2015 Marine Mammal Conference

I was lucky enough to attend the 2015 Society of Marine Mammalogy’s Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals this week in San Francisco, and it was an amazing experience! I learned so much, and getting the chance to present at such a large and international conference was a first for me and I am so happy I got the chance to go.

Attending this conference immersed me into the world of marine mammal science. With over 2000 marine mammal scientists around the world in attendance, I learned about research going on all over the world on a wide array of marine mammals. Topics of research on marine mammals included behavior, ecology, human dimensions, acoustics, conservation, distribution, and health and each day was packed with oral presentations, plenary talks, speed talks, and poster  presentations by marine mammal scientists from around the world.

The most helpful part of the conference for me was the Student Workshop on Wednesday night. At the workshop I learned about student chapters around the globe, and even one in California. There were also round table discussions led by professionals in the marine mammal field – researchers, government scientists, and others. It was the chance to get advice from professionals and ask questions that you normally wouldn’t get the chance to. Sarah and I were the ONLY undergraduates in attendance to this workshop, the majority were PhD and Masters students, so it was awesome to get that experience. I learned a lot about how to write a proper CV, a paper, and tips for getting jobs, funding for research, and also how to get your research message out there.

Thank you SO much to Dr. Rachel Cartwright and the Keiki Kohola Project for the chance to participate in the research of Hawaii’s Humpback whales and the opportunity to attend this conference.