Environmental Studies Guest Speaker Series: Lobster Fishers
From Tim Allen, Environmental Studies:
On Tuesday, November 10, Christopher Brehme (Geography) will present the second of the KSC Department of Environmental Studies Guest Speaker Series lectures: “Cognitive Strategies of Lobster Fishers in Maine and Western Australia.”
Dr. Brehme will present research exploring how lobster fishers learn and recall geographic regions of the ocean floor. This work builds on a foundation of research in spatial cognition to examine how fishers use internal and external representations of lobster behavior and the ocean environment to identify lobster habitats and direct the placement of lobster traps. The nested spatial scales presented by commercial fisheries, lobster fishing vessels, and individual fishers provide a unique framework in which to examine the processes of spatial learning and the roles of traditional and modern tools in influencing this learning. Fishers were engaged in this research through mixed methods that included diaries, interviews, participant observation, and sketch mapping exercises.
This event will take place in Morrison 110 at 4 p.m. (cookies and cider will be served). Please join us!
Future speakers in this series include:
- Tuesday, February 2: Nicholas L. Rodenhouse, professor of biological sciences at Wellesley College
- _Tuesday, March 2: _to be announced
- Tuesday, April 6: Brooke T. Mossman, professor of environmental pathology at the University of Vermont.
