of the Pacific was recognized in Washington, DC with a Super Nova Star Award as the most energy efficient business with annual revenues under $50 million. It won for its investment in energy and climate conservation practices, serving as a leader in educating the community about sustainable activities, and embracing energy efficient technologies. The Alliance to Save Energy promotes energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security. Each year the Alliance to Save Energy (http://www.ase.org) recognizes companies, learning institutions, state offices, and government programs for their efforts to promote energy efficiency domestically and/or overseas with Star of Energy Efficiency Awards. Other category winners included 3M Corporation, HUD, and the state of Massachusetts.

Effectively implementing numerous approaches to minimizing energy loss, the Aquarium has had no net increase of kilowatt usage despite a consistent increase in visitors for eight consecutive years. Efficient lighting systems, co-generation, insulating life support systems, high efficiency pool pumps, and leading-edge operating procedures were adopted to comply with ongoing energy initiatives.

In 2008 the Aquarium inaugurated a new environmental classroom, the City of Long Beach's first LEED-platinum certified building. The classroom uses solar power, a green roof, and a rainwater capture system among other energy and water efficiencies. The Aquarium is committed to achieving LEED platinum or gold certification for all future projects. The Aquarium became the first among museums, zoos, and aquariums in the United States to certify its greenhouse gas emissions with a third-party registry. This led it to become a Climate Action Leader with the Climate Action Registry in 2007.

The Aquarium was also recognized for its Green Team task force that organizes environmentally friendly activities such as the annual street cleanup, hosting the Earth Day festival, and encouraging “1% solutions” in as many of its business practices as possible. As the Aquarium continues to grow, one of the underlying objectives of the master plan is to increase attendance by expanding the facility’s capacity without increasing energy and potable water usage. The Aquarium intends to continue to grow without increasing its usage of the electricity “grid.”

The year of Darwinian celebration will close with a Sackler Colloquium devoted expressly to human evolution. Darwin addressed the topic at length in "The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex" (1871). Much has been learned since then, not least from the evidence of paleontology, comparative vertebrate biology, and comparative genomics. This Sackler Colloquium will bring together leading biologists with special expertise about human evolution, both biological and cultural. A preliminary program can be viewed on their website.

Attendance at the Colloquium is limited to 230 registered individuals. Registrations will be accepted only when the registration fee is included and in the order in which they are received. The early registration fee by November 15, 2009 ($300) includes the cost of meals, reception, and banquet. After November 15, 2009, all registrations are $350.

A reduced all-inclusive (meals, reception, and banquet) registration fee of $150 is offered to graduate students and postdocs who register by November 15, 2009. The NAS has provided funds to supplement the expenses of participating graduate students and postdocs up to $125 for hotel costs and up to $150 for air travel (see award qualification details on the registration page). Awards will be approved on a first come basis when accompanied by the registration fee. Reimbursements will be paid after the Colloquium, upon documentation of qualifying expenses.

Registration is available on their website.