2010 - the International Year of Biodiversity - how are we doing?

This week, some 16,000 scientists, natural resource managers, advocates and politicians are gathered in Nagoya, Japan for the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP10)  to the Convention on Biodiversity (see http://www.cbd.int/cop10/).  This is a particularly auspicious meeting in many respects. 
Some of you may recall from my blog last February (see http://sealifeceo.blogspot.com/2010/02/2010-international-biodiversity-year.html), that 2010 was declared by the United Nations as the International Year of Biodiversity.  As such it is the culimination of many years of global programs designed to accelerate the rate of biodiversity conservation and/or reduce threats to biodiversity.  I was involved in the design of several of those initiatives over the preceding decade (see http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/307/5707/212) and so am particularly interested in checking in on the outcomes of that work.

To help with that assessment, a paper was published in Science yesterday by dozens of  leading biologists - see www.sciencexpress.org / 26 October 2010 / Page 1 / 10.1126/science.1194442. The paper draws largely from the increasingly comprehensive IUCN Red List which now has data on nearly 28,000 species.  The results show a continuing downward trend in the diversity of life on earth.  For example, nearly one fifth of all vertebrate species are threatened  ranging from 13% of birds to 41% of amphibians.  One mammal is thought to have gone extinct (the Yangtze River dolphin) in the past 10 years, making it the first such megafauna species loss since the Caribbean monk seal in the 1950s.

Not surprisingly, conservation programs have clearly been most effective in developed countries, but are still barely adequate to keep pace with major threats such as habitat loss, invasive species and climate change.  Of particular interest to programs at the Alaska SeaLife Center have been global efforts to reduce some fishing impacts on marine mammals and seabirds.  The recovery of the humpback whale is cited as a particularly successful, but rare, example of effective international efforts.

Reading this paper and the daily reports from Nagoya, it is clear that much needs to be done if our children are to enjoy the same diversity of life on earth that we have experienced.  I welcome your thoughts on what more the Alaska SeaLife Center might do to promote greater stewardship of species under immediate threat as well as those species that we all depend on for our long term well being.

To See Ourselves as Others Might: Snapshot of 2010 Visitor Survey

This year we again took the pulse of our summer visitors to explore what they liked or disliked and to learn a little more about their expectations and experience.  Thanks to everyone who participated in the survey!  Of the 144 visitors randomly surveyed, 90% were from the USA with 10% international.  The most common States of visitor origin were Alaska, followed by California, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Ohio and Texas.  Unlike 2009,when 30% of our participants in the survey were repeat visitors, this year 88% of our visitors were first time visitors... we believe that reflects the strong growth in independent travel to Alaska this summer as well as the inclement weather that was experienced throughout the summer (causing more visitors to seek "all weather" experiences).  Our summer overall visitation was up nearly 16% over 2009 (but still down some 15% from 2008 numbers).

Some key findings about our visitors:

Evidently our tourism brochures and "word of mouth" advertizing (through hotel and tourism networks or friends and relatives) are key to atracting new visitors to the center.  With Lexie Mizeras as our new VP or Marketing and Philanthropy, we'll continue to further evaluate additional marketing options in the year ahead - for example, our social media membership increased by >300% in 2010... how might that help visitor marketing in 2011?

It is always interesting to assess what role a major destination such as the Alaska SeaLife Center plays in the regional tourism economy.

These data reaffirm the economic significance of the SeaLife Center to Seward and the South Central Alaska tourism industry generally and reinforce casual feedback from guests about the value of having the Center so conveniently located to the majority of Alaska's population and visitor pathways.

Most Enjoyed:

This graph shows the most popular exhibits and reinforces the importance of live animals to the visitor experience.  Interestingly, visitors this year also mentioned more than 25 other elements of their experience specifically (from Puffin encounters to OTK Exhibit) which gives a good sense of the diversity of attractions that the Center has for different audiences.  Equally significantly 82% of visitors did not identify anything about their experience that they disliked!  The only aspect of visitor experience that was mentioned more than once as a 'dislike" was the early closure of our cafe!  We are currently evaluating how we might expand that service in 2012.

Want to See

We again asked visitors what they would most like to see in future visits to the SeaLife Center.  Not surprisingly, sea otters were most frequently mentioned, followed by whales and interactive exhibits.  That feedback continues to guide medium term exhibit and capital development planning - stay tuned!

Visitor Perception of the Condition of Alaska's Seas

This year we also sought to assess the impact of our exhibits on visitors.  While the data are only preliminary, it was interesting to see, how people perceive the condition of Alaska's marine ecosystems before and after their visit.  Clearly our messages about Alaska's sustainable fisheries management programs and other aspects of marine stewardship have an impact on their perception!  At the same time, 75% of visitors expressed concern for the (current and potential) impacts of climate change on Alaska's seas so there is evidently a strong undercurrent of concern for the future condition of Alaska's seas. Equally interesting was their feedback about specific new knowledge they had obtained as a result of their visit - respondents cited more than 30 new "factoids" ranging from biology (how to distinguish puffin species) to behavior (how sea urchins "give hugs").

Finally, we asked visitors to sum up the 'value for money' of their experience at the Center - the results were a very encouraging reinforcement of our mission efforts to "generate and share scientific knowledge to promote understanding and stewardship of Alaska’s marine ecosystems".

In the year ahead we will continue customer surveys to better understand our visitors (and non visitors) and what more we might do to broaden our visitor base and ensure the effectiveness of our messaging - those results will be used to guide marketing, education and stewardship programs - we welcome your ongoing feedback.

Getting Ready for A Whale's Tale

The movie "Everybody Loves Whales" is currently being filmed in Alaska (see http://www.adn.com/2010/06/11/1319289/hollywood-comes-to-alaska-to-shoot.html).  Filming moves down to the Alaska SeaLife Center later this week and so as part of our annual maintenance cycle and in preparation for the film crew, we have temporarily drained our large sea lion exhibit and are working on cleaning the acrylic windows and some minor renovations to the rock work.

It is a rare sight to see Woody temporarily displaced from this window by our hardworking facilities and husbandry team and so I thought you'd enjoy seeing just what it takes to maintain our exhibits from the inside perspective!  We completed the same task last year in the harbor seal exhibit and the results were outstanding.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this exhibit appears once it receives "the Hollywood treatment"!

For anyone planning a visit to Seward this week, please note that all galleries will be closed on Friday 8th October, however the gift shop will remain open and we'll be open as usual on Saturday at 10 am - we regret any inconvenience. 

Keefer Brown - Making a Difference

Keefer Brown preparing to handover his gift

(pictured here with his mother, Kim Brown and Seward City manager, Dr Phillip Oates).

Today we had the privilege to host a remarkable young Alaskan.  Twelve year old Keefer Brown, of Wasilla, Alaska presented the Alaska SeaLife Center with a donation of $1,300 which he has raised over the past summer to promote harbor seal research and rehabilitation.    Keefer was accompanied by his parents and grandparents who helped him to design and market a range of candles which he had decorated with items he found on the beaches of Seldovia, such as shells and seaweed.  Keefer spent much of this summer chatting with visitors and tourists alike at the Herring Bay Mercantile in Seldovia and at the Seldovia Harbor ramp selling his candle creations. 

Keefer's Candles (photo courtesy Kim Brown)

Initially, Keefer’s goal was to raise $50 to “adopt” a harbor seal through the ASLC SeaStars program. However, once he discovered the interest of visitors and the community in marine issues, he quickly raised his fundraising target by several orders of magnitude. Such was his success in fundraising that he also managed to convince visitors to also donate to marine research and education! He recounts with his wry sense of humor how he had to explain to one visitor just what a donation actually means…. clearly he is an amazing communicator, an exceptional entrepreneur and a practicing philanthropist.

Keefer learning the tricks of the trade - a budding mammalogist in the making?

Keefer’s is most passionate about protecting the environment and its wildlife. He walks the talk in the way he lives his life – he makes healthy food choices, practices recycling and uses strict criteria to determine what he purchases so as to avoid over consumption. His absolute favorite animals are harbor seals, although he also learned today, while visiting with Maxwell and Mocha, that spotted seals can also be pretty cute.

Keefer, his parents and our talented Mammal staff learning about  harbor seals

His mother, Kim Brown describes Keefer as a “wonderful young man who is always ready with a smile and possesses an unfailing kindness that touches everyone he meets.” Those qualities were evident in abundance as we spent the day wending our way around the SeaLife Center – he was enthralled by everything that we do and has endless enthusiasm to learn more. He faces a tough choice as he moves forward with his career education – paleontology or marine biology or both?

Keefer enjoying the antics of our harbor seals in their main exhibit

Words cannot adequately express just how moving it was to receive this generous gift from Keefer – the closest analog to how I think we all felt during this morning’s ceremony was that we were witnessing a true environmental hero emerging just like being ringside at the annual CNN heroes program  – Keefer is an inspiration to us all. Perhaps Mayor Willard Dunham, who has been a driving force in establishing the Center, summed it up best when he noted with just a hint of a proud tear in the corner of his eye, that “seeing Keefer’s commitment today reminds us all of why the SeaLife center was built and of how inspirational it has become to young Alaskans”.

Keefer with Seward Mayor and long serving ASLC Board Member, Willard Dunham

I have asked Keefer and his parents to be our guests at the 2011 Alaska Marine Gala – I hope you have the chance to meet him there.

Ocean Today Kiosk at ASLC to Develop Local Content

Describing OTK design and development to Coastal America Partners

(all photos by Nate Chambers who was also a member of the OTK design team)

Yesterday, Alaska region representatives of the 16 Federal agencies who comprise the Coastal America partnership (see http://www.coastalamerica.gov/) met at the Alaska SeaLife Center to review the new Ocean Today Kiosk (OTK). Installed in the early summer, the ASLC OTK is the latest addition to the national OTK network. The OTK network began with a major installation on the floor of the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian Institutions’ National Museum of Natural History in 1998 and now comprises some 17 aquaria who are designated by Coastal America as Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers.
The kiosk provides informative, entertaining and up-to-date short videos from researchers, managers and educators under the four main headings of:
• Ocean news

• Ocean Life

• Ocean Science and Technology

• Recent Discoveries

Smithsonian staff work closely with NOAA staff to generate content for the kiosk and content and updates are then ‘pushed’ out to each OTK daily.

OTK Installation features two display screens and is located on the core visitor traffic route at the ASLC

Technology for the OTKs is sponsored by Panasonic. Funding for the OTK was provided by Coastal America partners, with additional installation support provided the National Parks Service Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center. The ASLC OTK has greatly enriched visitor understanding of national ocean issues – we estimate that between 15-20% of our visitors pause to interact with the exhibit. Interaction time varies from 1-20 minutes.

Network members are now exploring how to upload local content to share with other network members – the Alaska Coastal America team yesterday approved a proposal to generate one video in each of the four core menu areas ready to share nationally by May 2011.
We welcome your suggestions – what Alaska content do you believe is most likely to have national interest?

And the winner is...

Events Coordinator Julie Jokinen and Aviculturists Heidi Cline and Seth Wagner pictured with Princess Cruise staff and Ididaride tour staff

Photo courtesy of Princess Tours

We were delighted to receive news this week that the Alaska SeaLife Center & Puffin Experience has been selected as the shore excursion of the season in the Port of Seward in 2010.  Awarded by one of our leading tourism partners, Princess Tours, this prestigious award is fitting recognition for the extraordinary efforts of our marketing, education, exhibits and husbandry staff.  Our behind the scenes (BTS) encounters have proven exceptionally popular this summer and so it is gratifying for all staff involved to know that their hard work and expertise is appreciated by our visitors and partners.

For anyone who has not yet been on a BTS, we strongly encourage you to do so - not only are they a great opportunity to learn about our animals and birds, they also provide you with a personalized glimpse into the skill that underpins our animal husbandry program.

Thank you again to Princess Tours and the many visitors who supported our BTS programs in 2010 - we are continuing to work on those programs and expect to offer additional encounters in 2011 - stay tuned!

SeaLife Abounds in Palmer!!

Wineck Barn: The ASLC Pavilion at the 2010 State Fair

(right next to the Red Gate)

(all photos here courtesy of Nate Chambers)

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of showing my visiting family from Australia some of the very best that Alaska has to offer as we toured around the 2010 State Fair in Palmer.  My sister was simply amazed to find jellyfish and other assorted marine life in the midst of an inland agricultural town!

Perhaps she would not have been so amazed if she understod just how skilled our education, exhibits and husbandry teams are at promoting public understanding of marine life - the State Fair exhibit is just the latest in a long line of public outreach events where we magically give the public a chance to experience Alaska's amazing marine life from the comfort of a dry vantage point.

The theme of this years exhibit is "Growing up in Alaska's Ocean Nurseries" and each element of the exhibit picks up on the theme of just how important our oceans are as nurseries for the many species we depend on and enjoy.  The eider exhibit above is just one example of species that has local, national and global significance.

Perhaps the most visually compelling element of the exhibit is the collection of milk bottles (Matanuska milk of course!) that demonstrate the role of milk in mammalian development...

The State Fair exhibit really highlights the amazing creative design skills of our staff and their ability to deliver a high quality education and entertainment experience. For example, I had watched Laurie Stuart draw the whale that is the backdrop to the milk exhibit and was incredibly impressed by her artistic talents - my sister was equally entralled with the story that her drawing told!  That same theme of great story told thru great exhibitry was replicated as we moved through the barn - it really was hard to believe that were in a barn in Palmer... and I guess that is the epitome of an effective exhibit.

If you haven't already been to the State Fair, you really should plan to go and make sure you stop by the Wineck Barn before this amazing, but temporary, exhibit is temporarily dissassembled... if you really can't make it, the good news is that all these exhibits are designed to be re-used; the main tanks (provided with the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation) will be a mainstaty of future outreach exhibits... their next public outing will likely be at the Alaska Marine Gala in Anchorage on January 16th... stay tuned!