From giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com Tue Feb 1 07:53:00 2011 From: giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com (Giovanni Bearzi) Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2011 16:53:00 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] =?iso-8859-1?q?Overview_of_sperm_whale_Physeter_macrocep?= =?iso-8859-1?q?halus_mortality_events_in_the_Adriatic_Sea=2C_1555=AD2009?= Message-ID: The following article has become available online: Overview of sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus mortality events in the Adriatic Sea, 1555-2009 Giovanni BEARZI, Nino PIERANTONIO, Marco AFFRONTE, Dra?ko HOLCER, Nicola MAIO, Giuseppe NOTARBARTOLO DI SCIARA Mammal Review (2011) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2907.2010.00171.x ABSTRACT 1. In the Mediterranean Sea, the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus is one of eight regular cetacean species. Poor knowledge of its ecology and status, together with suspected decline in numbers, make studies of historical and present occurrence especially relevant. Long-term time series of stranding events are the most reliable data to provide a scientific framework for testing hypotheses that seek to explain the mechanisms responsible for cetacean strandings. 2. We present a comprehensive overview of cases of sperm whale mortality and human response to such events encompassing five centuries (1555-2009) within a portion of the Mediterranean Sea that offers a wealth of historical information - the Adriatic Sea. 3. A total of 36 mortality events were validated, involving 68 animals. Two findings of skeletal materials are also reported. The geographic distribution of strandings within the basin clearly was uneven: 44% of records (n = 16) were clustered along a 280km portion of the western Adriatic coast. A relatively high number of mortality events occurred along gently sloping sandy beaches away from suitable sperm whale habitat. 4. Until the first half of the 20th century, live-stranded animals were routinely killed: all but one cases with known human response elicited killing attempts. Starting from the 1980s, killing was replaced by efforts to rescue the animals. 5. Mass strandings of sperm whales have occurred since historical times in the Adriatic Sea. Mortality events involving multiple individuals accounted for at least 17% of the total sample (6 of 36 mortality events). At least 29% of live strandings (6 of 21) involved more than one individual. 6. This study contributes a long-term dataset based on careful validation of historical information, suitable for hypothesis testing aimed at investigating spatial and temporal correlates of sperm whale strandings - particularly live strandings - as a clue to their causes. --- A pdf copy can be obtained from the journal's web site (subscribers only): http://tinyurl.com/4sg6xuc or from me: giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Giovanni Bearzi http://www.coastaldolphins.org/giovanni_bearzi.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rwallace at ursinus.edu Tue Feb 1 13:30:07 2011 From: rwallace at ursinus.edu (Wallace, Richard) Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 16:30:07 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] AESS 2011 Call for Abstracts Now Open!! Message-ID: <0D4B4FB26F41EA45812E83E8D5ABAFCF223684B8@Exchange02.ursinus.local> Dear Marmam folks, I would like to invite you to consider presenting at the upcoming conference of the Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences. The call for abstracts is now open, and more information is given below. Initial program information (accepted workshops, symposia, panels, and roundtable discussions) will be posted soon. There is already accepted marine mammal content in the program, with more expected, and we would be delighted to foster greater involvement of the marine mammal science and conservation community. Please let me know if you have any questions and apologies for cross-postings. Sincerely, Rich Wallace Program Chair, AESS and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Ursinus College Collegeville, PA ******************************************************** Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences 2011 Conference "Confronting Complexity" June 23-26, 2011, Burlington, Vermont Hosted by the University of Vermont [cid:image001.jpg at 01CBC22D.497E4540] Call for Abstracts is Now Open!!! The Deadline for Submitting Abstracts is March 15, 2011 For more information on the conference or to submit an abstract, visit the AESS 2011 Conference Website (www.aess.info/2011) Registration for AESS 2011 - including all workshops and field trips - opens on February 15! Symposium, Panel Session, and Other Program Information Coming Soon to the AESS 2011 Website. AESS 2011 is delighted to feature plenary addresses by Dr. Heidi Cullen CEO and Director of Communications, Climate Central and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (invited) [cid:image002.jpg at 01CBC22D.497E4540] Also on the AESS 2011 Conference agenda: Exciting Vermont Field Trips A Scrumptious "Taste of Vermont" Banquet Live Musical Entertainment Featured Films Student Mixers More on the Conference Theme: AESS recognizes and embraces complexity as the hallmark of our field. Social, physical, biological and ideological factors in environmental problems are intricately linked, and environmental problems are so tightly interconnected that addressing one invariably affects others. This limits our predictive capacity and challenges the assumptions embedded in our models of natural and social phenomena. Engaging in dialogues about complexity presents challenges in both classroom and public sphere. Confronting complexity is critical to our ability to develop effective responses, thus this theme for the AESS 2011 annual meeting. About the Conference Host: The University of Vermont, the state's land grant institution, is one of the top green universities in the United States. It offers numerous environmental majors and is home to 10,000 undergraduates, 1,500 graduate students, and 1,300 faculty. Located in Burlington, Vermont, the campus and green conference venue are perched on a hill and look west across Lake Champlain to the Adirondacks and east to the Green Mountains. Downtown is a short shuttle ride or walk from campus with easy access to shops and restaurants. Burlington is the largest metropolitan area in Vermont and has received high ratings for livability, sustainability, and cultural engagement. To learn more about AESS or to become an AESS member, click here! If you have questions, please e-mail: AESS Program Committee Chair Rich Wallace at rwallace at ursinus.edu or AESS 2011 Site Host Stephanie Kaza at Stephanie.Kaza at uvm.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 8845 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 20826 bytes Desc: image002.jpg URL: From wuersig at sbcglobal.net Wed Feb 2 06:25:56 2011 From: wuersig at sbcglobal.net (Bernd Wuersig) Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 06:25:56 -0800 (PST) Subject: [MARMAM] Marine Mammal Behavioural Ecology Studies in New Zealand Message-ID: <829533.47281.qm@web81108.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Dear MARMAM Colleagues, A new course in Marine Mammal Behavioural Ecology, with special emphasis on dusky dolphin foraging and social strategies will be held in Kaikoura, New Zealand, 17-28 May, 2011. PERSONNEL: This course is team taught by a cadre of international experts, and is limited to 10 participants, preferably of undergraduate or graduate student status. While you do not need to be enrolled in university during the course, we prefer general student status, or working towards it. DATES: Course dates are 17-28 May, with arrival needed by 16 May (if coming from North America or Europe, add one day due to the dateline, i.e. you need to leave home by 14 May). CREDIT: Course credit in the US system is 4 units (equal to a one-semester lecture course with lab). Please coordinate with your respective university if you wish credit, and the course leaders will give you a grade on performance, and a full evaluation as per your school?s requisites. COURSE STRUCTURE: This course will consist of 1) lectures and in situ immersion in the world of dusky dolphins; 2) practical field experience in photographic identification, theodolite tracking from a shore station, and learning details of behavioral descriptions; 3) assessment of dolphin activities from a dolphin watching vessel, for close-up interactional information; and 4) a local indigenous Maori appreciation of nature and natural resources, with a special Maori-led tour through the native forest. Participants have the chance to conduct their own directed studies during these two weeks, and to use these for student accreditation for their respective universities. We will help supply ideas for the actual topic once in the field. COST: Course cost is $3,000 US. You are expected to find your own financial way to Kaikoura (with our logistic advice), but once you are there, we take care of other course expenses: Living in a beautiful house overlooking the sea; evening meals by an acclaimed local cook, and all other food costs; costs of boats and vans/cars/trucks. INTERESTED? Contact the course coordinator, Bernd W?rsig, by Friday Feb. 11 with your CV and a short cover letter explaining why you would like to participate in this course, at wuersig at sbcglobal.net. If selected, a 50% deposit is due by Friday March 4; 100% by Friday April 25, 2011. You will need international health insurance. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From isabelle.charrier at u-psud.fr Thu Feb 3 08:13:09 2011 From: isabelle.charrier at u-psud.fr (Isabelle Charrier) Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:13:09 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] IBAC 2011, La Rochelle, France Message-ID: <4D4AD415.6030905@u-psud.fr> *Dear All, **We are pleased to announce that the _opening of the abstract submission_ for the XXIII meeting of the **International BioAcoustic Council (IBAC) that will be held in the city of La Rochelle, France, from 12-16 September 2011 at the Aquarium. _Registration_ will be opened in a couple of weeks. **The objective of IBAC meeting is to promote international participation throughout the entire field of bioacoustical activity. The subject of bioacoustics is principally a marriage between the fields of biology and physical acoustics. Given its multidisciplinary nature, IBAC aims to bring together, in informal settings, biologists from different specialisms (ethologists, physiologists, taxonomists, etc) with engineers, sound archivists and amateur sound recordists, to foster discussion and exchange of ideas. The scientific program will be composed of sessions of invited speakers integrated with thematic symposia and poster presentations. More information are available on the following website: http://www.cb.u-psud.fr/ibac2011 We hope to see you in La Rochelle next September ! The Organising Committee * ************************************************************************* Isabelle CHARRIER *Equipe Communications Acoustiques, CNPS-CNRS UMR 8195 Universit? Paris Sud, Bat.446, 91405 Orsay, FRANCE Tel:(33-1).69.15.68.26 Fax:(33-1).69.15.77.26 Email: isabelle.charrier at u-psud.fr *new* Isabelle's website: http://www.cb.u-psud.fr/pinniped/ Bioacoustics Team website: http://www.cb.u-psud.fr/ ************************************************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From katherynpatterson at yahoo.com Thu Feb 3 08:32:02 2011 From: katherynpatterson at yahoo.com (Katheryn Patterson) Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 08:32:02 -0800 (PST) Subject: [MARMAM] Student hotel rooms available for IMCC 2 Message-ID: <803265.17329.qm@web63801.mail.re1.yahoo.com> Dear All, A block of hotel rooms has been reserved for student registrants at the Best Western Inner Harbour Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, for those attending the Second International Marine Conservation Congress, May 14 -18, 2011 (http://www.conbio.org/IMCC2011/).? Each room is equipped with both a refrigerator and microwave, and discounted prices include a daily continental breakfast. These rooms are expected to go fast so make sure you reserve yours today!! Best Western Inner Harbour Hotel 412 Quebec Street Victoria, British Columbia, V8V 1W5 1-888-383-2378, Direct Phone: 250-384-5122; Fax: 250-384-5113 Room rates: $152 single studio (1 bed)/double (2 beds), $182 bedroom suite (2 beds) The Best Western Inner Harbour Hotel is situated in downtown Victoria?s best location, at the beautiful Inner Harbour, just a short stroll from many of the city?s best highlights, including the majestic Parliament Buildings, the award-winning Royal BC Museum, Beacon Hill Park?and Fisherman's Wharf. All our hotel rooms are 100% non-smoking and offer?the added conveniences of a fridge, microwave &?private balcony.? We offer delicious daily complimentary continental breakfast, free gated parking and various recreational amenities, including our large indoor whirlpool and seasonal outdoor pool. Cheers, Katheryn ------------------------------------------------------- Katheryn W. Patterson International Marine Conservation Congress Student Committee Chair Email: kpatter3 at gmu.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Andy.Garrett at MyFWC.com Thu Feb 3 08:50:54 2011 From: Andy.Garrett at MyFWC.com (Garrett, Andy) Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 11:50:54 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Job Announcement Florida Fish and Wildlife St. Petersburg, FL Message-ID: <4F5FF9AB3D1CC94DBB300D025C8C4A3B02AE8D2DE5@FWC-TLEX10.fwc.state.fl.us> Dear Marmam, I would like to announce the following position with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Working Title: OPS F&W BIOLOGICAL SCIENTIST II Broadband/Class Code: 19-1023-02 Position Number: 77907128 Annual Salary Range: $11.00 per hour/ no benefits Announcement Type: Open Competitive Facility: Marine Mammal Pathobiology Lab Pay Grade/ Pay Band: BB008 Closing Date: 2/14/2011 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Title: OPS F&W Biological Scientist II Position Number: 77907128 Salary: $11.00 /hr (40 hrs/wk) Tuesday- Saturday; occasional holidays; no benefits Provided Section: Wildlife Research Sub-Section: Marine Mammals Headquarters: Saint Petersburg, Florida (Pinellas County) Brief Description of Job Duties: This position will assist in the coordination of salvage and recovery efforts of marine mammal carcasses for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory (MMPL). The incumbent will serve as member of FWC's manatee necropsy team conducting field and laboratory necropsies on manatee and other marine mammal carcasses, record observations and complete associated necropsy reports. This position will recover marine mammal carcasses for necropsy from the Northwest region (coastal and inland waterways of Manatee County to Escambia County) of Florida and assist in manatee rescue and transport operations in the Northwest region as well as assist with manatee rescue and capture operations away from designated area as needed. This position will be responsible for preparation and labeling of sample containers, carcass disposal, and cleaning of equipment and instruments as well as downloading and logging photographs taken during necropsies, rescues, captures, and other field activities, overseeing repairs and general maintenance of all photography equipment, and maintaining frozen tissue inventories at the MMPL. This position will be responsible for assisting with the coordination of the MMPL's response to cetacean strandings in Tampa Bay, maintaining the MMPL's cetacean stranding records, coordinating with regional cetacean stranding partners and organizing semi-annual cetacean stranding workshops. This position will have an assigned work schedule of Tuesday- Saturday (8:00 am-5:00 pm) and will be asked to respond to marine mammal emergencies and carcasses outside of normal work schedule as needed or assigned. This position will serve in a rotation with other MMPL staff members for the purpose of covering the Northwest Region during state holidays. Entry Level Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: * Knowledge of the Florida Manatee Recovery Plan and state and federal legislation protecting manatees * Knowledge of methods of data collection and principles and techniques of research and analysis * Knowledge of marine mammal anatomy and necropsy techniques * Knowledge of digital SLR cameras, filters, and lenses * Knowledge of marine mammal rescue and transport techniques * Able to trailer flatbeds and watercraft vessels * Able to safely operate watercraft vessels 26' in length and smaller * Be capable of daily manual labor requiring handling of heavy and sharp objects and working under unpleasant conditions * Must be physically fit, able to lift at least 50 lbs, and be able to swim sufficiently to save oneself * Able to conduct fieldwork in all weather conditions * Able to establish and maintain effective working relationships * Be comfortable speaking to the public * Possess or be able to obtain a Florida driver's license within a month of employment Minimum Requirements: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the biological sciences or one year of professional biological experience in a field or lab research program. Experience with dissection, pathology, or animal necropsies and data management. Application Process: Please apply through People First using the website: https://peoplefirst.myflorida.com/ You may attach a cover letter and resume to your submission at the end of the application process. The resume is supplemental and may not replace the application form. The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action/ADA Employer. Applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or the People First Service Center (1-877-562-7287). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation. The State of Florida hires only U.S. citizens and lawfully authorized alien workers. If a conditional offer of employment is made, you will be required to provide identification and proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States for the hiring authority to which application is made. E-Verify will be used to confirm work authorization. The State of Florida supports a drug-free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S. Please apply electronically in People First, by the closing date at: http://peoplefirst.myflorida.com. If you experience technical difficulties during the application process, please call People First at 1-877-562-7287. Thank you. Andy Garrett Research Administrator Marine Mammal Pathology Lab 3700 54th Ave. S. St. Petersburg, FL 33711 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MarineMammal.MarineMammalRescue at vanaqua.org Thu Feb 3 15:22:33 2011 From: MarineMammal.MarineMammalRescue at vanaqua.org (Marine Mammal Rescue) Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2011 15:22:33 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] FW: Vancouver Aquarium's Marine Mammal Rescue Internship In-Reply-To: <8CD24DD0878D9644A478A2AD1FAF4EBDC359CB646E@va-email01.vanaqua.local> References: <8CD24DD0878D9644A478A2AD1FAF4EBDBEBB791C3D@va-email01.vanaqua.local>, <8CD24DD0878D9644A478A2AD1FAF4EBDC359CB646D@va-email01.vanaqua.local>, <8CD24DD0878D9644A478A2AD1FAF4EBDC359CB646E@va-email01.vanaqua.local> Message-ID: <8CD24DD0878D9644A478A2AD1FAF4EBDC361829ED9@va-email01.vanaqua.local> Marine Mammal Rescue Internship Program Mission Statement of the Vancouver Aquarium: The Vancouver Aquarium is a self-supporting, non-profit association dedicated to effecting the conservation of aquatic life through display and interpretation, education, research, and direct action. About the Marine Mammal Rescue Department One of the Vancouver Aquarium?s direct action programs, the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre, works to rescue, rehabilitate and successfully release abandoned, injured, or stranded marine mammals. Approximately 15 minutes east of the Vancouver Aquarium, patients are brought to the Marine Mammal Rescue Centre?s (MMR) facility from all over the B.C. coast and cared for until they are well enough to be released into the wild. Since the Aquarium started helping injured marine mammals in the 1960s, MMR has treated elephant seals, sea otters, Steller sea lions, harbour porpoises, common dolphins, and killer whales. Harbour seals are the most common patient at the facility and can care for over 100 animals at a time. Marine Mammal Rescue Internship Program The MMR Internship is an unpaid internship. It will provide students with hands-on experience in marine mammal rescue, rehabilitation and the conservation of marine life. Students will engage in laboratory procedures, rescue techniques and help with the veterinary care of stranded marine mammals. MMR presents a unique internship opportunity for, but not limited to: * Pre-veterinary students taking biology, science or similar university program * Veterinary technician students * Veterinary students Requirements: Successful candidates will be: * Full-time students enrolled in, a college or university in a zoology, marine biology, related animal science; or completed all or part of course study in veterinary technology or related field from a recognized institution * Interested in career as a veterinary technician, veterinarian or marine biologist or wild life rehabilitation * Extremely self motivated with a desire for continuing education * In good academic standing * Experienced in the animal care field either paid work or volunteer * Able to submit a letter of interest and resume outlining why you are interested in the program, your availability, educational background and where you heard about the program * Able to provide 2 letters of reference * Able to secure the necessary funds for relocation, accommodations and living expenses for the entire placement * Lift 20kg, be in good physical shape and be able to work both inside and outside in various weather conditions Intern shifts will be a minimum of 8 hours long, 5 days a week for a total of 40 hours per week. Work schedules may include week-ends, evenings and holidays. International Applicants: Applicants must be legally eligible to work in Canada * unpaid internships do fall under the category of work, and therefore require a work permit * it is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain a work permit prior to entering Canada, for more information, please contact Citizen and Immigration Canada http://www.cic.gc.ca/ Responsibilities (applicant responsibilities may include, but are not limited to): * Food preparation and animal feeding * General cleaning duties and animal habitat maintenance * Receiving animals when rescued including ability to weigh, assist in physical examinations, and animal record keeping * Assisting the veterinarian and staff in surgical and medical cases when required * Assist in researching information to aid in animal care * Limited laboratory procedures * May assist with rescues and releases Research Project Interns are also responsible for researching and presenting a project on a topic based on their experience at MMR. Topics may be relevant to marine mammal conservation or veterinary medicine. Interns will present either a short oral presentation or poster to MMR staff and volunteers before the end of their internship. Topics may include: * Marine mammal husbandry for animals in captivity * Infectious diseases * Nutrition * Zoonotic diseases * Marine mammal anatomy or physiology * Marine mammal conservation Accommodation All candidates are expected to find their own accommodations in Vancouver. For more information on accommodation and maps, please request the ?General Information on VanAqua and Living in Vancouver? from rescue at vanaqua.org. Link to Google Map of Vancouver http://maps.google.ca/?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.281468,-123.107815&spn=0.078947,0.154495&z=13 Placement dates and application procedures: There are eight (7) internship positions over the summer. See below for start and end date options. All internship placements applications are due on March 1st, 2011. Telephone interviews will be held between March 1 - 15 with notification dates between March 20 and 31, 2011. Placement Number of interns Length of placement June 15th ? August 31st 4 unpaid 11 weeks June 15th ? Sept 28th 3 unpaid 15 weeks Applications will be processed by the MMR Manager. Please send resume, letter of intent and two references either by email to rescue at vanaqua.org with MMR Internship Application in the subject line or by mail to the attention of: MMR Internship Application Vancouver Aquarium PO Box 3232, Vancouver, BC V6B 3X8 Please note, only successful applicants will be contacted. At successful completion of the internship, students will receive * Performance review and Completion Certificate from the MMR Internship * Formal letter of reference for both scholastic and career endeavours * Free admission to the Vancouver Aquarium during placement * Discounts at Vancouver Aquarium Gift Shop and Cafes during placement INTERN CHECKLIST ? Read the MMR Internship Program Outline ? Ensure requirements are met ? Choose a placement: either early summer, late summer or full summer ? Compile resume, letter of intent, 2 references (Please include in your letter of intent where you heard about this opportunity.) ? Send to rescue at vanaqua.org or address mail to the attention of MMR Internship Application, Vancouver Aquarium Box 3232 Vancouver, BC V6B3X8. Good luck to all our applicants. Thank you for your interest in the Vancouver Aquarium?s Internship program. ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY WARNING - THIS MESSAGE IS INTENDED ONLY FOR THE ADDRESSEE, IT MAY CONTAIN PRIVILEGED OR CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION. ANY UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY US IMMEDIATELY SO THAT WE MAY CORRECT OUR INTERNAL RECORDS. PLEASE THEN DELETE THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE. THANK YOU -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r.thompson at oceanscienceconsulting.com Fri Feb 4 09:29:17 2011 From: r.thompson at oceanscienceconsulting.com (Rebecca Thompson) Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:29:17 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] MMO/PSO/MMSO/PAM Job Vacancy, Scotland Message-ID: <4D4C376D.9000306@oceanscienceconsulting.com> To Whom It May Concern, OSC invites applications for various MMO/PSO/MMSO/PAM and SAS (Seabirds At-Sea, or equivalent seabird surveillance and monitoring) positions worldwide, including contract work, traineeships, and full-time positions. All applicants must have made necessary enquiries (e.g. sought advice from JNCC-approved instructors) and familiarised themselves with general offshore working requirements (e.g. 12-hour shifts, 7 days per week, typically 5-6 week crew-rotations), be prepared to indicate a willingness to maintain flexibility, and address each of the following points where relevant to respective positions: 1. Undergraduate science-based degree to minimum grade of lower second class (2:2), or equivalent for overseas candidates; 2. Ability to identify all European marine mammals and/or bird species; 3. Copies of up-to-date CV in Word format (2003 or earlier version, not exceeding two pages); 4. Copies of valid passport(s) and any visas; 5. Copies of MMO/PSO/MMSO/PAM and SAS (or equivalent) certificates; 6. Copies of up-to-date Pan-European offshore medical certificates (to simplify administration, please separately and clearly state expiry dates on your CV); 7. Copies of up-to-date Pan-European offshore survival certificates (to simplify administration, please separately and clearly state expiry dates on your CV); 8. Field experience (including duration) in respective roles; 9. Ability to install basic operating system and PAM (e.g. PAMGUARD and IFAW) software onto new laptops, set up sound cards, and configure PAM with hydrophone array and portable GPS unit or with vessel's NMEA (satellite) comms; 10. Copies of full driving licence and specify whether clean; 11. Previous contract or employment rates; 12. Previous employer's contact details. Candidates applying for traineeships are not expected to address all of the above, but must provide a cogent case for their consideration. Priority will be given to candidates who can answer the above points succinctly with few or no questions. Due to popularity of these advertisements, we cannot provide careers advice and any such enquiries will be ignored. All certificates should be provided in JPEG format and resized to a sensible resolution that can easily be emailed, yet clearly legible. PDFs are acceptable, but not desirable ? note point 3, which specifies requirement for Word 2003 format or earlier. For certain jobs, work will be awarded preferentially to UK-based applicants; however, in these circumstances, equal consideration will also apply to any overseas domiciled applicants who can provide a temporary UK residence (e.g. friends or family) and arrange/fund their own transportation to/from our UK offices when required - CVs for such applications should state both overseas and UK temporary addresses. Successful applicants will be invited for interviews commencing Monday 14 February 2011 in Dunbar, Scotland, UK. In order to apply, send a CV and appropriate accompanying documents to Rebecca Thompson, Operations Co-ordinator: rt at osc.co.uk Many Thanks Rebecca Thompson -- Rebecca Thompson Operations Co-ordinator OSC Limited From chaka at wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp Sun Feb 6 18:24:34 2011 From: chaka at wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp (Tadamichi Morisaka) Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2011 11:24:34 +0900 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on Heaviside's dolphin acoustics In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear Marmam subscribers, The following paper has recently been published online in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. For a copy, you can check the journal website at http://link.aip.org/link/?JAS/129/449, or contact: chaka at wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp . Echolocation signals of Heaviside's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) Tadamichi Morisaka, Leszek Karczmarski, Tomonari Akamatsu, Mai Sakai, Steve Dawson, Meredith Thornton, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 129, 449-457 (2011) The abstract is as follows; Field recordings of echolocation signals produced by Heaviside's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) were made off the coast of South Africa using a hydrophone array system. The system consisted of three hydrophones and an A-tag (miniature stereo acoustic data-logger). The mean centroid frequency was 125 kHz, with a -3 dB bandwidth of 15 kHz and -10 dB duration of 74 ?s. The mean back-calculated apparent source level was 173 dB re 1 ?Pap.-p.. These characteristics are very similar to those found in other Cephalorhynchus species, and such narrow-band high-frequency echolocation clicks appear to be a defining characteristic of the Cephalorhynchus genus. Click bursts with very short inter-click intervals (up to 2 ms) were also recorded, which produced the "cry" sound reported in other Cephalorhynchus species. Since inter-click intervals correlated positively to click duration and negatively to bandwidth, Heaviside's dolphins may adjust their click duration and bandwidth based on detection range. The bimodal distribution of the peak frequency and stable bimodal peaks in spectra of individual click suggest a slight asymmetry in the click production mechanism. URL: http://link.aip.org/link/?JAS/129/449 DOI: 10.1121/1.3519401 Permalink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3519401 =========================================== Tadamichi MORISAKA, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Wildlife Research Center of Kyoto University 3F, 2-24, Tanaka-Sekiden-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8203, Japan Tel: 075-771-4388; Fax: 075-771-4394 chaka at wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp http://www23.atwiki.jp/cetacea http://www.wrc.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ =========================================== From gimenez.verdugo at gmail.com Sun Feb 6 15:36:32 2011 From: gimenez.verdugo at gmail.com (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Joan_Gim=E9nez_Verdugo?=) Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2011 00:36:32 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Biosy wound healing in long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: To whom it may concern: The following paper has been published in Veterinary Record: *Wound healing in long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas)* J. Gim?nez, R. De Stephanis, P. Gauffier, R. Esteban, P. Verborgh Veterinary Record (2011) 168, 101b doi: 10.1136/vr.c5284 Abstract: In the last decades, the use of biopsy darting increased to address several questions on cetacean biology, population structure, contaminant loads, social structure, feeding ecology, and evolutionary relationships (e.g., de Stephanis et al., 2008a,b, Walker et al., 1999, Engelhaupt et al 2009, Fossi et al. 2003, Leduc et al., 1999). So it is necessary to study the process of wound healing to assess the potential risks to the target species and different populations. Using a 67-kg draw crossbow (Zasdar), biopsy samples were successfully collected between 2004 and 2008, on 87 occasions from long-finned pilot whales in the Strait of Gibraltar but it was possible to monitor the wound healing only in 35 occasions (40% monitoring rate) with high quality photographs. Four different wound healing stages were used following Weller *et al.*(1997) and our results showed that the wound could close as rapidly as 4 days after the biopsy although stage 2 was reached on average after 60 days (Xmin= 60.33 ? 28.70 days)) when the epidermis appeared to have covered the wound judged by the smooth appearance of the wound and absence of pinkish coloration, while repigmentation phase took less than a year (Xmin= 260.48 ? 84.70) and the lack of evident infection or excessive inflammation at the biopsy site provides evidence that biopsy-darting is unlikely to cause long-term health problems for pilot whales, but gave valuable data for the management of the whales. If you are interested in the paper, you can download it in the next link: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/168/4/101.2.full.pdf Best regards, *Joan Gim?nez Verdugo* CIRCE (Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans) C/ Cabeza de Manzaneda, 3 11390 Pelayo-Algeciras C?diz (Spain) www.circe.biz joan at circe.biz gimenez.verdugo at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From escolademar at gmail.com Mon Feb 7 09:20:25 2011 From: escolademar at gmail.com (cristina brito) Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2011 17:20:25 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Workshop: Environmental History of Marine Mammals Message-ID: Consider submitting an abstract and attend: *Workshop: **Environmental** History** of Marine Mammals*** * * *C?diz, 19th March 2011 (12h30-21h00)* 25th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society C?diz, Spain, 21st to 23rd March 2011 The goals of the workshop ?Environmental History of Marine Mammals? are to discuss various aspects of the study of human interaction with marine mammals over time. This is a relationship with a long common history of cultural and ecological interactions, marked by great interest of people in these giants of the sea, but also by conflicts in the use of their habitat. Whales and dolphins, seals and sea lions, manatees and dugongs, once considered "big fish" of the unknown sea, or strange monsters that stranded on beaches and even seen just as a human resource, are currently regarded as animals whose natural populations need to be studied and preserved. During the workshop aspects about how humans shape the marine environment and marine mega fauna and also how ecological changes shape humans will be considered. Besides, some methodological aspects on how to conduct an environmental history research, its interdisciplinary characteristics and its present day relevance to all the other fields of science related with marine mammals will be approached. Topics related with whaling history in the world and in the Iberian Peninsula (north and south of Spain, and Portugal mainland and archipelagos), historical and recent strandings of marine mammals, among others, will be presented and discussed. Some researchers are already invited to take part of the workshop but submissions for oral presentations from ongoing investigations from different scientific domains will be accepted and greatly appreciated. *Organized by Cristina Brito (CHAM ? FCSH, UNL: http://cham.fcsh.unl.pt/) in the scope of the project ?Knowledge and recognition in areas of Portuguese influence: registries, scientific expeditions, traditional knowledge and biodiversity in Subsaharian Africa and Insulindia? (FCT_HC0075) and the postdoctoral project ?Trading, transporting and dealing in exotic animals and their products from 1500-1970: their impact on European science and culture? (SFRH/BPD/63433/2009) funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology * -- Escola de Mar Investiga??o, Projectos e Educa??o em Ambiente e Artes, Lda. Lisboa, Portugal +351217500483 www.escolademar.pt info at escolademar.pt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From simo.pani at inwind.it Tue Feb 8 01:06:09 2011 From: simo.pani at inwind.it (s p) Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:06:09 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] ECS 2011 - fin whale workshop Message-ID: Workshop: Fin whales research and conservation in the Mediterranean Sea C?diz, Sunday 20th March 2011, 08:00-16:30 25th Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society (www.europeancetaceansociety.eu) C?diz, Spain, 21st to 23rd March 2011 Background The 2006 IUCN/ACCOBAMS Workshop assessed the status of the Mediterranean fin whales as ?Data Deficient? according to the IUCN Red List criteria; an updated assessment was submitted in 2010 suggesting Vulnerable as classification. Since this evaluation, new data are available on this large cetacean specie. Recent research projects on fin whales (e.g. population identity from Castellote 2009, Spanish network of MPAs LIFE+ INDEMARES 2009-2013, aerial surveys in the Ligurian Sea from Panigada and Lauriano, satellite tagging, update on fin whales genetics since B?rub? 1998, ship strike Panigada 2006 ) would allow a better evaluation of the status of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. For these highly migratory species, moving over national and international waters, creating integrated basin-wide conservation plan and monitoring programme is essential to develop and implement proper conservation measures. This workshop will aim to review and summarize the current knowledge on the ecology, presence and distribution of fin whales in the ACCOBAMS area in order to define the current gaps that are critical for its proper conservation. Distribution ranges, seasonal movements or migration, population estimates and structure, habitat use, behavior and conservation threats will be addressed. All different topics will be discussed, evaluated and framed within the needs of the managing agencies of Mediterranean Countries (ACCOBAMS, EU (Marine Strategy Framework Directive), etc.). Gaps in the knowledge on the ecology of fin whales in the Mediterranean Sea will be identified and listed, based on their priority for conservation management. Funding and research needs to cover these identified gaps will be defined in an effort to promote coordination between Mediterranean countries, Institutes and researchers. Objectives: * Review and update the knowledge on fin whales in the Mediterranean Sea * Identify data gaps and research needed. * Draw the baseline of a Mediterranean collaboration and data exchange network on large cetacean * Draft integrated conservation and management plans for the whole basin. Expected Outcome: final report including the following items: * A list of experts by research topic, as well as conservation managers from different countries, related to the conservation of fin whales in the Mediterranean basin, * The list of identified gaps and their priority for conservation management, * The definition of funding and research needs * A joint work plan for coordinated research in the ACCOBAMS area * Draft integrated conservation and management plans for the whole Mediterranean basin. Number of participants: 30-40 pers. Full day. Organisers: Pauline Gauffier, Simone Panigada, Manolo Castellote and Renaud de Stephanis email: panigada at inwind.it -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rwbaird at cascadiaresearch.org Tue Feb 8 08:51:11 2011 From: rwbaird at cascadiaresearch.org (Robin Baird) Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2011 08:51:11 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Abstract: movements and spatial use of Hawaiian insular false killer whales Message-ID: <97EEB27129689C4AB0328F320AB9FC9956971784F4@SERVERBLUE.cascadia.local> New report available Baird, R.W., G.S. Schorr, D.L. Webster, D.J. McSweeney, M.B. Hanson and R.D. Andrews. 2011. Movements and spatial use of false killer whales in Hawai'i: satellite tagging studies in 2009. Report prepared under Order No. AB133F09SE4132 from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Honolulu, HI. Movements and spatial use of Hawaiian insular false killer whales was examined using data from nine individuals satellite-tagged in 2009; five tagged off the island of O'ahu in October and four tagged off the island of Hawai'i in December. A total of 3,782 locations were available after filtering, over periods up to 104.8 days (median = 70.7 days), more than doubling the location data available from this population. Assessment of distance between pairs of individuals with overlapping data indicated we obtained movement information from at least five and possibly seven different social groups of false killer whales. All tagged individuals remained in association with the main Hawaiian Islands. While movements of one individual extended up to 112.8 km from shore, into a water depth of approximately 5,400 m, the average distance from shore ranged from about 11 to 23 km, in depths averaging about 500 to about 1,200 m. Four of the five individuals tagged off O'ahu moved west to Kaua'i and Ni'ihau, providing evidence the Hawaiian insular population uses the waters around the westernmost of the main Hawaiian Islands. There were no significant differences in the proportion of time spent using windward versus leeward sides of the islands. One individual that had been tagged previously (in 2008) showed very different spatial use patterns in 2008 versus 2009. Overall the data provides a more robust assessment of spatial use and movements of Hawaiian insular false killer whales that can be used in helping assess critical habitat if this population is listed under the Endangered Species Act. A pdf copy can be downloaded at http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii/falsekillerwhale.htm#pubs ============================================================================= Robin W. Baird, Ph.D. Research Biologist Cascadia Research Collective 218 1/2 W. 4th Avenue Olympia, WA 98501 USA www.cascadiaresearch.org Follow Cascadia on facebook -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sbechdel at hboi.fau.edu Wed Feb 9 09:24:36 2011 From: sbechdel at hboi.fau.edu (Sarah Bechdel) Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 12:24:36 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Postdoctoral Investigator Positions Message-ID: <2309E53F80BD7841A64800D44F69F71B3E3973@sailfish.hboi.edu> FAU Postdoctoral Investigator Program in Marine Science, Engineering and Technology (MarSET) Up to 5 Postdoctoral Investigator positions are available for the two-year period, October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2013. Postdoctoral research is primarily conducted at FAU's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) in Fort Pierce with a member of the resident HBOI faculty, who serves as the supervisor and mentor, with one or more co-mentors from other FAU colleges, departments, and centers. Topics include marine ecosystem health, marine natural products chemistry, marine mammal biology, and marine ecology. Qualifications for Application: Applicants who have received their Ph.D. or equivalent within three years of the date on which the postdoctoral investigator position would commence, are eligible to apply. Recipients must have completed their degree before the award can begin. Applicants should submit a cover letter and a statement of interest (no more than 2 pages in length) that addresses one or more of the proposed research projects, a CV, and three letters of recommendation. Applicants will be selected on the basis of the strength of academic course work, research and development experience, publication record, letters of support, and statement of interest. Applicants are encouraged to contact any of the mentors listed ( http://www.fau.edu/hboi/education/HBOI-FAU_Postdoctoral_Program_Topics_2 011.pdf) for topics of interest. An online application must be completed to be considered for each position: https://jobs.fau.edu, reference position number 980126. The application deadline is March 15, 2011. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 43 bytes Desc: image001.gif URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 171 bytes Desc: image002.png URL: From mjasny at nrdc.org Wed Feb 9 10:57:18 2011 From: mjasny at nrdc.org (Jasny, Michael) Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 10:57:18 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] deadline next week for false killer whale listing Message-ID: Dear All: I'd like to alert everyone to an upcoming comment deadline on a proposed endangered species listing in the United States. On November 17, NMFS proposed adding the insular Hawaiian false killer whale to the U.S. endangered species list. In support of this action, it relied on the findings of its biological review team, which concluded that the population satisfies the conditions for listing. In short, it found (1) that the population is discrete from other false killer whale populations; (2) that it is significant to the species as a whole based on its unique ecology and other factors; and (3) that it is at serious risk of functional extinction within the next 75 years. The deadline for commenting on this important proposal **will expire next Tuesday on February 15.** Please consider commenting, and feel free to contact me with any questions. Directions on submitting comments electronically or by mail can be found on the first page of NMFS' notice, at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2010-11-17/pdf/2010-28843.pdf. Many thanks, Michael Jasny Michael Jasny Senior Policy Analyst, NRDC 4479 W. 5th Avenue Vancouver, BC V6R1S4 t 604-736-9386 c 310-560-5536 mjasny at nrdc.org PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE This message is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law as attorney client and work-product confidential or otherwise confidential communications. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication or other use of a transmission received in error is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, immediately notify us at the above telephone number. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wursigb at tamug.edu Wed Feb 9 10:57:20 2011 From: wursigb at tamug.edu (Bernd Wursig) Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2011 12:57:20 -0600 Subject: [MARMAM] Marine Mammal Behavioural Ecology Studies in New Zealand Message-ID: Second and Final MARMAM Announcement! Spend several lovely weeks in Kaikoura, a marine mammal paradise. There are still several slots open for dedicated personnel who want to learn about dusky dolphin and other marine mammal behavior and behavioral ecology in New Zealand, and receive university credit for same. We will issue a Certificate of Completion whether you are a student or not. The sign-up date has been changed to Friday 18 February, and let us know as soon as possible whether you wish to be considered. See below for details. Best, Bernd W?rsig Dear MARMAM Colleagues, A new course in Marine Mammal Behavioural Ecology, with special emphasis on dusky dolphin foraging and social strategies will be held in Kaikoura, New Zealand, 17-28 May, 2011. Guiding text will be The Dusky Dolphin, Master Acrobat off Different Shores, by B. and M. W?rsig (2010, Academic/Elsevier Press), with a free digital copy to participants. PERSONNEL: This course is team taught by a cadre of international experts, and is limited to 10 participants, preferably of undergraduate or graduate student status. While you do not need to be enrolled in university during the course, we prefer general student status, or working towards it. DATES: Course dates are 17-28 May, with arrival needed by 16 May (if coming from North America or Europe, add one day due to the dateline, i.e. you need to leave home by 14 May). CREDIT: Course credit in the US system is 4 units (equal to a one-semester lecture course with lab). Please coordinate with your respective university if you wish credit, and the course leaders will give you a grade on performance, and a full evaluation as per your school's requisites. COURSE STRUCTURE: This course will consist of 1) lectures and in situ immersion in the world of dusky dolphins; 2) practical field experience in photographic identification, theodolite tracking from a shore station, and learning details of behavioral descriptions; 3) assessment of dolphin activities from a dolphin watching vessel, for close-up interactional information; and 4) a local indigenous Maori appreciation of nature and natural resources, with a special Maori-led tour through the native forest. Participants have the chance to conduct their own directed studies during these two weeks, and to use these for student accreditation for their respective universities. We will help supply ideas for the actual topic once in the field. COST: Course cost is $3,000 US. You are expected to find your own financial way to Kaikoura (with our logistic advice), but once you are there, we take care of other course expenses: Living in a beautiful house overlooking the sea; evening meals by an acclaimed local cook, and all other food costs; costs of boats and vans/cars/trucks. INTERESTED? Contact the course coordinator, Bernd W?rsig, by Friday Feb. 18 with your CV and a short cover letter explaining why you would like to participate in this course, at wuersig at sbcglobal.net. If selected, a 50% deposit is due by Friday March 11; 100% by Friday April 1, 2011. You will need international health insurance. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rna at st-andrews.ac.uk Thu Feb 10 00:37:33 2011 From: rna at st-andrews.ac.uk (Ricardo Antunes) Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 08:37:33 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on sperm whale communication Message-ID: <4D53A3CD.1070602@st-andrews.ac.uk> Dear All I would like to draw the attention to the following paper: "Individually distinctive acoustic features in sperm whale codas", by Ricardo Antunes, Tyler Schulz, Shane Gero, Hal Whitehead, Jonathan Gordon, Luke Rendell, in Animal Behaviour. Abstract Social animals may develop behavioural strategies that are based on individualized relationships among members. In these cases, there might be selection pressures for the development of identity signals and mechanisms that allow discrimination and recognition of particular individuals. Female sperm whales, Physeter macrocephalus, live in long-term, stable social units. Differential interactions among unit members suggest the need for an individual discrimination system. Sperm whales produce stereotyped series of click sounds called codas, which are thought to be used for communication. Although codas were initially proposed as individual signatures, later studies did not support this hypothesis. Using linear discriminant functions and Mantel tests, we tested variation within coda types as a means for individual identification, using recordings where codas were assigned to individual whales. While most coda types showed no indication of individual-specific information, individual differences that were robust to variation among recording days were found in the 5 Regular coda type. Differences in individual-specific information between coda types suggest that different coda types may have distinct functions. This has just been made available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.12.019 For those interested but unable to access the full article please send a request for a copy to rna at st-andrews.ac.uk. Best regards Ricardo Antunes -- Dr Ricardo Antunes Post-doctoral Research Fellow Scottish Oceans Institute Sea Mammal Research Unit School of Biology Tel: +44 1334 463595 University of St Andrews From Todd.Speakman at noaa.gov Thu Feb 10 07:27:30 2011 From: Todd.Speakman at noaa.gov (Todd Speakman) Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:27:30 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on dolphin abundance and survivorship Message-ID: <4D5403E2.70409@noaa.gov> The following article was recently published in the Autumn 2010 issue of the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management: Speakman, T.R., S.M. Lane, L.H. Schwacke, P.A. Fair, and E.S. Zolman. 2010. Mark-recapture estimates of seasonal abundance and survivorship for bottlenose dolphins (/Tursiops truncatus/) near Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 11(2):153-162. ABSTRACT: The stock structure of western North Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) is complex, with seasonally migratory stocks often overlapping with year-round resident stocks. High rates of exchange between northernmost sites have been documented but movement and seasonal fluctuation in abundance among sites along the southern portion of the US Atlantic coast is not well understood. To better understand seasonal abundance, a three-year mark-recapture study of bottlenose dolphins in coastal and estuarine waters near Charleston, South Carolina, USA was conducted. A robust design was employed in order to minimise bias and more precisely determine seasonal estimates of abundance and concurrently examine temporary immigration/emigration and survivorship. Systematic boat-based surveys were carried out (n = 192) from January 2004 to December 2006. The entire study area was surveyed one week per month; an additional survey was conducted in the months in which seasonal abundance was estimated: January (winter), April (spring), July (summer) and October (autumn). Standard photo-identification techniques were used to accumulate sightings of 521 distinctively marked dolphins, 65% of which were sighted more than once. Pollock's robust design was applied using MARK and the ensuing abundance estimates were adjusted for the seasonal proportion of unmarked dolphins (ranging from 0.27 to 0.40) in the population. Estimates ranged from 364 (95% CI = 305--442) in January 2004 to 910 (95% CI = 819--1018) in October 2006. Summer abundance estimates were consistently greater than those from winter months, although estimates varied considerably among years. The same model was used to calculate an annual survival rate estimate of 0.951 (95% CI = 0.882--1.00) for marked individuals within the population. A high degree of transience, demonstrated by seasonal influxes of single-sighted individuals, made it difficult to differentiate between mortality and permanent emigration. The results support the occurrence of three distinct dolphin groups found in Charleston waters: year-round residents; seasonal residents; and transients. Reporting abundance and survivorship estimates together is useful in explaining and validating results for populations in which transient individuals occur. These results provide important information for stock and viability assessment of coastal bottlenose dolphins in the western North Atlantic. KEYWORDS: BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN; PHOTO-ID; SURVIVORSHIP; ABUNDANCE ESTIMATE; MARK-RECAPTURE; NORTH AMERICA; NORTHERN HEMISPHERE For further information and pdf requests, please contact Todd Speakman: Todd.Speakman at noaa.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk Thu Feb 10 11:32:40 2011 From: s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk (TWISS S.D.) Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2011 19:32:40 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] PhD opportunity - seal behaviour Message-ID: PhD Studentship opportunity Project Title: Behavioural mechanisms of inter-male conflict and conflict reduction in a polygynous pinniped. Supervisor: Dr. Sean Twiss, Durham University (s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk) Location: School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Co. Durham, UK. www: http://www.dur.ac.uk/biological.sciences/postgraduate/currentopps/ Application deadline: 4th March 2011 NOTE: This project is in competition for funding with other proposed projects at the School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences at Durham University. Funding is potentially available through two competitive routes: (1) NERC (UK's Natural Environment Research Council) though eligibility is restricted to UK citizens or EU citizens who have spent the last 3 years or more in UK education. (2) Durham Doctoral Studentships - open to all nationalities (http://www.dur.ac.uk/science.faculty/funding/ ). Only applications received before the 28th February can be considered for the Durham Doctoral Studentships Success will depend on the quality of applications received, relative to those for competing projects. If you are interested in applying, in the first instance contact Dr. Twiss, with a CV and covering letter, detailing your reasons for applying for the project. Project description: Background: Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) mating patterns are closely linked to resource distribution, in that female grey seals on breeding colonies such as North Rona (Scotland) distribute according to the availability of pools of water on the colony. This leads to aggregations of females, and males compete to maintain priority of access to groups of females. However, grey seals breed on a wide range of substrates, making them an ideal study system for examining variation in the form of mating pattern in relation to the variation in the social and ecological environment. An expanding breeding colony of grey seals, established on the North Lincolnshire coast at Donna Nook, is now one of the largest grey seal breeding colonies in England. However, little is known about the details of the mating pattern at this expansive beach site, where both topography and sex ratios are markedly different from the more 'typical' offshore breeding colonies. Females are more uniformly distributed, and male densities appear to be higher than at other colonies. However, levels of male-male aggression at Donna Nook appear to be comparatively low. This raises intriguing questions about how male-male conflict is mediated and moderated in this system. Aims: This study will explore behavioural mechanisms of conflict and conflict reduction in polygynous pinniped systems. The student will define the structure and function of the mating pattern in this colony as a backdrop to individual male behaviour. The primary focus of the research will be to quantify patterns of aggressive behaviour for individually identified males and relate these to the local social and ecological environment including the availability of potential mates, inter-annual patterns of site-fidelity and neighbour identity, in order to elucidate the mechanisms underlying inter-male conflict at this site. The studentship will also involve a comparative study of male-male interactions using archived data from a long term study of a second pinniped species, the Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) which exhibits even more extreme polygyny. Methods: This studentship will combine in-field behavioural observations with fine scale mapping of individuals to quantify local socio-ecological context and examine comparative indices of male size and condition. The student will: (1) Maintain photo-ID catalogues to allow within and between year data collection on known individuals. (2) Establish detailed behavioural profiles of individual males over to quantify individual mating strategies and success, and examine the degree of behavioural consistency/plasticity that individuals exhibit over successive years. (3) Quantify basic breeding season parameters (e.g. sex ratios, densities, inter-annual site-fidelity). (4) Develop techniques to accurately map individual locations on a sub-daily basis to provide spatial data for GIS based analyses of male space use in relation to mate availability and competing males. (5) Develop ground based photogrammetric techniques for remote estimation of male size, and mass as a proxy of relative male energetic expenditure. (6) Conduct comparative studies using existing parallel data from offshore breeding grey seal colonies and Northern fur seal data. (8) Fit collected behavioural and state data to game-theoretic models of conflict resolution. Timetable of Activities: Starting dates will need to relative to the late autumn (Nov/Dec) breeding season of grey seals at the main study site, therefore the studentship will need to commence in September/October 2011 to provide adequate time for field preparation and initial field work and observational training. Alternatively, work could commence in early 2012, with a longer period of analysis of exiting data prior to the first field season which in such a case would be autumn 2012. Research Training: The student will gain extensive training in field behavioural observation, photo-ID techniques, spatial data manipulation and analyses within a GIS, statistical analyses of multi-dimensional behavioural data, and organisation of fieldwork logistics and safety. The student will present work at national and international conferences. Candidate requirements: Candidates must show a deep understanding of behavioural and evolutionary ecology and ideally have the equivalent of a first class degree. Candidates must also have prior experience in quantitative behavioural observation (preferably field behavioural observation), and a clear aptitude for identifying individual animals in the wild. Candidates should be able to provide evidence of their ability to conduct prolonged observational fieldwork in harsh (cold and wet) environments, and a capability for field logistics. For the analytical/desk based aspects of the project, candidates should also be able to demonstrate capabilities in statistical analysis of complex multi-variate data. Candidates should also demonstrate an interest in the cross over of empirical field based studies and modelling approaches, such as game theoretical models. Additional, desirable, but not essential skills: experience in photo-id techniques, experience in using R, experience in manipulation and analysis of spatial data using GIS. _______________________________ Dr. Sean Twiss, Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology, Zoology Degree Route Coordinator, School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, South Road, The University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. E-mail: s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk Web-site: http://www.dur.ac.uk/s.d.twiss/ Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1350 (office) Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1247 (lab) Fax: +44 (0)191 334 1201 _________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lammers at hawaii.edu Fri Feb 11 12:37:19 2011 From: lammers at hawaii.edu (Marc Lammers) Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:37:19 -1000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on humpback whales in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Message-ID: <4D559DFF.20902@hawaii.edu> Aloha Colleagues: I would like to share with you the recent publication of the following article: Lammers, M.O., Fisher-Pool, P., Au, W.W.L., Wong, K., Meyer, C. and Brainard, R., (2011). "Humpback whale /Megaptera novaeangliae/ song reveals wintering activity in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands" Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 423:261-268. The abstract is below: The main Hawaiian Islands (MHI) are the principal breeding ground for humpback whales in the North Pacific. Over the past 3 decades, population recovery from whaling-era losses has resulted in a steady increase in the number of whales wintering in Hawaiian waters and a geographic expansion of their distribution in the MHI. Until recently, no existing evidence showed that this expansion included the islands, atolls, and banks of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). To better understand the occurrence of humpback whales in the NWHI, 9 ecological acoustic recorders (EARs) were deployed at sites throughout the archipelago to record the occurrence of humpback whale song, an indicator of winter breeding activity. Song was found to be prevalent at Maro Reef, Lisianski Island, and French Frigate Shoals but was also recorded at Kure Atoll, Midway Atoll, and Pearl and Hermes Atoll. Both the timing and abundance of song at several locations closely followed trends observed on Oahu, which is one of the MHI, strongly suggesting that humpback whales use the NWHI as a wintering area. This finding is of particular relevance in light of recent suggestions that, based on photo-identification data, a yet undocumented wintering area exists somewhere in the central North Pacific. We propose that the NWHI could be that area. The paper can be obtained as an open access article at: http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v423/ or by emailing lammers at hawaii.edu . Kind regards, Marc -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marc O. Lammers, Ph.D. Assistant Researcher Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology P.O. Box 1346 Kaneohe, HI 96744 Tel: 808-375-0010 Fax: 808-247-5831 Email:lammers at hawaii.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com Fri Feb 11 20:16:05 2011 From: giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com (Giovanni Bearzi) Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 05:16:05 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Striped dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece: abundance estimates from dorsal fin photographs In-Reply-To: Message-ID: The following article has become available online: Striped dolphins and short-beaked common dolphins in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece: abundance estimates from dorsal fin photographs Giovanni BEARZI, Silvia BONIZZONI, Stefano AGAZZI, Joan GONZALVO, Rohan J.C. CURREY Marine Mammal Science (2011) doi: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00448.x ABSTRACT Capture-recapture methods relying on dorsal fin natural markings have never been applied successfully to striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba, and were rarely used to assess abundance of short-beaked common dolphins, Delphinus delphis. We used digital photo-identification to obtain abundance estimates of striped and common dolphins living in mixed groups in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece. The proportion of either species was calculated based on the relative number of photographs of adult animals showing relevant portions of their body during conspicuous surfacings. Striped dolphins and common dolphins averaged 95.0% and 3.2% of all individuals, respectively. Animals showing intermediate pigmentation accounted for another 1.8%. Striped dolphin numbers were relatively high, with a point estimate of 835 animals (95% CI = 631?1,106). Common dolphins numbers were low (point estimate 28 animals; 95% CI = 11?73) and individuals were scattered within striped dolphin groups, indicating that this common dolphin population may be nonviable. Within a semiclosed Gulf exposed to considerable anthropogenic impact, the future of both dolphin species is of concern due to their suspected geographic isolation and restricted extent of occurrence. Information provided here can be used to inform timely conservation efforts. --- A pdf copy can be obtained from the journal's web site (subscribers only): http://tinyurl.com/4hmzyvb or from me: giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Giovanni Bearzi http://www.coastaldolphins.org/giovanni_bearzi.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From BrodieE at TMMC.org Sat Feb 12 14:53:04 2011 From: BrodieE at TMMC.org (Erin Brodie) Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 14:53:04 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Stranding Dispatcher Position at The Marine Mammal Center Message-ID: EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY STRANDING DISPATCHER The Marine Mammal Center, an equal opportunity, non-profit employer, is seeking a Stranding Dispatcher to join our team. The Marine Mammal Center's mission is to expand knowledge about marine mammals-their health and that of their ocean environment-and to inspire their global conservation. Our core work is the rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured marine mammals, supported by state-of-the-art animal care and research facilities, a corps of dedicated volunteers, and an engaged community. Reporting to the Stranding Manager, the Stranding Dispatcher is a seasonal (April to October) temporary, full-time, non-exempt position with no benefits. This position works closely with the Veterinary Science team in a department under the direction of the Veterinary Science Operations Manager. Specific duties are as follows: Major Responsibilities: * Answer distressed animal hotline. * Rotate after hour's on-call, evening, weekend and holiday coverage. * Coordinate assessment, rescue, transport and release of all species of marine mammals. * Respond to public questions and any concerns about distressed animals, volunteer opportunities and general inquires. * Enter basic data into animal database. * Update website animal's on-site page daily. * Assist with vehicle and equipment maintenance and maintaining all supplies pertaining to the Stranding office operations. Core Competencies -- Knowledge and Skills: * Demonstrate excellent communications skills. * Ability to read and interpret documents and be fluent in the English language. * Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. * Ability to communicate effectively and professionally with individuals, various sized groups, and the general public. * Awareness of laboratory safety procedures. * Ability to work as a member of a multidisciplinary team. Qualifications: * Must be 21 years of age or older. * Minimum of 2 years of college level education. * Maintain a valid California Driver's License, with a clean driving record, and provide valid proof of insurance. * Recommended related experience working with people, communications, marine mammals or equivalent combination of education and experience. * Practical computer knowledge with programs such as Excel, Outlook and Word. * Enthusiastic, energetic, self-motivated individual, able to work in office as well as field environments. Comfortable lifting 40+ pounds. To apply: Please send a cover letter and resume attention Human Resources and Operations Manager to admin at tmmc.org. Please put "Stranding Dispatcher" in the subject line. Deadline for applications is March 10th, 2011. Please no phone calls or faxed submissions. Erin Brodie Stranding Coordinator The Marine Mammal Center 2000 Bunker Road Fort Cronkhite Sausalito, Ca 94965 phone: 415-289-7371 fax: 415-754-4050 email: brodiee at tmmc.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r.thompson at oceanscienceconsulting.com Mon Feb 14 04:31:08 2011 From: r.thompson at oceanscienceconsulting.com (Rebecca Thompson) Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:31:08 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Deadline extension: MMO/PSO/MMSO/PAM vacancy, Scotland, UK Message-ID: <4D59208C.4090705@oceanscienceconsulting.com> Dear all, DEADLINE EXTENSION: FRIDAY 18 MARCH 2011 Due to the overwhelming response to our recent advertisement for traineeships, contract and full-time positions (see below), we will now be conducting interviews until 18 March, possibly longer. The interview process will require significantly more resources on our part than originally anticipated, and we encourage all those deterred by the previous short deadline to apply, so that the most deserving candidates are considered. OSC invites applications for various MMO/PSO/MMSO/PAM and SAS (Seabirds At-Sea, or equivalent seabird surveillance and monitoring) positions worldwide, including contract work, traineeships, and full-time positions. All applicants must have made necessary enquiries (e.g. sought advice from JNCC-approved instructors) and familiarised themselves with general offshore working requirements (e.g. 12-hour shifts, 7 days per week, typically 5-6 week crew-rotations), be prepared to indicate a willingness to maintain flexibility, and address each of the following points where relevant to respective positions: 1.Undergraduate science-based degree to minimum grade of lower second class (2:2), or equivalent for overseas candidates; 2.Ability to identify all European marine mammals and/or bird species; 3.Copies of up-to-date CV in Word format (2003 or earlier version, not exceeding two pages); 4.Copies of valid passport(s) and any visas; 5.Copies of MMO/PSO/MMSO/PAM and SAS (or equivalent) certificates; 6.Copies of up-to-date Pan-European offshore medical certificates (to simplify administration, please separately and clearly state expiry dates on your CV); 7.Copies of up-to-date Pan-European offshore survival certificates (to simplify administration, please separately and clearly state expiry dates on your CV); 8.Field experience (including duration) in respective roles; 9.Ability to install basic operating system and PAM (e.g. PAMGUARD and IFAW) software onto new laptops, set up sound cards, and configure PAM with hydrophone array and portable GPS unit or with vessel's NMEA (satellite) comms; 10.Copies of full driving licence and specify whether clean; 11.Previous contract or employment rates; 12.Previous employer's contact details. Candidates applying for traineeships are not expected to address all of the above, but must provide a cogent case for their consideration. Priority will be given to candidates who can answer the above points succinctly with few or no questions. Due to popularity of these advertisements, we cannot provide careers advice and any such enquiries will be ignored. All certificates should be provided in JPEG format and resized to a sensible resolution that can easily be emailed, yet clearly legible. PDFs are acceptable, but not desirable -- note point 3, which specifies requirement for Word 2003 format or earlier. For certain jobs, work will be awarded preferentially to UK-based applicants; however, in these circumstances, equal consideration will also apply to any overseas domiciled applicants who can provide a temporary UK residence (e.g. friends or family) and arrange/fund their own transportation to/from our UK offices when required - CVs for such applications should state both overseas and UK temporary addresses. Successful applicants will be invited for interviews commencing Monday 14 February 2011 in Dunbar, Scotland, UK. In order to apply, send a CV and appropriate accompanying documents to Rebecca Thompson, Operations Co-ordinator: rt at osc.co.uk Regards Rebecca Thompson -- Rebecca Thompson Operations Co-ordinator OSC Limited Ocean House 4 Brewery Lane Belhaven, Dunbar East Lothian, Scotland EH42 1PD W: www.osc.co.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Kathryn.Chumbley at noaa.gov Mon Feb 14 09:58:22 2011 From: Kathryn.Chumbley at noaa.gov (kathryn chumbley) Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:58:22 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Job announcement - NMFS Alaska Steller sea lion population abundance and survival project, closes March 1, 2011 Message-ID: <4D596D3E.3070903@noaa.gov> Biological Technician positions (May 16-Aug. 8, 2011) NOAA/NMFS/Alaska Fishery Science Center National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), Seattle, WA Alaska Ecosystem Program/Steller sea lion field camps Aquatic Farms (Ltd. of Honolulu, Hawaii), a contractor for The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fishery Science Center, is soliciting cover letters and resumes for the upcoming 2011 field season to study the western stock of endangered Steller sea lions (/Eumetopias jubatus/) in Alaska. This work is part of a long-term annual population abundance and survival monitoring program. Duties include conducting counts, identifying individual sea lions by tags, brands, and natural markings, and monitoring reproduction and survival at remote field sites in Alaska. For general information about the program, visit this website: http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/alaska/ Employment will be from May 16-Aug 8, 2011. Between 1 and 6 new biological technicians will be contracted for the 2011 field season. Application information is listed below. The first week of employment (May 16-21, 2011) is spent in Seattle training. Attendance is mandatory and successful completion of training is required for all field team members each season. Food and lodging in Seattle are not provided. Transportation from Seattle to and from Alaska and the field site, food, and lodging in the field are provided. Field teams are typically in Alaska for 8-10 weeks. Field work is conducted by 2-4 member teams in remote camps located at either Ugamak Island (eastern Aleutian Islands) or Marmot Island (central Gulf of Alaska). All personnel are expected to perform daily research duties as well as camp maintenance (chopping wood, hauling water, cooking, and compost toilet maintenance, etc.). Participants are required to stay for the duration of the field season and there are no crew changes. Field stations are remote, there are no other residents on the islands, and outside communication is limited (no cell phone coverage and no email). Researchers live in small shelters at the various sites with no running water or electricity. Field stations are accessible only by ship or helicopter. Each camp is staffed with one field camp leader and 1-2 assistants. The camp leader serves as the senior person in the camp and generally has previous experience on this project. Field camp leaders are responsible for field camp logistics and maintenance, ensuring that research goals are met and that safety protocols are followed, ensuring that all data is entered and edited during the season, the return of field equipment and supplies, and producing an annual report at end of field season. Under the guidance of a field camp leader, field camp assistants help with camp preparation, data collection, data entry and editing, and field gear inventory and packing. All team members maintain a safe working environment for field personnel, participate in daily camp maintenance and operation, and assist with the return of field equipment and supplies at the end of the season. _Research Duties_: Research is conducted outdoors 7 days per week, often in inclement weather. Temperatures at field sites can range from 35 to 85 degrees. Fog, wind, and rain are common, with occasional snow early in the season. Candidates should be prepared to hike (> 5 miles) with a large, heavy daypack, over rough and uneven terrain, steep slopes, rocky ledges, and have no fear of heights or flying in helicopters. Observation stations are located on the edge of cliffs or overlooks above the sea lions. Observers will be expected to use binoculars and spotting scopes for long periods of time and be able to recognize markings or brands on sea lions. /There is generally no animal handling during field camp operations./ Sea lions should be unaware of the presence of biologists. Candidates should be in excellent physical condition with no pre-existing health problems such as heart disease, severe allergies, depression, debilitating asthma or other ailments that will compromise their health, the health and safety of others in the camp, or the completion of research duties. _Minimum Qualifications_: Candidates must be U.S. citizens and have an education in a biological science. A Bachelor?s degree in biology or related field with previous field experience is highly recommended. Field work, employment, or life experience in very remote settings particularly in Alaska or other cold, wet climate regions is preferred. The ability to work well in a team and independently, with good communication and problem-solving skills is mandatory. Ability to follow detailed verbal and written instructions and data protocols is mandatory. Working knowledge of personal computers including use of word processing, spreadsheets, and relational database programs such as Access is highly recommended. Current First Aid and CPR certification is required. Wilderness First Aid is highly recommended and candidates will be given extra consideration with this certification. _Application Deadline_: March 1, 2011 Please submit a cover letter and resume with employment history, education history, and the names and contact information (email and phone numbers) of three work-related references to both contacts listed below. Applicants not meeting qualification criteria or who submit incomplete applications will not be considered. Calinda "Cal" Goo Aquatic Farms, Ltd. 49-139 Kamehameha Hwy. Kaneohe, HI. 96744 (808) 239-2929 FAX: (808) 239-8436 officeafl at hawaii.rr.com And Kathryn Chumbley: Kathryn.Chumbley at noaa.gov From pauline at circe.biz Mon Feb 14 11:12:42 2011 From: pauline at circe.biz (Pauline Gauffier) Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:12:42 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Volunteers needed for fin/sperm whale research in the Strait of Gibraltar Message-ID: The research group CIRCE (http://www.circe.biz) is seeking applications from volunteers to help with fieldwork on fin and sperm whales in the Strait of Gibraltar. Fieldwork will take place from 29 May to 24 July 2010. Project: The fin whales observed in the Strait of Gibraltar are in migration between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea while sperm whales? sightings are mainly foraging activities. Both species are still recovering from years of hunting. Due to the high and increasing maritime traffic in the Strait, at least 2 ship strikes have been observed with fin whales since 1999 and 3 with sperm whales, probably more remaining unknown. Therefore, we need to assess for this population the risk of collision with tankers or ferries. We will use theodolite tracking from a land station to find the main routes for the fin/sperm whales as well as any behavioural changes in relation to boat movements. Volunteers should be prepared to long working days under the sun (9-21h) and data entry when bad weather. Volunteers should be available at least for 2 weeks (see http://www.circe.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=103 for last year blog of the project) but long period availability is possible. You will be responsible for your transport to and from the main centre, but once there, we will provide accommodation and transport to the land stations. Food will be at your own expenses but group shopping will keep the expenses low. Successful applicants will: - have a mature attitude towards marine mammal research - be autonomous and quickly operational - be able to live and work constructively with others in a team - speak fluently English and/or Spanish Preference will be given to those who: - have previous experience in theodolite handling, including whale tracking - have previous relevant marine mammal field experience Applicants should me send a short email introducing themselves. The email should include an outline of why you would like to work on this project, your qualifications and previous experience. Please also attach a brief CV. Please download the registration form from http://www.circe.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=103 (also available in Spanish and French). Applications will be accepted until 6 March although early application is recommended as applications will be examined weekly. All the best Pauline ------------------------- Pauline GAUFFIER CIRCE - Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans - SPAIN http://www.circe.info Mobile: (+34) 658 199 045 ------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pack at hawaii.edu Mon Feb 14 16:11:28 2011 From: pack at hawaii.edu (Adam Pack) Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 14:11:28 -1000 Subject: [MARMAM] new publication on humpback whale song Message-ID: Aloha Colleagues: On behalf of my co-authors, I pleased to announce the publication of the following paper on humpback whale song. "Green, S. R., Mercado, E. III, Pack, A. A, & Herman, L. M. (2011). Recurring patterns in the songs of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), Behavioural Processes, 86, 284-294. The abstract is presented below: Humpback whales, unlike most mammalian species, learn new songs as adults. Populations of singers progressively and collectively change the sounds and patterns within their songs throughout their lives and across generations. In this study, humpback whale songs recorded in Hawaii from 1985 to 1995 were analyzed using self-organizing maps (SOMs) to classify the sounds within songs, and to identify sound patterns that were present across multiple years. These analyses supported the hypothesis that recurring, persistent patterns exist within whale songs, and that these patterns are de?ned at least in part by acoustic relationships between adjacent sounds within songs. Sound classi?cation based on acoustic differences between adjacent sounds yielded patterns within songs that were more consistent from year to year than classi?cations based on the properties of single sounds. Maintenance of ?xed ratios of acoustic modulation across sounds, despite large variations in individual sounds, suggests intrinsic constraints on how sounds change within songs. Such acoustically invariant cues may enable whales to recognize and assess variations in songs despite propagation-related distortion of individual sounds and yearly changes in songs. Pdfs copies can be obtained from the lead author Sean Green at srgreenub at yahoo.com Best regards, Adam Pack ------------------------------------------------------------ Adam A. Pack, Ph.D. Associate Professor Psychology & Biology University of Hawaii at Hilo Mailing Address: Psychology Department University of Hawaii at Hilo 200 West Kawili St. Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Voice: 808-375-7892 email: pack at hawaii.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kmchugh at mote.org Tue Feb 15 06:11:43 2011 From: kmchugh at mote.org (Katie McHugh) Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:11:43 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Wild Bottlenose Dolphin Research Internship Message-ID: <4D5A899F.3050708@mote.org> *Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Internships* The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), a partnership led by the Chicago Zoological Society and based at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, conducts the world?s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population. The program?s goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of populations of small cetaceans, as well as the natural and anthropogenic factors that impact them. The SDRP uses an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach in conducting studies of bottlenose dolphins within Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, and the Gulf of Mexico coastal waters. For more information about the SDRP, please visit: www.sarasotadolphin.org. The SDRP is in the process of selecting volunteer interns for our Summer 2011 internship program (a minimum of 10 weeks of participation during 23 May ? 23 September). The successful candidates will participate in at least two research projects: 1) *Dolphin population monitoring project* (approx 80% time) This study will continue to monitor the resident bottlenose dolphin community in Sarasota Bay. Duties in the field will include assisting with boat-based photographic identification surveys for dolphin groups. Behavioral, location, individual, and environmental data will be recorded for each dolphin group. While in the lab, work will generally involve photo-identification of dolphins, computer data entry, dolphin dorsal fin identification catalog maintenance, equipment maintenance and other duties. 2) *Dolphin prey and habitat use project* (approx. 20% time) This study will use the Sarasota dolphin community and fish populations to study predator-prey interactions and energetics, specifically helping us to understand relationships between distributions of dolphins and their prey and factors that affect fish community ecology, such as red tide. While in the field, work will involve sampling of fish communities through purse seining techniques, collections of prey fish for energetic and stable isotope analysis, and collection of other environmental data. There is no compensation for these internship positions, and successful applicants will be responsible for their own living and transportation expenses during the time of the internship. Shared housing opportunities near Mote Marine Laboratory may be available (cost: $85/week). A few scholarships are available from Mote Marine Laboratory through a competitive application process (US citizens only). Applicants would ideally have the following qualifications: ? Minimum of 18 years of age and engaged in or recently completed undergraduate studies; ? A background or degree in Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Zoology or a related field; ? Basic computer proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (especially Excel and Access); ? Some field research experience preferred but not required; ? Must be able to swim; ? Enthusiasm and desire to learn a variety of field and lab based research methods; ? A willingness to spend a minimum of 2-3 months working full time with our program. To apply for a Sarasota Dolphin Research Program internship, interested persons should: 1) Fill out an application form at Mote Marine Laboratory?s website (www.mote.org/interns). Be sure to select ?Sarasota Dolphin Research Program? as your first choice; 2) Complete and provide to Mote?s intern office all other application materials including: a statement of interest, current college transcript, letter of recommendation, and curriculum vitae; 3) Send a brief email to the SDRP?s Intern Coordinator (Katie McHugh, kmchugh at mote.org) stating your name, contact information, exact dates and duration of availability and that you have provided all of your application materials to the Mote intern office, as detailed above. All applications will be reviewed; those received by March 15th will be given first priority. We are seeking 4-6 interns for the summer of 2011, depending on scheduling. These are competitive positions - we typically receive many more applications than we can accept. Applicants may contact Katie McHugh (941-388-4441 ext. 450, kmchugh at mote.org) in the SDRP with any questions. From Kathryn.Chumbley at noaa.gov Tue Feb 15 15:55:27 2011 From: Kathryn.Chumbley at noaa.gov (kathryn chumbley) Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 15:55:27 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Job announcement REVISED- NMFS Alaska Steller sea lion population abundance and survival project, closes March 1, 2011 Message-ID: <4D5B126F.7020908@noaa.gov> Biological Technician position (May 16-Aug. 8, 2011) NOAA/NMFS/Alaska Fishery Science Center National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML), Seattle, WA Alaska Ecosystem Program/Steller sea lion field camps Aquatic Farms (Ltd. of Honolulu, Hawaii), a contractor for The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fishery Science Center, is soliciting cover letters and resumes for the upcoming 2011 field season to study the western stock of endangered Steller sea lions (/Eumetopias jubatus/) in Alaska. This work is part of a long-term annual population abundance and survival monitoring program. Duties include conducting counts, identifying individual sea lions by tags, brands, and natural markings, and monitoring reproduction and survival at remote field sites in Alaska. For general information about the program, visit this website: http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/alaska/ Employment will be from May 16-Aug 8, 2011. Between 1 and 6 new biological technicians will be contracted for the 2011 field season. Compensation is provided (both regular and overtime rates). Application information is listed below. The first week of employment (May 16-21, 2011) is spent in Seattle training. Attendance is mandatory and successful completion of training is required for all field team members each season. Food and lodging in Seattle are not provided. Transportation from Seattle to and from Alaska and the field site, food, and lodging in the field are provided. Field teams are typically in Alaska for 8-10 weeks. Employment period ends at the end of the field season and there is no additional work. Field work is conducted by 2-4 member teams in remote camps located at either Ugamak Island (eastern Aleutian Islands) or Marmot Island (central Gulf of Alaska). All personnel are expected to perform daily research duties as well as camp maintenance (chopping wood, hauling water, cooking, and compost toilet maintenance, etc.). Participants are required to stay for the duration of the field season and there are no crew changes. Field stations are remote, there are no other residents on the islands, and outside communication is limited (no cell phone coverage and no email). Researchers live in small shelters at the various sites with no running water or electricity. Field stations are accessible only by ship or helicopter. Each camp is staffed with one field camp leader and 1-2 assistants. The camp leader serves as the senior person in the camp and generally has previous experience on this project. Field camp leaders are responsible for field camp logistics and maintenance, ensuring that research goals are met and that safety protocols are followed, ensuring that all data is entered and edited during the season, the return of field equipment and supplies, and producing an annual report at end of field season. Under the guidance of a field camp leader, field camp assistants help with camp preparation, data collection, data entry and editing, and field gear inventory and packing. All team members maintain a safe working environment for field personnel, participate in daily camp maintenance and operation, and assist with the return of field equipment and supplies at the end of the season. _Research Duties_: Research is conducted outdoors 7 days per week, often in inclement weather. Temperatures at field sites can range from 35 to 85 degrees. Fog, wind, and rain are common, with occasional snow early in the season. Candidates should be prepared to hike (> 5 miles) with a large, heavy daypack, over rough and uneven terrain, steep slopes, rocky ledges, and have no fear of heights or flying in helicopters. Observation stations are located on the edge of cliffs or overlooks above the sea lions. Observers will be expected to use binoculars and spotting scopes for long periods of time and be able to recognize markings or brands on sea lions. /There is generally no animal handling during field camp operations./ Sea lions should be unaware of the presence of biologists. Candidates should be in excellent physical condition with no pre-existing health problems such as heart disease, severe allergies, depression, debilitating asthma or other ailments that will compromise their health, the health and safety of others in the camp, or the completion of research duties. _Minimum Qualifications_: Candidates must be U.S. citizens and have an education in a biological science. A Bachelor?s degree in biology or related field with previous field experience is highly recommended. Field work, employment, or life experience in very remote settings particularly in Alaska or other cold, wet climate regions is preferred. The ability to work well in a team and independently, with good communication and problem-solving skills is mandatory. Ability to follow detailed verbal and written instructions and data protocols is mandatory. Working knowledge of personal computers including use of word processing, spreadsheets, and relational database programs such as Access is highly recommended. Current First Aid and CPR certification is required. Wilderness First Aid is highly recommended and candidates will be given extra consideration with this certification. _Application Deadline_: March 1, 2011 Please submit a cover letter and resume with employment history, education history, and the names and contact information (email and phone numbers) of three work-related references to both contacts listed below. Applicants not meeting qualification criteria or who submit incomplete applications will not be considered. Please contact Aquatic Farms (employer) with questions regarding eligibility and compensation. Calinda "Cal" Goo Aquatic Farms, Ltd. 49-139 Kamehameha Hwy. Kaneohe, HI. 96744 (808) 239-2929 FAX: (808) 239-8436 officeafl at hawaii.rr.com With cc to: Kathryn.Chumbley at noaa.gov From sh52 at st-andrews.ac.uk Tue Feb 15 13:21:37 2011 From: sh52 at st-andrews.ac.uk (Sonja Heinrich) Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:21:37 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Master in Marine Mammal Science - entry September 2011 Message-ID: <42A57377E999478CB19A12F734CD0A78@smpcsh524> Master in Marine Mammal Science - entry September 2011 We are currently accepting applications for the 2011/12 entry to the Master of Research (MRes) in Marine Mammal Science based at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, UK. This is an intense, one-year Master's level course intended to prepare students for professional careers in marine mammal research and conservation. The programme is tailored to address the scientific challenges of marine mammal ecology, behaviour and population biology with strong components of analytical methodology, laboratory work, and field study. The course is being taught by members of the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), the School of Biology and the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) which are part of the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews. For detailed information about this unique programme, entry requirements and how to apply please refer to the MRes MMS website: http://bio.st-andrews.ac.uk/mms/. Applications for the upcoming academic year (starting September 2011) must be received by Friday, 08 April 2011, and should be submitted online via the St Andrews postgraduate admission portal. Please get in touch if you have further questions: via email: mresbiology at st-andrews.ac.uk or write to: MRes Marine Mammal Science, School of Biology Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB, UK You may wish to consult the following websites for more details about the course, the staff, and the University. MRes Marine Mammal Science: http://bio.st-andrews.ac.uk/mms/ SMRU: http://www.smru.st-and.ac.uk/ St Andrews School of Biology: http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Scottish Oceans Institute: http://soi.st-andrews.ac.uk/default.aspx University of St Andrews: http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/ CREEM: http://creem2.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Some of this year's MRes Marine Mammal Science students are currently en route to Antarctica as part of an optional module in polar ecology. You can follow our expedition via the students' blog (pictures will go live on Tuesday): http://www.smru.st-andrews.ac.uk/antarctic Best wishes from World's end Ushuaia, Sonja Dr Sonja Heinrich MRes MMS Programme Director The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland: No SC013532 From cfury10 at gmail.com Wed Feb 16 14:29:36 2011 From: cfury10 at gmail.com (Christine Fury) Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 09:29:36 +1100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on dolphin occupancy during flood events Message-ID: <201102162229.p1GMTheB092512@smtp.syd.comcen.com.au> Hi all, I pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in Marine Mammal Science on the impact of floods on dolphins inhabiting estuaries in Australia. Christine A. Fury and Peter L. Harrison. Impact of flood events on dolphin occupancy patterns Marine Mammal Science. Article first published online: 7 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00447.x http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00447.x/abstract Abstract: The aim of this study was to assess potential impacts of water quality changes associated with floods on the occupancy of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in two subtropical estuaries inAustralia.Boat-based surveyswere conducted in the Clarence River estuary (CR) and Richmond River estuaries (RR) over 3 yr. Principal components analysis (PCA) showed that when the dolphins were absent from the estuaries, three water quality components were extracted in the CR and two components in the RR. The PCA1 component included high loadings for salinity, turbidity, and pH for the CR (46%); and salinity, turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) for theRR(51%). Randomization tests showed that dolphins abandoned both estuaries at times of lower salinity, and during periods of higher turbidity and of lower levels of pH and dissolved oxygen in the RR that were associated with floods. The time until dolphins returned to the estuary postflood depended on the length and severity of the flood, but generally dolphins were observed in waters with salinity levels above 29. Their delayed return postflood could be for their physiological health, or because their prey returned to the estuaries under these higher salinity conditions, or more likely a combination of both factors. Pdf copies can be obtained from cfury10 at gmail.com Note my new email address. Regards Christine Fury Christine Fury, PhD Marine Ecologist Mobile 0408-264-330 Webpage: http://scu-au.academia.edu/ChristineFury/About http://www.scu.edu.au/research/whales/index.php/30/ cfury10 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gem_v34 at hotmail.com Wed Feb 16 13:15:06 2011 From: gem_v34 at hotmail.com (Gemma Veneruso) Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2011 21:15:06 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] ANNOUNCEMENT OF UK MARINE MAMMAL JOB OPPORTUNITY Message-ID: ANNOUNCEMENT OF UK MARINE MAMMAL JOB SEA WATCH FOUNDATION **SIGHTINGS OFFICER** The main task of the post holder will be to facilitate public education and awareness through the regular dissemination of environmental information, and to help develop Sea Watch?s research and monitoring programmes. Duties include: Recruitment of new observers, and feedback of information and advice to current contributors of sightings. Assistance with verifying & inputting sightings records. Regular support & liaison with Regional Coordinators, with occasional visits to coastal regions to support local efforts to develop monitoring, information exchange, and local fund-raising. Review with regional co-ordinators the best approaches for strengthening the observer network Co-ordination of a National Whale & Dolphin Watch event (in 2011, to be held between the 5th and 7th August). Maintenance of an active web site to serve as a prime medium of communication to observers, initiating regular dissemination of new information, and recruiting new observers. Regular updating with news items, recent sightings, etc. Participation in training courses to teach regional co-ordinators and observers techniques of quantitative monitoring, species identification, and photo-ID. These may be tiered from beginners to advanced observers, so as to improve skills at different levels of experience Distribution of training aids (identification guide, slide pack and CD/video) to observers Preparation and editing of news sheets every two months, and writing occasional reports and other material of public/educational interest, in liaison with other staff Preparation of news releases for the media on major stories of environmental interest, and writing articles for specialist magazines Take part in educational and outreach events, and school visits and provide supervision and support for the Education/Awareness Assistant Assistance with supervising students and other volunteers in New Quay, and supporting Monitoring Officer on some survey trips Participation and development of cetacean field projects as appropriate Attending meetings and giving public lectures on behalf of Sea Watch Participation in fundraising activities and promotion of Adopt a Dolphin campaign Answering correspondence & telephone queries from interested parties Data record entry organization and administration of national sightings database including acquisition of third party data and transformation for compatibility with SWF database, writing of forms and queries within MS Access and production of maps, spatial analyses, graphs and reports. We are looking for a person with a strong knowledge of UK cetaceans and marine environmental issues, as well as research experience preferably in marine mammals. He or she should have an ability to interact well with people of varied backgrounds (research scientists, government officials, conservationists, naturalists, fishermen, members of the oil and gas industry, shipping, etc). The candidate will need to be computer literate (MS Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Photoshop, and at least basic statistical programs and working knowledge of ArcView would be of use). Good writing and organizational skills are important as well as having a good discipline for detail and accuracy when working with data. Candidates with a good working knowledge of research analytical techniques and/or web editing are encouraged to apply. The post is initially for a period of six months but with potential extension beyond that subject to funding. It will be based at Sea Watch's office (Paragon House) in New Quay, Ceredigion, West Wales. Salary is ?18,000 per annum, starting in April 2011. Those interested should send a letter of application, a copy of your CV, and the e-mail contact details of two referees to Gemma Veneruso at gemma.veneruso at seawatchfoundation.org.uk by 1st March 2011. ?????????????????.. Sea Watch Foundation is a national marine environmental charity concerned with monitoring whales and dolphins around the British Isles, and the conservation threats they face. The national sightings database is one of the largest of its kind in the world. It has a number of research projects including surveys and photo-ID studies of bottlenose dolphins and baleen whales, and also harbour porpoises in West Wales, minke whale studies of foraging ecology and population genetics in West Scotland, and spatial analytical studies of cetacean distribution and habitat preferences of cetaceans throughout the British Isles, using a variety of modelling approaches. Sea Watch also focuses on education, providing a number of training aids, educational visits and is winner of the third ?ASCOBANS Outreach and Education Award?. There is also a Dolphin Adoption scheme, aimed particularly at children, focusing upon the bottlenose dolphins of Cardigan Bay which was voted the best UK animal adoption scheme by BBC Wildlife. Further details and a list of publications can be found on its web site ? www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk. The charity has four staff based in New Quay (West Wales), North Wales and the London area, a further four-five working remotely on a contractual basis, and a large number of volunteers scattered around the coasts of the British Isles. Its Director is Dr Peter Evans based at the School of Ocean Sciences, University of Bangor. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From macostaplata at gmail.com Sun Feb 20 08:29:42 2011 From: macostaplata at gmail.com (Marta Acosta Plata) Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:29:42 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] RESEARCH EXPEDITION IN NORWAY Message-ID: *JOIN A RESEARCH EXPEDITION IN NORWAY* We are currently searching for 7 research assistants to join boat based expeditions in Norway. *Aims of the expedition and itinerary* The aim of this expedition is to conduct a survey during which we will collect data on marine mammal distribution along the North coast of Norway. Data will be used by several students working currently on their PhD and Master?s thesis in Whale Safari Andenes, Norway. This expedition is organized in collaboration with La Isla de los Delfines ( www.laisladelosdelfines.com). We will sail out from Troms? harbor, and during 7 days of navigation we will pass through the areas of high concentration of cetaceans along the coast of the *Vester?len and Lofoten islands, like the Bleik Canyon, a key feeding ground for sperm whales. In the area we might also encounter killer whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, white beaked dolphins, pilot whales, porpoises, fin whales, minke whales and humpback whales. We will conduct visual and acoustic surveys, and work on the photo identification of sperm whales and killer whales. We will spend the night at a different harbor each day, allowing us to explore the wild coasts of these islands.* *The itinerary is subjected** to weather conditions, as sometimes the sea state may oblige us to stay on land. In this case, additional activities will be proposed.* *Dates* ? 6th ? 24th June 2011 ? 19th ? 27th September 2011 *The boat and life on board* *Best Explorer* is a 15 m long sailing boat that has been used for sailing across remote areas in Northern Norway and the Arctic during the past years. It has a capacity for 12 persons and is perfectly equipped to conduct research surveys. More info: www.bestexpeditions.net The boat is equipped with 3 showers and a full kitchen. As space might be limited, we recommend bringing reduced luggage. *Participant requirements and duties* *Participants will help during the survey **in **effort and **marine mammal **data collection and **analysis**. During the expedition we will expend c** c**a 10h a day working on the survey. **Participants will learn how to design surveys and data sheets, use GPS, recognize marine mammal species, gather behavior data, individual identification of cetaceans and sailing skills among other tasks.* *W**e will enjoy local nature and landscapes through excursions** the rest of the time**, the midnight sun in June, and northern lights in September.** * During the expedition, participants will be provided with lectures about marine mammals, cetaceans and training in research techniques. A boat safety lecture will be also arranged on the first day of the expedition. *Anyone with an interest in getting actively involved in marine mammal research can join the expedition. Though no prior experience in the marine mammal field is necessary, it will be considered** a plus**. *** *The applicants should be aware of the weather conditions on the Norwegian sea, which can sometimes be rough, **so we discourage people who suffer from seasickness to apply.*** *Applicants will be accepted on a first come ? first served basis. *** *Participation fee*** *Unfortunately, the budget of this project is very limited, so there is a fee of 1500 euros **per participant** strictly **to **cover the boat expenses. *** *The fee includes travel insurance, accommodation on board in 3-4 **persons **cabins, and boat expenses (e.g: rental fee, crew salary, oil, harbor fee** s**). Food expenses will not be covered, but **we will keep these expenses low by arranging **co**mmunity meals. * *As the participation fee only covers boat expenses calculated on the basis of 7 participants, we need to fill all the **assistant** positions for the expedition to take place**.*** *The **payment can be done by 30th April and it ca**n be done through installement, b**ut please consult **me beforehand **for this **way** of payment. However, **a **part of the fee (300 euros) must be paid in advance (before 31st March) to book the placement. This fee will be returned if the participant communicates refusal of the placement before 31st May.*** *For more information and application, please contact: *** macostaplata at gmail.com Marta Acosta Researcher Whale Safari Andenes www.whalesafari.no macostaplata at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mikipode at yahoo.it Sun Feb 20 06:50:36 2011 From: mikipode at yahoo.it (Michela Podesta') Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 14:50:36 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [MARMAM] stranding of two Cuvier's BW in Sicily Message-ID: <333544.59707.qm@web25606.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear All, this is an update on the live stranding of two Cuvier?s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) that occurred in Sicily (Italy) a few days ago. The two specimens were found stranded alive on the 8th of February and immediately released at sea by the local Coast Guard. The day after, one of them stranded again in the same place and it was released with the help of a local rescue team. We are attaching a detailed description of the facts as reported by Dr. Antonino Barlotta, of the Fondo Siciliano per la Natura (Sicily Wildlife Found). Dr. Barlotta and his rescue team acted on the spot. In the same period and in the same area there was a military naval exercise involving submarines going on (Proud Manta: ?http://www.hydro-international.com/news/id4482-Gliders_Assist_Exercise_PROUD_MANTA.html). We don?t have more info about this. ? Strandings of Cuvier?s beaked whales are quite common along the coasts of Sicily. To have a view of the stranding data in Italy you can search in our National Stranding on-line DataBase (http://mammiferimarini.unipv.it)?? or you can contact one of us for further details. ? Michela Podest? ? Museum of Natural History of Milan (michela_podesta at hotmail.com; michela.podesta at comune.milano.it) Maristella Giurisato and Bruno Cozzi ? Department of Experimental Veterinary Science, University of Padova (maristella.giurisato at unipd.it and bruno.cozzi at unipd.it) Sandro Mazzariol ? Department of Public Health, Comparative Pathology and Veterinary Hygiene, University of Padova (sandro.mazzariol at unipd.it) dr. Michela Podesta' Curator Vertebrate Zoology Dept. Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano corso Venezia 55 - 20121 Milano - Italy tel. +39 0288463324 - +39 0288463280 fax +39 0288463281 www.comune.milano.it/museostorianaturale/index.html -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: stranding of two Cuvier's beaked whales in Sicily.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 788387 bytes Desc: not available URL: From phocid at aol.com Sun Feb 20 15:27:13 2011 From: phocid at aol.com (phocid) Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:27:13 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Canadian Seal Rehabilitator Opening Message-ID: <94589F64.5C48.42FE.8DD7.C1E123536B8F@aol.com> MARINE MAMMAL REHABILITATOR ? Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre (IWNCC) is a non-profit society dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of regional wildlife in the Canadian Gulf Islands.? Our emphasis is on Harbour Seal pups and avian species and we treat small terrestrial mammals as well.? We are seeking a candidate for the position of Marine Mammal & Avian Rehabilitator. ? IWNCC is located on the coast of British Columbia, on Salt Spring Island, one of the largest of the coastal Gulf Islands.? We are a small, but very busy Centre, primarily outdoors on a forested 4-acre property.? We treat up to 100 seal pups and 500 avian and terrestrial animals each year.? The majority of our animal intake occurs between May and November.? Seasonal work hours are long and the work is fast-paced and physically demanding, however with our cross-discipline of animals, it is varied and fulfilling. ? The position reports to the Executive Director and is responsible for helping to oversee all aspects of care for our wildlife patients.? This includes coordinating rescues; admissions, diagnosis and critical care; hands-on daily animal husbandry; leadership, training and supervision of interns and volunteers; maintaining clean animal habitats; the day-to-day running of the clinic; procuring and managing inventory of supplies, equipment and medications; keeping accurate detailed records and liaising with industry professionals such as veterinarians and conservation officials. ? The successful candidate must have several years of senior hands-on rehabilitation experience working with both Harbour Seals and avian species.? She/he must be experienced in examinations, diagnosis and treatment, plus have proven supervisory and English language communications skills, be physically fit and able to work independently or as a part of a busy team.? The workday includes shifts and weekends. ? The position commences May 2011 with a salary range between $26,000 - $30,000 annually depending upon experience.? Other benefits include basic on-site housing for a candidate relocating to Salt Spring, use of a company vehicle and 2 weeks vacation. ? This position is open to Canadian applicants only. ? Please send your CV, references and an informal cover letter to Jackie Ballerone, Director, Island Wildlife Natural Care Centre, 322 Langs Road, Salt Spring Island, BC? V8K 1N3, Canada.? Or email us at iwncc at aol.com ? For more information regarding IWCC, visit our website at www.sealrescue.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sandra at veidimal.is Fri Feb 18 03:00:04 2011 From: sandra at veidimal.is (Sandra M Granquist) Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:00:04 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Research on harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Iceland; volunteering research assistants needed Message-ID: <2E60E1AEE1E37A41AD16DE864F5B80D20553F938@ex-hve01.lbhi.is> Research on harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Iceland; volunteering research assistants needed The Icelandic Seal Center in Hvammstangi, North West Iceland is at the moment accepting applications for volunteering research assistants for the summer of 2011. The volunteers will assist in different research projects regarding harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). The tasks will for example consist of behavioral observations of harbor seals, monitoring and recording haul-out sites, collecting biological samples and identifying them in the lab, assisting with data entry and with some preparation of results. This is an excellent opportunity for students and individuals interested in getting more experience in the marine mammal research field. Applicants need to have finished at least a B.Sc degree in biology and preferably have some experience of marine mammal research. Driver?s license is necessary. The volunteers have to be available from end of May/beginning of June to the end of August and are expected to work 8 hour shifts (mostly during day time), five days a week. Accommodation is covered by the Icelandic Seal Center, but the positions are unpaid and the volunteers are required to cover their own transportation. If you are interested in working with us, please send your application, CV and cover letter, where you describe previous experience and education to sandra at veidimal.is before March 15, 2011. For further information, please visit www.selasetur.is and www.thewildnorth.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Trevor.Spradlin at noaa.gov Fri Feb 18 11:19:30 2011 From: Trevor.Spradlin at noaa.gov (Trevor Spradlin) Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:19:30 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Heads Up Alert re: Upcoming Job Announcement for NOAA/NMFS Chief of the Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Conservation Division Message-ID: <4D5EC642.6060501@noaa.gov> Dear MARMAM Subscribers -- Following is "Heads Up" Alert regarding a job announcement that will be posting very soon for the Division Chief of the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division at the NOAA/NMFS Office of Protected Resources in Silver Spring, MD. *Please follow the links for additional information and please direct any inquiries you have to the Agency Contact Personnel who will be listed in the actual job announcement.* ********************************************************************** The NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/) will soon be advertising for a Division Chief (Pay Band V or GS-15 equivalent) for the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Conservation Division, the position recently vacated by David Cottingham. This division implements the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. We are seeking a broad range of qualified applicants and, therefore, are providing prior notice about this impending job announcement. We anticipate that the job will post on USAJobs (*http://www.usajobs.gov/*) late in the week of February 21, 2011. Due to new requirements from the Office of Personnel Management, the open period for this position will be relatively short. In addition, all responses to the Occupational Questionnaire contained in the announcement must be well supported by the applicant's resume. Another notice will be posted to this list serve when the job has been posted on USAJobs. /Only U.S. Citizens are eligible to apply for this position./ ********************************************************************** *Please do not respond to this MARMAM posting and please direct any inquiries you have to the Agency Contact Personnel who will be listed in the actual job announcement.* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whitney.neugebauer at gmail.com Sat Feb 19 11:03:13 2011 From: whitney.neugebauer at gmail.com (Whitney Neugebauer) Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:03:13 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Upcoming Event: Tucker and the Orcas: Lecture by Katherine Ayres, presented by The Whale Trail Message-ID: Dear Marmam subscribers, I wanted to post an upcoming event in the Seattle area that some of you might be interested in. Check out the attached event poster and details are below. * * *WHAT: Tucker and the Orcas: the dog who's helping save the whales. Lecture by Katherine Ayres, presented by** **The Whale Trail .** * Specially trained scat detection dogs are helping researchers learn more about the endangered southern resident killer whales. Katherine Ayres, Center for Conservation Biology, will describe how she selects, trains, and works with dogs on the water, and how Tucker is leading us to critical clues that can help save this iconic population * * *WHEN*: Thursday, February 24, from 7-9 p.m. * * *WHERE*: Duwamish Longhouse, 4705 W. Marginal Way SW, Seattle * * *COST*: $5; advance tickets available via Brown Paper Tickets, www.brownpapertickets.com, or purchase at door. Contact Donna Sandstrom for details donna at thewhaletrail.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Tucker and the Orcas.bmp Type: image/bmp Size: 1602486 bytes Desc: not available URL: From PIM at pml.ac.uk Mon Feb 21 07:16:56 2011 From: PIM at pml.ac.uk (Peter Miller) Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:16:56 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] PhD: Ocean front metrics for improving understandingofthedistribution of marine megafauna Message-ID: <1298301416.24086.13.camel@pmpc1072.npm.ac.uk> Dear MARMAM, Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK) is advertising in New Scientist (Graduate Submission) a PhD topic: "Ocean front metrics for improving understanding of the distribution of marine megafauna" This is an exciting study (from Oct. 2011) using satellite data on oceanic fronts to study the distribution and behaviour of marine mammals and other megafauna. Applicants are required to submit a Full CV with Covering Letter and must complete the Eligibility Criteria & Equal Opportunities Form which can be obtained by request from vacancies at pml.ac.uk. The closing date is Friday 15th April 2011. Interviews have been scheduled for Wednesday 25th May 2011. Please see the PDF at this link for further information: http://rsg.pml.ac.uk/projects/megafauna/pml_2011_phd_fronts_vs_megafauna.pdf If you would like to discuss the PhD please contact me at the address below (replacing '-at-' with '@'). Regards, Peter -- Dr Peter Miller http://rsg.pml.ac.uk Remote Sensing Group, Plymouth Marine Laboratory Phone: +44 (0)1752 633481, Fax: ...633101 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rconnor at umassd.edu Mon Feb 21 16:25:51 2011 From: rconnor at umassd.edu (Richard C. Connor) Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 19:25:51 -0500 (EST) Subject: [MARMAM] Volunteers needed for Dolphin Alliance Project Shark Bay 2011 Season Message-ID: <1238263967.989796.1298334351342.JavaMail.root@zimbra-mb4.umassd.edu> We are seeking several field assistants for The Dolphin Alliance Project in Shark Bay , Western Australia for the 2011 field season. The season will begin 1 July and will last through September but may be extended another 1-2 months. Given the time it takes to train people, you must commit for the entire time. This is a volunteer position but we cover lodging and food at the site. We will be collecting survey and focal data on alliance forming male dolphins. On windy days you will be working on data entry and photo-ID. We are seeking assistants who have prior field experience, dolphin photo-ID experience and especially familiarity with small boats. The West Australian Government now requires us to have an operator on board who has a Restricted Coxswain, radio operation certificate and current first-aid certificate. Courses may be taken in the Perth/Freemantle area before the field season. Please note, if we have one or two assistants who meet these qualifications we may be able to take two without them, so don?t be afraid to apply if you feel under-qualified. We prefer people who are easy going hard working team players as we work and live in close quarters. Please send a letter of interest, CV and email contacts for two references to both of us. Richard Connor ( rconnor at umassd.edu ) and Michael Krutzen ( michael.kruetzen at aim.unizh.ch ). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fernando_ugarte at hotmail.com Wed Feb 23 07:16:49 2011 From: fernando_ugarte at hotmail.com (fernando ugarte) Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:16:49 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Two new books and a PhD thesis about about marine mammals in Greenland Message-ID: Two books and one PhD thesis are now available: 1. Erik W Born, Anna Heilmann, Len Kielsen Holm and Kristin Laidre (2011) Polar bears in Northwest Greenland: an interview survey about the catch and the climate. This volume presents the results of an interview survey on the catch of polar bears in Northwest Greenland between 1952 and 2005. The information provided by experienced polar bear hunters offers a detailed and unique account of polar bear catch, polar bear biology, climate change, and the effect of these changes on both the species and the subsistence hunt. Available on-line at: http://www.mtp.hum.ku.dk/details.asp?eln=202901 2. Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid (2011) Seals of Greenland Seals play a central role in everyday life in the Greenland of today. Indeed, the Greenlandic seal harvest is bigger than ever. Around 150,000 seals are caught annually and seal meat is an important resource for much of the population. The book has been written as a popular scientific presentation. It describes some of the seals' common features, but focuses on the specialisations which have given the various species their distinctive characteristics and roles in the ecosystem. (from http://www.natur.gl/index.php?id=1018&L=3&contUid=0#c2497 ) Available on-ine at: http://www.atuagkat.com/ 3. Malene Simon (2010) The sounds of whales and their food: baleen whales, their foraging behaviour, ecology and habitat use in an arctic habitat Using a variety of techniques that include D-TAGs, surveys, photo ID and Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM), Malene and collaborators looked at baleen whales in general and humpback, bowhead and fin whale in particular. More info and free download here: http://www.natur.gl/index.php?id=1019&L=3&contUid=0#c2538 All best, Fernando Ugarte Greenland Institute of Natural Ressources (www.natur.gl) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From f.robertson at fisheries.ubc.ca Mon Feb 21 15:01:56 2011 From: f.robertson at fisheries.ubc.ca (Frances Robertson) Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:01:56 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] 2011 Meeting of the Society of Marine Mammalogy NW Student Chapter Message-ID: <53877B6065E3B24997C0B22FC73BD98104E57E92@assprelay.aerl.ubc.dom> 2011 NW Student Chapter Meeting for the Society of Marine Mammalogy This year's annual NW student chapter meeting will be held at the University of British Columbia on Saturday 7 May 2011. The Marine Mammal Research Unit will host this year's annual meeting and looks forward to a chance to meet with fellow students and colleagues from the region. We will send out a request for abstract submission along with details for registration in March. If you would like further details on this upcoming event or on our student chapter please contact us; Frances Robertson f.robertson at fisheries.ubc.ca , or Mandy Wong m.wong at fisheries.ubc.ca . You may also find details about the Chapter at our webpage: http://www.marinemammalscience.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=art icle&id=127&Itemid=163 And join our chapter's facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/group.php?gid=120452514647497 We look forward to seeing you in May. Frances Robertson, Mandy Wong and the students of the MMRU. Frances C. Robertson O PhD Candidate Marine Mammal Research Unit University of British Columbia AERL 2202 Main Mall Vancouver, BC Canada, V6T 1Z4 f.robertson at fisheries.ubc.ca http://distantfin.com CA 604 339 4967 USA 360 420 4403 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From David.Mellinger at oregonstate.edu Tue Feb 22 13:27:36 2011 From: David.Mellinger at oregonstate.edu (Dave Mellinger) Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:27:36 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] web site for DCLDE Workshop Message-ID: <4D642A48.1010201@oregonstate.edu> The Fifth International Workshop on Detection, Classification, Localization, and Density Estimation of Marine Mammals using Passive Acoustics and associated tutorial introductions to Detection, Classification, and Localization and Density Estimation Aug. 21-25, 2011 Mt. Hood, Oregon, USA The web site for the workshop and tutorials is now complete, and workshop abstracts and requests for student support are now being accepted: http://www.bioacoustics.us/dcl.html Also, as announced previously, the dataset for the workshop is available on MobySound.org via links at the above website. We invite you to visit! - The DCLDE Organizing Committee From jackie52smith at yahoo.co.uk Mon Feb 21 13:43:34 2011 From: jackie52smith at yahoo.co.uk (jackie smith) Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:43:34 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?PhD_Thesis=3A_The_Ecology_of_Cuvier=E2=80=99s_?= =?utf-8?q?beaked_whale=2C_Ziphius_cavirostris_=28Cetacea=3A_Ziphiidae=29?= =?utf-8?q?=2C_in_the_Bay_of_Biscay?= Message-ID: <682248.49201.qm@web27408.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear MARMAMers, A pdf of the following PhD Thesis has moved to: http://www.marine-life.org.uk/media/27214/smith_2010_cuviers beaked whale ecology_noc.pdf Smith, J.A. 2010. The Ecology of Cuvier?s beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris (Cetacea: Ziphiidae), in the Bay of Biscay. Abstract This dissertation introduces the habitat use and spatial-temporal distribution of Cuvier?s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris, Cuvier, 1823)in the Bay of Biscay, from surveys carried out by the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme between 1995 and 2007. I have analysed the spatio-temporal distribution of Cuvier?s beaked whale, using dedicated and opportunistic sightings and the interactions with fixed physical variables (depth, slope and aspect), non-fixed environmental variables (sea surface temperature) in the Bay of Biscay, northeast Atlantic. This study used a differing combination of environmental variables and modelling: GAM (General Additive Model), and ENFA (Ecological Niche Factor Analysis), and PCA (Principal Component Analysis). Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing were used to achieve this. The habitat preferences of Cuvier?s beaked whale showed strong correlations with water depths >1000m and <4000m and steep slopes, associated with the Capbreton canyon, in the southeast Bay of Biscay and the continental shelf slopes in northern Biscay. Areas of high suitability for Cuvier?s beaked whale were predicted for the Bay of Biscay and predictions showed high habitat suitability areas over continental shelf slopes and submarine canyons. The variety of modelling techniques used to identify the habitat preferences and to predict areas of high suitability for Cuvier?s beaked whale in the Bay of Biscay all proved advantageous. On a global scale, techniques such as these could be applied to help research worldwide for future implementations of protected areas to conserve and maintain this species. The abundance and distribution of Cuvier?s beaked whales varied between years and seasons, with an increase in sightings over time and a seasonal distribution shifting north during spring and summer. Stranding records were also analyzed and compared with the sightings data, which identified regional patterns in seasonal distribution between France, the UK and Ireland. In addition to Cuvier?s beaked whale, this study investigated other deep-diving cetaceans (Northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, Sowerby?s beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, Sperm whale, Physalus macrocephalus, Pilot whale, Globicephala melas) and non-deep diving cetaceans (Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, and Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis) observed in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel. The Bay of Biscay is the most northerly range of the Cuvier?s beaked whale in the eastern north Atlantic and with year round observations, it could be suggested the population may be resident.This raises the question, could Cuvier?s beaked whale act as a predictor of increasing water temperatures because of climate change by shifting their distribution further north. Happy Reading Dr Jackie Smith. Email: jackie52smith at yahoo.co.uk Marinelife is a charity registered: No 1110884 cheers jackie xx ><((((o>...><((((o>...><((((o>...><((((o>...><((((o> Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email? RESPECT OUR OCEANS!!! Don't flush things down the loo (other than loo paper) Buy local sustainably-caught fish (or through the Marine Stewardship Council - www.msc.org) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mel5 at st-andrews.ac.uk Thu Feb 24 02:57:43 2011 From: mel5 at st-andrews.ac.uk (Mike Lonergan) Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:57:43 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Paper comparing PBR to other management approaches for marine mammals Message-ID: <4D6639A7.8040906@st-andrews.ac.uk> Lonergan, M. "Potential biological removal and other currently used management rules for marine mammal populations: A comparison." In press at Marine Policy. Available from their website (or me) DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2011.01.020 Abstract: The management of marine mammal populations requires the balancing of conflicting interests and also compliance with national legislation and international agreements. These conflicts are intensifying and it is becoming urgent that management goals, and justifications, are clear and explicit. This paper summarises six methods currently used to assess the status of marine mammal populations: the IUCN Red List Criteria; the regulations under the European Union Habitats Directive; PBR; the IWC's Revised Management Procedure; HELCOM's approach to managing seals; and the Canadian Objective-Based Fisheries Management system for harp seals. It compares the assumptions and implications of the methods then describes how one of them, PBR, can be re-presented to make explicit the subjective choice at its centre, and push the decision about conservation targets back from scientists to policymakers, where it belongs. -- Mike Lonergan NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews ________________________________________________________________________________ "The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland : No SC013532" From s.kuczaj at usm.edu Wed Feb 23 13:40:33 2011 From: s.kuczaj at usm.edu (Stan Kuczaj) Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2011 15:40:33 -0600 Subject: [MARMAM] Bahamas Marine Mammal Studies Program Message-ID: <32B50DB4-A9C8-46CD-A9CD-4237016DE6EA@usm.edu> Join Dr. Denise Herzing and Dr. Stan Kuczaj as a student researcher on the Wild Dolphin Project this summer! As a participant you will earn course credit and experience the joys (and frustrations) of field work with wild spotted and bottlenose dolphins in the beautiful waters of the Bahama sandbanks. You will also learn techniques that are used to collect and analyze acoustic and behavioral data. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the complex lives of these intelligent social mammals and the world in which they live. The course dates are June 21 ? 30, 2011. We will board the R/V Stenella and depart the Port of Palm Beach (near West Palm Beach, Florida) on Tuesday June 21. We will spend the next ten days on board the R/V Stenella and return to Port on Thursday June 30. Space in this class is limited to 5 students. Applications and additional information are available from the Office of International Programs at the University of Southern Mississippi? 601.266.4344 or studyabroad at usm.edu The application deadline is 15 April 2011, but applications will be closed once the class limit of five students is reached. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Jennifer.Johnson at MyFWC.com Fri Feb 25 07:46:01 2011 From: Jennifer.Johnson at MyFWC.com (Johnson, Jennifer) Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 10:46:01 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Florida Manatee Photo-identification Internships Message-ID: <82679E0FF68CAA46BA8AC248421DC6C202D93B83C6@FWC-TLEX10.fwc.state.fl.us> Manatee Photo-identification Internships The manatee photo-identification program is based in St. Petersburg, Florida at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI). FWRI is the research arm of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), a state agency of Florida. For more information about FWRI, please visit: http://Research.MyFWC.com. FWRI's manatee photo-identification research focuses on the long-term monitoring of Florida manatees in southwest Florida. The primary goal of our program is to document individual manatees. These capture histories are used to estimate annual adult survival rates and to model population dynamics for state and federal assessments of Florida manatee status and recovery. Photo-identification data also provide insight regarding manatee movements, site fidelity, habitat use, behavior, intra- and inter- specific associations, and reproductive parameters such as calving intervals and length of calf dependency. Interns will primarily assist staff members with photographing manatees and collecting behavioral and environmental data at sites around Tampa Bay. Interns will also be responsible for a number of lab-based photo-identification tasks, such as downloading images, database entry, and matching images to known animals. Interns often collect data independently in the field, thus responsible, detail oriented applicants are encouraged to apply. Most field work is land-based, however during the winter session opportunities are available to assist with boat-based manatee photo-identification. Other responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, data entry, special projects, and outreach activities. This internship provides a great opportunity to gain valuable field and lab experience at a government agency. Five positions are available each year: two positions in the winter (December-March), one position in the spring (March-May), one position in the summer (June-August), and one position in the fall (September-November). Start and end dates are flexible. There is no compensation for these internship positions and successful applicants will be responsible for their own housing and transportation to and from the Institute. Positions are open until filled. Qualifications: * Computer proficiency; Microsoft Access literacy preferred; * Working knowledge of SLR digital cameras, filters, and lenses preferred, but not required; * The ability to lift approximately 50 pounds of equipment; * A valid U.S. Driver's License; * Enthusiasm and willingness to learn field and lab based research methods; * A willingness to spend a minimum of three months working four days per week with our program. Application process: Please submit your cover letter, resume, college transcripts (unofficial are sufficient), and the contact information for three references via hardcopy to FWRI's Intern Coordinators, Janis Magee and Robin Allen, at the address listed below. Alternatively, application materials may be submitted via email to Interns at MyFWC.com. Please indicate in your cover letter the position for which you are applying and the dates you are available. Robin Allen Internship Coordinator Fish and Wildlife Research Institute 100 8th Avenue SE St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5020 Applicants may contact FWRI's Manatee Photo-identification Project Manager, Kari Rood, (Kari.Rood at MyFWC.com, 727-896-8626 x1912) with questions regarding the internship. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From aread at duke.edu Fri Feb 25 09:54:56 2011 From: aread at duke.edu (Andy Read) Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:54:56 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Job Postings at Duke Message-ID: Research Assistant Positions at Duke University Duke University is seeking potential applicants for two full-time research assistants to conduct surveys for marine mammals and sea turtles along the east coast of the United States. The primary duties of both positions will be to collect information on the identity, movement, distribution and residency patterns of marine mammals using photo-identification and biopsy sampling techniques. Both observers will also participate in aerial and ship-board line-transect surveys. Field work will commence in May 2011, following a period of training, and will be conducted year-round from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to northeastern Florida. These positions will be based at Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC. Details on duties, experience required and desirable qualifications are outlined below. Duties: Observers will collect visual, acoustic and photographic data on the distribution, behavior and ecology of marine mammals and sea turtles. The observers will participate in surveys aboard chartered aircraft and research vessels in offshore waters (>50 km). It will be necessary to travel to field sites and spend up to a week at a time at sea living aboard research vessels. The observers will also assist in the preparation of reports and maintain an archive of sightings, acoustic recordings and photo-identification data. Experience: A bachelor?s degree in a related field is required and a Masters degree is preferable. Applicants must possess a valid driver's license. Applicants should have at least three years of experience in collecting and processing ecological data on marine mammal ecology and biology. Desirable Qualifications: The following experience is highly desirable: photo-identification and biopsy sampling; small boat handling; maintenance of photo-identification catalogs; passive acoustic monitoring; aerial and/or ship-board line-transect surveys; proficiency with MS Access and/or GIS software. Current aircraft emergency egress certification is preferable; without this certification, applicants must pass an emergency egress training course provided by the employer. If interested, please submit a cover letter and your resume to Jennifer Dunn (jennifer.dunn at duke.edu) by March 15. Andrew J. Read Rachel Carson Associate Professor of Marine Conservation Biology Division of Marine Science and Conservation Nicholas School of the Environment Duke University Marine Laboratory 135 Duke Marine Lab Road Beaufort, NC 28516 Phone: 252-504-7590 http://moray.ml.duke.edu/faculty/read/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jackie52smith at yahoo.co.uk Fri Feb 25 16:48:18 2011 From: jackie52smith at yahoo.co.uk (jackie smith) Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 00:48:18 +0000 (GMT) Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?PhD_Thesis=3A_The_Ecology_of_Cuvier=E2=80=99s_?= =?utf-8?q?beaked_whale=2C_Ziphius_cavirostris_=28Cetacea=3A_Ziphiidae=29?= =?utf-8?q?=2C_in_the_Bay_of_Biscay?= Message-ID: <834780.77832.qm@web27401.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> Dear MARMAMers, Sorry for the confusion, there was a mix up with the link: A pdf of the following PhD Thesis: Smith, J.A. 2010. The Ecology of Cuvier?s beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris (Cetacea: Ziphiidae), in the Bay of Biscay. has moved to: http://www.marine-life.org.uk/media/27214/smith_2010_cuviers%20beaked%20whale%20ecology_noc.pdf Abstract This dissertation introduces the habitat use and spatial-temporal distribution of Cuvier?s beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris, Cuvier, 1823)in the Bay of Biscay, from surveys carried out by the Biscay Dolphin Research Programme between 1995 and 2007. I have analysed the spatio-temporal distribution of Cuvier?s beaked whale, using dedicated and opportunistic sightings and the interactions with fixed physical variables (depth, slope and aspect), non-fixed environmental variables (sea surface temperature) in the Bay of Biscay, northeast Atlantic. This study used a differing combination of environmental variables and modelling: GAM (General Additive Model), and ENFA (Ecological Niche Factor Analysis), and PCA (Principal Component Analysis). Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing were used to achieve this. The habitat preferences of Cuvier?s beaked whale showed strong correlations with water depths >1000m and <4000m and steep slopes, associated with the Capbreton canyon, in the southeast Bay of Biscay and the continental shelf slopes in northern Biscay. Areas of high suitability for Cuvier?s beaked whale were predicted for the Bay of Biscay and predictions showed high habitat suitability areas over continental shelf slopes and submarine canyons. The variety of modelling techniques used to identify the habitat preferences and to predict areas of high suitability for Cuvier?s beaked whale in the Bay of Biscay all proved advantageous. On a global scale, techniques such as these could be applied to help research worldwide for future implementations of protected areas to conserve and maintain this species. The abundance and distribution of Cuvier?s beaked whales varied between years and seasons, with an increase in sightings over time and a seasonal distribution shifting north during spring and summer. Stranding records were also analyzed and compared with the sightings data, which identified regional patterns in seasonal distribution between France, the UK and Ireland. In addition to Cuvier?s beaked whale, this study investigated other deep-diving cetaceans (Northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus, Sowerby?s beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, Sperm whale, Physalus macrocephalus, Pilot whale, Globicephala melas) and non-deep diving cetaceans (Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, and Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis) observed in the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel. The Bay of Biscay is the most northerly range of the Cuvier?s beaked whale in the eastern north Atlantic and with year round observations, it could be suggested the population may be resident.This raises the question, could Cuvier?s beaked whale act as a predictor of increasing water temperatures because of climate change by shifting their distribution further north. Happy Reading Dr Jackie Smith. Email: jackie52smith at yahoo.co.uk Marinelife is a charity registered: No 1110884 cheers jackie xx ><((((o>...><((((o>...><((((o>...><((((o>...><((((o> Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email? RESPECT OUR OCEANS!!! Don't flush things down the loo (other than loo paper) Buy local sustainably-caught fish (or through the Marine Stewardship Council - www.msc.org) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From caryns at sirenian.org Sat Feb 26 05:11:45 2011 From: caryns at sirenian.org (Caryn Self-Sullivan) Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 08:11:45 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] 2011 Field Course in Belize! Message-ID: Join our research team for two intense weeks of total immersion into the world of animal behavior, ecology & conservation, Antillean manatees, bottlenose dolphins, coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass beds in Belize! Course Overview: This is a total immersion field course where you will live, work, and study from a marine science field station on a pristine, private island off the coast of Belize. Data collected during the course will contribute to our long-term manatee/dolphin research project established in 1998. You will learn through a variety of learning activities, literature review and discussion, independent and team projects, and actual field research. Be prepared to rise with the sun and spend 8-10 hours outdoors, including 3-4 hours on the water each day learning about the tropical Caribbean environment as we explore a maze of mangrove islands, seagrass beds, and coral patches searching for elusive manatees and charismatic dolphins. The course is divided into 4 major components: lectures/ learning activities (~1 hour per day), independent reading and assignments (~2 hour per day), data collection in the field (~3 hours per day), individual project development & implementation (~2 hours per day), presentation of pre-field component (~1 hour per day), and debate/group discussion of reading materials (~1 hour per day). Two days of extra-curricular activities are included: (1) diving or snorkeling at Turneffe Atoll, and (2) exploring an ancient Maya City. Additional, optional SCUBA dives are available as time and weather permits, but additional costs are involved. LOCATION: Spanish Bay Conservation & Research Center at Hugh Parkey's Belize Adventure Lodge, http://belizeadventurelodge.com/ (Passport required) COSTS: US$2995 includes housing, meals, most tips, field trips, ground & water transfer fees, research & materials fees; DOES NOT include airfare, books, extra tips, or credit hours. CREDIT HOURS: The course has ~60 contact hours and is comparable to a 3 credit hour university course. You must make arrangements IN ADVANCE with BOTH your advising faculty and Dr. Self-Sullivan for credit to be given through your home university. Credit hour fees must be paid directly to your school and you must fulfill all study abroad requirements of your school. DEADLINES: Early registration & and deposit due March 15, 2011; regular registration & deposit due April 1st, 2011; balance due April 15th, 2011. Late registration (after April 1st--if space available) incurs a $100 late fee. If you are registering through your home university, earlier deadlines may exist; please check with your academic advisor. MINIMUM / MAXIMUM CLASS SIZE: 8-24 students LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=370432825564 http://sirenian.org/BelizeFlyer2011.pdf http://sirenian.org/BelizeSyllabus2011.pdf http://sirenian.org/BelizeRegistration2011.pdf Caryn Self-Sullivan, Ph.D. Email: caryns at sirenian.org 200 Stonewall Drive, Fredericksburg, VA 22401-2110 Mobile: 540.287.8207 | Fax: 888.371.4998 Adjunct Faculty, Nova Southeastern University http://www.fischlerschool.nova.edu/ http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ President & Co-founder, Sirenian International, Inc. http://sirenian.org/caryn.html Join me in Belize this summer! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=370432825564 http://sirenian.org/BelizeFlyer2011.pdf http://sirenian.org/BelizeSyllabus2011.pdf http://sirenian.org/BelizeRegistration2011.pdf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lherman at hawaii.edu Sat Feb 26 18:48:57 2011 From: lherman at hawaii.edu (Louis Herman) Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:48:57 -1000 Subject: [MARMAM] Long-term resightings of humpback whales in Hawaii Message-ID: We are pleased to announce the availability of the following article published on-line in Marine Mammal Science. It will also appear in print in an issue later in the year. Herman, L. M., A. A. Pack, K. Rose, A. Craig, E. Y. K. Herman, S. Hakala & A. Milette (in press). Resightings of humpback whales in Hawaiian waters over spans of 10-32 years: Site fidelity, sex ratios, calving rates, female demographics, and the dynamics of social and behavioral roles of individuals. Marine Mammal Science ABSTRACT From a database of approximately 5,000 Hawaiian humpback whales identified photographically between 1976 and 2010, we extracted 71 males and 39 females having resighting spans of 10 or more years, from first to most recent sighting. Findings included: (1) the male-biased sex ratio was like that found in breeding grounds worldwide; (2) the mean span for males of 20.7 yr (maximum = 32 yr) did not differ significantly from the mean of 19.8 yr (maximum=29 yr) for females, but males were seen in significantly more years during their spans than were females; (3) the mean number of females seen with and without calf across 11 three-year intervals from 1977 to 2009 did not differ significantly; (4) the calving rate for the 39 females was 0.48 and seven females produced two to eight calves over spans of 22-26 yr; (5) females attracted significantly more escorts in years without calf than in years with calf; (6) individuals showed great diversity in the social units they occupied over their sighting spans, but with the most frequently observed unit for both sexes being the trio of mother, calf, and escort. Males were also observed frequently in competitive groups centered about a female without calf. A pdf may be downloaded from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00441.x/full or a PDF copy may be obtained from Lou Herman Louis M. Herman Ph.D. Emeritus Professor, University of Hawaii President, The Dolphin Institute 420 Ward Ave. Ste 212 Honolulu HI 96814 lherman at hawaii.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From whitney.neugebauer at gmail.com Thu Feb 24 09:50:10 2011 From: whitney.neugebauer at gmail.com (Whitney Neugebauer) Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 09:50:10 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Postponed Event:Tucker and the Orcas Message-ID: Hi Marmamers, The event scheduled for today, Tucker and the Orcas, has been postponed due to snowy conditions around the Seattle Area. The event will take place next Thursday, March 3rd, at 7:00 PM at the Duwamish Longhouse. Lecture by Katherine Ayres, presented by The Whale Trail*When:* Thursday, March 3, from 7-9 p.m.*Where: *Duwamish Longhouse, 4705 W. Marginal Way SW, Seattle *Cost:* $5; advance tickets at Brown Paper Tickets or purchase at door Specially trained scat detection dogs are helping researchers learn more about the endangered southern resident killer whales. Katherine Ayres, Center for Conservation Biology , will describe how she selects, trains, and works with dogs on the water, and how Tucker is leading us to critical clues that can help save this iconic population. Join us! Thank you Please contact donna at thewhaletrail.org for more information or check out www.thewhaletrail.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kdudzinski at dolphincommunicationproject.org Mon Feb 28 04:27:44 2011 From: kdudzinski at dolphincommunicationproject.org (Kathleen M. Dudzinski) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 07:27:44 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Aquatic Mammals 37.1 now available online Message-ID: Dear MARMAM and ECS-talk subscribers, Apologies to those of you who will receive duplicate emails due to cross-posting. The following two titles represent the contents of the most recent issue (Volume 37, issue 1, 2011) of Aquatic Mammals. This is a special issue with one article presented in chapters and one Historical Perspectives essay. Aquatic Mammals is the longest running peer-reviewed journal dedicated to research on aquatic mammals and is published quarterly with manuscripts available as published PDFs in real time. Further information about the journal can be found at: http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/ Instructions for authors and formatting guidelines can be found in the first volume of each issue and at this link: http://tinyurl.com/AMauthorinstructions To submit a manuscript for publication consideration, please visit: http://am.expressacademic.org/actions/author.php If you subscribe to Aquatic Mammals online, you can visit the journal web site and sign in to download all articles from this volume: http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/ Please do not contact the listserve editors for PDFs or copies of the articles. To obtain a PDF, please subscribe to Aquatic Mammals http://tinyurl.com/AMsubscribe or contact the corresponding author for reprints. Volume 37, issue 1 contents Cetacean Stock Assessments in Relation to Exploration and Production Industry Activity and Other Human Pressures: Review and Data Needs Authors: Frank Thomsen, Sophy R. McCully, Laura R. Weiss, Daniel T. Wood, Karema J. Warr, Jon Barry, Robin J. Law Historical Perspectives: From Switches to Menus and Students to HQPs? The Evolving World of Marine Mammal Bioacoustics Essay by Jack Terhune Thank you for your continued interest in the journal and abstract postings. With regards, Kathleen Dudzinski, Ph.D. Editor, Aquatic Mammals aquaticmammals at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From emontie at uscb.edu Mon Feb 28 20:03:38 2011 From: emontie at uscb.edu (Eric Montie) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 23:03:38 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Paper on CT imaging and hearing of pygmy killer whales Message-ID: <000001cbd7c5$a5d6ad70$f1840850$@edu> Dear Colleagues, I would like to bring to your attention the following paper, "Live CT imaging of sound reception anatomy and hearing measurements in the pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata", published in the Journal of Experimental Biology 214, 945-955. The "Inside JEB" synopsis and the research article can be found at the following website: http://jeb.biologists.org/current.dtl. Summary In June 2008, two pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata) were stranded alive near Boca Grande, FL, USA, and were taken into rehabilitation. We used this opportunity to learn about the peripheral anatomy of the auditory system and hearing sensitivity of these rare toothed whales. Three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructions of head structures from X-ray computed tomography (CT) images revealed mandibles that were hollow, lacked a bony lamina medial to the pan bone and contained mandibular fat bodies that extended caudally and abutted the tympanoperiotic complex. Using auditory evoked potential (AEP) procedures, the modulation rate transfer function was determined. Maximum evoked potential responses occurred at modulation frequencies of 500 and 1000 Hz. The AEP-derived audiograms were U-shaped. The lowest hearing thresholds occurred between 20 and 60 kHz, with the best hearing sensitivity at 40 kHz. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) was composed of seven waves and resembled the ABR of the bottlenose and common dolphins. By changing electrode locations, creating 3-D reconstructions of the brain from CT images and measuring the amplitude of the ABR waves, we provided evidence that the neuroanatomical sources of ABR waves I, IV and VI were the auditory nerve, inferior colliculus and the medial geniculate body, respectively. The combination of AEP testing and CT imaging provided a new synthesis of methods for studying the auditory system of cetaceans. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Cheers, Eric Eric W. Montie Assistant Professor of Biology Department of Science and Mathematics University of South Carolina Beaufort One Univeristy Boulevard Bluffton, SC 29909 Office Phone: (843) 208-8107 Fax: (843) 208-8294 Email: emontie at uscb.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From janiger at cox.net Mon Feb 28 22:45:42 2011 From: janiger at cox.net (David S. Janiger) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:45:42 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] New Articles Message-ID: <3.0.1.32.20110228224542.0180bc50@pop.west.cox.net> Hi, All Here's the latest posting of new PDF's that are available. File sizes have been included. Abstracts also available on request. Make all requests to: janiger at cox.net Cheers! David Janiger - Curatorial Assistant (Mammals) Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 (213) 763-3369 janiger at cox.net djaniger at nhm.org Janiger Journals AMARAL, RODRIGO S.; CAROLINA M. LUCCI; FERNANDO C. W. ROSAS; VERA M. F. DA SILVA and SONIA N. BAO. ZOOLOGIA 27(6):1014-1017. 2010. Morphology, morphometry and ultrastructure of the Amazonian manatee (Sirenia: Trichechidae) spermatozoa. 3.821 MB ANAGNOSTOU, MARIOS N.; JEFFREY A. NYSTUEN; EMMANOUIL N. ANAGNOSTOU; ANASTASIOS PAPADOPOULOS and VASSILIOS LYKOUSIS. NUCLEAR INSTRUMENTS & METHODS IN PHYSICS RESEARCH SECTION A-ACCELERATORS SPECTROMETERS DETECTORS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT 6264(Supp S):S94-S98. 2011. Passive aquatic listener (PAL): An adoptive underwater acoustic recording system for the marine environment. 1.393 MB ANDERSEN, LISELOTTE W.; CHRISTIAN LYDERSEN; ANNE K. FRIE; AQQALU ROSING-ASVID; ERLINGUR HAUKSSON and KIT M. KOVACS. BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY 102(2):420-439. 2011. A population on the edge: Genetic diversity and population structure of the world's northernmost harbour seals (Phoca vitulina). 0.763 MB ANDERSON, CARLOS, J. R.; NIELS DA VITORIA LOBO; JAMES D. ROTH and JANE M. WATERMAN. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 91(6):1350-1359. 2010. Computer-aided photo-identification system with an application to polar bears based on whisker spot patterns. 0.440 MB ANDRIOLO, ARTUR; JESUINA M. DA ROCHA; ALEXANDRE N. ZERBINI; PAULO C. SIMOES-LOPES; IGNACIO B. MORENO; ALINEIDE LUCENA; DANIEL DANILEWICZ and MANUELA BASSOI. ZOOLOGIA 27(5):741-750. 2010. Distribution and relative abundance of large whales in a former whaling ground off eastern South America. 0.939 MB ARNOULD, J. P. Y.; Y. CHEREL; J. GIBBENS; J. G. WHITE and C. L. LITTNAN. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 422:291-302. 2011. Stable isotopes reveal inter-annual and inter-individual variation in the diet of female Australian fur seals. 0.317 MB BAUMGARTNER, MARK F.; NADINE S. J. LYSIAK; CARRIE SCHUMAN; JUANITA URBAN-RICH and FREDERICK W. WENZEL. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 423:167-184. 2011. Diel vertical migration behavior of Calanus finmarchicus and its influence on right and sei whale occurrence. 3.022 MB BERGFELT, DON R.; BERNARD G. STEINETZ; SALAMIA LASANO; KRISTI L. WEST; MICHELLE CAMPBELL and GREGG P. ADAMS. GENERAL AND COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY 170(3):650-656. 2011. Relaxin and progesterone during pregnancy and the post-partum period in association with live and stillborn calves in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). 0.245 MB BERROW, SIMON D. IRISH NATURALISTS' JOURNAL 30(1):35-39. 2009. Winter distribution of bottle-nosed dolphins (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu)) in the inner Shannon Estuary. 0.226 MB CAMMEN, K.; J. I. HOFFMAN; L. A. KNAPP; J. HARWOOD and W. AMOS. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY 20(4):740-752. 2011. Geographic variation of the major histocompatibility complex in eastern Atlantic grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). 0.247 MB CARRILLO, MANUEL and FABIAN RITTER. JOURNAL OF CETACEAN RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 11(2):131-138. 2010. Increasing numbers of ship strikes in the Canary Islands: Proposals for immediate action to reduce risk of vessel-whale collisions. 0.271 MB CATO, DOUGLAS H.; MARK SAVAGE; REBECCA A. DUNLOP; IAIN PARNUM; MICHELLE BLEWITT; SUE GIBBS; DAVID DONNELLY; JANE CLEARY and ROBERT D. MCCAULEY. Oceans '10 IEEE - Sydney, Australia. 4pp. 24-27 May 2010. Acoustic surveying for beaked whales in the Coral Sea as a mitigation measure for naval exercises. 0.700 MB CERTAIN, G.; J. MASSE; O. VAN CANNEYT; P. PETITGAS; G. DOREMUS; M. B. SANTOS and V. RIDOUX. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 422:23-39. 2011. Investigating the coupling between small pelagic fish and marine top predators using data collected from ecosystem-based surveys. 6.264 MB CHENOWETH, ELLEN M.; CHRISTINE M. GABRIELE and DAVID F. HILL. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 423:279-289. 2011. Tidal influences on humpback whale habitat selection near headlands. 1.686 MB DANIL, KERRI; SUSAN J. CHIVERS; MIKE D. HENSHAW; JANET L. THIELEKING; RISA DANIELS and JUDY A. ST. LEGER. JOURNAL OF CETACEAN RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 11(2):163-184. 2010. Cetacean strandings in San Diego County, California, USA: 1851-2008. 0.746 MB DIEMER, KRISTEN M.; MICHAEL J. CONROY; STEVEN H. FERGUSON; DONNA D. W. HAUSER; ALICE GRGICAK-MANNION and AARON T. FISK. POLAR BIOLOGY 34(1):41-48. 2011. Marine mammal and seabird summer distribution and abundance in the fjords of northeast Cumberland Sound of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. 0.309 MB DONALDSON, R.; H. FINN and M. CALVER. PACIFIC CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 16(3):157-161. 2010. Illegal feeding increases risk of boat-strike and entanglement in bottlenose dolphins in Perth, Western Australia. 0.251 MB FAVERO-LONGO, SERGIO E.; NICOLETTA CANNONE; M. ROGER WORLAND; PETER CONVEY; ROSANNA PIERVITTORI and MAURO GUGLIELMIN. ANTARCTIC SCIENCE 23(1):65-77. 2011. Changes in lichen diversity and community structure with fur seal population increase on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands. 0.359 MB FILATOVA, O. A.; A. M. BURDIN and E. HOYT. BIOLOGY BULLETIN 37(9):965-971. 2010. Original Russian published in Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 2010, No. 11, pp. 1-8. Horizontal transmission of vocal traditions in killer whale (Orcinus orca) dialects. 1.534 MB FOOTE, ANDREW D. JULIA T. VILSTRUP; RENAUD DE STEPHANIS; PHIIPPE VERBORGH; SANDRA C. ABEL NIELSEN; ROBERT DEAVILLE; LARS KLEIVANE; VIDAL MARTIN; PATRICK J. O. MILLER; NILS OIEN; MONICA PEREZ-GIL; MORTEN RASMUSSEN; ROBERT J. REID; KELLY M. ROBERTSON; EMER ROGAN; TIU SIMILA; MARIA L. TEJEDOR; HEIKE VESTER; GISLI A. VIKINGSSON; ESKE WILLERSLEV; M. THOMAS P. GILBERT and STUART B. PIERTNEY. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY 20(3):629-641. 2011. Genetic differentiation among North Atlantic killer whale populations. 0.345 MB FRIES-GAITHER, JESSICA and KIMBERLY LIGHTLE. SCIENCE (WASHINGTON D. C.) 331(6016):413-414. 2011. Penguins and polar bears integrates science and literacy. 0.488 MB GARDE, EVA; ANNE K. FRIE; GLENN DUNSHEA; STEEN H. HANSEN; KIT M. KOVACS and CHRISTIAN LYDERSEN. JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 91(6):1365-1374. 2010. Harp seal ageing techniques-teeth, aspartic acid racemization, and telomere sequence analysis. 0.208 MB GLASER, NELE; SVEN WIESKOTTEN; CHRISTIAN OTTER; GUIDO DEHNHARDT and WOLF HANKE. JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A NEUROETHOLOGY, SENSORY, NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY 197(2):141-151. 2011. Hydrodynamic trail following in a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). 0.612 MB GONZALEZ, MARIO; MARIA PAZ VILLANUEVA; LIES DEBRUYNE; PETER VANDAMME and HERIBERTO FERNANDEZ. BRAZILIAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY 42(1):261-265. 2011. Campylobacter insulaenigrae: First isolation report from South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens, Shaw, 1800). 0.367 MB HANKE, FREDERIKE D.; CHRISTINE SCHOLTYSSEK; WOLF HANKE and GUIDO DEHNHARDT. JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A NEUROETHOLOGY, SENSORY, NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY 197(2):203-210. 2011. Contrast sensitivity in a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). 0.302 MB HARRIS, HEATHER S.; PAUL FACEMIRE; DENISE J. GREIG; KATHLEEN M. COLEGROVE; GINA M. YLITALO; GLADYS K. YANAGIDA; FELICIA B. NUTTER; MICHELLE FLEETWOOD and FRANCES M. D. GULLAND. JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE DISEASES 47(1):246-254. 2011. Congenital neuroglial heterotopia in a neonatal harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardsi) with evidence of recent exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 2.015 MB JAUNIAUX, THIERRY P.; CECILE BRENEZ; DAVID FRETIN; JACQUES GODFROID; JAN HAELTERS; THIERRY JACQUES; FRANCIS KERCKHOF; JAN MAST; MICHAEL SARLET and FREDDY L. COIGNOUL. EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES 16(12):1966-1968. 2010. Brucella ceti infection in harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). 0.190 MB KUZIN, A. E. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF MARINE BIOLOGY 36(7):507-517. 2010. Original Russian text in Biologiya Morya The intrapopulation structure of the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus L.) on Tyuleniy Island during the post-depression years (1993-2009). 0.304 MB LAIDRE, KRISTIN L. and MADS PETER HEIDE-JORGENSEN. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 423:269-278. 2011. Life in the lead: Extreme densities of narwhals Monodon monoceros in the offshore pack ice. 1.374 MB LAMMERS, MARC O.; POLLYANNA I. FISHER-POOL; WHITLOW W. L. AU; CARL G. MEYER; KEVIN B. WONG and RUSSELL E. BRAINARD. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 423:261-268. 2011. Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae song reveals wintering activity in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. 0.647 MB LAURIANO, GIANCARLO; CATERINA MARIA FORTUNA and MARINO VACCHI. ANTARCTIC SCIENCE 23(2):139-143. 2011. Occurrence of killer whales (Orcinus orca) and other cetaceans in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica. 0.145 MB LIGON, ALLAN D.; MARK H. DEAKOS and ADAM D. U. Contract report to Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center under Order No. AB133F-10-SE-0930. 34pp. 2011. Small-boat cetacean surveys off Guam and Saipan, Mariana Islands, February - March 2010. 0.469 MB MCCARTY, RICHARD T. HOUSTON LAW REVIEW 47(2):489-527. 2010. Winter v. NRDC: The Navy, submarines, active sonar, and whales-an analysis of the Ninth Circuit Review and the Roberts Court Extension of the Military Deference Doctrine. 2.293 MB MESNICK, SARAH L.; BARBARA L. TAYLOR; FREDERICK I. ARCHER; KAREN K. MARTIEN; SERGIO ESCORZA TREVINO; BRITTANY L. HANCOCK-HANSER; SANDRA CAROLINA MORENO MEDINA; VICTORIA L. PEASE; KELLY M. ROBERTSON; JANICE M. STRALEY; ROBIN W. BAIRD; JOHN CALAMBOKIDIS; GREGORY S. SCHORR; PAUL WADE; VLADIMIR BURKANOV; CHRIS R. LUNSFORD; LUKE RENDELL and PHILLIP A. MORIN. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES 11(Supp 1):278-298. 2011. Sperm whale population structure in the eastern and central North Pacific inferred by the use of single-nucleotide polymorphisms, microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA. 0.262 MB MINTON, GIANNA; CINDY PETER and ANDREW ALEK TUEN. RAFFLES BULLETIN OF ZOOLOGY 59(1):91-100. 2011. Distribution of small cetaceans in the nearshore waters of Sarawak, East Malaysia. 0.455 MB MIYOSHI, KANNA; SHIN NISHIDA; EMI SONE; YUKO TAJIMA; MANAMI MAKARA; MOTOI YOSHIOKA; MASAYUKI NAKAMURA; TADASU K. YAMADA and HIROKO KOIKE. ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE 28(2):126-133. 2011. Molecular identification of novel alpha- and gammaherpesviruses from cetaceans stranded on Japanese coasts. 2.225 MB MORELL, VIRGINIA. SCIENCE (WASHINGTON D. C.) 331(6015):274-276. 2011. Killer whales earn their name. 0.838 MB NICHOLS, O. C. and U. T. TSCHERTER. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 78(1):338-343. 2011. Feeding of sea lampreys Petromyzon marinus on minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata in the St Lawrence Estuary, Canada. 0.605 MB NORMAN, STEPHANIE A. EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES 17(2):304-305. 2011. Letters Maternal-fetal transmission of Cryptococcus gattii in harbor porpoise. 0.143 MB OLSEN, MORTEN TANGE; VERONICA HIRSH VOLNY; MARTINE BERUBE; RUNE DEITZ; CHRISTIAN LYDERSEN; KIT M. KOVACS; RICHARD S. DODD and PER J. PALSBOLL. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES 11(Supp 1):9-19. 2011. A simple route to single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a nonmodel species: Identification and characterization of SNPs in the Arctic ringed seal (Pusa hispida hispida). 0.220 MB REHN, NICOLA; OLGA A. FILATOVA; JOHN W. DURBAN and ANDREW D. FOOTE. NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 98(1):1-6. 2011. Cross-cultural and cross-ecotype production of a killer whale 'excitement' call suggests universality. 0.240 MB RITTER, FABIAN. JOURNAL OF CETACEAN RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 11(2):139-146. 2010. Quantification of ferry traffic in the Canary Islands (Spain) and its implications for collisions with cetaceans. 2.503 MB RUXTON, GRAEME D. NATURE (LONDON) 469(7331):481. 2011. ZOOLOGY Why are whales big? 0.109 MB SCHENKMAN, LAUREN. SCIENCE (WASHINGTON D. C.) 328(5983):1214-1215. 2010. Gulf oil disaster: No 'smoking gun' for killer oil. 0.893 MB SEGAWA, TAKAO; TAKUYA ITOU; YUSUKE ECHIGOYA; MIWA SUZUKI; HIROSHI KOIE and TAKEO SAKAI. VETERINARY IMMUNOLOGY AND IMMUNOPATHOLOGY 139(2-4):303-307. 2011. Molecular cloning and expression of bottlenose dolphin CD34. 0.660 MB SIEGAL-WILLOTT, JESSICA L.; KENDAL HARR; LEE-ANN C. HAYEK; KAREN C. SCOTT; TREVOR GERLACH; PAUL SIROIS; MIKE REUTER; DAVID W. CREWZ and RICHARD C. HILL. JOURNAL OF ZOO AND WILDLIFE MEDICINE 41(4):594-602. 2010. Proximate nutrient analyses of four species of submerged aquatic vegetation consumed by Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) compared to romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. longifolia). 0.412 MB SOLDEVILLA, MELISSA S.; SEAN M. WIGGINS; JOHN A. HILDEBRAND; ERIN M. OLESON and MEGAN C. FERGUSON. MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES 423:247-260. 2011. Risso's and Pacific white-sided dolphin habitat modeling from passive acoustic monitoring. 0.549 MB STARKEY, DAVID J.; TIM D. SMITH and MICHAELA BARNARD. PLOS ONE 6(1) e16011. 8pp. 2011. Fisheries and marine animal populations: Learning from the long term. 0.118 MB THODE, AARON; JEFF SKINNER; PAM SCOTT; JEREMY ROSWELL; JANICE STRALEY and KENDALL FOLKERT. JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA 128(5):2681-2694. 2010. Tracking sperm whales with a towed acoustic vector sensor, 0.954 MB VENN-WATSON, STEPHANIE; KEVIN CARLIN and SAM RIDGWAY. GENERAL AND COMPARATIVE ENDOCRINOLOGY 170(1):193-199. 2011. Dolphins as animal models for type 2 diabetes: Sustained, post-prandial hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. 0.400 MB WALLOE, SOLVEIG; NINA ERIKSEN; TORBEN DABELSTEEN and BENTE PAKKENBERG. ANATOMICAL RECORD: ADVANCES IN INTEGRATIVE ANATOMY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 293(12):2129-2135. 2010. A neurological comparative study of the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) brain. 0.262 MB WILSON, MARK. PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH 82(1):202-211. 2011. Of whales and pendulums: A reply to Brandom. 0.298 MB ZHU, RENBIN; JIANJUN SUN; YASHU LIU; ZHIJUN GONG and LIGUANG SUN. ANTARCTIC SCIENCE 23(1):78-92. 2011. Potential ammonia emissions from penguin guano, ornithogenic soils and seal colony soils in coastal Antarctica: Effects of freezing-thawing cycles and selected environmental variables. 0.941 MB From rwallace at ursinus.edu Mon Feb 28 10:13:14 2011 From: rwallace at ursinus.edu (Wallace, Richard) Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2011 13:13:14 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] AESS 2011: Abstract Deadline Extended + Registration Open + Lots More Message-ID: <0D4B4FB26F41EA45812E83E8D5ABAFCF23A317E9@Exchange02.ursinus.local> Dear Marmam folks, Here are a bunch of important updates on the AESS 2011 conference in Burlington, VT on June 23-26. Please note especially the extended deadline for abstract submission and the call for abstracts for open panel sessions and symposia. Thanks, and apologies for cross-postings. Cheers, Rich -- Richard L. Wallace Program Chair Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Ursinus College rwallace at ursinus.edu * * * * * * * * Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences 2011 Conference "Confronting Complexity" June 23-26, 2011, Burlington, Vermont Hosted by the University of Vermont Please Note These Exciting Updates: * The AESS 2011 call for abstracts deadline has been extended until March 22 * Registration is Now Open! * Pre-conference workshops and field trips have been announced * Preliminary program information is now on the conference website * Open symposia and panel sessions are seeking participants (titles and contact info are provided at the end of this e-mail. Full descriptions are available here) * AESS student presentation awards competition announced * AESS 2011 to feature the Vermont premier of the documentary film "Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time" [cid:image001.jpg at 01CBD749.41B73020] For all conference information, including registration, abstract submission, and program information, please visit the AESS 2011 Conference Website. If you have any questions, please contact AESS Program Chair Rich Wallace at rwallace at ursinus.edu or AESS 2011 Site Host Stephanie Kaza at skaza at uvm.edu To learn more about AESS or to become an AESS member, click here! AESS 2011 Sessions Seeking Participants The titles of all open sessions are listed below. To submit an abstract for one of these sessions, follow the normal abstract submission process located here on the conference website. Please be sure to specify the session title in your abstract! Full descriptions of the sessions are available here. If you have questions on any of the sessions, please contact the session coordinator listed below. There are both open panel sessions and open symposia. The definitions and differences are as follows: Definition of a panel session: Panel sessions include shorter oral presentations than symposia - a maximum of 10 minutes - and are primarily designed to promote thought and discussion rather than to convey (for example) research results. The emphasis is on the discussion at least as much as it is on the individual oral presentations. Definition of a symposium: A symposium is a collection of oral presentations focused on conveying theory, research results, or other scholarly content. The focus of this type of session is on the content of the presentations. Presentation length limit is 15 minutes. Panels Seeking Participants Visit the Panel Session Directory Here 1. Grass, Wire, Paper, Plastic: The Environmental Impact of the Recycled Crafts Industry (Panel). Coordinator: Deborah Naybor, danaybor at buffalo.edu 2. Exploring How Mass Media Confront Complexity When Covering Climate Change (Panel). Coordinator: Maxwell Boykoff, boykoff at colorado.edu 3. Career Advising in ESS: Demystifying Green Job Counseling (Panel). Coordinator: Mark O'Gorman, mark.ogorman at maryvillecollege.edu 4. Overcoming the Challenges of Multi-X Collaborations (Panel). Coordinator: Jeff Frolik, jfrolik at uvm.edu 5. Artists and Environmental Scientists: Opportunities for Skill-Sharing and Collaborations (Panel). Coordinator: Jennifer Joy Pawlitschek, jjoy at jenniferjoyonline.com 6. Social Responses to New Renewable Energy Technologies and Infrastructure (Panel). Coordinator: Stewart Fast, sfast082 at uottawa.ca 7. Urban Environmental Pedagogies: Bringing Theory to Practice (Panel). Coordinator: Patrick Hurley, phurley at ursinus.edu Symposia Seeking Participants Visit the Symposia Directory Here 1. Municipal Solid Waste Policy: Mandatory Retail Take-Back for Universal and Household Hazardous Waste (Symposium). Coordinator: Patti Toews, ptoews at iwma.com 2. Coming Clean: Environmental Information Disclosure in the United States (Symposium). Coordinator: Michael Kraft, kraftm at uwgb.edu 3. 'Complexifying' the Vision: Increasing Hospitality toward Different Ways of Knowing in the ESS Classroom (Symposium). Coordinator: Nancy Rich, nrich at antioch.edu 4. A Role for Privilege in Complexity Theory: The Contributions of William Freudenburg (Symposium). Coordinator: Debra Davidson, debra.davidson at ualberta.ca 5. A Place for History in an Environmental Studies Program (Symposium). Coordinator: Eric Mogren, mogren at niu.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 63559 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: