MSI Public Lecture Series

Dr. Lee Fuiman and a team of researchers traveled to the bottom of the world to study one of the top predators under the Antarctic ice, the Weddell seal.  Their work focused the question of how these animals catch their prey.  Weddell seals are consummate divers, able to descend to great depths for long periods of time in a very cold and dark world.  To unravel the mysteries of this predator’s success, the researchers attached a video camera and computer to the seals to record their underwater movements.

In this public presentation Dr. Fuiman will take the audience along on one of his research trips to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.  His photos and videos will show how the scientists can take a virtual ride on the back of a seal.  He will also describe some of the results that answer the question of how seals catch their prey.

Dr. Fuiman has been a researcher at the Marine Science Institute for more than 19 years and is now its Director.  He is a fish ecologist by training, but his expertise in fish behavior allows him to investigate a wide variety of animals.  Students in his lab are involved in research on the behavior of larval fishes, marine mammals, octopuses, and birds.