Central Oregon Coast Event Features Whales, Tide Pool Walk, Disease-Spotting

Published 10/02/2014

(Yachats, Oregon) – It's a double dose of marine science, surprises and glimpses of nature up close, as October 7 brings two events to the Cape Perpetua Visitors Center, just south of Yachats. One is a talk on whales from regional scientist Jim Sumich, and the other a walk-and-talk through nearby tide pools.

Both are free and both are presented by the vounteer group CoastWatch.

Starting at 4:30 p.m., Oregon coast science expert Fawn Custer will lead a tide pool walk that explores the region around Perpetua and the Devil's Churn, looking specifically at the ecology. It will also double as a training session for citizens who want to keep an eye out for sea star wasting disease.

CoastWatch said more volunteers are stepping forward wishing to help out.

Custer's walk goes until 5:45 p.m., returning to the Visitors Center. From 6 p.m. to 6:25 p.m., snacks will be served at the center.

At 6:30 p.m., Sumich begins his talk. He will look closely at marine mammal strandings and give some background on the whales just off the Oregon coast.

Digging a bit deeper, Sumich will focus on recent research that has revealed at least four distinct migration/feeding patterns of gray whales in the North Pacific. The combination of radio tagging, photo identification and genetic studies is changing the way scientists look at separate populations of gray whales and how we manage our interactions with them.

Sumich is a courtesy faculty member at Oregon State University, and the author of a best-selling textbook on marine biology (now in its 10th edition). He is also co-author of the widely adopted “Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology.” He has taught at the college and university level for more than four decades and has conducted research on gray whales from British Columbia to Baja California. He currently resides in Oregon where he teaches a course on marine mammals at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

His book “E. robustus: The Biology and Human History of Gray Whales” has recently been published in both digital and print formats – and although it was meant for a general audience it was reviewed by his peers in the scientific community. More information and order forms are available at http://www.thegraywhalebook.com.

The Cape Perpetua Visitor Center is located just south of the cape (a few miles south of Yachats. The exact address is 2400 U.S. 101, Yachats, Oregon. For more information, contact Fawn Custer, (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org.

More about the area below, and at the Upper Lane County Virtual Tour, Map.

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