The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise is a small cetacean commonly found throughout Southeast Asia's coastal regions. As it lacks a dorsal fin and is often inconspicuous in its surfacing behavior, it does not capture people's attention as dolphins do, thus rendering it rather uncharismatic. It is likely that finless porpoises are more threatened than is generally realized. Scientists, conservationists, and decision-makers alike should be encouraged to pay the species more attention as threats from human activities increase rapidly throughout the species' range. In this webinar cetologist and conservationist, Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam will discuss her work studying and advocating for the finless porpoises in Malaysia. Join us for a special opportunity to learn about a rare and beautiful species.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
DR. LOUISA PONNAMPALAM
Dr. Louisa S. Ponnampalam is a cetacean ecologist living a childhood dream. She began her education in marine science at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hawaii. She then pursued her Ph.D. on a prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship at the University (London) Marine Biological Station in Millport, Scotland, researching small dolphins in the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Louisa is a Member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Cetacean and Sirenia Specialist Groups and currently also a Research Associate of the Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Her research work on cetaceans and dugongs has taken her to the Bering Sea, across the North Pacific Ocean, the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, South China Sea, Sulu-Sulawesi Sea, the Gulf of Thailand. Nonetheless, her true passion lies in increasing the scientific knowledge of marine mammals in her native Malaysia and advocating for greater awareness of marine mammal conservation among the Malaysian public. That passion led her to co-found MareCet in 2012.
In 2014, Louisa became the first Malaysian to be awarded the prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation by the Pew Charitable Trusts in the USA, and the Malaysian government honored her with the 2014 Anugerah Perdana Belia Negara (National Premier Youth Award). In 2018, she was a finalist at the Women of the Future Awards South East Asia. With a dedicated team working alongside her, Louisa established the Langkawi Dolphin Research Project, Matang Dolphin Research Project, Dugong Research and Conservation Project, and Sea, Science and Schools Programme that MareCet runs. Louisa was recently 1 of 100 women cetologists featured in the ACS' Whalewatcher Special Edition, published in 2020. We encourage you to read her story and the rest of this wonderful publication here: https://acs.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/Whalewatcher-Journal-2020.pdf
https://www.marecet.org/
Event cover photo by Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong opcf.org.hk