Podcasts about weddell seals

Episode 165 Atlas Ocean Voyages Review: Is the World Voyager Worth It for Antarctica? We just returned from one of the most bucket-list trips on the planet, an Antarctica expedition cruise aboard Atlas Ocean Voyages World Voyager, and we're breaking down everything: the ship, the staterooms, the food, the service, the expedition experience, and whether the $10,000–$15,000 price tag is actually worth it. This wasn't just a cruise review. This was one of our hosted group trips through Sunshine Travelers Experiences, so we lived this voyage alongside a group that had been planning it for years. We were intentional about every choice, ship size, itinerary, and overall value, and Atlas Ocean Voyages delivered across all three. If you're researching Antarctica expedition cruises, trying to decide between small ships vs. large ships, or wondering whether Atlas Ocean Voyages is the right fit for you, this episode is the deep dive you've been looking for. What We Cover in This Episode Why Ship Size Is Everything for AntarcticaWith Antarctica's strict rule that only 100 passengers can be on land at any one time, choosing a ship under 200 passengers changes the entire experience. On the World Voyager (153 passengers on our voyage), everyone gets to land on each expedition. Larger ships in the 200–499 passenger range technically qualify for Antarctica, but the rushed logistics mean you spend more time waiting than exploring. The Boarding ExperienceFrom the moment we arrived in Ushuaia, the experience felt like boarding a private yacht. Luggage was whisked directly to the ship, champagne and canapés were waiting in the lounge, and we were escorted to our stateroom with no long lines, no chaos. Stateroom Breakdown: Horizon Stateroom vs. BalconyWe booked the Horizon Stateroom, which features a floor-to-ceiling window that lowers halfway, giving you open-air views from the comfort of your cabin. In Antarctica's cold, this turned out to be the perfect choice over a balcony. The rooms also come with:- Oversized rain-head shower with body jets and a bench (no tiny cruise ship shower here)- Premium L'Occitane*bath amenities- Ultra-soft bedding, plush pillows, robes and slippers- Mini fridge stocked with your preferred beverages at no extra charge- Chaise lounge sofa, desk, and satellite TV with a curated film library *Note: Starting April 1, 2026, the Horizon Stateroom is being reclassified as a Junior Suite and will include Butler service. Daily Life & Expedition StructureEvery day was structured around two expeditions, typically one Zodiac tour and one shore landing. Passengers were divided into two rotating groups (ours was the "Weddell Seals"), so no single group always had priority. Plans changed constantly based on weather and ice conditions, and flexibility is key, but the expedition team handled every pivot seamlessly. The boot room (mud room) was central to the experience. Atlas provided parkas rated for extreme cold, rubber boots, and cleaned your gear between every landing to protect Antarctica's ecosystem. You keep the parka at the end of your voyage. Food & Dining: Better Than You'd ExpectDining was consistently one of the strongest parts of the ship. Here's what's included:- Main Dining Room: Buffet-style breakfast and lunch plus a rotating themed set menu for dinner (Italian, Asian, etc.) with multiple courses- Paula's Pantry- Counter service from 6:30 a.m. serving pastries, coffee, sandwiches, and daily rotating snacks- Afternoon Tea: Daily in the lounge with an extensive Kusmi Tea selection- 24-Hour Room Service: Full menu available any time — the midnight burger was excellent- All alcohol included: Beer, wine, and spirits all day, every day (except before excursions abd they enforce a strict no-alcohol policy before Zodiac tours and landings)- Fresh bread, pastries, and desserts baked daily by one dedicated baker and two pastry chefs using European-sourced ingredients What's Included in the PriceAt $10,000–$15,000+ per person (shoulder seasons like November and March on the lower end; peak and suites on the higher end), here's what's covered: the pre-voyage hotel night in Ushuaia, your flight to Ushuaia, the day tour before embarkation, all meals, all beverages (including alcohol and specialty coffees), gratuities, parkas, water bottles, and all expedition activities. Optional add-ons include kayaking, overnight camping on the continent, the Chef's Table, and spa treatments. Service: Nearly 1-to-1 Staff-to-Guest RatioWith approximately 130 crew members serving 153 guests, the service was personal in a way that's simply impossible on a mega-ship. Within a few days, staff knew every passenger's name. Our waiters remembered our preferences from the first meal. Gratuities are included, but the culture of going above and beyond was evident everywhere. The Expedition TeamSixteen experts from 11 countries — glaciologists, marine biologists, geologists, wildlife specialists — led every shore excursion with genuine enthusiasm. Sign up for a dinner with an expedition team member if you can; it's complimentary and completely worth it. Onboard Highlights You Wouldn't Expect- Crew Talent Show: One of the best evenings of the trip. Staff who you'd only seen behind the counter transformed into dancers, musicians, and a Rubik's cube speed-solver — all live.- Galley Tour: Met the executive chef and toured the immaculate kitchen — complimentary, not an upcharge.- Open Bridge Access: Visit the ship's bridge and talk with the captain and expedition leader — no extra fee.- Ship Stabilizers: Made a real difference in comfort during Drake Passage crossings.- Spa & Sauna: The sauna and heated loungers with panoramic windows overlooking Antarctica were unforgettable. Basic access is included; spa treatments are extra. Who Is This Ship Right For? The Atlas Ocean Voyages World Voyager is for travelers who want an immersive, destination-first expedition, not entertainment-heavy cruise-ship nightlife. Expect educational lectures, wildlife encounters, and an intimate atmosphere rather than big Broadway-style shows. If you want everyone on the ship to know your name by day two, and you care more about getting *on* Antarctic soil than watching it from a deck far above the water, this is your ship. Atlas also sails Arctic itineraries(summer), Mediterranean routes (summer), and a few Caribbean itineraries during transitions, and much of what we've described (small ship intimacy, included inclusions, exceptional service) applies to those voyages too. Resources & Links Mentioned - See our Full YOUTUBE video Atlas Ocean Voyages World Voyager — Full Ship & Cabin Tour 2026 - Book a trip or inquire about group travel: sunshinetravelersexperiences.com- Previous episode — Antarctica destination deep dive: Listen before this one for full context on what to expect on the continent Connect with Us - Instagram & Facebook @SunshineTravelersPodcast- **Leave a 5-star review** on your favorite podcast platform — it helps other travelers find us! Planning an Antarctica expedition cruise and want personalized guidance? Reach out to us directly through sunshinetravelersexperiences.com We;ve done the research, and the trip, so you don't have to start from scratch.

Parker Levinson, a graduate student in the Department of Ecology at Montana State University, discusses her passion for animals, love for field research, and her research on Weddell seals. 

Multimedia eBook author Jeremy Schmidt reads from our beautiful interactive eBook "Weddell Seals" about the lives of the Weddell seals of icy Erebus Bay, Antarctica. New eBook Reading: The Lives of Weddell Seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica [Share]

"Weddell Seals" multimedia eBook author and creator Jeremy Schmidt reads an excerpt on Antarctic Heroic Era naturalist, Dr. Edward A. Wilson, and his vividly accurate description of encountering Weddell seals. Natural history writer and photographer Jeremy Schmidt is a multimedia specialist with the Weddell Seal Population Project. More information on the project and the new FREE multimedia ebook are available at WeddellSealScience.com. Author Reading #2 From New Multimedia ebook, "Weddell Seals": Antarctica Heroic Era Pioneer Dr. Edward A. Wilson On Weddell Seals [Share]

In this episode, writer and photographer Jeremy Schmidt gives a brief reading from our new multimedia eBook, "Weddell Seals" on Mark-Recapture, a data analysis method used by the Weddell Seal Population Project to estimate population sizes and abundance. Our new eBook is now available for FREE from Apple Books, Google Play Books, and as a direct download at our website, WeddellSealScience.com. We hope you enjoy this podcast! #1 Author Reading From Our New Multimedia eBook "Weddell Seals" Now Available For Free! [Share]

Join Pacific Mammal Research (PacMam) scientists to learn about different marine mammals each episode! We discuss a little about the biology, behavior and fun facts about each species. Have fun and learn about marine mammals with PacMam! This week: Weddell Seals Presenters: Cindy Elliser and Katrina MacIver Music by Josh Burns Become a Paid Subscriber - get ad-free episodes and bonus mini-episodes/content available to subscribers only: https://anchor.fm/pacific-mammal-research/subscribe. Your support helps us continue our research and education programs! Weddell seal episode Sources: · https://www.pinnipeds.org/seal-information/species-information-pages/the-phocid-seals/weddell-seal · http://weddellsealscience.com/about.html (research running since 1968!) · https://www.marinebio.org/species/weddell-seals/leptonychotes-weddellii/ Sound files: · https://dosits.org/galleries/audio-gallery/marine-mammals/pinnipeds/weddell-seal/(sound file) · https://ocr.org/sounds/weddell-seal/(sound file) · https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-antarctica/animals/seals/weddell-seal/(lots of sound files) New research: LaRue et al 2020 - crowd sourcing and remote sensing: https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.124 LaRue et al 2021 - new global population estimate with crowd sourcing and remote sensing: https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.124 Popular science article of that publication: https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2022/02/04/weddell-seal-population-may-be-much-lower-than-previously-thought/ Davis et al 2003 - 3D dive movments: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v264/p109-122/ Williams et al 2004 - metabolic costs of foraging: o https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/207/6/973/15049/The-cost-of-foraging-by-a-marine-predator-the Heerah et al 2013 - ecology of seals during winter (foraging): o https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064512001658 Wheatley et al 2006 - influence of maternal mass: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3838384 Hadley et al 2006 - variation in probability of first reproduction: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01118.x

"Aquatic Echoes is my interpretation of an underwater recording from the PALAOA observatory on the Antarctic Ice Shelf. The recording is a very dense one, with sounds from an Antarctic Minke Whale, Weddell Seals and even distant Leopard seals. The recording also contains a lot of noise. I don't know the source of this noise. Maybe it's a ship, maybe it's the ice, maybe it's the self-noise of the equipment, maybe it's an overhead storm. These animals are unfamiliar to me; I don't even know the circumstances under which it was recorded. But it evokes a strange, alien world. A world consisting more of sound than anything else.  "I was struck by the thumping of the Antarctic Whale. A repetitive low pulse almost continuously present in the two minute long recording. Other than he very clear and present calls from the Weddell seals, this thumping was buried in the noise floor, almost hidden. The unseen fundament of the soundscape. I wanted this sound to form the backbone of my composition. I admit that I actually don't know if this low thumping is the Antarctic Minke Whale, it sounds lower than the few samples I found online. But the title of the track is Weddell seals chirping + thumping Antarctic minke whale.   "For all I know, the thumping I isolated is a distant ship. I decided not to care: it was obviously a very present part of the soundscape recorded here, and there is still a lot we don't know about the vocalisations of the Antarctic Minke Whale, so who knows. And if it was a distant ship, it goes to show how rare a truly pristine soundscape is. I decided I would build my composition on this uncertainty, this mystery. I split up the recording in a few pieces, isolating the thumping, isolating the seal calls, some other high frequency content, and isolating the noise I filtered away as well. Then I started building with these components, taking the structure from the sounds I heard. I decided to also use two recordings I made myself. Two recordings that include this mystery. The first was an underwater soundscape I recorded in the fjords of Norway. As with all underwater recordings, it is difficult to tell what you are hearing exactly. The other recording was a call I recorded in a dense and remote African rain forest. For quite a while I did not know what made the call was, so just called it ‘desperate bird'. Now I do know (it's not a bird), but the feeling of mystery has never left me. These are also two recordings closely related to water, and both of them also come from ecologies at risk.  "In the composition I wanted to create this otherworldly atmosphere, sounds of places we don't know, worlds unknown to us, but of which can get an inkling through sound. I wanted to sounds to be open and claustrophobic at the same time, and used some processing to dive into the very intricate and complex seal calls.  I even used the noise I had filtered away in the composition as well, further highlighting the mystery. This composition is not a translation of the Antarctic Ocean, but an exploration and evocation of worlds foreign to us.  I think listening is a great way of trying to understand what these places could mean, and by expansion, what unfamiliar places can mean to us. This is why I was looking for these aquatic echoes." Weddell seal reimagined by Stijn Demeulenaere. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.  IMAGE: Andrew Shiva / Wikipedia

Antarctica Weddell seals make extraordinary vocalizations both underwater and on top of the sea ice. This episode features some of their weird sounds, as well as a musical composition by Steve Perez interweaving Weddell sounds with guitar and keyboard. We hope you enjoy this podcast. Learn more at WeddellSealScience.com! WeddellSounds1 [Share]

Weddell seals have returned to breed near Scott Base in Antarctica after a decades-long absence. On land, they're blubbery lumps. But underwater, they're graceful dancers and ethereal singers. A team of scientists is finding out more about the under-ice lives and habits of Weddell seals. Alison Ballance joins them in this episode from the award-winning series Voices from Antarctica.

Weddell seals produce ultrasonic vocalizationsThe Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA)https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0002867Authors: Paul A. Cziko, Lisa M. Munger, Nicholas R. Santos, and John M. TerhuneIn this episode, we interview Jack Terhune of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of New Brunswick. Read more from The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA).Learn more about Acoustical Society of America Publications.Music Credit: Min 2019 by minwbu from Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=1022 

In this episode Host, Shinae talks to Sarah and Simon about their endeavors on the ice working hands-on with Weddell Seals. Don't miss this unique perspective which demonstrates how understanding one (cute) creature in Antarctica can help to answer critical questions that concern the entire ecosystem!

On this week’s podcast Dr. Lee Fuiman helps us answer the question how do Weddell seals navigate underwater, and on the  ice, in Antarctica.

Facts About Weddell Seals! Credits: Executive Producer: Chris Krimitsos Voice, Editor, and Post-Producer: Jimmy Murray "Winner Winner!" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Facts from Wikipedia Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

The mating game - Antarctic style. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shane Petch, a graduate student in the Department of Ecology at Montana State University, discusses his love for the outdoors growing up in western Colorado and how he has overcome some periods of self-doubt. He also discusses his research on Weddell seals in Antarctica.

Polar Divers Caitlyn Webster and Robert Alexander muse on what happens to the human body when underwater at the edge of our planet, while Acoustic Ecologist Michelle Fournet describes her encounters with the Weddell Seals of Antarctica. Help Meet the Ocean continue to create and distribute meaningful, educational content by subscribing to our podcast & donating to our nonprofit. Share on your social media to let your friends know why the ocean matters most. @meettheocean

From climate records to penguin counts, the shutdown of the U.S. government will have lasting science effects. David Biello reports

The resilient Weddell seals of Erebus Bay in Antarctica's Ross Sea, and how they responded to a massive iceberg event that blocked access to some of their pupping areas in the past decade. More information on the Weddell seal ecology project at WeddellSealScience.com

How an Antarctic marine predator fared in a massive iceberg event. Intro to long-running population study of the southernmost mammal on Earth. This short film screened at an event associated with the 2012 Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) gathering in Portland, OR. Edited by Mary Lynn Price, more info at WeddellSealScience.com.

QUEST Producer Sheraz Sadiq interviews Bay Area filmmaker and musician Jesse Hiatt about the experience of filming in one of the world's most extreme environments. See his footage in the QUEST segment, "Field Notes: Dan Costa in Antarctica."

A functioning population of apex predators in a pristine Antarctic marine environment provides a unique opportunity to learn more about our world, and how animals interact with their environment. Interview with Montana State University ecologist Jay Rotella on location in the Weddell seal colony at Big Razorback Island, Erebus Bay in the Ross Sea.

Iconic predators, incredible divers, unforgettable pups! These beautiful animals are the subject one of the longest running population studies ever of a long-lived mammal. Join Montana State University ecologists and professors Bob Garrott and Jay Rotella and graduate student Jen Mannas as they introduce us to these amazing animals and the work of the research team in Antarctica. Filmed on location on Antarctica, where Weddell seals inhabit the last remaining pristine marine environment on Earth. Video production by Mary Lynn Price. More information at WeddellSealScience.com.

From birth on the Antarctic ice to life underwater, a rare look at the southernmost mammal on Earth. Video Production by Mary Lynn Price. Learn more at http://WeddellSealScience.org . For a high definition version of this podcast, please go to DiveFilm HD Video podcast at iTunes!

From birth on the Antarctic ice to life underwater, a rare look at the southernmost mammal on Earth. Video Production by Mary Lynn Price. Learn more at http://WeddellSealScience.org .

Graceful divers, magnificent animals, unforgettable pups! Working in Antarctica with a research team continuing one of the longest running population studies ever of a long-lived mammal, on the most remote continent on earth. Video production by Mary Lynn Price. More information at WeddellSealScience.org . For a high definition version of this podcast, please go to DiveFilm HD Video podcast at iTunes!

Graceful divers, magnificent animals, unforgettable pups! Working in Antarctica with a research team continuing one of the longest running population studies ever of a long-lived mammal, on the most remote continent on earth. Video production by Mary Lynn Price. More information on the Weddell seal population study at WeddellSealScience.org .