Associate professor Dr. Peter Hodum will offer his thoughts and research about species such as the tufted puffin, rhinoceros auklet, and leach’s and fork-tailed storm petrels at the next Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society meeting.

Hodum offers “Of Puffins and petrels: Conserving seabirds of the Salish Sea and Outer Coast of Washington” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, on Zoom. Register on the events page at olympicpeninsula audubon.org.

Hodum is an associate professor in the Biology Department and the Environmental Policy and Decision Making Program at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, as well as the Chili Program Director of Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge, a conservation nonprofit organization.

Moving between islands, seascapes and the species of the waters of Washington, Hodum will share stories about a collaborative research program focusing on improving our understanding of the ecology and conservation status of species such as the tufted puffin, rhinoceros auklet, and leach’s and fork-tailed storm petrels.

Although Washington is blessed with a rich community of breeding and wintering seabirds, relatively little is known about the ecology and conservation status of the many species, particularly the burrow-nesters. This relatively lack of knowledge extends to iconic species such as the Tufted Puffin, a species recently listed as Endangered by Washington State.

Moving between islands, seascapes, and the species of the waters of Washington, Dr. Hodum will share stories about a collaborative research program focusing on improving our understanding of the ecology and conservation status of several native species.

Hodum’s research focuses primarily on the conservation and ecology of threatened seabirds and island ecosystems in Chili and Washington state. His work also has a strong focus on community-based conservation, including how communities can be more effectively and authentically involved in conservation.