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DTSTART:20260215T230000
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SUMMARY:Future of Oceans lecture: “Deepwater Sponges of the Pacific:
  Incredible Living Animals Made of Glass”
DESCRIPTION:The animals that inhabit the deep ocean are the most poorl
 y known group of fauna in the world. This is particularly true of glas
 s sponges in the class Hexactinellida\, which are very important memb
 ers of deepwater communities.  Glass sponges provide homes to all typ
 es of deepwater invertebrates and have formed amazing sponge reefs off
  the coasts of Canada and Alaska. As their name implies\, this group h
 as skeletal parts\, called spicules\, that are made of glass. Glass s
 ponges evolved in the Cambrian period\, hundreds of millions of years 
 before the dinosaurs and are very different from any other type of ani
 mal. They come in a mind-boggling variety of body forms and their spic
 ules represent nature’s finest glass art creations that surpass anyt
 hing we humans could make. These ancient and incredible animals have m
 any other fascinating characteristics that will be introduced in this 
 talk.\nDr. Christopher Kelley retired in 2018 after 18 years as progr
 am biologist for the Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) and gr
 aduate research faculty in oceanography at the University of Hawaii. H
 e led deep-water research cruises\, fisheries projects\, and a video a
 nnotation lab identifying deep-sea fish and invertebrates from submers
 ible and ROV footage. Two deep-water species—a seastar (Apollonaster
  kelleyi) and a coral (Crypthelia kelleyi)—have been named in his ho
 nor. After moving to Port Townsend in 2019\, Dr. Kelley has volunteere
 d with the Port Townsend Marine Science Center\, Wooden Boat Festival\
 , and Jefferson Land Trust. He continues to support Pacific research c
 ruises as an onshore scientist and works on deep-water glass sponge id
 entification and new species publications.\nOur lecture series\, The F
 uture of Oceans\, draws on the commitment of professional researchers 
 and educators across all academic spectrums to help define and inspire
  the health of our oceans.\nThis event is FREE - Thanks to the Darrow 
 Family for their ongoing support.
DTSTAMP:20260427T204619Z
ORGANIZER;SENT-BY="mailto:info@ptmsc.org";CN=Brian Kay:
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