Edmonds Lecture Series: The Great Pacific Octopus

Tim Carpenter is currently the Director of Animal Operations at the Seattle Aquarium, and has been studying and caring for fish and invertebrates for over 35 years.  He is a senior diver at the Aquarium, and a collection and research diver, both locally and in the tropics.  During the last five years one of Tim’s main responsibilities has been representing the Animal Care team in the design process and construction of the Aquarium’s offsite quarantine facility, and the newly-opened Ocean Pavilion, a brand-new expansion to the aquarium showcasing the Coral triangle, its cultures, and animals.

In his current and past role as Curator of Fish and Invertebrates, Tim focuses energy on the development, implementation, and adaptive management of the Aquarium’s population management plan and conservation breeding efforts, balancing the demands of the Aquarium’s animal population with species recovery efforts.  In this role, he works with the Aquarium’s Animal Care professionals to design realistic and healthy habitats for the animals in their care, and strives to showcase and increase the benefits that aquariums can have on the world’s wild populations of marine animals.