Land-Sea Symposium

Bull kelp.\Photo by Jose Iselin.

The 9^th annual Cape Perpetua Land-Sea Symposium is coming up on Thursday, Nov. 18, 5:30-7:30 p.m.  Sponsored by the Cape Perpetua Collaborative (of which CoastWatch is one of the partners), the event brings together those who care for the Cape Perpetua area through research and volunteer activities.  The online event is free and open to all.

Event goals:

*Raise awareness of historical and current conservation, research and stewardship of Cape Perpetua region.
*Foster and promote a sense of place and stewardship within the community for the Cape Perpetua region.
*Promote volunteer opportunities and local organizing to support long-term management and conservation for the Cape Perpetua marine reserve.
*Create opportunities for people to collaborate on conservation activities within the Cape Perpetua region, especially those focused on the Cape Perpetua marine reserve.

Keynote speaker, at 5:45 p.m., is Mark Hixon, whose topic is “Larval Dispersal and Connectivity Involving Marine Protected Areas.”  Dr. Hixon is now professor and Hsiao Endowed Chair in Marine Biology at the University of Hawaii.  Long-time ocean advocates in Oregon will remember him from his days at Oregon State University, when he played a key role in educating Oregonians about marine reserves and the research needs they could meet in the years leading up to the creation of Oregon’s set of marine reserves.  In fact, he co-chaired the stakeholder committee that designed the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve. He has studied marine protected areas (MPAs) in various locations globally, and will summarize what is known about connectivity among MPAs and unprotected sites involving ocean dispersal of fish larvae.

At 6:20 there will be an “intermission,” during which the Oregon Coast Aquarium will provide a session on tidepooling.

At 6:35 there will be two short talks:  Dorothy Horn, a PhD candidate at Portland State University (and a familiar speaker to CoastWatch audiences) will discuss the impacts of microplastics; and Scott Heppell, an associate professor of Marine and Freshwater Fisheries Ecology at Oregon State University, will speak on the role of Oregon estuaries in the life cycles of rockfish.

To register for this event, go here.