Elephant Seal Research at Año Nuevo Reserve – Speaker: Dr. Patrick Robinson

On Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 7 pm, the Friends of San Pedro Valley Park are pleased to welcome Dr. Patrick Robinson, the Director of Año Nuevo Reserve. On a Zoom webinar, he will present his lecture entitled “Elephant seal research at Año Nuevo Reserve: a life of extremes.” Año Nuevo Reserve has been home to UC Santa Cruz’s elephant seal research program for the past 50 years. During this time, researchers have led pioneering studies on fasting physiology, at-sea behavior, diving physiology, habitat associations, and demography. Elephant seals give us a glimpse into the open ocean mesopelagic zone – a region that is poorly understood but is home to some of the most abundant fish species. The seals live a life of extremes by migrating thousands of kilometers each year, diving to depths that can exceed 1,700 meters, and holding their breath for nearly two hours. Join Patrick in a discussion of the research projects that led to these incredible discoveries.