The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is pleased to present “Life Hidden in Plain Sight” as the March offering in its ongoing Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series. Join SBMM on Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. as Marine Genome Project Co-Founder Daniel Ortega explores the use of genetic tools to discover new species and how these tools contribute to the conservation of marine ecosystems of our oceans. Beneath the surface of our planet lies a hidden world of life waiting for discovery. Ortega’s presentation emphasizes the importance of preserving this fragile underwater environment while drawing parallels between the Santa Barbara Channel Islands and Sardinia, Italy.
About the Speaker
Daniel Benjamin Ortega is an underwater explorer, scientist, and educator. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biological sciences with a concentration in conservation, biology, and ecology from Arizona State University and is currently working toward a masters degree in biological sciences. Ortega holds multiple technical and cave diving certifications through GUE (Global Underwater Explorers) and has completed more than 2,000 hours underwater in various environments around the world. Ortega is the co-founder and executive director of The Marine Genome Project, a nonprofit focused on using genetics to preserve the biodiversity of the underwater world. He has trained hundreds of scuba divers and professional instructors over the past 5 years. Ortega is a national member of The Explorers Club, and has had the prestigious honor of carrying Explorers Flag #218 – one of the youngest club members to carry an Explorers flag on an expedition. Fewer than 1,800 explorers in the last 100 years have been given this honor. For his latest project in Sardinia, Italy, Ortega was one of the first persons to collect eDNA from an underwater cave system in the region, leading to the discovery of multiple un-described species, and the discovery of an extinct species of bovine.
The Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series is sponsored by Marie L Morrisroe.
Missed our last Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series? Watch our previous lectures.