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Presenters
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Chuck Nicklin
Emmy Award winning cinematographer and photographer, Nicklin, is one of the early
pioneers in the field of underwater cinematography. With over 40 years of underwater
cinematography experience and film credits that include The Abyss, The Deep,
Never Say Never, Gentle Giants of the Pacific, Nomads of the Deep and In
the Company of Whales, Nicklin has traveled the world exploring the ocean
and its mysterious creatures. In addition to his illustrious film career, he was
among the first to film whales from underwater and was one of the photographers
on the first story on wild whales that appeared in National Geographic Magazine. |
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Jason Sturgis, Whale
Trust
Sturgis is an up and coming underwater cinematographer that became an avid diver
and water enthusiast at just 8 years of age. After attending the Brooks School
of Photography in California, Sturgis joined the Whale Trust research team in
2003. Since then, he has become an integral part of the team’s efforts to
catalogue and document the underwater behavior of Hawaii’s humpback whales. |
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Linda Nicklin, Gastineau
Guiding and Whale Trust
Nicklin is the Operations Manager and inspiration behind the interpretation programs
at Gastineau Guiding, one of the premier hiking companies in Juneau, Alaska. As
a Certified Interpretative Trainer and Instructor from the National Association
of Interpretation, Nicklin develops, leads and manages interpretative programs
for companies throughout North America and the Caribbean. Each winter, Nicklin
joins the Whale Trust team to work on a study of humpback whales off Maui, Hawaii.
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Flip Nicklin, Whale
Trust
Nicklin is a world-renowned underwater photographer. He has spent his 30-year
career specializing in the photography of marine mammals, especially whales and
dolphins. Through 18 National Geographic articles from 1982 to the present,
he has worked closely with top whale researchers from around the world. From this
work Nicklin brings a unique, global perspective on the study of whales and the
researchers that study them. |
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Mark Ferrari & Deborah
Glockner-Ferrari, Center for Whale Studies
Having spent more than thirty winters in Maui studying Hawaii’s humpbacks,
the Ferraris have contributed substantially to our knowledge of the life history,
behavior and reproductive cycles of humpback whales. Using and developing non-invasive
and benign research techniques such as photography and underwater videography,
the Ferrari’s have helped to shed light on fundamental and critical aspects
of humpback whale reproductive behavior including how to distinguish male from
female humpbacks in the field, how to identify calves that have non-distinctive
fluke markings, and how frequently individual female humpbacks give birth over
their lifetime. The Ferrari’s have been featured in numerous television,
documentaries and films including Star Trek IV: The Next Generation, IMAX
- Whales, Gentle Giants: Humpback Whales of Maui. |
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Jim Darling, Ph.D., Whale
Trust
Dr. Darling has led research programs on whales for nearly thirty years. Co-founder
of the non-profit organization, Whale Trust, Dr. Darling is one of the leading
authorities on gray whale and humpback whale behavior. His research led to the
first description of a population of gray whales off Vancouver Island, initial
descriptions on the abundance, migration and social behavior of humpback whales
in the North Pacific, and the first scientific study of living whales in Japan.
He has written numerous scientific articles, popular articles (National Geographic
Magazine) and books including Gray Whales, With the Whales, and Wild
Whales. Additionally, his research has been featured repeatedly in television
and film documentaries including the award-winning documentary Island of Whales.
Dr. Darling’s current research focuses on understanding why male humpback
whales sing songs during the winter breeding season. |
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Dan Salden, Ph.D.,
Hawaii Whale Research Foundation
Dr. Salden began his study of humpback whales in 1978, and is the Founder and
Research Director of Hawaii Whale Research Foundation, and Emeritus Professor
at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. With over 6,000 hours spent observing
and recording humpback whale social behavior in the waters off Maui, Dr. Salden
is one of Maui’s leading researchers. His research team focuses primarily
on male breeding behavior, and trying to increase understanding of how males compete
and interact with one another on the Hawaiian breeding grounds. |
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Dave Mattila,
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary
Mattila has been studying humpback whales since 1980 and currently serves as the
Science and Rescue Advisor for the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine
Sanctuary. The author of over 20 scientific articles, Mattila is well known for
his involvement in two of the largest collaborative studies ever attempted on
determining the population and status of humpback whales in the North Atlantic
(YONAH) and now the North Pacific Ocean (SPLASH). His work has also played an
integral role in developing equipment and techniques necessary to help researchers
and managers free whales that are lethally entangled in fishing gear. Mattila’s
work with the conservation and management of humpback whale populations led him
to receive the “Ocean Hero Award” from the Smithsonian Institution
and the “Environmental Hero Award” by the U.S. National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration. |
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Kathy Moran, National Geographic
Magazine
Specializing in articles on wildlife and underwater ecosystems, Moran is the Senior
Editor for Natural History at National Geographic Magazine. Amongst other
stories including the highly publicized Africa Mega-Transect project, Moran has
edited each of the stories on whales for the magazine since 1995. Other highlights
of her career include the special edition of National Geographic’s 100
Best Wildlife Photographs and three books she has edited for the Society,
Women Photographers at the National Geographic, The Africa Diaries--An Illustrated
Memoir of Life in the Bush, and Cat Shots. |
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David Griffin,
National Geographic Magazine
Griffin is the Senior Editor of Photography and Illustrations for National
Geographic Magazine. With a degree in journalism, Griffin has worked as photographer,
editor, art director, and creative director for numerous newspapers and magazines
around the country, including National Geographic and U. S. News
and World Report, picking up several prestigious awards along the way. At
U. S. News and World Report, Griffin was responsible for the overall
visual direction of the news weekly and in charge of the art department. Prior
to joining U. S. News, he was the Design Director of National Geographic,
during which he designed a number of photography books including the exceptional
Portraits of America and Cuba. |
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Douglas H. Chadwick
Chadwick is a wildlife biologist and the author of seven books on natural history,
including the acclaimed The Fate of the Elephant, named by the New
York Times Book Review as a Best Book of the Year, and A Beast the Color
of Winter: The Mountain Goat Observed. He has also written more than three
hundred articles for magazines such as, National Geographic, Audubon,
and Sierra. Recent Whale Stories for National Geographic Magazine
include: Humpback Whales (1999), Minke Whales (2000) and Killer
Whales in 2005. He is now finishing a book on his experiences with whales
and whale researchers. |
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Chris Moore
Fluke: Or, I know why the winged whale sings is one of satirist and author
Moore’s eight highly entertaining and imaginative books. With a devoted
cult following to match his wit, Moore has been described as “the greatest
satirist since Jonathan Swift” (Denver Rocky Mountain News), and he is no
stranger to Hawaii’s whales or researchers. The National Bestseller, Fluke,
gave him an insider’s perspective on what goes on in those little research
boats in Maui’s waters and some comical insights into what still eludes
behavioral biologists today - why the fluke are those humpback whales singing
anyway? |
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For more information,
write or call:
Kapalua Events Management
500 Kapalua Drive
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii 96761
1-866-669-2440
808-669-2440
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