A world-renowned expert on how the mammalian body is functionally adapted to the marine environment will deliver the College of Charleston’s annual George D. Grice, Jr. Lecture. The lecture honors the contributions of the Grice family to marine biology at the College and beyond. The lecture will be held on Friday, April 6, 2012 at 4 p.m. in the MRRI/SCDNR auditorium at Fort Johnson. It is free and open to the public.
“Dr. Ann Pabst is a leader in her field, so it is an honor to hear her speak to our community,” says Bob Podolsky, director of the College’s Grice Marine Lab. “Her lecture will focus on pygmy and dwarf sperm whales, which dive to depths of up to 1,000 meters for an hour at a time. Dr. Pabst will provide insight into the evolution of their deep-diving capabilities.”
Ann Pabst is a professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She focuses on musculoskeletal design and thermoregulatory function in cetaceans (the whales, dolphins and porpoises). Her lab utilizes stranded and fisheries by-caught marine mammals and employs quantitative morphological and physiological techniques, image analysis, and tools from the field of biomechanics, to investigate animal function. Pabst received her B.S. in zoology from the University of Maryland and her Ph.D. in zoology from Duke University.
For more information, contact Bob Podolsky at 843.953.9186.
