Science on Tap featuring Dr. Bradley M. Wetherbee
Sharks: Tracking, Not Attacking
Speaker: Dr. Bradley M. Wetherbee from University of Rhode Island
Thursday, May 23rd from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR*
*This event takes place in Oceans Ballroom, please enter via the ballroom entrance

Join us as we host shark expert, Dr. Brad Wetherbee, for a thrilling look at how sharks are tagged and tracked. Dr. Wetherbee was recently featured on an episode of Georgia Aquarium’s Ocean Mysteries.

Recent advances in satellite telemetry have allowed an unprecedented ability to follow the movements of sharks over long distances and long durations. Understanding movements and migrations of sharks is vital for delineating boundaries of populations, understanding mechanisms of their movements and gaining insight into their vulnerability to fisheries. Many of these sharks regularly cross international borders and are sharks without a country, further complicating conservation of their populations. Like most animals, sharks respond to the availability of food, opportunities to mate, and environmental cues such as water temperature and these are all involved in driving the movement patterns of the sharks. Tiger sharks exhibit impressive oceanic and coastal wanderings of thousands of miles; mako sharks move great distances in a short time with movements tied to water temperature and food availability. Sand tiger sharks, such as those on exhibit in Georgia Aquarium undergo predictable seasonal migrations along the US East Coast, although males and females have different destinations. This talk will take you on a journey with the sharks and reveal where they go and delve into why they might be moving the way that they do.

Science on Tap featuring Dr. Danielle Dixson
“Smells like home: how odor influences important decisions on coral reefs”
Speaker: Dr. Danielle Dixson from Georgia Institute of Technology
Thursday, June 6th from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom

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Non-Member: Buy Now

Something smells fishy! Join us as we host Dr. Danielle Dixson from Georgia Institute of Technology.

When thinking about the marine environment we do not often consider the role that odor plays. As humans, our olfactory system, or sense of smell, is not very effective underwater. However, the ocean is full of important odor cues that can provide information for all kinds of marine life. For example, odor can be used on a small scale such as for identifying family members, figuring out if a strange fish is a friend or enemy, and for navigating around the reef. The importance of odors in the oceans on a larger scale is just beginning to be unraveled. Some of what we are learning now has to do with fish larvae (the babies). They spend a period of their childhood in the open ocean to develop away from predators. When they finish this life stage, they must locate a good coral reef habitat to live. Odor cues have been shown to play an important role in this process, and the conservation ramifications of this are rapidly coming to light.

Bio: Danielle is originally from Minnesota, where at an early age she fell in love with the marine environment. She completed her undergraduate degree from the University of Tampa before moving to Queensland, Australia to commence a PhD at James Cook University. Her PhD research investigated the use of chemical cues for settlement site selection by coral reef fish, but she has also done extensive research on the impact ocean acidification will have on the coral reef fish community; discovering that increased carbon dioxide impairs the cognitive ability of coral reef fish. After finishing her PhD, Danielle joined the Georgia Institute of Technology as a post-doc working with Prof. Mark Hay. While primarily based at the Fiji research station, she investigated the role chemical cues play in settlement selection and the impact this has on marine protected areas. Danielle recently accepted a professor position at Georgia Tech which she will begin in the fall. Danielle's research aims to understand role chemical cues play in the marine system and how anthropogenic activity such as land use change, overfishing and ocean acidification alter the chemical information; a better understanding of this will allow for more effective conservation measures to be implemented.

Science on Tap featuring Chet Van Duzer
“Sea monsters on medieval and Renaissance maps”
Speaker: Chet Van Duzer, Research Curator at the Library of Congress
Thursday, July 25th from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom

The quest for “Nessey” - Join us as we host Chet Van Dozer, Research Curator at the Library of Congress and Invited Research Scholar at the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island.

From dragons and serpents to many-armed beasts that preyed on ships and sailors alike, sea monsters have terrified mariners across all ages and cultures and have become the subject of many tall tales from the sea. Accounts of these creatures have also inspired cartographers and mapmakers, many of whom began decorating their maps with them to indicate unexplored areas or areas about which little was known. Whether swimming vigorously, gamboling amid the waves, attacking ships, or simply displaying themselves for our appreciation, the sea monsters that appear on medieval and Renaissance maps are fascinating and visually engaging. Yet despite their appeal, these monsters have never received the scholarly attention that they deserve.

In Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps, Chet Van Duzer analyzes the most important examples of sea monsters on medieval and Renaissance maps produced in Europe. Van Duzer begins with the earliest mappaemundi on which these monsters appear in the tenth century and continues to the end of the sixteenth century and, along the way, sheds important light on the sources, influences, and methods of the cartographers who drew or painted them.

A beautifully designed visual reference work, Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps will be important not only in the history of cartography, art, and zoological illustration, but also in the history of the geography of the “marvelous” and of Western conceptions of the ocean.

Chet Van Duzer is a Research Curator at the Library of Congress and an Invited Research Scholar at the John Carter Brown Library in Providence, Rhode Island. He has published extensively on medieval and Renaissance maps in journals such as Imago Mundi, Terrae Incognitae and Word & Image. He is also the author of Johann Schöner’s Globe of 1515: Transcription and Study, the first detailed analysis of one of the earliest surviving terrestrial globes that includes the New World; and (with John Hessler) Seeing the World Anew: The Radical Vision of Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 & 1516 World Maps. His book Sea Monsters on Medieval and Renaissance Maps has just been published by the British Library.

MORE SPEAKERS COMING IN 2013

Friday, August 30th with Dr. Al Dove – special Science on Tap for whale shark week

Saturday, September 7th with Dr. James Powell – topic: manatees

Thursday, October 24th with Dr. James Porter – topic: coral reefs

Tuesday, December 3rd with Fred Sharpe – topic: humpback whales

July and August, 2013 – Join us for a “hands on” lecture experience as we join Georgia Aquarium’s team in Mexico for our annual eco-tour. Click here for more information.

Breakfast with Biologists is a morning lecture series where guests dine on breakfast fare by Wolfgang Puck Catering in Georgia Aquarium's Oceans Ballroom while our biologists tell you about everything aquatic, from working with our animals at the Aquarium and in the field to the problems facing marine life today.

Time: 8:30 - 10 a.m.

Cost:

• Member - $18.95, plus tax
  
• Non-Member- Adult: $20.95; Child (age 3-12): $15.95; Senior (age 65 and up): $18.95, plus tax
  
• Non-Member, including Aquarium admission - Adult: $49.95; Child (age 3-12): $38.95; Senior (age 65 and up): $45.95, plus tax.
  
  

Includes: Complimentary breakfast. For non-member pricing, if you choose to include Aquarium admission, it also includes admission to AT&T Dolphin Tales show, 4D Theater and special exhibits (when offered).

Science on Tap, presented by Heineken, is an evening lecture series where guests are invited to enjoy Heineken, hors d'oeuvres and beverages in Georgia Aquarium's Oceans Ballroom while hearing first-hand accounts of interesting experiences with marine life and the oceans around us.

Time: 6:30 - 8: 30 p.m.
Cost: Member - $14.95; Non-Member - $17.95; plus tax
Includes: Complimentary beer, wine, soft drinks and light hors d'oeuvres.