Alisa Schulman-Janiger, a marine biologist, cetacean researcher and educator, was honored on Sunday, Dec. 1 for her 40 years of dedication to the ACS-LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project.
In a surprise presentation, American Cetacean Society Los Angeles Chapter (ACS-LA) colleagues and Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor John Cruikshank honored Schulman-Janiger with a plaque at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center (PVIC) in Rancho Palos Verdes on Sunday, which marks the first day of the Pacific gray whale migration season.
Patty Farrell, president of the ACS-LA, said that Schulman-Janiger has “worked on one of the longest citizen science research projects in existence” over the past 40 years.
Schulman-Janiger trains volunteers, “citizen scientists,” documenting the gray whale and other marine mammals and birds at the PVIC, Farrell said, which she called a “massive undertaking.”
“She works with over 100 volunteers to spot, count, track and document the gray whale and its behavior along its migration route from their Arctic feeding grounds in summer to their winter breeding grounds in the lagoons in Baja California, and back again,” Farrell said.
Farrell added that Schulman-Janiger writes daily summaries and annual reviews that help the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) “estimate populations and study behaviors to help protect the species.”
Aside from her work as director/coordinator of the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project, Schulman-Janiger is a research associate at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History; Cabrillo Whalewatch instructor for naturalist training class; and lead research biologist and co-founder of the California Killer Whale Project, according to her ACS-LA biography.
Schulman-Janiger has also been a naturalist on whale watching boats, NOAA Marine Mammal Observer and responder for the NOAA California Stranding Response Team and the Large Whale Entanglement Response Team.
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Schulman-Janiger has taught marine biology, advanced marine science and biology in San Pedro High School Marine Science Magnet for over 20 years and for 10 years as the head marine biologist/educator on Los Angeles Unified School District’s Sea Education Afloat.
Two training sessions for volunteers who would like to participate as “citizen scientists” will take place on Saturday, Dec. 7 and Sunday, Dec. 8, from 10 a.m. to noon, and will be conducted by Schulman-Janiger.
For more information, email Schulman-Janiger at Janiger@cox.net.
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