This summer, Quark Expeditions is welcoming behavioral ecologist Dr. Valeria Vergara to Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge on Somerset Island, a site renowned for its beluga whale watching. Thanks in part to funding support provided by Quark, there she will to continue her important research on beluga whale communications as part of Quark’s Scientists in Residence program.
Each summer, travelers to the lodge get to witness approximately 2,000 beluga whales gather in the Cunningham Delta to molt, nurse their young, and socialize. The Inlet proves an ideal location for Dr. Vergara’s research, with the Arctic Watch lodge offering a comfortable and convenient home base.
“Dr. Vergara’s presence is an incredible opportunity for guests at Arctic Watch to learn from one of the world’s leading experts how beluga whales communicate, and how we can help preserve their population,” said Andrew White, President of Quark Expeditions.
“The opportunity for Arctic Watch guests to engage and interact with her and learn more about this research is one of the many reasons to visit the lodge this year. Becoming educated and knowledgeable about the unique species we encounter across the Polar Regions helps us as a company, and our guests, become better stewards of the Arctic and Antarctica.”
Dr. Vergara describes the nature of her research process: “On any given day in I look for where belugas are congregated at the time, and I head there either by ATV or hiking and wading with my gear: a hydrophone, a rugged field laptop with acoustic recording software, binoculars, video camera, tripod, and my iPad to jot down whale behavioral observations in a special app. I take systematic behavioral observations about group composition, group spread, predominant behavior, number of calves and juveniles near the hydrophone, estimated group size, et cetera.”
Dr. Vergara will be at Arctic Watch on the following departures:
July 9, 2015
July 16, 2015
July 23, 2015
Save 20% per person for select dates at Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge when booking by June 15, 2015.
Quark Expeditions, www.quarkexpeditions.com