<html><body><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; color: #000099"><hr id="zwchr"><div style="color:#000;font-weight:normal;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;" data-mce-style="color: #000; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>From: </b>"Jennica Deely" <jdeely@sea.edu><br><div dir="ltr"><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">March 10, 2014</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline" data-mce-style="vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="font-size:16pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-size: 16pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">For Immediate Release:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> </span></i><span style="font-size: large;" data-mce-style="font-size: large;" size="4"><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;font-variant:small-caps;color:rgb(65,116,178);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; font-variant: small-caps; color: #4174b2; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">2014 Spring Lecture Series |March 2014</span></b><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"> </span></b></span><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> </span></i><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">For more information, contact: <br> Jennica Deely, Marketing Coordinator, SEA | </span></i><a href="mailto:jdeely@sea.edu" target="_blank" data-mce-href="mailto:jdeely@sea.edu"><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">jdeely@sea.edu</span></i></a><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"> | 508-540-3954 x523<br> </span></i><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> <span style="color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="color: #4174b2;">March 16 – May 18, 2014 | 1pm</span></span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;"><br> </span><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">Sea Education Association<br> <b><i>James L. Madden Center Lecture Hall<br> </i></b>171 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA<br> <b>508-540-3954</b></span><b><span style="font-size:24pt;font-family:Calibri;font-variant:small-caps;color:rgb(89,89,89);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri; font-variant: small-caps; color: #595959; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt" data-mce-style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Free and open to the public<br> <br> </span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;">March 16 | Dr. Amy NS Siuda, <i>Drifting Oases of Life on the Deep Blue Sea</i></span></b><b><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #4174b2;"><br> <br> </span></i></b><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">April 13</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;"> | Dr. Chuck Lea, <i>Deep Sea Fish and Squid and the Open Ocean Environment</i></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #4174b2;"><br> <br> </span></i><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">May 18</span></b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;"> | Captain Elliot Rappaport, <i>Leadership Training in the Marine Environment</i></span><i><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #4174b2;"></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt" data-mce-style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><i><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;"><br> </span></i><b><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">Upcoming March Lectures:</span></b><b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> </span></b><b><span style="font-size:18pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;">Drifting Oases of Life on the Deep Blue Sea<br> </span></b><b><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">By Dr. Amy NS Siuda</span></i></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Arial; color: #595959;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline" data-mce-style="vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">WHEN:</span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;"><br> March 16, 2014 at 1pm</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline" data-mce-style="vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">WHERE:</span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;"><br> Sea Education Association<br> James L. Madden Center Lecture Hall<br> 171 Woods Hole Road, Falmouth, MA<br> <b>508-540-3954</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline" data-mce-style="vertical-align: baseline;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89);border:1pt none windowtext;padding:0in" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959; border: 1pt none windowtext; padding: 0in;">Free and open to the public</span></i></b><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;"></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="vertical-align:baseline" data-mce-style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(39,100,148);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #276494; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> </span><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">Presentation Summary</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt" data-mce-style="margin-bottom: 6pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">The North Atlantic subtropical gyre (Sargasso Sea), Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico host two species of the brown seaweed, Sargassum, that are unique in life history strategy and ecological function. Unlike other species of seaweed, S. natans and S. fluitans drift at the ocean surface and are never attached to the seafloor. Individual Sargassum plants are forced by ocean currents into aggregated mats that can resemble small islands. Ecologically and economically important organisms, including sea turtles, eel larvae and game fish, use Sargassum aggregations as nursery and feeding sites in the nutrient-poor open ocean. Sargassum also supports a specialized community of inhabitants, from fish to crabs, that have adapted to ‘hide’ within the weed. As a result, these drifting oases have been identified as biodiversity hotspots and are the focus of a new policy initiative to make the Sargasso Sea a high-seas Marine Protected Area. This lecture will introduce us to the Sargassum community and share how decades of scientific observations recorded during SEA Semester cruises are informing the management effort in the Sargasso Sea region. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;">About the Lecturer</span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178);letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> </span><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">Dr. Amy NS Siuda is Associate Professor of Oceanography at Sea Education Association (SEA) in Woods Hole, MA. A graduate of Middlebury College (BA Biology and French) and an alumna of SEA Semester, Dr. Siuda earned her PhD in Oceanography from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests span organismal, population and community ecology of plankton. Dr. Siuda is currently involved in several research projects, including: studies of plankton diversity in the Sargasso Sea; understanding the distribution patterns of the drifting macroalgae, Sargassum natans and S. fluitans; and investigating selective grazing by copepods of microplastics contaminated with persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances. Dr. Siuda also has extensive experience in undergraduate instruction and curricular development. Her teaching interests range from building scientific foundation and research skills to scientific communication and the intersection of science and policy. Dr. Siuda is Program Director and co-developer of the SEA Semester: Marine Biodiversity and Conservation program, an integrated problem-based science and policy curriculum to address real-world conservation challenges.<br> </span><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(74,74,74)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4a4a4a;"><br> </span><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;">About Sea Education Association/SEA Semester®</span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><br> <i>Creating Ocean Scholars, Stewards & Leaders Since 1971</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Calibri;"><br> </span><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">Sea Education Association (SEA) is an internationally recognized leader in undergraduate ocean education. For more than 40 years and over one million nautical miles sailed, SEA has educated students about the world’s oceans through its fully accredited study abroad program, SEA Semester<sup>®</sup>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">SEA Semester<sup>®</sup> is the leading off-campus Environmental Studies program focused on the oceans. SEA Semester creates environmentally literate leaders who are prepared to address the defining issue of the twenty-first century: the human impact on the environment. SEA looks for motivated students of all majors who are passionate about learning, willing to seek out new challenges, and eager to become part of a unique learning community.<br> <br> </span><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">SEA/SEA Semester<sup>®</sup> is based on Cape Cod in the oceanographic research community of Woods Hole, Massachusetts and has two research vessels: the SSV <i>Corwith Cramer</i>, operating in the Atlantic Ocean, and the SSV <i>Robert C. Seamans</i>, operating in the Pacific.<br> <br> </span><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:6pt;line-height:12pt" data-mce-style="margin-bottom: 6pt; line-height: 12pt;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;">For more information on SEA Semester<sup>®</sup> programs, please visit </span><a href="http://www.sea.edu/programs" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.sea.edu/programs"><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">www.sea.edu/programs</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;"> , or contact one of our Admissions Counselors at 800-552-3633 x770 or </span><a href="mailto:admissions@sea.edu" target="_blank" data-mce-href="mailto:admissions@sea.edu"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178);text-decoration:none" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2; text-decoration: none;">admissions@sea.edu</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(65,116,178)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4174b2;">.</span><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(74,74,74)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4a4a4a;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:18.25pt;vertical-align:baseline" data-mce-style="margin-bottom: 18.25pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(74,74,74)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4a4a4a;"><br> </span><i><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #595959;">For more information on the lecture series and specific lectures/lecturers, please contact Jennica Deely, Marketing Coordinator with SEA.<br> </span></i><a href="mailto:jdeely@sea.edu" target="_blank" data-mce-href="mailto:jdeely@sea.edu"><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;">jdeely@sea.edu</span></a><span style="font-family:Calibri" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri;"><br> <span style="color:rgb(89,89,89)" data-mce-style="color: #595959;">508-540-3954 x523<br> <br> </span></span><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(74,74,74)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4a4a4a;">#######</span><b><span style="font-family:Calibri;letter-spacing:0.35pt" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; letter-spacing: 0.35pt;"><br> <br> </span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri;color:rgb(74,74,74)" data-mce-style="font-family: Calibri; color: #4a4a4a;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><div><div dir="ltr"><table class="mceItemTable" style="font-family:Times" data-mce-style="font-family: Times;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="92"><img src="http://www.sea.edu/images/sea_images/logo_signatures.gif" style="padding-right: 12px;" src="http://www.sea.edu/images/sea_images/logo_signatures.gif" data-mce-src="http://www.sea.edu/images/sea_images/logo_signatures.gif" data-mce-style="padding-right: 12px;" height="107" width="80"></td><td valign="top"><p style="font-size:12px;color:rgb(74,74,74);font-family:Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;line-height:12px" data-mce-style="font-size: 12px; color: #4a4a4a; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 12px;"><strong>Jennica Deely</strong><br>Marketing Coordinator<br>Sea Education Association <br>P.O. Box 6 • Woods Hole, MA 02543<br> <strong>t:</strong> 508.540.3954 x523<br><strong>f:</strong> 800.977.8516<br><a href="http://www.sea.edu/" style="color:rgb(206,22,40);text-decoration:none!important" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://www.sea.edu/" data-mce-style="color: #ce1628; text-decoration: none!important;">www.sea.edu</a><br data-mce-bogus="1"></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></body></html>