Saturday, April 15, 2023, Keynote Lecturer Robert Pitman

“Clipperton Island: Booby Research on a Tropical Desert Isle”

Bob worked for 40 years as a marine bird and mammal researcher for National Marine Fisheries Service. He participated in survey cruises in all the world’s oceans, with particular focus on the eastern tropical Pacific, Alaska, Antarctica, and Western Australia. His wife Lisa is the director of the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. She was previously the director of the NOAA/NMFS Endangered Species department at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, CA. She has studied the ecology and conservation biology of whales, dolphins, and porpoises (and seabirds) around the world for over 30 years. Clipperton Island in the eastern tropical Pacific is perhaps the most isolated island in the world. French-owned, it is a tiny (1.6 sq. km), uninhabited desert atoll, with an average elevation of only 3 m. It is, however, surrounded by very productive tropical waters, and tens of thousands of Masked and Brown boobies crowd its barren shores. Its teeming seabird population has been whip-sawed by human activity over the past 100+ years and its future remains uncertain. We will introduce you to its cast of feathered characters and summarize some of our research results on booby taxonomy, diet, and abundance before discussing some of the ongoing conservation threats to this remarkable place.