Sea & Learn 2011 Experts
Sea & Learn on Saba 2011 promises to be a spectacular event. Check the quick navigation on the left to see who is coming this year. The Click 'n' Go Navigation takes you to each expert's photo and bio. This page will continue to be updated once venues and field projects are scheduled.

Link to the Sea & Learn 2011 calendar to view schedules and locations for presentations, field projects and children events either as a "month at a glance" or weekly or daily.

If you feel that your knowledge or field of study fits in with our program and you are interested in future events, don't hesitate to contact us at: seaandlearnsaba@gmail.com

Note:  Many of our experts have numerous degrees constituting proper titles and "letters behind their names".  Sea & Learn has chosen to only use our guest speakers' birth names in order to emphasize the casual learning environment of our program which is designed for 'the lay person'.

Mark Moffett
is known for discovering new species and behavior in remote parts of the world. In addition to being one of a select few to receive a Ph.D. from conservationist Edward O. Wilson at Harvard, Moffett has received awards from the Explorers Club for tree-climbing research, from the Roy Chapman Andrews Society for exploration, from Harvard for writing, and from Pictures of the Year International for photography. In 2009 he had his own exhibit (about ants) at the Smithsonian Institution, which is now travelling the country. When he isn't travelling, he enjoys bringing science to the public through lectures and quirky appearances on the Colbert Report and Conan O'Brien. Moffett's latest book, Adventures with the Ants (University of California Press 2010) examines the parallels between human and ant societies based on his travels to the Amazon, Congo, Australia, Iran, Borneo, and elsewhere. He provides details on how ants live and dominate their ecosystems through strikingly human behaviors: hunting, fighting, building, recycling, enslaving, and even voting and creating marketplaces. Mark was just on Saba with his wife Melissa enjoying Saba's diving while investigating the invasive Argentenian ant. Enjoy his photography in both the March 2011 and May 2011 issues of National Geographic.

Join Mark on Opening Night October 1, 2011 for Adventures Among Ants, the Little Creatures That Rule the World in the Bottom at Saba Coffee House. Mark will lead a field project to Mt. Scenery along with local cloud forest expert and scientist Tom van't hof with numerous stops and stories regarding the trees, insects and reptiles. Hike is Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 10 a.m.

Cecile Fauvelot
research activities focus on evolutionary and molecular biology, marine ecology, biogeography and conservation biology. She completed her PhD in France, working on coral reef fishes from French Polynesia, investigating gene flow - life history trait correlations by means of molecular markers. After her PhD, she explored the impact of demographic variations through time on species genetic diversity and geographic structuring of various organisms, from Indonesian butterflies to red coral and other invertebrates from the Mediterranean Sea. Since 2007, she works at the Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement where her research activities focus on coral reef organisms populations connectivity, using population genetics to answer ecological questions regarding how reef populations are linked by larval dispersal. Her current model organisms vary from benthic and pelagic fishes, giant clams, and corals from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, but her main question remains the same: What can the DNA of marine organisms tells us bout their larval dispersal?

Join Cecile on October 3, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. @ The Brigadoon resaturant:  "Larval dispersal or the ‘black box’ connecting populations of marine organisms: how can we measure it?" Sign up at The Tent for her special field project where you can participate with a real study of the genetics of the Lionfish invasion on Thursday, October 6 with Saba Divers at 9 a.m.--reservations a must. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand.

Boris Marcaillou
is a specialist of the tectonics and seismic activity in subduction zones focusing particularly on the processes that may nucleate great subduction earthquakes within the Lesser Antilles, South American and Japan margins. During the past ten years, he has successively worked in South of France, where he completed his PhD, in Western Canada, South America and Japan where he respectively studied the structure, tectonic deformation, and seismogenesis of Cascadia, Ecuador-Colombia and Nankai convergent margins. Since his recruitment at the Université des Antilles et de la Guyane as an associate professor in 2008, he has taught various fields of Geosciences to undergraduate and graduate students. He also participated in several marine experiments in Haiti and Guadeloupe archipelago, mostly dedicating his research to the tectonic history of the Carbonate Platforms. 

Mark your calendar for Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at The Cottage Club for his nighttime presentation, "How subduction zones produce the greatest earthquakes and tsunamis in the world--Haiti, Japan and future Lesser Antilles events" . Drinks will be available at The Cottage Club but be sure to make dinner plans elsewhere. Join Boris Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 2 p.m. on Sea Saba's boat to observe Saba's dramatic coastal geology to better understand the island's violent birth.

 

Thomas Pichler
is a Professor of Geosciences and Chair of the Geochemistry and Hydrogeology Division at the University of Bremen in Germany. Besides researching heavy metals in drinking water he studies the biological, physical and chemical aspects of hot springs all over the world.  While many of his projects are land-based, he also belongs to a small group of scientists specializing in underwater hot springs in shallow, near shore environments. These so called shallow-water hydrothermal systems are places where large concentration and temperature gradients generate unique living conditions for marine life. There, according to Thomas, scientists can study a multitude of chemical and biological processes, which have far reaching implications from toxicology to optimal water treatment.

His scientific studies of shallow-water hydrothermal systems have taken him to the Caribbean (including Saba), Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, West Pacific, Italy, Greece, Chile, Mexico and the United States. His work in Papua New Guinea was documented by the television station “National Geographic” and broadcast in more than 70 countries.

Prior to his scientific endeavours, Thomas worked as a scuba diving instructor and dive guide in Egypt, Mauritius, the Canary Islands and the Baltic Sea, which prepared him well for his research of shallow-water hydrothermal systems.

"Some Like it Hot: Underwater hot springs in shallow coastal environments" is scheduled for Friday, October 7, 2011 @ 5:30 p.m. at Saba's Ecolodge. Sign up to dive Saba's Hot Springs dive site with Thomas on Saturday, October 8, 2011 with Saba Deep...time TBA. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand.

David Guggenheim
is an ocean explorer, submarine pilot, marine biologist, and conservation policy expert based in Washington, DC. Guggenheim provides a unique perspective as both a scientist and a Washington, DC-based policy expert focused on today's most important conservation issues.  David is also president of the nonprofit organization 1planet1ocean as well as a consultant in conservation policy and science, providing services to clients in the nonprofit sector, governmental agencies, and private industry. He is author of the popular "OceanDoctor" web log and hosts the "ExpeditionCasts" podcast.  He recently took part in a major expedition to Alaska's Bering Sea to explore deepwater corals at depths of up to 2,000 feet and was pilot of the first manned submarine dive into Pribolof Canyon, one of the two largest underwater canyons in the Bering Sea. He is currently leading research and conservation efforts in Cuba, including the first-ever comprehensive exploration of Cuba's Gulf of Mexico, examining coral reefs, shark populations, etc.  Previously, he was Vice President for Conservation Policy at The Ocean Conservancy. In addition, he led cooperative research and conservation programs in Cuba, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.

Guggenheim holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University in Virginia. He holds Masters degrees in Population/Aquatic Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and in Regional Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also received a Bachelors degree in Environmental Studies. David is a member of the Advisory Council of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where he also serves as Cuba Programs Manager.

Join David on Sunday, October 9, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. @ Queen's Gardens Resort. to understand more about the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill and its effect on the Caribbean. Check with The Tent or directly with the hotel to make a dinner reservation for their special Sea & Learn menu. Dr. Guggenheim will lead a boat tour around Saba to exhibit the island's vulnerability to potential oil spills.

 

Jay Haviser
is a specialist for monuments, archaeology and environment at the VROM office of the Government of St. Maarten, after having been the archaeologist for the Netherlands Antilles Government from 1982-2007. He received his doctorate in Archaeology from Leiden University, Netherlands, in 1987, and is currently on the Leiden University Faculty for Archaeology. Dr. Haviser has served the region as the President of the International Association for Caribbean Archaeology (1999-2007), the Senior Regional Representative for the Caribbean in the World Archaeological Congress (2002-2008), as well as President of the Museums Association of the Caribbean (2000-2002). He was granted Knighthood by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands in 2008, for his archaeology work in the Netherlands Antilles. Some of his more prominent book publications include: African Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean (1999), and co-editor of African Re-Genesis (2006), as well as writing over 90 international publications. One of his more prominent environmental programs has been the development of protective legislation and field documentation of the largest trees on the islands of St. Maarten and Bonaire. In 1983, Dr. Haviser carried out an island-wide archaeological survey of Saba, and more recently in April of 2011 he conducted archaeological excavations in Saba’s town of Windwardside. He is currently directing two Youth and Science programs called SIMARC on St. Maarten and BONAI on Bonaire, as well as teaching at the University of St. Martin, with future plans to establish a Youth and Science program called SABARC on Saba.

Join Jay on October 11 at 5:30pm at Scout's Place for his interesting presentation tracing Saba’s history back to its Indian roots through more recent times, and exploring the cultural and environmental relationships of Saba’s people as told through archaeological findings. Support our sponsor with a dinner reservation made at The Tent or directly with Scout's Place. Sign up at The Tent for his field project on Wednesday, October 12, 2011 to learn more about the artifacts he has found on Saba and in the region.

 

Adrian del Nevo
was born, raised and educated in England and moved to the USA in 1994.  He is a wildlife population ecologist with over 40 years experience conducting ecological research, conservation biology, and ecosystem analysis throughout the world.  Adrian’s research and applied conservation work within the Caribbean began in 1984 and has focused on seabirds and terrestrial bird species.  He is currently writing a book on the Birds of the Dutch Caribbean Islands. More recently he has contributed to biodiversity identification, monitoring, and analysis throughout the Dutch Caribbean. 

In the U.S., Adrian is CEO and Principal Scientist of AES Inc (www.AESinc.biz) providing  litigation, scientific and expert witness support for environmental and natural resource legal cases.   Adrian sits on numerous National and International Scientific oversight committees, is an Adjunct Professor, a Research Fellow, Visiting Professor and contributor to Universities, Non-Governmental Organizations and Governmental Institutions throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Be sure to mark your calendar for a mild hike to observe Saba's Tropicbirds with a real expert on Saturday, October 15, 2011--time TBA. Adrian's night time presentation will be Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at The Ecolodge--book ahead for a dinner reservation!

 

Richard O'Barry
started out capturing and training dolphins for the Miami Seaquarium and through the 1960s became the trainer for the five dolphins who collectively played Flipper on the popular American TV show.  When Kathy, the dolphin who most often played Flipper, died in O’Barry’s arms, he realized that capturing, displaying and training dolphins to perform silly tricks was wrong.  On Earth Day in 1970 he founded The Dolphin Project, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the plight of dolphins in captivity.  He also pioneered work to demonstrate rehabilitation and release as a viable alternative for captive dolphins.  O’Barry has since rescued and released over twenty-five captive dolphins in Haiti, Columbia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, The Bahamas and the United States.

For the last 40+ years he has shared his first hand knowledge of the harmful effects of captivity on dolphins at numerous lectures and conferences around the world.  In 1991 in recognition of his contribution to the protection of dolphins O’Barry received an Environmental Achievement Award, presented by the United States Committee for the United Nations Environmental Program.  In 2007 he became a marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute and director of the Save Japan DolphinsCampaign.  Working with Save Japan Dolphins, O’Barry leads an international effort to stop the killing of dolphins, end the trafficking in live dolphins to theme parks and captive swim-with-the-dolphins attractions and continues to lecture and speak out against the captivity industry.

O’Barry is featured in the Academy Award winning documentary film The Cove, which brought the world’s attention to the hidden connection between the killing, capture, trade and display of dolphins all over the world.  O’Barry and his son Lincoln are also behind the Blood Dolphin$ TV show for Discovery’s Animal Planet, which continues on where The Cove left off.      O’Barry is co-author of three books, Behind the Dolphin Smile, To Free a Dolphin (with Keith Colbourne) and most recently Die Bucht about dolphins and the making of The Cove published in Germany with Hans Peter Roth.  Richard O’Barry is a Fellow National in the Explorers Club and he lives with his wife and daughter in both Denmark and Miami. .

Note: date change! Join us on Friday, October 14, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.@ Eugenius Center in Windwardside when representatives from Dolphin Defenders in St. Maarten will explain the controversial issues of St. Maarten's proposed dolphinarium. The Cove (2010 Academy Award winner for Best Documentary) will be shown and Ric O'Barry will be present to answer questions and discuss issues concerning our region. Tonight's venue will be catered by the Saba Museum Foundation with all proceeds from food and drinks benefitting Saba's only museum.

Jennifer Rahn
is a cartographer, coastal geomorphologist and divemaster who is fascinated by the how and why coastal environments change over time. Jennifer is an Assistant Professor, the director of the Environmental Studies Scholars Program and teaches Geography courses at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.  Jen learned to dive on Saba while on vacation in 1991 and returned to work as a divemaster for Sea Saba after completing her Masters degree in cartography (map making) at Temple University. During that time she fell in love with the island of Saba, its friendly people and wonderful coral reefs. She lived on Saba for two years and returned to the U.S, to pursue a doctoral degree in coastal geomorphology at the University of Florida. Geomorphologists like Jennifer seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do, to understand landform history, geographical dynamics, and to predict future changes. Once she completed her Ph.D. Jennifer received a NOAA Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship and worked with the US Geological Survey’s Coastal and Marine Geology Program and the Mapping Division of the US Coral Reef Task Force. She has been teaching at several universities for the past ten years and is known nationally for her work incorporating undergraduate students into research and having them present at high profile scientific meetings. Dr. Rahn encourages Samford University students to actively participate in research on the island during the unique intensive course Samford offers over winter break each January.

Jen is a frequent visitor to Saba and recently has been focusing her research on Saba’s coast and coral reefs trying to establish base-line topographic and bathymetric information. Jennifer has spent the summer of 2011 on several coastal research projects on Saba, including her quarterly survey of Tent Reef Beach.  Jen's presentation will be focused on how waves affect Saba’s changing coast and the surrounding marine park.

Tsunamis, Sea Level Rise and Large Swells: Waves and their current and future impacts on Saba. What would it look like if a tsunami hit Saba? Are the swells around the island getting bigger? Will hurricanes become more frequent? Answers to all these questions will be focal points of Jen’s talk on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at Restaurant Eden. On Tuesday, October 18, 2011, go diving with Jen to understand wave effects underwater. Dive shop TBA. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand. .

Mike Bechtold
is a familiar face on Saba as the long time assistant to Stewart Chipka. Chipka will be remembered as Saba's "Orchid Guy" until his recent passing in October 2010. Mike began his interest in orchids as an Army officer stationed in South Korea in 1996.  He joined the American Orchid Society in 1998 when he moved to Washington, DC and has been involved in orchid conservation work at the US. Botanic Garden and through independent study ever since.  Mike knew Chipka on the internet-based AOS Forum, and when Stewart put out the call in 2003 for volunteers to help him work on Saba, Mike answered it and has worked on Saba since then.  A biologist by education and quick study on orchids, Mike helped put together Stewart’s presentations and spent countless hours in the field verifying some of the species of orchids Stewart was surveying most notably, Brassavola cucullata.  After Stewart’s death, Mike returned to Saba in March 2011 to work with the Saba Conservation Foundation to set up a plan to sustain Stewart Chipka’s work on Saba.  Part of that plan included setting up his weather station at the Saba Conservation Foundation Headquarters. Under the auspices of the SCF, Mike is working with SCF personnel and Saba resident, Michiel Boeken, to extend a survey on Brassavola cucullata from St. Eustatia to Saba sponsored by Dr. James Ackerman of the University of Puerto Rico.  Finally, he is working with other dedicated people on Saba to update Stewart’s book, ‘Orchids of Saba’ as a living legacy to Stewart’s work and helping preserve Saba as “The Unspoiled Queen” of the Caribbean. 

Join Mike for a hike as well as an intriguing presentation about Saba’s orchid populations. Night time presentation will be Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at El Momo Cottages where you may also stay for dinner. Orchid hike will be the morning of Sunday, October 16, 2011 on the Spring Bay Trail. Sign up at The Tent; time TBA.

Tatiana Rynearson
is a biological oceanographer and Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island. She received an undergraduate degree in aquatic sciences from Brown University and her MS and PhD degrees from the University of Washington.  Her research focuses on plankton ecology and evolution in the dynamic marine environment.  She uses DNA fingerprinting techniques to “tag” and track plankton in the global ocean to understand how, where and why these organisms thrive.  She was also involved in the first efforts to decode the genomes of marine phytoplankton – tiny, beautiful organisms that form the base of the marine food web. The complete DNA sequence of an organism is essentially its genetic “blueprint” that outlines the full potential of its activities. Professor Rynearson's fieldwork to understand marine ecosystems has taken her to all 7 continents and most of the oceans in between. Mentoring and teaching undergraduate and graduate students is an important component of Rynearson's activities and students routinely join her in the field.  She is the director of the long-term plankton monitoring program in Narragansett Bay, RI a weekly plankton sampling program that has been underway since the 1960's.  She is also the science director of the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting as well as the co-director of the University of Rhode Island Center of Excellence in the Marine Life Sciences.  She is continually fascinated by the stunning diversity of marine life, including some its smallest members, the marine plankton.

Be sure to mark your calendar for her distinctively different but equally as intrigining talk: "Phytoplankton, the beautiful jewels of the Caribbean Sea" on Friday October 21 at 5:30 p.m. at Restaurant Eden--dinner will be served thereafter. Sign up at The Tent to unmask the mystery of plankton and bio- luminescence on a night dive scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2011. Dive shop TBA. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand.

Susanne Menden-Deuer
is an oceanographer with an avid interest in predators that eat ocean plankton. Plankton are microscopic organisms that are key components of the ocean ecosystem. They are an important research focus because they generate about 50% of the worlds breathable oxygen and feed virtually all fisheries production.
Susanne received her Ph.D. from the School of Oceanography at the University of Washington and has held positions at Western Washington and Princeton Universities before joining the faculty at the University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography. Her other graduate degrees include a Masters of Science in Oceanography from the University of Washington and a Diplom in Biology from the University of Bonn, Germany. Susanne grew up close to the river Rhine in Germany, developed an early interest in the aquatic environment and at age 3, declared that she wanted to be a fisherwoman on the Rhine.  Her education and research have taken her all over the world, visiting every continent. Through her research Susanne tries to shed light on the complex lives of planktonic predators, comprised of thousands of stunningly beautiful species that remain invisible to the naked eye. Despite their size, these organisms face the same challenges as most others on this planet: survive, find food, and find a mate. Through a combination of video observations, mathematical modeling and work on research vessels Susanne and her students try to reveal the secret lives of plankton predators.

Be sure to mark your calendar for her compelling presentation "Jaws Revisited--predator prey interactions in plankton" on Sunday, October 23, 2011, at 5:30 p.m. at The Brigadoon. Dinner follows with a reservation. Sign up at The Tent to unmask the mystery of plankton and bio- luminescence on a night dive scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2011. Dive shop TBA. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand.

C. Lavette "Smitty" Smith
is a Curator Emeritus at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City and now lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the USA.  After receiving his PhD from the University of Michigan, he taught at the University of Guam and at the University of Hawaii before joining the staff of the American Museum. Teaching ichthyology was his calling and this passion was regularly enthused by his vacations teaching at field stations including Ohio State's Stone Laboratory,  the University of Oklahoma's biological station, the University of Michigan Biological Station, and the Dauphin Island Marine Laboratory. These experiences reinforced his interest in North American freshwater fishes, eventually resulting in a monograph on the inland fishes of New York State.  The American Museum maintained the Lerner Marine Laboratory on the Island of Bimini in the Bahamas where Dr. Smith continued his studies of coral reef fishes (including hermaphroditic fishes) and other fish ecology projects. Smitty collaborated with Dr. James Tyler at the Lerner Laboratory where he and Tyler began a long series of studies on coral reefs including a major study of the pearl fish, a commensal of the sea cucumber. After the Lerner Lab closed they moved their operations to the Smithsonian Laboratory on Carrie Bow Cay, Belize.  As museum curators, Smith and Tyler were able to take advantage of exceptional opportunities to carry out field studies, including their work with the Philadelphia Academy when they participated in an expedition to relocate and salvage cannons that had been jettisoned by Captain Cook when his ship went aground on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. They were also participants in the TEKTITE project living on the sea bottom for 17 days.  Later they took advantage of saturation diving techniques in the Hydrolab in the Bahamas and later in the Virgin islands. Smitty is a regular leader of the American Museum’s snorkeling trips to coral reefs throughout the world.  Now a certified Geezer, Dr. Smith is spending his golden years convincing people that fishes are the most interesting animals in the world.

Delve in to the intricate life below the sand with Dr. Smith as he teaches us about the structures created by garden eels and other burrowing coral fish. Garden eels are found on many sites in the Saba Marine Park. Learn more on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at Queen's Gardens Resort. Sign up at The Tent for a dinner reservation or contact the restraurant dirctly. Sign up to dive or snorkel and survey garden eel colonies on Monday, October 24, 2011--time and dive shop TBA. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand.

Rachel Arnold
is a marine ichthyologist in the PhD program at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.  Rachel completed her MS in 2010 on the phylogenetics, reproduction, and conservation of frogfish (Family Antennariidae), also known as shallow-water anglerfish.  Rachel focuses on the taxonomy, reproductive life histories, and conservation status of frogfish found around the world.  Rachel specifically looks at the impacts live aquarium fish trade has on populations of frogfish.  To date, Rachel has described three new species of anglerfish, including Histiophryne psychedelica, the Psychedelic Frogfish in Indonesia. In her spare time, Rachel enjoys scuba diving and speaking publically about her research.

Share Rachel's passion for Frogfish on Saba's reefs and around the world by accompanying her on Wednesday, October 26, 2011. Dive shop and time TBA. Other field projects may be scheduled subject to demand.. Mark your calendar for her presentation that will be part of our Final Evening Gala on Thursday, October 27, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. Support our sponsor and book a dinner reservation after the show!

Tom van't Hof
is a marine biologist recognized worldwide for his designing of marine parks. Tom is to be given credit for the design of Saba and St. Eustatius's (the more common name for our neighboring island St. Eustatius is "Statia") marine parks but also for Bonaire, Curacao and other parks from Kenya to Indonesia. Choosing Saba as his home since 1986, Tom was the original director of Saba's Conservation Foundation for its first ten years. As an active environmentalist, author and consultant, Tom is never at a loss for something to do. The Nature of Saba, Guide to the Saba Marine Park, and Guide to Saba's Nature Trails are just the books about Saba which Tom has written or co-authored.  He and artist wife Heleen own Saba's Eco-lodge Rendezvous. 

Be sure to purchase Tom's new book on Saba's Cloudforest to enhance your hike on Saba. Join Tom any Wednesday night @ Saba's Ecolodge Rainforest Restaurant for his slide show on Saba's unique cloudforest. Join Tom when he accompanies Mark Moffett on a field project to Mt. Scenery with numerous stops and stories regarding the trees, insects and reptiles. Hike is Sunday, October 2, 2011 at 10 a.m. Sign up at The Tent!