MASAL 2023 Conference Here at Andrews University

A National Geographic Explorer’s quest to study the Amazonian manatee

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Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske is the plenary speaker for the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters (MASAL) in 2023. His presentation is titled "Ghosts in the darkness: A National Geographic Explorer’s quest to study the elusive Amazonian manatee."

All three manatee species are considered vulnerable to extinction primarily due to anthropogenic causes. Manatees are aquatic mammals that can live in a variety of environments ranging from marine habitats to freshwater lakes and rivers. Many of those habitats have murky water, making detection using traditional visual surveys very challenging. As a result, scientists currently have no accurate way to estimate population sizes or monitor population trends for many of the populations. This is especially the case for Amazonian manatees, which greatly hampers conservation efforts. Since 2005, Gonzalez-Socoloske has been working on various innovative methods to study these elusive aquatic mammals. In this presentation he reviews and summarizes those efforts, including the preliminary results from his National Geographic funded study comparing two novel ways in which Amazonian manatees can potentially be surveyed. By combining traditional knowledge from manatee hunters and the use of cutting-edge sonar technology, Gonzalez-Socoloske ultimately hopes to develop a science-based solution to the lingering problem of studying and monitoring these elusive gentle giants.

Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske is professor of biology at Andrews University and curator of the Andrews University Museum of Natural History. He is a 2022 National Geographic Explorer and U.S. Fulbright Scholar. Gonzalez-Socoloske received his PhD in ecology from Duke University prior to returning to his alma mater (Andrews University) as faculty in 2013.

Andrew University students will be among the partcipants of this year's conference. The workshops begin at 8 a.m. Participants, except for those attending the plenary session, must register. For more information contact research@andrews.edu.