The first undergraduate class (051) occurred from August 21 to October 30, 2005. Students trained at the Friday Harbor Laboratories for 5 weeks through interactions with the people who research and work with the southern resident orcas. They spent a second 5 weeks observing the whales and their environment aboard a 42' sailing catamaran. They took home a rigorous scientific experience and 18 science credits from the University of Washington.
The first class of Beam Reach students developed individual research projects that built upon recent successes in pin-pointing orcas when they make sounds underwater. They deployed hydrophones and active sonar from docks, beaches, and boats. They explored sustainable technologies and practices -- from burning biodiesel to broadcasting whale calls -- that can mitigate acoustic impacts on the orca population.
Syllabus (Word format)
Student Field Guide (Fall, 2005)
Resources and references
Images, video, and sounds
Photo archive
Sound archive
Movie archive
PugetSoundscape (interactive Google map of underwater sounds)
mac.com HTML version (10/29/05) | local Flash version (11/29/05)
Scientific results and recollections
Students:
Papers (0.2-2Mb), presentations (1.5-17Mb, some with sounds), and blogbooks:
| Celia Barroso | Killer Whale Vocal Response to Vessel Traffic Paper | Presentation | Blogbook |
| Brett Becker | Mapping the Southern Residents' Acoustic Habitat Paper | Presentation | Blogbook |
| Laura Christoferson | Diurnal Acoustic Activity of Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Salish Sea Paper | Presentation | Blogbook |
| Courtney Kneipp | Killer Whale Calf Vocalization Development: Understanding Cultural Transmission Through Acoustics Paper | Presentation | Blogbook |
| Nicole Lee | Correlation between vocalization and breaching Paper | Presentation | Blogbook |
| Wilfredo Santiago | Echolocation and strategy used by Southern Resident Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) during foraging Paper | Presentation | Blogbook |
Visiting scientists:
Rachael Griffin's blogbook
Rachael's photos I: Students aboard M3 vessel with Rachael
Rachael's photos II: Rachael sails with Beam Reach for 1 week