Earth Optimism Webinar: The Mysterious Migrations of Cownose Rays

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Credit: SERC Fisheries Conservation Lab

Photo: Two cownose rays swim underwater in a temporary holding pool.

Cownose rays are enigmatic, and sometimes controversial, summertime inhabitants of Chesapeake Bay. Marine biologists with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center have been tagging cownose rays and tracking their long-distance migrations since 2014. On Sept. 19 Dr. Matt Ogburn, head of the the center's Fisheries Conservation Lab, will reveal some of the discoveries from this 9-year tracking effort. Biologists have uncovered the rays’ overwintering habitat, documented the different migration patterns of males and females, and revealed the environmental cues that help rays know when to start migrating. These findings are helping support conservation and management of this often misunderstood and overlooked stingray.

This webinar will be recorded! Closed captioning will be available on both the live event and on the recording. By signing up on Zoom, you’ll be able to join live and receive a link to the recording approximately one week after it airs.