From adrianajvella at gmail.com Sat Nov 1 08:25:53 2014 From: adrianajvella at gmail.com (Adriana Vella) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2014 16:25:53 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] ECS Conference Submissions Deadline Postponed to the 10th of November Message-ID: Dear All, *ECS Conference* Abstracts for Talks/Posters & Workshop Proposal Submissions Now Open Till DEADLINE*: 10th* November 2014 ECS Conference Notice - click below: *https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4378145/ECS%20Conf%20flyer.pdf * VISIT the ECS Conference Website: http://www.europeancetaceansociety.eu/conference/malta Conference dates: *23rd to 25th of March 2015* Workshop dates: *21st and 22nd of March 2015* Venue: *lntercontinental MALTA, in St. Julians.* The theme of the 2015 ECS Conference in Malta is: 'Marine Mammal Conservation - from Local to Global' This theme would be supported by a number of keynote presentations that will look at how conservation efforts are being managed at a range of levels and the links between them. This will include consideration of local, national, regional and global conservation initiatives, as well as methods and mechanisms for addressing both short and long-term impacts. In addition to original research contributions on the usual range of topics that include, but are not limited to, health, genetics, by-catch, acoustics, abundance, distribution, ecology, breeding, behaviour, conservation, welfare, historical perspectives, we also welcome critical assessments of conservation policy. See you in Malta :) The ECS Conference 2015 Malta organisers ***************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wagjen_ at hotmail.com Sat Nov 1 03:12:31 2014 From: wagjen_ at hotmail.com (jenny wagner) Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2014 10:12:31 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Volunteers needed for dolphin research project in Mayotte, Comoros Archipelago In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear all, Odyssea is searching volunteers for the field work of our bottlenose dolphin research project in Mayotte led by the University of La R?union. Application deadline is 15 November 2015. Description The Marine Biology Association Odyssea (www.odyssea.lu) is offering bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) research internships in Mayotte as an opportunity to contribute to the field work of a PhD research project led by the Universit? de La R?union. Mayotte is a small tropical island of the Comoros archipelago located in the Mozambique Channel in the southwest Indian Ocean. The island of Mayotte is almost entirely surrounded by barrier reef, enclosing one of the largest lagoons of the world. A population of 100 bottlenose dolphins is living in this lagoon. The near-shore distribution of this small cetacean makes it particularly vulnerable to environmental changes induced by growing human coastal activities. The goal of the PhD project is to improve our understanding on the impacts of intensifying human activities on Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphins. This may help to predict the responses to potential future changes in the context of a rapidly developing environment where both global changes and local pressures impact the dolphin population. Responsibilities The internships are available from the December 2014 until March 2015. Volunteers will be introduced to and participate in the research techniques involving boat-based photo identification, behavioural and habitat studies. Previous experience is required. Volunteers go out at sea nearly every day to study the dolphins and their habitats (6-8 hours/day depending on weather conditions). The internships will also include data analyses. Requirements - Computer skills for data analyses (Microsoft Word, Excel, GIS), - Background in science and/or marine biology - Experience with photo-identification is desired, but not required - Being comfortable on a boat in varying conditions, including sun and heat - Ability to swim - Ability to work as a team and live with other volunteers in a small space Expenses and Compensation This is an unpaid internship. Travel to and from Mayotte, food, compulsory health and travel insurance, and personal expenses are not provided. Basic accommodation on a shared apartment basis can be provided. There will be one day off per week to explore the island on own costs. At the end of the internship a certificate will be issued summing up all the skills acquired by the participants. If you are interested in joining this internship, please send your CV and cover letter to jeanne.wagner at outlook.com until 15 November 2014. Interviews (via Skype) will be arranged for selected candidates after this deadline. For more information, please contact jeanne.wagner at outlook.com. Kind regards, Jeanne Wagner PhD student - ECOMAR Secretary & cofounder - Odyssea - www.odyssea.lu 00352 691471719 (LU) 00262 639655534 (MAYOTTE) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From heithaus at fiu.edu Mon Nov 3 08:49:24 2014 From: heithaus at fiu.edu (Michael Heithaus) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2014 16:49:24 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Tenure-track positions in Marine Ecology at Florida International University Message-ID: <4abe3d8cb0fd489ab33dda9bd559a7f2@BN1PR05MB156.namprd05.prod.outlook.com> MARINE ECOLOGISTS (Rank Open)- The Department of Biological Sciences at Florida International University (biology.fiu.edu) is seeking applicants for tenure track (Open Rank) positions in MARINE ECOLOGY. Applicants working on ecology of global change, predator-prey interactions and food web ecology, biodiversity and ecosystem function, or ecosystem dynamics are particularly encouraged to apply. The Department of Biological Sciences, in the School of the Environment, Arts, and Society (seas.fiu.edu) within the College of Arts and Sciences (cas.fiu.edu) has 4,700 majors and 120 graduate students in fields ranging from cell and molecular biology to evolution and ecology. The successful candidate will participate in the Marine Sciences Program (marine.fiu.edu), an interdisciplinary program emphasizing research, teaching, and outreach in coastal marine sciences. This program is housed at FIU's Biscayne Bay Campus in the city of North Miami, and currently is home to 12 research laboratories, 2 teaching laboratories, wet labs, a mesocosm facility, and running sea water systems. The successful candidate will be expected to maintain an externally funded research program, supervise graduate students in our Ph.D. program, as well as teach undergraduate courses including a general Ecology course for Biology and Marine Biology majors and other courses in his/her area of expertise. Position is contingent upon funding. Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply to Job Opening ID (508719) at facultycareers.fiu.edu and attach a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and statements of teaching philosophy and research interests in a single PDF file. Candidates will be requested to provide names and contact information for at least three references, who will be contacted upon submission of application. To receive full consideration, applications and required materials should be received by November 30th, 2014. Review will continue until position is filled. FIU is a member of the State University System of Florida and an Equal Opportunity, Equal Access Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Dr. Michael Heithaus Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Professor, Department of Biological Sciences Florida International University -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mwatson at fit.edu Mon Nov 3 08:58:36 2014 From: mwatson at fit.edu (Mallory Watson) Date: Mon, 3 Nov 2014 16:58:36 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Deadline Approaching: Ocean 180 Video Challenge Message-ID: <580931D21DE9A04E92D77EB848A3FFC36177275A@EX10-BE2.fit.edu> Just four weeks left to submit your entry to the 2015 Ocean 180 Video Challenge! Ocean scientists are invited to submit a 3 minute video abstract highlighting the findings of a recent peer-reviewed publication to compete for $9,000 in cash prizes. Scientists submitting entries to Ocean 180 must be US citizens or affiliated with a US institution. If you are considering submitting a video abstract, we encourage you to view our information session, available here: http://ocean180.org/for-scientist/faq.html To submit your entry, please visit http://ocean180.org/for-scientist/video-abstract-submission.html Submission will close on Monday, December 1 at 11:59pm (PST). While all videos will be evaluated by a team of science and communication experts, the top 10 finalists will be screened by over 30,000 middle school students in 20 countries. These student judges will evaluate the finalists and ultimately select the winning entries. This is an excellent opportunity to share your work with a broad audience and to practice communicating your research to the public. Please contact info at ocean180.org with questions. About Ocean 180 Sponsored by the Florida Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE Florida) and funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation, the Ocean 180 Video Challenge is designed to encourage ocean scientists to share their discoveries and excitement for research with teachers, students, and the public. For full contest guidelines and to view previous winners, please visit http://ocean180.org Mallory Watson COSEE Florida Scientist Florida Institute of Technology 150 West University Boulevard Melbourne, Florida 32901 Email: mwatson at fit.edu Twitter: @Ocean180Video -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wiebke.finkler at otago.ac.nz Mon Nov 3 16:17:10 2014 From: wiebke.finkler at otago.ac.nz (Wiebke Finkler) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2014 00:17:10 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Responsible Whale Watching videos Message-ID: <972FA931-9964-4EB0-AC8A-200D1F7CE43C@otago.ac.nz> Dear All I?m a PhD Candidate at the University of Otago in New Zealand. As part of my research I?m developing a series of short videos on responsible whale watching. I?m looking for some specific video footage to use as part of my empirical work. If anyone has anything available or any recommendations that would be greatly appreciated! The video is for research and educational purposes only and will be available online including credits. Required footage - approximately 5-10 seconds each: - Underwater footage of Humpback Whale with calf - Underwater footage of Humpback Whale nursing calf - Underwater footage of Humpback Whale feeding - Underwater footage of Killer Whales - Underwater footage of Sperm Whales Any other video material relevant to whale watching, boating behaviour (incl. recreational and commercial) and underwater acoustics most welcome. Many thanks! Wiebke ******************************* Wiebke Finkler PhD Candidate University of Otago ph. (+64) 211812204 wiebke.finkler at otago.ac.nz From info at syquijote.com Tue Nov 4 13:26:26 2014 From: info at syquijote.com (Quijote Info) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2014 18:26:26 -0300 Subject: [MARMAM] Opportunities for Research in Argentina, Chile, Brazil Message-ID: MARMAM Community - we at Quixote Expeditions have an excellent opportunity for scientists with projects at the end of the world! Quixote Expeditions has sailing trips in Argentina, Chile, Antarctica, and Brazil. We have a Guest Scientist Program where scientists can join any of our regularly scheduled trips in order to help them carry out their research. This can be anyone working on a master?s or PhD thesis, professors and researchers at universities, and scientists associated with non-profits. We offer a free space onboard any of our scheduled trips for scientists to perform their research. We sail in remote places that are often hard for scientists to get to and for those with limited funding, impossible due to the expensive nature of working in remote areas. We hope that by offering these spaces ? one per trip, that amazing and interesting science can be continued here at the end of the world. For those interested, please check out our upcoming trips as well as our science page . Also trips are continually added ? so check back as well or email us for more info. To apply please download the application form *here* . Also include your CV along with your application. All applications for trips in the first half of 2015 are due by December 15th and after that on a rolling basis for all trips that still have space free. Please contact with any questions regarding available trips or the application process. We can offer free room and board to one scientists per trip. All other related costs are at the expense of the scientists. If your project potentially spans more than one trip, please apply for multiple trips on the application form. Any questions, please contact us at info at syquijote.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gdet002 at aucklanduni.ac.nz Thu Nov 6 01:11:04 2014 From: gdet002 at aucklanduni.ac.nz (Gabriela de Tezanos Pinto) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 22:11:04 +1300 Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?New_article=3AHigh_calf_mortality_in_bottlenos?= =?utf-8?q?e_dolphins_in_the_Bay_of_Islands=2C_New_Zealand=E2=80=93?= =?utf-8?q?a_local_unit_in_decline?= Message-ID: On behalf or all the co-authors, we are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper: High calf mortality in bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand?a local unit in decline. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12174. Please download the article from the following link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12174/abstract Or by emailing me at: g.tezanospinto at massey.ac.nz Kind regards, Gabriela Tezanos-Pinto (PhD) Coastal-Marine Research Group, INMS Massey University, New Zealand Abstract Bottlenose dolphins (*Tursiops truncatus*) in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, have been studied for almost two decades. Since 2003, fewer than 150 dolphins visited the bay during each season and the local unit has declined 7.5% annually from 1997 to 2006. The causes of decline are unclear but probably include mortality and emigration. Here, we used a long-term database to estimate reproductive parameters of female bottlenose dolphins including recruitment rates. A total of 704 surveys were conducted in which 5,577 sightings of 408 individually identified dolphins were collected; of these 53 individuals were identified as reproductive females. The calving rate increased between periods (1997?1999 = 0.13, CL = 0.07?0.21; 2003?2005 = 0.25, CL = 0.16?0.35 calves/reproductive female/year). A 0.25 calving rate suggests that on average, a female gives birth only once every four years, which is consistent with the estimated calving interval (4.3 yr, SD = 1.45) but still is lower than values reported for other populations. Conversely, apparent mortality rates to age 1+ (range: 0.34?0.52) and 2+ (range: 0.15?0.59) were higher than values reported elsewhere. The high apparent calf mortality in conjunction with a decline in local abundance, highlight the vulnerability of bottlenose dolphins in the Bay of Islands. Long-term studies are required to understand the causes of high calf mortality and the decline in local abundance. Meanwhile, management should focus on minimizing sources of anthropogenic disturbance and enforcing compliance with current legislation. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tracy.gill at noaa.gov Tue Nov 4 06:29:44 2014 From: tracy.gill at noaa.gov (Tracy Gill - NOAA Federal) Date: Tue, 4 Nov 2014 09:29:44 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Fwd: BOEM Seeking Suggestions for Future Environmental Studies In-Reply-To: <1118882508011.1108848433345.7605.0.290918JL.1002@scheduler.constantcontact.com> References: <1118882508011.1108848433345.7605.0.290918JL.1002@scheduler.constantcontact.com> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Office of Public Affairs < marjorie.weisskohl at boem.gov> Date: Tue, Nov 4, 2014 at 9:19 AM Subject: BOEM Seeking Suggestions for Future Environmental Studies Note to Stakeholders *November 4, 2014* Good morning, The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is responsible for ensuring that the effects on the natural and human environment are taken into consideration during the leasing and development of oil, natural gas, renewable energy and marine mineral resources from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). To help inform management decisions affecting the OCS, BOEM develops, oversees and funds the collection of environmental information as directed by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act through its Environmental Studies Program (ESP). The ESP focuses on applied science, including baseline information about the environment and the effects from activities that result from the leasing and development processes under our authority. The goals of the ESP are to establish the information needed to assess, predict and manage environmental impacts on the marine biota, and monitor the human, marine and coastal environments. BOEM is beginning to formulate its FY2016 Environmental Studies Development Plan covering all BOEM energy and minerals activities. BOEM invites your input in identifying potential study ideas pertaining to the Alaska, Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific OCS planning areas. BOEM's ESP is particularly interested in study ideas that include hypothesis testing. Please note that ideas submitted must be relevant to BOEM's information requirements in the areas of biological, oceanographic, social, economic and cultural research. Please provide your suggestions by using the appropriate profile template on the following table for your geographic or program area of interest and emailing it to the contact identified by December 1, 2014. This will ensure you are providing the relevant information we need to consider your ideas. While suggestions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, there is no guarantee that all ideas will be pursued. In some cases, ideas might be combined with other suggestions. Please note that ideas submitted may be used by the Federal government as is deemed appropriate. You may visit the Environmental Studies Program website for a listing of ongoing and completed studies and to view previous study plans. We appreciate your participation in this process and look forward to your suggestions. Sincerely, Dr. Rodney Cluck Chief, Division of Environmental Science *Region/Topic* *Contact**Template*Alaska Studies Dr. Dee Williams, Alaska Studies Chief (Dee.Williams at BOEM.gov) (907) 334-5283 Alaska Gulf of Mexico Studies Dr. Pat Roscigno, Gulf of Mexico Studies Chief (Pasquale.Roscigno at BOEM.gov) (504) 736-2752 Gulf of Mexico Pacific Oil and Gas Studies or Pacific Renewable Energy Studies Dr.Ann Bull, Pacific Studies Chief (Ann.Bull at BOEM.gov) (805) 384-6385 Pacific Atlantic Renewable Energy Studies Dr. Mary Boatman, Renewable Energy Studies Chief (Mary.Boatman at BOEM.gov) (703) 787-1662 Atlantic Renewable Energy Atlantic Marine Minerals Studies or Gulf of Mexico Marine Minerals Studies Dr. Jeffrey Reidenauer MMP BranchChief (Jeffrey.Reidenauer at BOEM.gov) (703) 787-1851 Marine Minerals *About the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management* The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) promotes economic development, energy independence, and environmental protection through responsible, science-based management of offshore conventional and renewable energy resources. *For More Information: * *Marjorie.Weisskohl at BOEM.GOV * *(703) 787-1304 <%28703%29%20787-1304>* *Please visit us at www.BOEM.gov * Forward this email This email was sent ? ? by marjorie.weisskohl at boem.gov | Bureau of Ocean Energy Management | BOEMPublicAffairs at boem.gov | Washington | DC | 20240 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hr at alaskasealife.org Wed Nov 5 13:12:52 2014 From: hr at alaskasealife.org (Human Resources) Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2014 12:12:52 -0900 Subject: [MARMAM] Job Announcement Message-ID: The Alaska SeaLife Center generates and shares scientific knowledge to promote understanding and stewardship of Alaska?s marine ecosystem. We are seeking the following: *Research Coordinator* *Summary:* This position is responsible for coordinating a broad range of in-house and field related activities specific to the Research Program at ASLC and other duties as assigned that will require initiative and supervising staff. *Education/Training Requirements:* A bachelor?s degree in biology, zoology or a related field and two years? related experience, preferably in a research setting or the equivalent is required. Two years of experience in coordinating and conducting field research on small boats, and work in remote locations required. A Master?s degree in biology zoology or a related field is preferred. A minimum of 2 year experience in a management or supervisory role desired. Individuals with pinniped experience preferred. Experience with equipment procurement and inventory is beneficial. Experience with professional boat procurement, rigging, maintenance or operation preferred. SCUBA certification (NAUI / PADI) to Advanced Open Water level desired. Position requires extensive field work dealing with heavy equipment and large, potentially dangerous, animals. Proficiency in computer skills, including the use of the most recent versions of the Windows operating system and MS Office. This position is located in Seward Alaska. The specific skills and abilities of each employee in this position and the needs of the project will dictate which of the primary responsibilities are performed by each individual employee. *Essential Duties:* 1. Assists lead scientist on designated research projects including developing project plans, managing budgets, and grant and report writing. 2. Conducts field and/or laboratory based research activities that may include arranging logistics, sample collections, supervising field or laboratory staff in the absence of the lead scientist, and reporting to the lead scientist regularly on the status of the project. 3. Ensures Research Technicians, Interns and Volunteers are properly trained and equipped for their assigned tasks, and conducts or arranges for training as necessary to carry out the Department?s objectives. 4. Manages the procurement, inventory, and maintenance of facilities, equipment and supplies to be used in research projects. Performs data entry and analysis as requested. 5. Supervise boat operations for the program, and actively participate in selecting, purchasing, rigging, testing and operating assorted boats utilized in the program. 6. Support, under the direction of the lead Scientist, attending Veterinarian, and the Steller Sea Lion Program Manager, animal handling procedures for captured animals while in the field. 7. Participate in drafting permit applications and other permitting-related activities. 8. Provide support for research that may include sea lions, eider, and other programs, and may include diving operations and physical plant activities. Regular, full-time position with benefits. *Start Date: December 15, 2014** Apply by: Close of business Nov 19, 2014* Email resume & application (downloadable at www.alaskasealife.org) to HR at alaskasealife.org or fax to 907-224-6320. *EE/AAO Employer* Human Resources Alaska SeaLife Center -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marinebrit at gmail.com Thu Nov 6 07:31:48 2014 From: marinebrit at gmail.com (Andrew Wright) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 10:31:48 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] ECS Special Issue - 2nd call Message-ID: Hi all, Apologies for cross-posting. A reminder that submissions for the next JMBA special issue are due 12th December, 2014. Like the 2014 conference, the theme is "Marine mammals as sentinels of a changing environment." While we particularly encourage submissions following up on presentations made at the conference, any papers covering marine mammal science are welcome. Please submit directly with JMBA at: http://www.mba.ac.uk/jmba/. Many thanks and best regards, Andrew -- Andrew Wright, Ph.D. ECS Editor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From intern at neaq.org Thu Nov 6 08:58:01 2014 From: intern at neaq.org (Intern) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 11:58:01 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] New England Aquarium Internship Opportunities Message-ID: <8013BE5242117842AA8EF06961F0067E0DE556E0@rightwhale.neaq.org> Hello Everyone, The New England Aquarium is currently seeking candidates for Spring 2015 internships! We are still seeking applications for all positions and hope to receive your application soon! We look for candidates of all experience levels and backgrounds. These positions include: Marine Mammal Education and Research Internship Penguin Colony Internship Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Internship Human Resources Intern Marine Mammal Internship Volunteer Programming Intern We have many more positions available, working with animals or in operations roles, just view our website ! We look forward to reviewing your applications soon, Brendon Dempsey Intern Coordinator New England Aquarium tel 617.226.2153 BDempsey at neaq.org www.neaq.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From GroningerH at TMMC.org Thu Nov 6 14:52:58 2014 From: GroningerH at TMMC.org (Heather Groninger) Date: Thu, 6 Nov 2014 14:52:58 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] The Marine Mammal Center is recruiting for a Life Support and Facilities Technician: EAM Specialist Message-ID: Announcing an employment opportunity at The Marine Mammal Center. This listing can also be found on our website here: http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/about-us/organization-information/jobs/ LIFE SUPPORT AND FACILITIES TECHNICIAN: EAM SPECIALIST The Marine Mammal Center, an equal opportunity, non-profit employer, is seeking a full-time Life Support and Facilities Technician: EAM Specialist 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. About the Organization The Marine Mammal Center is the largest facility of its kind in the world. Founded in 1975, The Center has grown into an internationally renowned and state-of-the art marine mammal hospital, research center and educational organization. Each year, The Center treats 600 - 800 sick, injured and orphaned marine mammals, with the goal of rehabilitation and release. Its professional staff collaborates with over 30 different scientific, educational, federal, state and non-profit organizations from around the world. Marine mammal scientists and veterinarians from across the globe visit The Center and shadow its staff and volunteers to learn from the hundreds of animals treated each year, and from its acclaimed veterinary, scientific, and research staff. By collaborating with leading scientists and researchers to learn from the patients in their care, The Center expands and advances science to increase understanding of the health of the ocean and highlights implications for human health. In addition to its work with the scientific community, The Center's formal and informal education programs reach 100,000 children and adults ever year. Ultimately, The Center's work inspires action and fosters stewardship toward the care of our environment. Overlooking the ocean in the Marin Headlands, in Sausalito, CA, The Center operates three field stations in its 600-mile rescue range on the California coastline from San Luis Obispo through Mendocino County. Simultaneous to the construction of its new Kona, Hawaii facility, The Center's rescue range has increased to include the entire Hawaiian archipelago. With an annual operating budget of $6M, 50 staff and 1,100 actively engaged volunteers, The Center operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. About the Opportunity The Life Support and Facilities Technician-EAM Specialist is a tasked with the operation and maintenance of building and life support equipment. The position also administers The Center's Enterprise Asset Management (EAM) system under the direction of the Director of LSS/Facilities. The position works closely with other technicians on daily operations, including filter backwashes, system line-up changes and the troubleshooting of faulty life support equipment and is tasked with routine building and equipment maintenance and assists in the coordination of capital projects. The position is part of a rotating on call and work schedule. The position reports to the Director of LSS/Facilities. CORE COMPETENCIES * Practical experience in at least 7 of the following areas: o Centrifugal pumps o Ozone generators o Sand filtration o Saltwater chemistry o Compressor and air flow equipment o Carpentry or fabrication o Process controls & building automation o Heating, ventilation and air conditioning o Commercial electrical distribution o Motor control centers and variable speed drives o Diesel generators o Computer networking/Information Technologies o Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office o Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), or Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), or Computer-Aided Facilities Management (CAFM) * Skilled in the operation and use of various hand and power tools * Ability to understand and execute written and oral instructions * Ability to read, interpret and record data from meters, gauges, scales, panels, and computer consoles * Ability to interpret service manuals, drawings and follow correct maintenance protocols * Ability to interpret and operate computer control systems * Ability to read and interpret data from engineering drawings, blueprints, gauges and graphs * Excellent troubleshooting/problem solving skills * Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to develop and maintain good working relationships with staff and volunteers * Excellent reading, math, writing, scientific and verbal communication skills * Ability to work simultaneously on several projects * Ability to make decisions with little or no supervision * Ability to communicate with individuals at all skill, knowledge and experience levels * Ability to work closely with local contractors and vendors * Must be safety conscious and comfortable working in an industrial setting * Ability to work independently with little or no supervision * Prior EAM & CMMS experience MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES Watch-standing - 30% * Operates life support and building equipment and performs routine life support/building operations such as filter backwashes, system line-up changes and water treatments * Performs daily inspections and rounds on all life support systems * Monitors life support processes and building systems after hours * Provides support to other departments during events Maintenance and Project Work - 50% * Performs preventive and predictive maintenance tasks for equipment and components as directed * Isolates, troubleshoots and coordinates the repair of faulty life support/building systems and equipment as directed * Provides project support as needed with the construction and fabrication of new life support, building systems and exhibits * Supports capital construction projects Enterprise Center's Asset Management - 20% * Reviews and analyzes work order backlog and provides feedback for reprioritization and resources * Ensures all departments are utilizing the EAM for tracking and analyses work load * Meets with Director on EAM utilization, tracking and reporting * Provides EAM training to users * Communicates key trends to staff using EAM reporting tools * Ensures new assets, PM's and other information is entered into EAM * Expands the use of the EAM system QUALIFICATIONS * Previous life support systems experience is preferred, prior building maintenance experience is required * Bachelor's degree in engineering or sciences is preferred; and/or equivalent practical experience in a related technical field * 5 years' experience using an EAM/CMMS/CAFM solution * Must be able to work a rotating work schedule covering all hours of the day all days of the week including holidays * Must be able to be on call, carry a cell phone and respond to after-hours emergencies * Must be able to lift and carry 50 lbs * Must be able to work in an industrial work environment and be able to safety use personal protective equipment such as respirators and fall arrest equipment. * Must be able to work in an industrial work environment, including areas with low headroom, difficult access, ladders and heights TO APPLY: Please send a cover letter and resume, attention Human Resources Director to admin at tmmc.org. Please put "Life Support and Facilities Technician" in the subject line. Please no phone calls or faxed submissions. Deadline for applications is Friday November 28, 2014. Heather Groninger Human Resources Director and I.T. Manager The Marine Mammal Center 2000 Bunker Road Sausalito, CA 94965 415.289.7348 fax: 415.754.4048 groningerh at tmmc.org www.marinemammalcenter.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From y.bohadi at gmail.com Fri Nov 7 01:45:25 2014 From: y.bohadi at gmail.com (Yusuf Bohadi) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 12:45:25 +0300 Subject: [MARMAM] A small case report: Baleen whales in Kuwait waters... Again! Message-ID: *Sei whales in the Arabian/Persian gulf* Summary: In late 2009, during an oceanographic survey on board a KISR (Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research) vessel, researches spotted 2 large animals swimming southward from Kuwait bay. In Feb. 2014 a dead carcass washed ashore Failaka island in Kuwait. It was believed to be a female Sei whale. A few months earlier another one washed ashore the Iraqi coasts. Last week 3 more were sighted. The coastal guard managed to record a video of one of the smaller animals swimming very close to their boat. The report fails to mention if that was a result of the animal approaching them or if it was a result of their relentless pursuit after it. Records do not show that the prescribed area of encounter is the natural habitat or the normal migration rout for these animals. The concern here is that these animals would end up dead like the ones before them and wash ashore years later. Records examined also, do not mention methods to help these animas at this point. One can only hope that they continue on heading south and exist the gulf in time to survive. For all the details, the report can be requested by contacting the following email: y.bohadi at gmail.com Any further comments or advice would be deeply appreciated, please send them to the same email above. Thank you Yusuf Bohadi -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jennifer.laliberte at boem.gov Fri Nov 7 05:23:48 2014 From: jennifer.laliberte at boem.gov (Laliberte, Jennifer) Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2014 08:23:48 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] BOEM - Long Term Monitoring Plan for Marine Mammals in the Gulf of Mexico Message-ID: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public information and data to support the development of a long term monitoring plan for marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico related to geological and geophysical (seismic) survey activities. BOEM will accept comments through December 8, 2014. For details on the types of information BOEM is seeking, please see http://www.boem.gov/note11062014/ and https://www.federalregister.gov/ (use search term "BOEM-14-0075"). Formal comments may be submitted at www.regulations.gov (use search term "BOEM-14-0075") or via email to monitoringplan at boem.gov. Questions may be directed to Jennifer Laliberte, jennifer.laliberte at boem.gov. Comments will not be accepted at this email address. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From apopper at umd.edu Mon Nov 10 12:17:45 2014 From: apopper at umd.edu (Arthur N. Popper) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 20:17:45 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life Meeting, Dublin, 2016 Message-ID: We are pleased to announce that the web site for the 4th International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life is now open (www.an2016.org). The site will contain updated information on the meeting as our plans progress. The meeting will take place in Dublin, Ireland, July 10-16, 2014 and will follow in the tradition of the earlier meetings in Nyborg, Cork, and Budapest in providing opportunities to present and learn about the latest research, and to meet and network with colleagues from around the world interested in the topic. A focus of the meeting is to enable investigators interested in all animal groups, all sound sources, and all potential effects to meet and interact. The meeting also has a strong representation from industry, government, and environmental groups. We would like to ask that anyone with a (potential) interest in attending the meeting fill out the short questionnaire that is linked to the box on the upper right side of our home page. This will provide us with information about potential interest in the meeting and your ideas for the consent of the meeting. We will use the list generated ONLY to contact prospective attendees and share it with no one else. We would also ask that you share the home page with others you think might be interested in attending AN2016 since our current mailing list is generated from those who attended the Budapest meeting. Finally, we continue to look for sponsors to help support the meeting and so if you or your group would be interested in a sponsorship please contact one of the organizers and we will share our list of sponsorship opportunities. The Organizers Christine Erbe Tony Hawkins Art Popper Joe Sisneros Frank Thomsen ________________________________________________________ Arthur N. Popper Professor Emeritus & Research Professor, Department of Biology Editor, Acoustics Today (www.AcousticsToday.org) Co-Director, Terrapin Teachers (www.tt.umd.edu) University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 USA Phone: (301) 405-1940 Email: apopper at umd.edu URL: www.popperlab.umd.edu Program: www.ccebh.umd.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cathy at smulteasciences.com Mon Nov 10 11:06:28 2014 From: cathy at smulteasciences.com (Cathy Bacon) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 19:06:28 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Recruiting Notice: GIS/Information Manager Message-ID: <1415646397518.51022@smulteasciences.com> ? Recruiting Notice: GIS/Information Manager Smultea Environmental Sciences (SES) is a group of passionate scientists and staff who perform marine mammal research and analysis. Projects range from fundamental science (population estimation/distribution, behavioral analysis, etc.) through efforts to mitigate the effects of human activity on marine mammals and their habitats. SES's driving goals include contributing to science related to whales, dolphins, polar bears, walrus and other marine mammals. Information management is central to what SES does. The GIS/Information Manager supports the projects of SES to further work in the field and office. S/He "shepherds" data coming in from the field and facilitates further QA/QC, analysis, archival and backup; drives database architecture and definitions; and coordinates spatial and database activities between internal teams and external partners. This position will work on projects across the United States and around the world. The GIS/Information Manager will acquire, generate, synthesize, analyze, and disseminate a wide range of geo-spatial and other data sets, and will work with SES staff and partners to identify information needs and create solutions. The GIS/Information Manager will report to the Chief Financial Officer. Major responsibilities will include: * Drive the ongoing development of data acquisition processes, enabling quick QA/QC, cloud archival, backup and retrieval of data streaming from multiple concurrent field projects. * Work collaboratively with SES staff, partners, and consultants to develop novel solutions using data gathered in the field or through third-party sources. * Provide data and GIS (including map making) support to all SES staff for business development, permitting and report writing. * Build capacity across the company by troubleshooting GIS and data management problems, working with SES team members to provide hardware and software support as necessary. * Work collaboratively with SES-preferred software partners to maintain data systems that are up-to-date and organized, and maintaining GIS, GPS and mobile platform hardware and software systems. * Drive the development of consistent methods for testing, documenting, storing and retrieving geo-spatial data sets. REQUIREMENTS * BS degree in related field such as Computer Science, Math, EE, or GIS and 5 years related experience, or equivalent combination of education, experience and professional certification. * Absolutely killer general computer skills. We assume you know how to configure a new PC, create a file hierarchy, set ACLs on network shares, use a Word template instead of just typing, install a Chrome plugin without getting a virus, defrag a hard drive, etc. * Awesome database skills (e.g. Access, SQL, etc.) Preferred * Geo-spatial skills, including Google Earth (knowledge of kml a plus) and/or ArcGIS * GPS (knowledge of NMEA a plus) * Programming experience (any language, including M(atLab) or R) * Marine mammal knowledge * Marine environment experience (sailing, navigation, operations, etc.) * Statistics Compensation DOE. We are an EEO employer. CV, letter of interest and three references should be emailed to holly.dramis at smulteasciences.com. No phone calls please. Cathy E. Bacon Project Manager/Senior Research Associate Smultea Environmental Sciences International -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From v.todd at oceanscienceconsulting.com Tue Nov 11 02:53:21 2014 From: v.todd at oceanscienceconsulting.com (Victoria Todd) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 10:53:21 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Todd et al 2014: A review of impacts of marine dredging activities on marine mammals. ICES J. Mar. Sci. first published online November 4, 2014 doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsu187 Message-ID: <5461EAA1.1070101@oceanscienceconsulting.com> Dear MARMAMers, We are pleased to announce publication (including supplementary on-line data) of the following article: Victoria L. G. Todd, Ian B. Todd, Jane C. Gardiner, Erica C. N. Morrin, Nicola A. MacPherson, Nancy A. DiMarzio, and Frank Thomsen 2014: A review of impacts of marine dredging activities on marine mammals. /ICES Journal of Marine Science/, doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsu187. *Abstract* Marine dredging is an excavation activity carried out worldwide by many industries. Concern about the impact dredging has on marine life, including marine mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians) exists, but effects are largely unknown. Through consulting available literature, this review aims to expand on existing knowledge of the direct and indirect, negative and positive impacts on marine mammals. In terms of direct effects, collisions are possible, but unlikely, given the slow speed of dredgers. Noise emitted is broadband, with most energy below 1 kHz and unlikely to cause damage to marine mammal auditory systems, but masking and behavioural changes are possible. Sediment plumes are generally localized, and marine mammals reside often in turbid waters, so significant impacts from turbidity are improbable. Entrainment, habitat degradation, noise, contaminant remobilization, suspended sediments, and sedimentation can affect benthic, epibenthic, and infaunal communities, which may impact marine mammals indirectly through changes to prey. Eggs and larvae are at highest risk from entrainment, so dredging in spawning areas can be detrimental, but effects are minimized through the use of environmental windows. Sensitive environments such as seagrass beds are at risk from smothering, removal, or damage, but careful planning can reduce degradation. Assessing impacts of contaminant remobilization is difficult, but as long as contaminated sediments are disposed of correctly, remobilization is limited in space and time. Effects of suspended sediments and sedimentation are species-specific, but invertebrates, eggs, and larvae are most vulnerable. Positive effects, including an increase in food, result from greater nutrient loads, but are often short term. Dredging has the potential to impact marine mammals, but effects are species and location-specific, varying also with dredging equipment type. In general, evidence suggests that if management procedures are implemented, effects are most likely to be masking and short-term behavioural alterations and changes to prey availability. *Supplementary data* The supplementary data feature a world map of regional boundaries used to compose distributions of marine mammals, and a referenced world-wide review table, that lists family, scientific names, common name, range of best hearing (10 dB from max; kHz), frequency of minimum hearing threshold (kHz), minimum hearing threshold (dB re 1 ?Pa), methodology, diet, region, habitat, documented effects of dredging, and potential effects of dredging. The table was created to assist stakeholders in developing mitigation plans for dredging activities that have potential to impact marine mammals. If you subscribe to /ICES J. Mar. Sci./ the article and supplementary are available at http://icesjms.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/11/04/icesjms.fsu187.abstract, or you can download the PDF and supplementary material on http://www.osc.co.uk/publications-and-press-covers/ Brgds, -- Dr. Victoria Todd Managing Director OSC Ltd. Ocean House, 4 Brewery Lane Belhaven, Dunbar, East Lothian Scotland, EH42 1PD T: +44 (0)1368 865 722 M: +44 (0)7719 489 415 F: +44 (0)1368 865 729 W: www.osc.co.uk E: vt at osc.co.uk *MMO or PAM requirement?* We wrote the book. Now available on Amazon: /www.marinemammalobserverhandbook.com/ View Victoria Todd's profile on LinkedIn ** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: btn_profile_bluetxt_80x15.png Type: image/png Size: 382 bytes Desc: not available URL: From a.pardalou at mom.gr Mon Nov 10 05:17:03 2014 From: a.pardalou at mom.gr (Androniki Pardalou (MOm)) Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:17:03 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Support research on dolphin populations in Greece - Northern Aeagean Dolphin Project Message-ID: Dear MARMAM colleagues, Please find below some info regarding the Northern Aegean Dolphin Project 2015, implemented by MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal for a third year. We are asking for people to support the research activities of the project and help us sustain this efford! Best regards, Niki ? ? Androniki Pardalou Northern Aegean Dolphin Project Coordinator? (??? ???????? ?????????? ????????) During summer 2013 MOm / Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal for the first time ventured to implement the Northern Aegean Dolphin Project ? N.A.D.P., a research project for the recording and monitoring of dolphin populations in the wider area of the National Marine Park of Alonissos Northern Sporades (NMPANS). In 2014 the project commenced its activities in full power, implementing thirty-three research trips during which there were nineteen successful recordings of dolphins! We are still in the process of analyzing the data collected on the field from June till September 2014, and soon we will have the first results. However, in order to have a reliable estimate of the population status of the dolphin species in N.M.P.A.N.S. we need to put forward more effort and time. The information collected is the cornerstone for future management/conservation plans in the area, for the protection of the species. The N.A.D.P. will definitely be a unique opportunity for anybody that decides to join MOm?s scientific team at Alonissos island and engage with research activities. Throughout the information brochure (here ), you may find details regarding the objectives and design of the project, and how it can benefit those willing to live this experience. You may participate as an *individual*, *group* or *company* (click for more info). Here you may also find reviews of previous participants! With your contribution you ensure the resources that are needed for the implementation of the project regarding our research on the dolphin populations of the N.M.P.A.N.S. We hope to see you in one of our expeditions! Our warmest regards, ?? Androniki Pardalou Northern Aegean Dolphin Project Coordinator MOm/Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk Seal 18 Solomou str., 10682, Athens tel.+30 210-5222888, mob. +30 6948084725 / fax. +30 210-5222450 e-mail: a.pardalou at mom.gr, skype: pardalou web-site: www.mom.gr One Percent For The Planet blog ? ?? ??fb: https://www.facebook.com/mom.gr ?? Youtube channel ***** ?? ????????? ??? 2013 ? MOm / ???????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ??????????? ?????? ??? ????? ???? ????????? ?? Northern Aegean Dolphin Project (N.A.P.D.), ??? ?????????? ????????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ????????????? ??? ????????? ????????? ??? ???????? ???? ???????? ??????? ??? ??????? ????????? ?????? ????????? ??????? ???????? (?.?.?.?.?.?.). ?? 2014 ???? ????? ??? ????????, ?? ???????-???? ?????????? ??????? ??? ????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????????! ????? ??????????? ???? ??????????? ??? ????????? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ??? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ?? ?????????? ??? 2014, ??? ??????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ????????????. ??????, ??????????? ?? ?????? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ????????? ????????? ??? ?.?.?.?.?.?. ?????????? ????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????????. ?? ???????? ???? ?? ??????????? ??? ??????????? ???? ??? ?? ????????? ??????? ??????????? ??? ?????????? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ????? ???? ???????. ?? N.A.P.D. ?? ????? ?????????? ??? ???????? ???????? ??? ?????? ?????????? ?? ?????????? ????? ??? ??????????? ??? ?????? ??? ??? ????????, ??? ???? ??? ?????????. ??? ??????????? ???????? (??? ) ?? ?????? ???????? ??????????? ??? ?? ??????????? ??? ????????????, ?? ????????? ??? ??????????? ?????????????? ??? ?? ?? ??????????? ?? ????? ??????????? ?? ?????? ???? ??? ????????. ???????? ?? ???????????? ?? *?????*, *??????* ? *?????????* (????? ??? ). ??????, ??? ???????? ?? ????????? ??? ?????????? ??????????? ?????????????! ?? ?? ????????? ??? ???????????? ???? ?????? ??? ?? ???????? ??? ??????????? ??? ?????????????? ??????? ?? ???? ?????????? ????????? ??? ?.?.?.?.?.?.. ????????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ?? ?????? ??? ?? ??????? ???! ???? ??????? ???????????? ???, ?? ? ?? ? ????????? ???????? ???????????? ????????? ??? ?? Northern Aegean Dolphin Project MOm/??????? ??? ?? ?????? ??? ????????? ??? ??????????? ?????? ??????? 18, 10682 ????? ???.210-5222888, ???. 6948084725 / fax. 210-5222450 e-mail: a.pardalou at mom.gr, skype: pardalou web-site: www.mom.gr One Percent For The Planet blog ? ?fb: https://www.facebook.com/mom.gr ? Youtube channel ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From allenjb at mote.org Wed Nov 12 08:24:04 2014 From: allenjb at mote.org (Jason Allen) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 11:24:04 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Research Assistant/Data Analyst Position, Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Message-ID: <546389A4.6090307@mote.org> The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) is a collaborative partnership dedicated to dolphin research, conservation, and education. The SDRP was started in 1970 through Mote Marine Laboratory when Blair Irvine and high school student Randy Wells began a tagging study to find out if dolphins in the Sarasota Bay area were residents or moved more broadly -- it was the first systematic study of bottlenose dolphin ranging patterns. Findings of multi-decadal, multi-generational residency set the stage for the program to continue and develop into new areas of research. Since 1989, the Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) has led the SDRP partnership, providing an administrative home for the long-term program and support for ongoing program operations, including the CZS employees who form the core program staff. Mote Marine Laboratory, where our initial research was conducted during 1970-1971, has provided a base of operations on Sarasota Bay and access to laboratory facilities and infrastructure since 1992. The Program Director since the late 1970's, Dr. Randall Wells, guided the SDRP from a seasonal operation involving teams of volunteers to its current year-round operations with a complement of full and part time staff, who work with graduate students, interns, and volunteers. The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, conducting "the world's longest-running study of a wild dolphin population", now is a pre-eminent international center for research into the biology, behavior, ecology, health, and impacts of human activities on dolphins in Sarasota Bay and elsewhere around the world. http://sarasotadolphin.org The Research Assistant -- Data Analyst assists the Senior Conservation Scientist with the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), primarily with analysis of dolphin identification photographs in support of the Society's mission and conservation science innovation and leadership. The Research Assistant will perform analysis of digital photographs of dolphin dorsal fins for identification of individual dolphins by comparing the digitally stored images from field work performed by research staff; matching fins to those in the digital master fin catalog using the ACDSee program. This includes an accurate and expeditious analytical processing of dorsal fin photographs that is crucial for further use of the data by staff and collaborators and incorporation into long-term databases as well as updates to data archives; preparing reports and manuscripts as requested. The Research Assistant will compile and maintain the Gulf of Mexico Dolphin Identification System (GoMDIS) Gulf-wide bottlenose dolphin photographic identification catalog, including obtaining, processing, and archiving data and images provided on an ongoing basis from more than 20 collaborating scientists from around the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, responsibilities include managing collaboration work with NOAA and Duke/OBIS SEAMAP programming staff, and SDRP staff including the Lab Manager; and, under the guidance of the ID Cataloguer maintaining and upgrading the FinBase Access-based databases and web interface for managing dolphin identification images and associated data. You will also assist with dolphin health assessments and rescues as necessary. The requirements for the position include the following: ? Minimum B.A./B.S. in Biology, Marine Sciences or a related field or equivalent combination of related training and/or experience required. ? Minimum three (3) years experience in marine mammal individual identification from photographs required. ? Basic computer skills required, with data entry experience in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Access. ? Demonstrated ability to work independently and to prioritize tasks as necessary required. ? Must be able to work independently as well as in a team. ? This position will involve work performed away from Brookfield Zoo, in Sarasota, Florida. ? Typical average weekly work schedule is approximately 40 hours. ? Valid driver's license required. Must possess a valid Florida license within 30 days of hire. Valid out-of-state license required for out-of-state residents. _ _ The desirable/preferred qualifications include the following: ? Experience in data collection and coordination of data collection by collaborating scientists. ? Experience with ACDSee strongly preferred. ? Knowledge of photography. ? Minimum of 1 year of FinBase software experience. ? Experience and/or ability to work and interact effectively with a diverse, multicultural audience. Multilingual ability, Spanish fluency a plus. The Chicago Zoological Society is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer -- Minorities / Women / Veterans / Disabled. If interested in being considered for this opportunity, please visit the CZS Career Center to obtain more details about the position and to apply by submitting your profile. Please visit our website at *www.czs.org/careers* . Please look for requisition number 634BR. -- Jason Allen Lab Manager Chicago Zoological Society's Sarasota Dolphin Research Program c/o Mote Marine Laboratory 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway Sarasota, FL 34236 Tel: 941.388.4441 ext. 452 Fax: 941.388.4223 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From apopper at umd.edu Tue Nov 11 04:55:39 2014 From: apopper at umd.edu (Arthur N. Popper) Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:55:39 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life Meeting, Dublin, 2016 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: PLEASE NOTE, with my apologies, that the meet is July 10-16, 2016 and not 2014. Art Popper We are pleased to announce that the web site for the 4th International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life is now open (www.an2016.org). The site will contain updated information on the meeting as our plans progress. The meeting will take place in Dublin, Ireland, July 10-16, 2014 and will follow in the tradition of the earlier meetings in Nyborg, Cork, and Budapest in providing opportunities to present and learn about the latest research, and to meet and network with colleagues from around the world interested in the topic. A focus of the meeting is to enable investigators interested in all animal groups, all sound sources, and all potential effects to meet and interact. The meeting also has a strong representation from industry, government, and environmental groups. We would like to ask that anyone with a (potential) interest in attending the meeting fill out the short questionnaire that is linked to the box on the upper right side of our home page. This will provide us with information about potential interest in the meeting and your ideas for the consent of the meeting. We will use the list generated ONLY to contact prospective attendees and share it with no one else. We would also ask that you share the home page with others you think might be interested in attending AN2016 since our current mailing list is generated from those who attended the Budapest meeting. Finally, we continue to look for sponsors to help support the meeting and so if you or your group would be interested in a sponsorship please contact one of the organizers and we will share our list of sponsorship opportunities. The Organizers Christine Erbe Tony Hawkins Art Popper Joe Sisneros Frank Thomsen ________________________________________________________ Arthur N. Popper Professor Emeritus & Research Professor, Department of Biology Editor, Acoustics Today (www.AcousticsToday.org) Co-Director, Terrapin Teachers (www.tt.umd.edu) University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742 USA Phone: (301) 405-1940 Email: apopper at umd.edu URL: www.popperlab.umd.edu Program: www.ccebh.umd.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From els at whalefish.org Wed Nov 12 00:56:31 2014 From: els at whalefish.org (Els Vermeulen) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:56:31 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Conservation Psychology Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, We are conducting a survey to assess the attitudes and behaviour of conservation scientists and professionals toward a variety of issues regarding the protection and conservation of nature. We therefore created a survey through a range of multiple choice questions. If you have 10 minutes or so to complete the survey, we would be very grateful. Off course your responses will be entirely anonymous. Please feel free to forward the link to other conservation scientists of your acquaintance. https://wooster.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_08rdCfQGC2G2DAh Your help is very much appreciated. Kind regards, Susan Clayton, PhD Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology The College of Wooster http://discover.wooster.edu/sclayton/ Els Vermeulen, PhD Co-founder and Scientific Director Whalefish Mail: els at whalefish.org Url: www.whalefish.org Cell: +27 60 9714301 Connect - Share - Inspire -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mrholden_mmo_pam at hotmail.co.uk Tue Nov 11 21:02:59 2014 From: mrholden_mmo_pam at hotmail.co.uk (Peter Holden) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 14:02:59 +0900 Subject: [MARMAM] Request For Vocalisations of Cetaceans Message-ID: Dear colleagues: I would very much appreciate your help in building a collection of marine mammal vocalisations. My name is Peter Holden and I work for the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS). We are currently undertaking a project on marine mammals and a major part of the research is based on acoustic detection and recognition of marine mammals. To aid in species detection during PAM surveys and hundreds of hours of acoustic data collected via autonomous recorders, I am currently in the process of building a classifier/recogniser to help in the identification of species in real time (PAMGuard) during surveys and also for post analysis of the audio files (Song Scope). To achieve this I require a number of varied vocalisations (i.e. tonal and impulsive sounds) from species found in the area (see species of interest list below) for training data, it would be beneficial if the recordings are in .wav format and varied in amplitude of the perceived signals. It would be even better if these recordings were made in the South West Indian Ocean :D Species of interest: Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis) Bryde's Whale (Balaenoptera brydei) Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Pygmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps) Dwarf Sperm Whale (Kogia sima) Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris) Blainville's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) Longman's Beaked Whale (lndopacetus pacificus) Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata) Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra) Rough-toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) Risso's Dolphin (Grampus griseus) Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata) Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) Fraser's Dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) If anyone could supply any of the species on this list that would be amazing! In return for your donation of audio files I would be more than happy to discuss and help with development of your own classifiers/recognisers and send the classifiers relating to the species you have supplied. Thank you for your help, Kind Regards, Peter Holden Marine Mammal Acoustic Researcher and Project leader, Marine Conservation Society Seychelles. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk Wed Nov 12 09:53:00 2014 From: s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk (TWISS S.D.) Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 17:53:00 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Potential PhD Studentship Opportunity: Grey seal behaviour Message-ID: <8791437317661E40ABC44F032787BEF005F894B4@CISAMRMBS02.mds.ad.dur.ac.uk> Potential PhD Studentship: Opportunity: Grey seal behaviour. Project Title: Quantifying individual variation in fine scale time and energy trade-offs in breeding grey seals: How do differing behavioural types solve these trade-offs? Application Deadline: 9th January 2015 Supervisors: Dr Sean Twiss, Durham University (s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk) Dr. Patrick Pomeroy, Sea Mammal Research Unit, Univ. of St. Andrews (pp6 at st-and.ac.uk) For further information please contact Dr Sean Twiss (s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk) Brief project description: Within the behavioural and evolutionary ecological literature there has been extensive recent interest in consistent individual differences (CIDs) in behaviour in non-human animal species. Where such differences cannot be accounted for by age or sex class differences, social status, or local social and environmental conditions, such individually specific patterns of behaviour (behavioural types) are indicative of individual personalities. The existence of CIDs in behaviour raises many fundamental questions about the evolutionary causes and ecological consequences of personalities. Whilst some argue that personalities may result from mechanistic constraints, there is growing evidence that they often represent individually differing adaptive solutions to complex physical and social environments controlled by frequency or state dependent mechanisms and life history trade-offs. There is now evidence of CIDs in a remarkable range of taxa, from molluscs to mammals, however, there remain a limited number of studies conducted in entirely natural contexts; the vast majority of studies are laboratory based, or expose individuals to experimental manipulations. There is a clear need to investigate how individual behavioural profiles respond to their environment at a fine spatial and temporal scale, and to what extent these behavioural profiles are controlled by intrinsic or extrinsic mechanisms. Our previous studies have quantified behavioural types in wild breeding grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) largely on the basis of differences in maternal attentiveness and vigilance behaviours. However, these behaviours constitute a relatively small part of individuals? overall time/activity budgets. This study will build on these findings by conducting a detailed study of individual time activity budgets. Rather than focusing solely on specific behaviours the studentship will investigate individual differences in time allocation strategies with a particular focus on whether individuals differ, and do so consistently, in the trade-offs they make within their time budgets. Furthermore, the project will aim to link time activity budgets derived from traditional behavioural observations with continuous activity records derived from the deployment of accelerometers on focal seals. The project will seek to (a) classify accelerometery data according to observed behaviours, and (b) extrapolate from accelerometery to measures of individual energetic expenditure to investigate individual variation in energetic trajectories during breeding. Ultimately, the project aims to apply understanding of energetics/activity from this study to a back catalogue of individual activity budget data, providing opportunity for a comparison across colonies and multiple years. The research will involve extensive field based behavioural observations of individually identified adult female grey seals at a remote island colony over 3 successive autumns. Potential candidates should be able to demonstrate the ability to conduct prolonged and isolated fieldwork in harsh conditions, while remaining dedicated and enthusiastic. Ability to work effectively and efficiently both independently and as part of a team is essential. In addition, candidates will require strong analytical skills, including experience of modern ecological and statistical modelling techniques. Experience with R and analysis of telemetry data is advantageous, but not essential. A UK driving licence (or equivalent) is also desirable, but not essential. Further candidate specifications are provided below under the funding notes. Further details of the project can be obtained from Dr. Twiss. References Halsey LG, Shepard ELC & Wilson RP (2011). Assessing the development and application of the accelerometry technique for estimating energy expenditure. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 158: 305?314. Twiss SD, Caudron A, Pomeroy PP, Thomas CJ & Mills JP (2000). Fine scale topographical influences on the breeding behaviour of female grey seals. Animal Behaviour 59: 327-338. Twiss SD, Culloch RM & Pomeroy PP (2011). An in-field experimental test of pinniped behavioral types. Marine Mammal Science E280?E294. doi: 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00523.x Twiss SD, Cairns C, Culloch RM, Richards SA, Pomeroy PP (2012). Behavioural variation in female grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) reproductive performance correlates to proactive-reactive behavioural types. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49598. Funding and how to apply: PLEASE NOTE: This project is in competition with others for funding under the Durham Doctoral Fellowship scheme. Success will therefore 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 Sean Twiss (s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk) with a CV and covering letter, detailing your reasons for applying for the project. Only the best applicants will be asked to submit an application. UK and Non-UK students are advised that to be considered for the Durham Doctoral Fellowship, the minimum requirements include an excellent undergraduate degree with either postgraduate or work experience in a relevant discipline and scientific publication(s) in peer reviewed journals. Candidates must have fulfilled the University's requirements regarding English language ability and must not require a pre-sessional course as a condition of their place. Further details on the Durham Doctoral Studentships can be found at: https://www.dur.ac.uk/science.faculty/postgraduatefunding/ The deadline is Friday 9th January 2015. END _________________________________ Dr. Sean Twiss, Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology, School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, South Road, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. E-mail: s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk Web-site: https://www.dur.ac.uk/biosciences/about/schoolstaff/academicstaff/?id=1132 Blog: http://sealbehaviour.wordpress.com/ 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 Sacha.Viquerat at tiho-hannover.de Thu Nov 13 03:10:18 2014 From: Sacha.Viquerat at tiho-hannover.de (Viquerat, Sacha) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 11:10:18 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New Version of iTag released (0.6) Message-ID: <093B416CB0F486498DCD1A3BA249CDC8696E83D5@TIHO-MBX1.tiho.lan> Hello! On behalf of the Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research in B?sum, Germany, I'd like to announce the release of iTag 0.6. This announcement is aimed at any scientist / survey technician that is tasked with counting objects on images taken during aerial surveys. iTag provides many tools that facilitates the handling of tags and processes the tagged data in various ways, including a database, spreadsheet and google earth kml file export. Many features, such as saving and resuming a session, aim at the usually high workload of counting objects in images and help to spread effort between researchers or to allow for breaks during long tagging sessions. The current field of application ranges from aerial seal counts to beach section monitoring and includes users and institutes all over the world. It is, of course, a free (open source) software and the newest version can always be downloaded for free from https://sourceforge.net/projects/itagbiology The main new features of iTag 0.6 include: a new and streamlined user interface recovery options data output options a new multi purpose navigational panel Feel free to report any issue with the current version or any suggestion, feature request or general appraisal! Cheers, Sacha Sacha Viquerat University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) Werftstr. 6 25761 B?sum Germany +49 511 856-8172 Fax. +49 511 856-8181 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adujon at deakin.edu.au Thu Nov 13 14:07:17 2014 From: adujon at deakin.edu.au (ANTOINE MARIE DUJON) Date: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 22:07:17 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Publication: The accuracy of Fastloc-GPS locations and implications for animal tracking Message-ID: <342073d920fd47708794c4f0b3a20e2f@exch15-f-6.du.deakin.edu.au> Dear marine biologists and scientists, Some of you are probably using Fastloc-GPS tags to track animals. We just published a paper in Methods in Ecology And Evolution were we investigated the typical accuracy of Fastloc-GPS tags. We also provide a methodology to calculate accurate speed of travels and headings. Globally, our results confirm that Fastloc-GPS is a powerful tool to study marine species movement. Dujon A. M., Lindstrom R. T. and Hays G. C., 2014. The accuracy of Fastloc-GPS locations and implications for animal tracking, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.12286 The publication can be downloaded in open access at this link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12286/abstract Publication Abstract: 1. Over recent years, a major breakthrough in marine animal tracking has occurred with the advent of Fastloc-GPS that provides highly accurate location data even for animals that only surface briefly such as sea turtles, marine mammals and penguins. 2. We assessed the accuracy of Fastloc-GPS locations using fixed trials of tags in which >45 000 locations were obtained. Procedures for determining the speed of travel and heading were developed by simulating tracks and then adding Fastloc-GPS location errors. The levels of detail achievable for speed and heading estimates were illustrated by using empirical Fastloc-GPS data for a green turtle (Chelonia mydas, Linnaeus, 1758) travelling over 3000 km across the Indian Ocean. 3. The accuracy of Fastloc-GPS locations varied as a function of the number of GPS satellites used in the location calculation. For example, when Fastloc-GPS locations were calculated using 4 GPS satellites, 50% of locations were within 36 m and 95% within 724 m of the true position. These values improved to 18 and 70 m, respectively, when 6 satellites were used. Simulations indicated that for animals travelling around 2?5 km h?1 (e.g. turtles, penguins and seals) and depending on the number of satellites used in the location calculation, robust speed and heading estimates would usually be obtained for locations only 1?6 h apart. 4. Fastloc-GPS accuracy is several orders of magnitude better that conventional Argos tracking or light-based geolocation and consequently will allow new insights into small-scale movement patterns of marine animals. If you have any questions about that work, feel free to contact me. Best Regards, Antoine DUJON ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Antoine DUJON PhD Student In Quantitative Movement Analysis Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University, Warrnambool Campus, PO Box 423, Warrnambool, VIC 3280 Email : adujon at deakin.edu.au Google Scholar : http://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=-rH46BsAAAAJ Research Gate https:/www.researchgate.net/profile/Antoine_Dujon Twitter : https://twitter.com/AMDujon Recent publications: Dujon A. M., Lindstrom R. T. and Hays G. C., 2014. The accuracy of Fastloc-GPS locations and implications for animal tracking, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.12286 FREELY AVAILABLE HERE: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.12286/abstract -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From l.weijs at uq.edu.au Fri Nov 14 16:19:02 2014 From: l.weijs at uq.edu.au (Liesbeth Weijs) Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 00:19:02 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Reminder: Special Issue in AECT Message-ID: <82CF00F3CC95AC4D8F4B06BB243CE4AA84265C@UQEXMDA3.soe.uq.edu.au> Dear all, We would like to draw your attention to a Special Issue entitled 'New developments and perspectives in marine mammal toxicology? which will be published in Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (ISSN 0090-4341 (print version), ISSN 1432-0703 (electronic version), http://www.springer.com/environment/environmental+toxicology/journal/244). As guest editors, we invite you to contribute a full length research paper or mini-review (<5,000 words including references) for potential publication. Special issue: New developments and perspectives in marine mammal toxicology Deadline: 31 January 2015 Special Issue Description As apex predators in aquatic ecosystems with relatively long life spans and considerable fat deposits, many marine mammals undergo contaminant accumulation and related effects. It is widely recognized that marine mammals are exposed to a wide variety of pollutants, with a weight of evidence indicating impacts on their health through endocrine disruption. Since hundreds of new chemicals enter the global market every year, the methods, approaches and technologies used to characterize pollution levels or impacts are also in a constant state of flux. However, legal and ethical constraints often limit the type and extent of toxicological research being carried out in marine mammals. Nevertheless, new and emerging in vivo, in vitro as well as in silico research opportunities abound in the field of marine mammalogy. In the application of findings to population-, species-, or habitat-related risk assessments, the identification of causal relationships which inform source apportionment is important. This, in turn, is informed by a comprehensive understanding of contaminant classes, profiles and fate over space and time. Such considerations figure prominently in the design and interpretation of marine mammal (eco)toxicology research. This Special Issue will showcase new developments in marine mammal toxicology, approaches for exposure-effect research in risk assessment, and future perspectives. This Special Issue will welcome all contributions towards: ? Biomonitoring studies that have investigated temporal or spatial trends in marine mammals worldwide; ? Biomonitoring studies of new and emerging contaminants in marine mammals; ? Biological effect studies on the development, validation and application of new contaminant-related biomarker approaches in marine mammal; ? Studies developing in vitro and in silico methods for the study of the mode of action of pollutants in marine mammals; ? Studies which inform the identification of contaminants of concern in marine mammals and their habitat. Please keep in mind that all submissions are subject to the regular peer review process at AECT and need to be written and formatted according to the Aims and Scopes of AECT. Full-length reviews are not allowed as this remains the prevue of Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (RECT), but we may accept mini-reviews (<5,000 words including references). The final deadline for MS submission has been set on January 31st 2015. If you are interested in submitting your MS, please remember to specify in the submission process that you are applying for the Special issue: New developments and perspectives in marine mammal toxicology We are looking forward to receiving your valuable contribution and to hearing from you soon! Kind regards, Liesbeth and Annalisa Dr. Liesbeth Weijs National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox) The University of Queensland QHFSS, 39 Kessels Road Coopers Plains Queensland, 4108 Australia Website: http://www.entox.uq.edu.au/ E-Mail: l.weijs at uq.edu.au and Dr. Annalisa Zaccaroni Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences University of Bologna Viale Vespucci 2 Cesenatico (FC) 47042 Italy Website: http://www.scienzemedicheveterinarie.unibo.it/it E-Mail: annalisa.zaccaroni at unibo.it -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nick.robinson at gardline.com Fri Nov 14 03:03:38 2014 From: nick.robinson at gardline.com (Nick Robinson) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 11:03:38 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] JOB POSTING involving Marine Mammals: Marine Wildlife Report Writer Vacancy In-Reply-To: References: <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF18A0A7E98E1@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF194789AC5CD@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <7FB2AB9C70D9B441A5A82E214678C2D5947D5AD0D9@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF194F9304AE3@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF19E3DE470B2@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF19E3DE470E9@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF19E3DE470EB@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> <0C12D9846D7A29448E6CA5B25618BCF19E3DE4712A@MBOX.gardline.co.uk> , Message-ID: MARINE WILDLIFE REPORT WRITER Closing Date: 28/11/2014 Duration: Permanent (UK Based in Great Yarmouth) Hours: Full Time As a Marine Wildlife Report Writer you will be responsible for the analysis, interpretation and presentation of marine wildlife data in reports to our clients. You will be one of the team responsible for the collation and interpretation of data relating to marine wildlife collected in the field by Marine Mammal Observers, Passive Acoustic Monitoring System Operatives and Seabird Surveyors You will work closely with Project Managers and consultancy teams to ensure the production and delivery of quality controlled, accurate reports, to agreed client specifications, often within tight timescales. You will need to communicate and collaborate with a broad range of stakeholders across the Gardline group of companies. The successful candidate should be of environmental degree calibre, and demonstrate a sound knowledge of the marine environment with both a scientific and commercial awareness. You will possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills in order to gain and process complex information, present that information clearly and concisely and think logically, critically and decisively. Excellent scientific writing skills and attention to detail are essential. The ideal candidate must be confident using Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel and Word. It would also be beneficial if you have experience of using and understanding Adobe Acrobat, ArcGIS and statistical software packages. There will also be the opportunity to participate in occasional field surveys, up to 60 days offshore per annum. If you believe you have the experience, skills and ambition for this role, please e-mail your CV and covering letter to recruitment at gardline.com Quoting 2014-47 ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY - This e-mail and any attached files contain information that is confidential and/or may be subject of legal privilege, intended only for use by the addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient or the person responsible for delivering the message to the intended recipient, please be advised that you have received this message in error and that any dissemination, copying or use of this message or attachment is strictly forbidden, as is the disclosure of the information therein. If you have received this message in error please notify the sender immediately and preserve this confidentiality by deleting the message. No binding contract will result from this e-mail until and unless an officer, on behalf of the sender, signs a written document. Sender accepts no responsibility for the completeness or accuracy of this message as it has been transmitted over public networks. Unless otherwise specifically stated any views or opinions are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the sender Company. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System, on behalf of the Gardline Group of Companies. For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sgolaski at coa.edu Thu Nov 13 23:05:10 2014 From: sgolaski at coa.edu (Sara Golaski) Date: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 09:05:10 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?Volunteer_opportunity_-_Heaviside=E2=80=99s_do?= =?utf-8?q?lphin_research_in_Namibia?= Message-ID: *Volunteer opportunity - Heaviside?s dolphin research in Namibia* *BACKROUND:* This volunteer position is to assist University of Pretoria MSc student Sara Golaski. The project aims to obtain baseline information on abundance and habitat use of Heaviside?s dolphins in Namibia using primarily photographic identification (photo-ID). *WHERE:* Walvis Bay, Namibia *WHEN:* January and February 2015 *DATA ANALYSIS & FIELDWORK:* The volunteer position is primarily office based processing photo-ID images, but you will be aiding the Namibian Dolphin Project in all project activities including some fieldwork, community outreach and assisting with cetacean or sea turtle strandings should they occur. *EXPECTATIONS*, volunteers are expected to: - Be experienced with photo-ID work - Have good attention to detail - Be reliable, adaptable and hard-working - Be prepared to work long days - Be sociable, enthusiastic and have a positive attitude. - Participate for a minimum of 6 weeks, 2 months preferred Post would suit upper level undergrads and graduate students who have interest and background in Biology, Marine Biology and an interest in pursuing further study. Due to the training required, applicants should be available for a *minimum of 6 weeks.* *LIVING & COSTS:* Volunteers are expected to cover their own living expenses, including flight costs. We can assist in finding accommodation which can be around ZAR 3000 (~$300 USD) per month. Food and other personal expenses can be kept between ZAR 2000-3000 a month. *DEADLINE AND APPLICATIONS:* Interested volunteers should email Sara Golaski as soon as possible with a: *1 - LETTER of interest outlining relevant experience and motivation for participation* *2 ? CV* *3 - Duration of stay (expected start and end date)* *to Sara Golaski **sgolaski at coa.edu* *FOR MORE INFORMATION:* Namibian Dolphin Project website: http://www.namibiandolphinproject.com/ Namibian Dolphin Project blog: http://namibiandolphinproject.blogspot.com/ -- Sara Golaski MSc Candidate, Zoology University of Pretoria Namibian Dolphin Project sgolaski at coa.edu http://www.namibiandolphinproject.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From afahlman at whoi.edu Sun Nov 16 10:24:01 2014 From: afahlman at whoi.edu (Fahlman Andreas) Date: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 12:24:01 -0600 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on lung function in pinnipeds Message-ID: <2A2D06A0-9396-40C3-ABBB-62FF717AEB9C@whoi.edu> Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce the publication of our recent paper: Title: Fahlman, A., S. H. Loring, S. Johnson, M. Haulena, A. W. Trites, V. A. Fravel and W. Van Bonn (2014). "Inflation and deflation pressure-volume loops in anesthetized pinnipeds confirms compliant chest and lungs." Frontiers in Physiology 5. Abstract: We examined structural properties of the marine mammal respiratory system, and tested Scholander?s hypothesis that the chest is highly compliant by measuring the mechanical properties of the respiratory system in five species of pinniped under anesthesia (Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina; northern elephant seal, Mirounga angustirostris; northern fur seal Callorhinus ursinus; California sea lion, Zalophus californianus; and Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus). We found that the chest wall compliance (CCW) of all five species was greater than lung compliance (airways and alveoli, CL) as predicted by Scholander, which suggests that the chest provides little protection against alveolar collapse or lung squeeze. We also found that specific respiratory compliance was significantly greater in wild animals than in animals raised in an aquatic facility. While differences in ages between the two groups may affect this incidental finding, it is also possible that lung conditioning in free-living animals may increase pulmonary compliance and reduce the risk of lung squeeze during diving. Overall, our data indicate that compliance of excised pinniped lungs provide a good estimate of total respiratory compliance. An open access copy of the article can be found at: http://www.frontiersin.org/Journal/Abstract.aspx?s=54&name=aquatic_physiology&ART_DOI=10.3389/fphys.2014.00433 If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Andreas Andreas Fahlman Department of Life Sciences Texas A&M- Corpus Christi 6300 Ocean Dr Unit 5892 Corpus Christi, TX 78412 Ph. +1-361-825-3489 Fax +1-361-825-2025 mail: andreas.fahlman at tamucc.edu web: http://www.comparative-physiology.tamucc.edu/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ctaylor at sea2shore.org Mon Nov 17 06:47:36 2014 From: ctaylor at sea2shore.org (Cynthia Taylor) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 09:47:36 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Sirenews 62 Message-ID: <000f01d00275$6df9a1d0$49ece570$@org> Sirenews 62, October 2014, is now available online at http://sea2shore.org/publications/sirenews/ Sirenews is the newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Sirenia Specialist Group. The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) is a science-based network of volunteer experts working together towards achieving the vision of "A world that values and conserves present levels of biodiversity." The Sirenia Specialist Group is focused on the conservation of manatee and dugong populations around the world. Cynthia Taylor and James Powell, co-editors Sea to Shore Alliance www.sea2shore.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mbearzi at earthlink.net Mon Nov 17 09:30:31 2014 From: mbearzi at earthlink.net (Maddalena Bearzi) Date: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 09:30:31 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] new paper on angler perception of California sea lion depredation and marine policy in Southern California In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: We are pleased to announce the publication of our new paper: Cook, T., James, K. and M. Bearzi. Angler perceptions of California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) depredation and marine policy in Southern California. Marine Policy 51 (2015): 573-583. Abstract California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) off the coast of Southern California are known to damage both commercial and recreational fishing activities, causing decreases to fish catch and damage to gear. Their increasing population has intensified the potential for conflict between sea lions and anglers, likely requiring changes to current legislation. The recreational fishing community in Southern California is a valuable and largely underutilized source for information and potential solutions to management and legislative problems. This recreational fishing survey-based study conducted in 2013 utilized personal interviews, conducted in the field with recreational anglers and commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) crews in Southern California, to gather data on: (a) the occurrence and impact of sea lion depredation on the local fishing, (b) angler awareness and opinions on current legislation, and (c) the conflict between fishing activities and conservation efforts. Results show that surveyed CPFV operators and private boaters had the most conflict with sea lions and perceive them as more of a problem than anglers on piers, jetties or kayaks. The conflict was also reportedly more prevalent in San Diego County compared to the other counties surveyed (Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura). Participating CPFV operators were overwhelmingly in support of a government culling program for sea lions, while recreational angler respondents did not feel that a control program was necessary. These CPFV operators reported more money lost, and were willing to pay more for an effective deterrent device. There was also a consensus among respondents that fish catch is declining, yet anglers were unsatisfied with the effectiveness of current legislation designed to increase fish stocks. These data will provide a better understanding of California sea lion depredation in Southern California and its effect on recreational anglers in order to aid future mitigation efforts. Additionally, these results provide stakeholder feedback on local marine protected areas and other fisheries management legislation, and build a foundation for future conservation and education programs. A PDF copy of this paper is available for download at:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X1400253X or by request from mbearzi at earthlink.net Regards, Maddalena Bearzi and coauthors Maddalena Bearzi, Ph.D. Ocean Conservation Society, President P.O. Box 12860 Marina del Rey, CA 90295 USA ph. 310.8225205 mbearzi at earthlink.net www.oceanconservation.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: E6CFD823-6839-407F-9FC1-D33A4FBEFFD5.png Type: image/png Size: 5475 bytes Desc: not available URL: From dmaldini.seasearchafrica at gmail.com Mon Nov 17 23:16:28 2014 From: dmaldini.seasearchafrica at gmail.com (Daniela Maldini) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 09:16:28 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Fwd: photo-ID/Theodolite training course, Feb 2014, South Africa Message-ID: PHOTO-ID/THEODOLITE TRAINING COURSE - Feb 2014 - SOUTH AFRICA Sea Search Africa is a consulting and training firm based in Muizenberg, Cape Town. We are a highly experienced technical team of researchers who specialize in the study of marine vertebrates, particularly cetaceans. Sea Search Africa is currently offering a *one-week technical training course on cetacean photo-identification and theodolite tracking* targeting later year biology and marine science majors, master and first year doctoral students who would like to become technically proficient at conducting independent fieldwork. The program aims to bridge the gap between classroom based learning and effective field data collection and incorporates a 3-day module on theodolite tracking and a 4-day module on photo-identification. The course will be held on *7-13 February 2015 *and with whole day sessions each day. The course will include classwork and fieldwork such as theodolite tracking from a land-based station and boat-based work during the photo-identification portion of the class. For the theodolite module, instruction will include setting up theodolite stations, properly centering and preparing the theodolite for observations, connecting the station to a laptop, using software to collect data and engaging in data collection and analysis. We will teach the students how to avoid common errors, how to choose observation sites appropriately and how to set up the study design appropriately. For the photo-identification module, topics will include boat work, camera equipment set up, proper approach techniques, data collection procedures, storage, evaluation and analysis of photos, use of common software, and the choice of appropriate analytical methods. Join us in beautiful Muizenberg, Cape Town in the Western Cape of South Africa. The tuition fee is 2,000 ZAR for registered students and 4,000 ZAR for professionals. Course tuition includes training materials, lunch and a Certificate of Attendance for 7 days. Participants will be responsible for their transportation to and from the classroom and for all other meals and accommodations if they come from outside of the area. About Muizenberg: The Sea Search office is located one block from the seafront overlooking a 26-km stretch of white sand beach and adjacent to legendary Surfer?s Corner, South Africa?s best beach to learn how to surf, kite and paddle board. If you would like to extend your stay after the course there are many exciting things to do around Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula. Contact us by December 15 at dmaldini.seasearchafrica at gmail.com to reserve your spot. Please visit our site at *www.seasearch.co.za .* *Daniela Maldini, Ph.D.* *Sea Search * 4 Bath Road Muizenberg, WC 7945 South Africa *Namibian Dolphin Project* P.O. Box 5209 Walvis Bay, Namibia, 9000 Cell Phone: +264 081 556-4749 E-mail: dmaldini.seasearchafrica at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From michael.lueck at aut.ac.nz Mon Nov 17 20:30:32 2014 From: michael.lueck at aut.ac.nz (Michael Lueck) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 04:30:32 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] new publication on education on marine mammal tours Message-ID: Kia Ora MARMAMers You might be interested in a new publication on education on marine mammal tours. The reference is L?ck, M. (2015). Education on marine mammal tours - But what do tourists want to learn? Ocean & Coastal Management, 103, 25-33. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.11.002 Ocean & Coastal Management generously offers the opportunity to download the article until 6th January 2015, free of charge, from the following link: http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Q2mg3RKK-PiW1 Best Wishes micha Michael L?ck, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Tourism Studies School of Hospitality and Tourism | Faculty of Culture and Society | AUT University | Private Bag 92006 | Auckland | New Zealand e-mail: mlueck at aut.ac.nz | Phone: +64 9-921-9999 ext. 5833 | Fax: +64 9-921 9962 Associate Director, New Zealand Tourism Research Institute NZTRI http://www.tri.org.nz Co-Chair, International Coastal & Marine Tourism Society (ICMTS) http://www.coastalmarinetourism.org/ Member, International Competence Network for Tourism Research and Education (ICNT) http://icnt.weebly.com/index.html Member, Institute for Tourism Research, University for Applied Sciences Harz, Germany http://www.hs-harz.de Editor-in-Chief: Tourism in Marine Environments https://www.cognizantcommunication.com/journal-titles/tourism-in-marine-environments Associate Editor: Journal of Ecotourism http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/reco20/current#.Up-dvY2yz64 New books: * Gross, S. & M. L?ck (eds.) (2013). The Low Cost Carriers Worldwide. Ashgate, London. http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&calcTitle=1&pageSubject=314&title_id=11128&edition_id=11472 * Robinson, P.; M. L?ck & S.L. Smith (2013). Tourism. CABI, Wallingford. http://bookshop.cabi.org/?page=2633&pid=2456&site=191 * Pernecky, T. & M. L?ck (eds.) (2013). Events, Society and Sustainability: Critical and contemporary approaches. Routledge, London. http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415809931/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From AAndrist at cms.int Tue Nov 18 00:08:30 2014 From: AAndrist at cms.int (Alexandra Andrist) Date: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 09:08:30 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Position notification: Project Coordinator for the GEF Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project, Abu Dhabi, UAE Message-ID: <8DEB4D2DA9251B48B9D3094C6472D99B06736F6E5CD3@EX-CCR-MBX.unv.org> TITLE: Project Coordinator LOCATION: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates DURATION: Full time project-based position for 4 years SALARY: US $80,000 (per annum, tax-free, all inclusive, depending on experience) CLOSING DATE FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST: 12 December 2014 The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (MbZSCF), in collaboration with the CMS Dugong MoU Secretariat, will receive funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for an exciting and ambitious international project on the conservation of dugongs and their seagrass habitats. The Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project aims to enhance the conservation of dugongs and the seagrass ecosystems which support them in eight countries in the Indo-Pacific region, namely Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and Vanuatu. We are seeking a Project Coordinator to lead a Project Coordination Team (PCT) responsible for supporting Project Partners to implement the Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project at the national level. The PCT consists of a Project Coordinator, Regional Manager (based in Malaysia), Project Associate, Communications Manager and Financial Manager. The successful candidate will be an energetic, dynamic, resourceful and experienced conservation practitioner with experience of managing GEF - UNEP projects and associated reporting requirements, or the proven potential to do so. We are keen to receive applications from passionate people who will take full advantage of this unprecedented opportunity to make a difference to dugongs, their habitats and the livelihoods of the people who interact with them, by supporting community led actions for marine conservation in the Indo-Pacific region. The Project Coordinator will be based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and be hosted by the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund: Residence and Terms of Employment will be subject to the rules and procedures of Abu Dhabi government agencies. The Project Coordinator will be responsible for all aspects of project management and coordination including provision of technical support to eight National Facilitators, and 24 Project Partners to implement 40 projects (32 field projects and eight National Facilitating Committees) across eight countries. The role may require travel. The Project Coordinator will ensure in-country and global activities are aligned with GEF (Global Environment Facility), UNEP (GEF Implementing Agency), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and other relevant international processes focusing on conservation and management of dugongs and their seagrass habitats. Interested candidates who meet the above requirements should send an expression of interest comprised of a cover letter (maximum of 2 pages) which clearly states their qualifications, skills and experience in support of their application and their CV (with full address, telephone and e-mail contact details of three professional and/or academic referees), to the CMS, Abu Dhabi Office, cmsoffice.ae at cms.int Please include the reference "Project Coordinator EoI" in the subject line. Please note that only candidates advancing to further consideration in the recruitment process will be contacted for follow up. If you have not been contacted six (6) weeks after the closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful. This is a re-advertised position. Those candidates who have previously applied for this position need not reapply. The closing date for Expression of Interests is 12 December 2014. Job Description Project: Enhancing the Conservation Effectiveness of Seagrass Ecosystems Supporting Globally Significant Populations of Dugongs Across the Indian and Pacific Ocean Basins (Short title: The Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project) Post title: Project Coordinator..................................................................................... Duration: 4 years................................................................................................. Start Date Required: 1 March 2015................................................................................ Duty station: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ........................................................... Background The Dugong and Seagrass Conservation Project will use GEF funding to enhance the conservation of the dugong (Dugong dugon) and its associated seagrass ecosystems in eight countries in the Indo-Pacific region, namely Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mozambique, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste and Vanuatu. The Project Coordinator will be hosted by the Project Executing Agency (Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, MbZSCF) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to lead a Project Coordination Team (PCT). The Project Coordinator will be responsible for all aspects of project management and coordination including provision of technical support, and will work in close collaboration with the National Facilitators (NFs), a Regional Manager (Asia) and 32 Project Partners to implement 40 projects across eight countries. The role will require frequent travel. The Project Coordinator will ensure in-country and global activities are aligned and synergistic with ongoing frameworks and resolutions of the GEF (Global Environment Facility), UNEP (GEF Implementing Agency), the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and other relevant international processes focusing on conservation and management of dugongs and their seagrass habitats. Expected Outcomes and Deliverables The Project Coordinator's main duties and responsibilities are to: * Act as the main point of contact for UNEP (the Implementing Agency) * Establish the PCT, including staff recruitment * Supervise and coordinate all aspects of the day-to-day work of the PCT and Project Partners as necessary * Coordinate and put systems in place for all aspects of Project implementation to streamline administrative, financial and technical requirements and support efficient project implementation, timely and consistent technical and financial reporting to the PCT from all Project Partners and sub-contractors, for all 40 projects * Prepare periodical consolidated progress reports and annual Programme Implementation Reports (PIRs) for UNEP and the GEF * Select experts and consultants as necessary for the Project * Receive and execute guidance received from the Executive Project Steering Committee (EPSC) * Work and communicate regularly with National Facilitators and National Facilitating Committees to resolve any Project issues * Coordinate resources (including technical support) for Project Partners * Provide technical and administrative support to the Project Partners * Act as the Project focal point for interaction with UNEP * Liaise regularly with supporting organisations as necessary, including the CMS Dugong MoU Secretariat * Provide secretariat support to the EPSC, including organisation, communication and preparation of all meeting documentation * Support the Chair of the EPSC * Provide strategic guidance to the EPSC * Liaise, consult and network with national and regional partner agencies * Establish an effective outreach and engagement strategy, including training and communication activities, promotion of Project visibility and effective collection of documentation and dissemination of Project results and lessons learned * Actively promote the Project and its components in all relevant media and fora * Coordinate the implementation of the project Monitoring and Evaluation plan, as outlined in the Project Document * Perform any other duty relevant to the assignment Reporting structure The Project Coordinator will report to the Director General of MbZSCF on a day-to-day basis and provide project reports (progress reports, financial reports, etc.) to the GEF Implementing Agency (UNEP). Qualifications Education * Postgraduate degree (Masters or PhD) in environmental management, environmental sciences, natural resources management, biodiversity conservation, or a related field Required Skills * Strong leadership, negotiation and communication skills * Solid background in project management including finance * Sensitive to different cultural backgrounds * Aware of and sensitive to government and civil society interactions/politics * Attention to detail and strong organisational skills * Able to establish priorities and to plan and coordinate work between 8 diverse countries * Able to manage a complex workload and work within tight deadlines * Able to lead, manage and motivate all project teams as well as international and local consultants and other stakeholders to achieve results * Able to build strong relationships at all levels with conservation partners, media contacts, potential project sponsors and other stakeholders * Well-developed knowledge about biodiversity funding opportunities * Able to react to project adjustments and/or alterations (if any) in an efficient and prompt manner * Able to work in a multicultural and multifunctional environment * Excellent oral, written, mass and interpersonal communication skills * Fully computer literate * Specific knowledge of dugong biology and seagrass ecosystems is desirable Experience * At least 7 years' experience in cross-cultural project management (design and/or implementation), with a proven track record of achieving results * Hands-on experience in managing national and international natural resources projects, in particular concerning issues such as biodiversity conservation, marine and coastal habitat conservation, natural resources management, community based conservation, and capacity development * Prior UN Project management experience, and particularly UN/GEF project experience and knowledge of UN and GEF procedures and guidelines * Extensive experience in managing multiple grants and manifold project components, entailing complex reporting requirements (technical and financial) * Extensive experience in financial management (overseeing financial procedures, budget management, accounting, procurement, disbursement) * Extensive experience in managing a diverse and multi-cultural team, and in personnel management (contracting, recruitment, performance monitoring) * Demonstrated understanding of sustainable development, including financial and institutional sustainability * A diverse and all-round managerial background, including monitoring and evaluation, communication, outreach and stakeholder involvement Languages * Fluency in English (oral and written) a strict requirement * Knowledge of any of the other languages in the project target region beneficial -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.wmz Type: application/x-ms-wmz Size: 184 bytes Desc: image001.wmz URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.png Type: image/png Size: 260 bytes Desc: image002.png URL: From bknowles910 at gmail.com Wed Nov 19 10:06:30 2014 From: bknowles910 at gmail.com (Brittany Knowles) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 13:06:30 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Interspecies Interaction Info Needed Message-ID: Hello! I would like to share this with the MARMAM community to help with my current research, "Social interaction between marine mammals and documentation of examples from Belize between the bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*) and the Antillean manatee (*Trichechus manatus manatus*)". Thanks! ________________________________________________________ My name is Brittany Knowles and I am a graduate student at Nova Southeastern University?s Oceanographic Center in southern Florida, working on my Master of Science degree in Marine Biology. Dr. Caryn Self-Sullivan, who is my major adviser, gave me your contact as I am working on my capstone research. My focus is on interspecific interaction in marine mammals and specifically on social behavior between bottlenose dolphin and Antillean manatee in shared habitats. Although this is a capstone and not a thesis requiring research, I am including previously unpublished data from observations documented by Dr. Caryn Self-Sullivan, Eric Ramos, Nataly Castelblanco-Martinez Barbara Bilgre, Nicole Auil, Sarita Kendall and other researchers during manatee-dolphin field-research projects. In Belize observations appeared to be incidental (two or more animals from different species in the same location), but about 20% were interpreted as intentional (repeated physical contact or following behavior) with interactions lasting from minutes to hours. I am writing to you to ask you to assist me with my capstone research. I am seeking additional observations to create a stronger capstone, hopefully suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal after I defend. I have designed the simple survey to enhance my capstone and provide some information for analysis (link found below). I am interested in information on any interspecific interactions between marine mammals that you have observed. Additionally, if you feel your experience needs more explanation, please feel free to write it to me as a reply so I can fully understand your experience. Also, am also seeking photos, audio or video you may wish to share. Should I use your information, I will ask you permission to include any detailed description in my capstone, I will cite your observations as a "personal communication". Nothing will be used in a future publication without your explicit permission in writing. Please complete the survey and relay any information you are willing to share to improve the ?oomph? of my paper. *If you write anything in the ?Additional Notes? section, please identify yourself with your name so I know whom to contact for personal communication citing after your permission for use*. Thank you for your time and I am looking forward to hearing from you! http:// fluidsurveys.com/surveys/brittany-MX9/sirenia-cetacea-interaction-survey-2/ Cheers, Brittany -- Brittany K. Knowles * Graduate Student* Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center 8000 North Ocean Drive Dania Beach, FL 33004 bknowles910 at gmail.com bk416 at nova.edu (609) 709-1390 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From as252 at st-andrews.ac.uk Wed Nov 19 09:14:21 2014 From: as252 at st-andrews.ac.uk (Amanda Stansbury) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 17:14:21 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on grey seals using acoustic tags to locate fish Message-ID: We are pleased to announce the online publication of our most recent paper: "Grey seals use anthropogenic signals from acoustic tags to locate fish: evidence from a simulated foraging task" by Amanda L Stansbury, Thomas Gotz, Volker B. Deecke, and Vincent M. Janik in Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The paper is freely available open access from: http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/282/1798/20141595 ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic noise can have negative effects on animal behaviour and physiology. However, noise is often introduced systematically and potentially provides information for navigation or prey detection. Here, we show that grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) learn to use sounds from acoustic fish tags as an indicator of food location. In 20 randomized trials each, 10 grey seals individually explored 20 foraging boxes, with one box containing a tagged fish, one containing an untagged fish and all other boxes being empty. The tagged box was found after significantly fewer non-tag box visits across trials, and seals revisited boxes containing the tag more often than any other box. The time and number of boxes needed to find both fish decreased significantly throughout consecutive trials. Two additional controls were conducted to investigate the role of the acoustic signal: (i) tags were placed in one box, with no fish present in any boxes and (ii) additional pieces of fish, inaccessible to the seal, were placed in the previously empty 18 boxes, making possible alternative chemosensory cues less reliable. During these controls, the acoustically tagged box was generally found significantly faster than the control box. Our results show that animals learn to use information provided by anthropogenic signals to enhance foraging success. Best, Amanda Stansbury PhD Candidate Sea Mammal Research Unit Scottish Oceans Institute University of St. Andrews East Sands Scotland KY16 9LB -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From KMathes at LBAOP.ORG Wed Nov 19 11:31:15 2014 From: KMathes at LBAOP.ORG (Kera Mathes) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 11:31:15 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Marine Mamma Photo ID internship Message-ID: <549061F55D29C8429A9E71B4062EF932013BEC53935D@e2k7mbx> The Aquarium of the Pacific seeks college interns to assist the Boats Coordinator on collecting opportunistic data and photos of cetaceans during our daily whale watching cruises, as well as interpreting data to guests at the Aquarium. Other projects include assisting with data and photo processing for our new whale app. Commitment: 20 hours/week for 16 weeks starting in January Responsibilities include, but are not limited to * Taking dorsal fin photos of animals encountered during daily cruises * Maintain detailed data logs of sightings and enter them into ACCESS databases * Answer questions and interpret for guests on board. * Photo processing and IDing individual whales and dolphins seen during daily trips * Create a project to display to Aquarium guests using whale data QUALIFICATIONS * Must be 18 or over * Major/ed in biology, marine biology, or conservation a plus * Lift a maximum of 50 lbs KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS * Each applicant must have a broad knowledge of ecological and biological principles, especially those relating to marine habitats, * Ability to spend many hours standing especially on a boat * Experience working with digital SLR camera's a plus but not required * Experience in data entry, preferably with Microsoft Access * Comfortable speaking in front of large groups * Have excellent oral and written communication skills * Be able to demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities and work with a diverse group of people. Please apply at http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/volunteer/college_internships/marine_mammal_photo_id_internship Deadlines for application submission is November 30, 2014. Kera Mathes Education Specialist Aquarium of the Pacific (562) 951-1651 KMathes at lbaop.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From info at cbmwc.org Thu Nov 20 05:34:45 2014 From: info at cbmwc.org (CBMWC) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 13:34:45 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Bottlenose dolphin research volunteer opportunity 2015, Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, UK Message-ID: <00e101d004c6$bfe58470$3fb08d50$@cbmwc.org> WTSWW_high_res_logoCBMWC logo without boarderCardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre New Quay Wales www.cbmwc.org Bottlenose dolphin research volunteers Dedicated to conserving Cardigan Bay?s marine wildlife through education and research Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (CBMWC) is recruiting volunteers for the 2015 season (March to November) to collect data on the marine wildlife of Cardigan Bay and to help run our visitor centre, educational and awareness raising activities. About CBMWC The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre is based in New Quay, west Wales, UK and is the marine wing of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. Since 1996 we have been dedicated to raising awareness of the local marine environment through education and research. Using boat-based and land-based surveys, photo-ID and acoustic studies we monitor bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise and Atlantic grey seal populations in the Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the wider Irish Sea. We also run a busy visitor centre as well as an education and activity room which offers marine educational and awareness raising activities for families with young children. Position description Seasonal volunteers are required for specific periods from 23rd March through to 2nd November 2015 to help with our ongoing research, education and awareness-raising programmes concerning the marine wildlife of Cardigan Bay. As CBMWC is run almost entirely by volunteers, this is a fantastic opportunity for you to make a positive contribution to marine wildlife conservation and meet new people who share your interests. You will learn about the species and habitats in Cardigan Bay, gain experience in field work, research methods, data processing, public awareness and education programmes. The data you collect will contribute to long running research studies on bottlenose dolphin site usage, abundance, photo-identification and acoustic studies. There may also be additional opportunities to gain experience in boat handling and seamanship skills. Responsibilities/duties will include (but are not limited to): ? Visitor centre operation, including dealing with enquiries and taking boat bookings ? Land-based surveys in conjunction with Ceredigion County Council ? Boat-based surveys* ? Educational and awareness raising activities with children and the general public ? Data entry and checking ? Updating daily sightings information ? Beach cleans ? Aquarium maintenance ? Cleaning and general upkeep of CBMWC premises * Boat surveys are weather dependent and volunteers take turns to join trips to act as onboard researcher. During times of bad weather, you will spend more time carrying out shore-based activities. Important: You may be expected to work up to 8 hours a day, six days a week. Some training and activities may take place outside of normal office hours. Field work can involve long periods outdoors and in inclement weather. All volunteers are expected to contribute to all CBMWC activities, tasks and field work and to attend all training sessions provided. Person specification: Essential skills ? Positive, reliable, responsible, conscientious and mature attitude ? Ability to work and live closely with others as part of a small team ? Strong work ethic with an ability to work unsupervised ? Adaptable and patient (particularly as boat work is weather dependent) ? Confident in dealing with the public both face to face and over the telephone ? Fluency in English ? Willing to ask for help if unsure and admit mistakes Desirable skills ? Interest and/or experience of working with children in environmental education ? Research and surveying experience ? IT skills, including Microsoft Office and GIS ? Interest and or/experience in salt water aquaria Please note that enthusiasm for our work and the marine environment is as valued as experience, since full training is provided. Student projects We welcome undergraduate and postgraduate students who require field work support ? including boat time and office space to conduct their research projects. Please note that we do not have a list of specific project ideas but if you have a project idea in mind, please contact us to discuss whether your ideas are feasible. Time commitment Volunteer positions are available from 23rd March until 2nd November 2015 for five separate blocks ranging from 4 to 9 weeks. You must be able to commit to an entire block and priority will be given to volunteers who are able to commit to more than one block. Applications are encouraged from volunteers who would like to join the team for the entire season and would like gain additional experience in photo-ID analysis, environmental education and volunteer training and coordination. Volunteers living locally who are available on a part-time basis are welcome year round and are greatly appreciated. 2015 volunteering dates ? Block A: 23/03/2015-19/04/2015 (4 weeks) ? Block B: 20/04/2015-17/05/2015 (4 weeks) ? Block C: 18/05/2015-05/07/2015 (7 weeks) ? Block D: 06/07/2015-06/09/2015 (9 weeks) ? Block E: 07/09/2015-02/11/2015 (8 weeks) Volunteer fee An administration fee of ?45 will be required from all successful applicants. Accommodation and expense arrangements Shared accommodation in a comfortable and fully equipped house will be arranged for successful volunteers (where required) at a cost of ?55 per week, including fuel bills. Volunteers are responsible for their own food, travel and accommodation costs. Due to payment arrangements with the house owners, accommodation costs are required in advance to cover the cost of each block so before applying please ensure that you can cover this and all other expenses. How to apply Download a seasonal volunteer application form from our website www.cbmwc.org/volunteer/ and email it along with a CV and covering letter (no more than one side of A4) outlining how you meet the personal specification and your motivations for applying to volunteer at cbmwc.org with ?Volunteer application 2015? in your subject line. Incomplete applications will not be assessed so please make sure you complete the form fully, including availability and be sure to attach your CV and covering letter. The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 25th January 2015 For further information Visit www.cbmwc.org/ If you have any questions please email volunteer at cbmwc.org with an appropriate subject line or call Laura on +44 (0)1545 560224. Laura Mears Project Officer Support our research - adopt a Cardigan Bay dolphin with the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre Raise money for CBMWC with each internet search you do - it doesn't cost you a penny http://sites.affilyon.co.uk/CBMWC Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre Patent Slip Building Glanmor Terrace New Quay Ceredigion SA45 9PS Wales, UK Ffon/Phone: 01545 560 224 E-bost/Email: info at cbmwc.org Website: www.cbmwc.org For all the latest news and sightings information, please visit our website, follow us on Twitter and become a fan of our Facebook page www.cbmwc.org http://twitter.com/CBMWC http://facebook.com/CBMWC Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre is supported by the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Group, a marine interest group of the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. Helping to conserve Cardigan Bay's marine wildlife through education and research Helpu I warchod bywyd gwyllt morol Bae Ceredigion drwy addysg ac ymchwil ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- The contents of this email are confidential and are soley for the use of the intended recipient. If you receive this email in error please delete it and notify us either by email or telephone. It is prohibited to copy, forward or otherwise disclose the contents of this email. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 273965 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image003.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 356201 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4489 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3860 bytes Desc: not available URL: From tursiops44 at tamu.edu Thu Nov 20 10:01:14 2014 From: tursiops44 at tamu.edu (Gregory Campbell) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 10:01:14 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on trends in cetacean density off southern California Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce the following publication: Campbell, G.S., Thomas, L., Whitacker, K., Douglas, A.B., Calambokidis, J. and J.A. Hildebrand. 2014. Inter-annual and seasonal trends in cetacean distribution, density and abundance off southern California. Deep Sea Research II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.10.008. ABSTRACT Trends in cetacean density and distribution off southern California were assessed through visual line-transect surveys during thirty-seven California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) cruises from July 2004-November 2013. From sightings of the six most commonly encountered cetacean species, seasonal, annual and overall density estimates were calculated. Blue whales (*Balaenoptera musculus*), fin whales (*Balaenoptera physalus*) and humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) were the most frequently sighted baleen whales with overall densities of 0.91/1000 km2 (CV=0.27), 2.73/1000 km2 (CV=0.19), and 1.17/1000 km2 (CV=0.21) respectively. Species specific density estimates, stratified by cruise, were analyzed using a Generalized Additive Model to estimate long-term trends and correct for seasonal imbalances. Variances were estimated using a non-parametric bootstrap with one day of effort as the sampling unit. Blue whales were primarily observed during summer and fall while fin and humpback whales were observed year-round with peaks in density during summer and spring respectively. Short-beaked common dolphins (*Delphinus delphis*), Pacific white-sided dolphins (*Lagenorhynchus obliquidens*) and Dall?s porpoise (*Phocoenoides dalli*) were the most frequently encountered small cetaceans with overall densities of 705.83/1000 km2 (CV=0.22), 51.98/1000 km2 (CV=0.27), and 21.37/1000 km2 (CV=0.19) respectively. Seasonally, short-beaked common dolphins were most abundant in winter whereas Pacific white-sided dolphins and Dall?s porpoise were most abundant during spring. There were no significant long-term changes in blue whale, fin whale, humpback whale, short-beaked common dolphin or Dall?s porpoise densities while Pacific white-sided dolphins exhibited a significant decrease in density across the ten-year study. The results from this study were fundamentally consistent with earlier studies, but provide greater temporal and seasonal resolution. The full-text open access .pdf of the paper can be downloaded at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967064514002690 or contact me via email at tursiops44 at tamu.edu for a copy. Cheers, Greg Campbell -- Greg Campbell Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology Group Department of Marine Biology Texas A&M University Galveston tursiops44 at tamu.edu http://www.tamug.edu/mmbeg/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bruno at thebdri.com Thu Nov 20 09:19:22 2014 From: bruno at thebdri.com (Bruno Diaz Lopez) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 17:19:22 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] MARINE MAMMALS RESEARCH INTERN COORDINATOR 2015 In-Reply-To: <1414506998.11133.YahooMailNeo@web125003.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> References: <1414506998.11133.YahooMailNeo@web125003.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <270009367.2047566.1416503962814.JavaMail.yahoo@jws100107.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI)?, is a marine science centre dedicated to?promote the conservation of marine mammal species and their habitat?through education and research. On?behalf of the BDRI, I am pleased to announce that we are currently accepting applications for the following: INTERN COORDINATOR ?along the?North-western coast of the?Iberian Peninsula, Galician waters, Spain.? This position is responsible for assisting the BDRI Chief Biologist in the?running of the "Marine Mammals Research Project in Galician waters" ? "?and coordinating the project interns.? The project is based in O Grove,?North-western coast of the?Iberian Peninsula, in Galicia Spain, and?offers the participants the chance to work during many steps of the field research and data analysis.?The main purpose of this program is to contribute towards a more detailed understanding of the abundance and distribution of bottlenose dolphins and harbour porpoises,?with a focus on ethology, social structure, habitat use and communication. Furthermore,?as the Galician coastline is known for frequent strandings of various marine mammals species, the BDRI is part of an important network for rescue and data?collection from these stranded animals.? Start Date: March 02nd 2015 ? ? ?End Date: October 31st 2015 (start and end dates could be flexible) Responsibilities will include but are not limited to: * ? ?Assisting the?Chief Biologist/Director?in all phases of the research. * ? ?Coordinate between the Chief Biologist/Director and the?project interns - in charge of the intern shared house.* ? ?Assisting the?Chief Biologist/Director?in intern basic?training of land- and boat based surveys, photo ID studies, Database entry, Bioacoustical analysis, GISand more.* ? ?Undertaking a personal research project supervised by the Chief Biologist / Director?- research topic will be chosen according to BDRI?requirements and applicants' interests. Requirements: An academic background in?biology, veterinary or natural science, coupled with motivation, willingness to work hard and interest in marine mammals research make the most qualified individuals.?The successful applicant is expected to have a BSc degree (or higher) and able to?demonstrate previous experience in marine mammal research.? The preferred candidate should have a proven track record as a team player?as the project will involve working closely with other researchers but also?must be able to supervise small groups of people as they will be?coordinating up to 8 interns. They must also be self-motivated with the?drive and determination to work independently and responsibly.?There will be one day off per week.? This post?brings the opportunity to be trained by the BDRI' Chief Biologist and to submit work for scientific publication. This position is unpaid but accommodation in the intern shared house will be covered.?Successful applicants will?be responsible for their own transportation expenses to and from the research centre in O Grove, Galicia, Spain. To apply: Send a cover letter, resume and recommendation letters by email to: info at thebdri.com Please specify BDRI INTERN COORDINATOR into your subject?title. For more information about BDRI's research and conservation work, please visit?www.thebdri.com?and our Facebook page. Deadline: 05th January 2015.?Interviews (via Skype) will be arranged?for selected candidates after this deadline.?Applicants will be notified of the outcomes by the 31st January 2014. See you on site! Bruno Diaz LopezChief Biologist and DirectorBottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI)Av. Beiramar 192, O Grove CP. 36980Pontevedra-Spaintel. 00 34 605 521441 www.thebdri.com This email is confidential to the intended recipient(s) and the contents may be legally privileged or contain proprietary and private information. It is intended solely for the person to whom it is addressed. If you are not an intended recipient, you may not review, copy or distribute this email. If received in error, please notify the sender and delete the message from your system immediately. Please note that neither the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute BDRI nor the sender accept any responsibility for any viruses and it is your responsibility to scan the email and the attachments (if any). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jat at bios.au.dk Sat Nov 22 00:36:31 2014 From: jat at bios.au.dk (Jakob Tougaard) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 08:36:31 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on noise exposure criteria for porpoises Message-ID: <81E750D69CDFDC429FD1DEF86969E31D585911B5@SRVUNIMBX01.uni.au.dk> I'm happy to announce that the following paper is now available as online-early from Marine Pollution Bulletin (open access). Cetacean noise criteria revisited in the light of proposed exposure limits for harbour porpoises by Jakob Tougaard, Andrew J. Wright and Peter T. Madsen. Abstract The impact of underwater noise on marine life calls for identification of exposure criteria to inform mitigation. Here we review recent experimental evidence with focus on the high-frequency cetaceans and discuss scientifically-based initial exposure criteria. A range of new TTS experiments suggest that harbour and finless porpoises are more sensitive to sound than expected from extrapolations based on results from bottlenose dolphins. Furthermore, the results from TTS experiments and field studies of behavioural reactions to noise, suggest that response thresholds and TTS critically depend on stimulus frequency. Sound exposure levels for pure tones that induce TTS are reasonably consistent at about 100 dB above the hearing threshold for pure tones and sound pressure thresholds for avoidance reactions are in the range of 40-50 dB above the hearing threshold. We propose that frequency weighting with a filter function approximating the inversed audiogram might be appropriate when assessing impact. Highlights * The current acoustic exposure criteria for marine mammals are in need of revision. * Severity of behavioural responses does not correlate well with long term consequences for animals. * Review of TTS experiments on porpoises suggests that inverse audiogram weighting is appropriate. * Thresholds for acoustic avoidance behaviour in porpoises are also correlated with audibility. * Thresholds can be normalised as rms sound pressure levels averaged over 125 ms. The text is open access and can be downloaded from this link: doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.10.051 Best regards Jakob (jat at bios.au.dk) [BIAS signature2] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 32405 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From marinebrit at gmail.com Sat Nov 22 08:58:53 2014 From: marinebrit at gmail.com (Andrew Wright) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 11:58:53 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] JMBA-ECS special issue - Final call Message-ID: Hi all, Apologies for cross-posting. A final reminder that submissions for the next JMBA special issue are due 12th December, 2014. Like the 2014 conference, the theme is "Marine mammals as sentinels of a changing environment." While we particularly encourage submissions following up on presentations made at the conference, any papers covering marine mammal science are welcome. Please submit directly with JMBA at: http://www.mba.ac.uk/jmba/. If you have something suitable, but are unlikely to be able to meet the deadline, please send me an email. Some limited allowances may be possible in some cases. Many thanks and best regards, Andrew -- Andrew Wright, Ph.D. ECS Editor -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From peter.sigray at foi.se Thu Nov 20 08:32:35 2014 From: peter.sigray at foi.se (Peter Sigray) Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 16:32:35 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Announcment of OCEANNOISE2015 Message-ID: <2c567530329149e28abad8f4d447cca5@exch3.win.foi.se> Dear colleagues, With great pleasure we announce that OCEANOISE2015 will held be next year in Vilanova i la Geltr? (Barcelona, Spain) from 11-15 May 2015. The growing scientific and societal concern about the effects of underwater sound on marine ecosystems has been recently recognized through the introduction of several international initiatives aiming at measuring ocean noise at large spatial and temporal scales. This will be a "conference with a difference", as it aims at maximising the dissemination of new science. OCEANOISE2015 novel format will favour a dynamic exchange of the latest findings in the field of ocean noise in order to assist in providing ocean users with the best scientific knowledge and technical solutions to address operational and environmental issues. OCEANOISE2015 will bring together international leading experts in noise measurement, modeling and mapping, physiological and behavioural effects as well as regulation and mitigation procedures. The strong opportunities for good interaction and tangible impacts after the conference make this an ideal occasion to showcase your research in the field of ocean noise as well as highlight priority topics to the international community and stakeholders. On behalf of OCEANOISE2015 Science Committee, wehave the pleasure to invite you to submit abstracts at www.oceanoise2015.com before January15, 2015. With acoustically sound regards, Michel Andr? & Peter Sigray OCEANOISE2015 Chairs Dr. Michel Andr? Laboratori d'Aplicacions Bioac?stiques Universitat Polit?cnica de Catalunya (UPC) michel.andre at upc.edu, http://www.lab.upc.es Centre Tecnol?gic de Vilanova i la Geltr? Avda. Rambla Exposici?, s/n 08800 Vilanova i la Geltr? Barcelona, Espanya tel: +34 - 93 896 7299/ 7200 fax: +34 - 93 896 7201 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From yeaterd at sacredheart.edu Fri Nov 21 16:31:44 2014 From: yeaterd at sacredheart.edu (Yeater, Prof. Deirdre M.) Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 00:31:44 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Study Abroad Bimini, The Bahamas - Application Deadline Dec. 15 Message-ID: STUDY ABROAD BIMINI, THE BAHAMAS PS 299 - Special Topics in Psychology (3 Credits) - or - BI 199/299 - Special Topics in Biology for Non-Majors/Majors(3 Credits) Summer 2015: May 26 - June 8, 2015 *** Only a few spots are left in this program! Please apply before December 15, 2014! Led by Dr. Deirdre Yeater in the Sacred Heart University Psychology department in collaboration with Dolphin Communication Project, this course will examine the behavioral and social ecology of coastal cetaceans, particularly Atlantic spotted and bottlenose dolphins. You will enjoy a hands-on learning experience with wild dolphins, in the beautiful waters surrounding the island of Bimini in the Bahamas. On the program, you will earn three credits while learning to record and analyze dolphin behaviors. You will also learn about ecotourism and human impacts on the marine environment. The field work at Bimini will consist of 4 to 5 hour boat surveys. If the group is able to make underwater observations, you will be assisting in the use of underwater slates, video cameras, and digital still cameras. The number of students accepted will be limited by the size of the research vessel. Therefore, you should apply as soon as possible. You MUST be able to swim and snorkel as part of the program. Application Deadline December 15th! For more information, contact: Sacred Heart University Office of Global Affairs (203) 396-8028 studyabroad at sacredheart.edu www.sacredheart.edu/studyabroad https://sacredheart-sa.terradotta.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=23462 or Dolphin Communication Project http://www.dolphincommunicationproject.org/ Program Highlights Study Dolphins Dolphins are long-lived and social! Yet, we know little about their social relationships. Study dolphins in their natural habitat. Bimini, The Bahamas Less than 7 mile long and only a few hundred yards wide, Bimini is known for big game fishing, SCUBA diving, mangroves, and of course, wild dolphins. Application Requirements Students majoring/minoring in Psychology, Biology, or a related discipline Minimum GPA of 3.0 Visiting students accepted Deirdre Yeater, Ph.D Assistant Professor Sacred Heart University 5151 Park Avenue Fairfield, CT 06825 Phone: 203-365-4870 Fax: 203-371-7998 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ukrsc at st-andrews.ac.uk Mon Nov 24 05:43:38 2014 From: ukrsc at st-andrews.ac.uk (UK Regional Student Chapter for the Society of Marine Mammals) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 13:43:38 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] REGISTRATION DEADLINE for the UK Regional Student Chapter for the Society for Marine Mammology Conference - Bangor University Message-ID: Dear all, Only 2 weeks to go until the registration deadline for the UK Regional Student Chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy Conference at Bangor University from the 21st to 23rd of January 2015! An icebreaker will be held on the evening of the 21st of January. We encourage all students registered in Universities across the UK and Ireland that are interested in marine mammal research to attend. The atmosphere of the conference is relatively informal, giving students a platform to discuss their research with other students. Postgraduate students are invited to submit abstracts for oral presentations and posters. For planning purposes, we have divided presentations into 5-minute speedtalk and 15 minute slots. We encourage new postgraduate students to talk about their future research plans using the 5-minute slots and for those further along in their studies to present for 15 minutes. Undergraduates with an interest in the field are also welcome to attend. Our guest speakers this year are Dr Peter Evans (SeaWatch), Dr. Ceri Morris (Natural Resources Wales) and Dr. Line Cordes (University of Bangor). Two workshops will be held as part of the conference by Gemma Veneruso (SEACAMS) and Joseph Onofriou (SMRU). The final deadline for presentation / poster abstracts (max 300 words) will be the 5th of December 2014. Registration forms can be downloaded from our website http://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/ukrsc/. There is no registration fee and you don?t need to be an existing member of the Chapter. You can register for the Chapter at the same time as registering for the conference. Please submit your registration form by e-mail attachment to ukrsc at st-andrews.ac.uk. Best wishes, The committee of the UK Regional Student Chapter for the Society for Marine Mammalogy. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From denise.risch at gmail.com Mon Nov 24 06:42:24 2014 From: denise.risch at gmail.com (Denise Risch) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 14:42:24 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] new paper on seasonal migrations of minke whales based on PAM Message-ID: Dear All, We are happy to announce that the following paper is now available from the Journal of Movement Ecology: Denise Risch, Manuel Castellote, Christopher W Clark, Genevieve E Davis, Peter J Dugan, Lynne EW Hodge, Anurag Kumar, Klaus Lucke, David K Mellinger, Sharon L Nieukirk, Marian Popescu, Christian Ramp, Andrew J Read, Aaron N Rice, Monica A Silva, Ursula Siebert, Kate Stafford, Sofie M Van Parijs (2014): Seasonal migrations of North Atlantic minke whales: Novel insights from large-scale passive acoustic monitoring networks Abstract Background Little is known about migration patterns and seasonal distribution away from coastal summer feeding habitats of many pelagic baleen whales. Recently, large-scale passive acoustic monitoring networks have become available to explore migration patterns and identify critical habitats of these species. North Atlantic minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) perform seasonal migrations between high latitude summer feeding and low latitude winter breeding grounds. While the distribution and abundance of the species has been studied across their summer range, data on migration and winter habitat are virtually missing. Acoustic recordings, from 16 different sites from across the North Atlantic, were analyzed to examine the seasonal and geographic variation in minke whale pulse train occurrence, infer information about migration routes and timing, and to identify possible winter habitats. Results Acoustic detections show that minke whales leave their winter grounds south of 30? N from March through early April. On their southward migration in autumn, minke whales leave waters north of 40? N from mid-October through early November. In the western North Atlantic spring migrants appear to track the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream along the continental shelf, while whales travel farther offshore in autumn. Abundant detections were found off the southeastern US and the Caribbean during winter. Minke whale pulse trains showed evidence of geographic variation, with longer pulse trains recorded south of 40? N. Very few pulse trains were recorded during summer in any of the datasets. Conclusion This study highlights the feasibility of using acoustic monitoring networks to explore migration patterns of pelagic marine mammals. Results confirm the presence of minke whales off the southeastern US and the Caribbean during winter months. The absence of pulse train detections during summer suggests either that minke whales switch their vocal behaviour at this time of year, are absent from available recording sites or that variation in signal structure influenced automated detection. Alternatively, if pulse trains are produced in a reproductive context by males, these data may indicate their absence from the selected recording sites. Evidence of geographic variation in pulse train duration suggests different behavioural functions or use of these calls at different latitudes. The paper is open-access and can either be downloaded here: http://www.movementecologyjournal.com/content/2/1/24/abstract or just email for a copy (denise.risch at sams.ac.uk) All the best, Denise -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gismermaid at gmail.com Mon Nov 24 09:15:57 2014 From: gismermaid at gmail.com (Monica Arancibia) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 11:15:57 -0600 Subject: [MARMAM] Marine mammal behaviour publications of terminology Message-ID: Hello, I am looking for recommended papers or books on terms for more complex marine mammal behaviour. Direction to a website with a list of scientifically acceptable terms for marine mammal ethology would also be acceptable. I am attempting to describe properly behaviours that go beyond "tail slap" or "breaching" but are not extremely complex. I have just not found a resource that lists these behaviours and their definitions. Any help with this matter is greatly appreciated. Regards, M. Arancibia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nina.eriksen1 at gmail.com Thu Nov 27 02:59:16 2014 From: nina.eriksen1 at gmail.com (Nina Eriksen) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 11:59:16 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on neuron number in Delphinid brain Message-ID: Dear all. The following paper is now available at Frontiers of Neuroanatomy: Mortensen HS, Pakkenberg B, Dam M, Dietz R, Sonne C, Mikkelsen B, Eriksen N (2014). Quantitative relationship in Delphinid neocortex Abstract Possessing large brains and complex behavioral patterns, cetaceans are believed to be highly intelligent. Their brains, which are the largest in the Animal Kingdom and have enormous gyrification compared with terrestrial mammals, have long been of scientific interest. Few studies, however, report total number of brain cells in cetaceans, and even fewer have used unbiased counting methods. In this study, using stereological methods, we estimated the total number of cells in the neocortex of the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) brain. For the first time, we show that a species of dolphin has more neocortical neurons than any mammal studied to date including humans. These cell numbers are compared across various mammals with different brain sizes, and the function of possessing many neurons is discussed. We found that the long-finned pilot whale neocortex has approximately 37.2 ? 109 neurons, which is almost twice as many as humans, and 127 ? 109 glial cells. Thus, the absolute number of neurons in the human neocortex is not correlated with the superior cognitive abilities of humans (at least compared to cetaceans) as has previously been hypothesized. However, as neuron density in long-finned pilot whales is lower than that in humans, their higher cell number appears to be due to their larger brain. Accordingly, our findings make an important contribution to the ongoing debate over quantitative relationships in the mammalian brain. The paper can be downloaded here: http://journal.frontiersin.org/?/?/fnana.2014.00132/abstract Cheers, Nina Eriksen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From MONeill at ene.com Wed Nov 26 14:53:32 2014 From: MONeill at ene.com (O'Neill (HR), Maureen I.) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 22:53:32 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Career Opportunity - Offshore Environmental Specialist - Virginia Beach Message-ID: <9BC2E938CDB99946BE27F55DEB40CF5C843344A4@BUF-S-EXCH-3.corp.ene.com> Offshore Environmental Specialist: Ecology and Environment, Inc. is a fully integrated environmental consulting firm committed to supporting sustainable development through responsible environmental stewardship. We are seeking an Offshore Environmental Specialist for our Virginia Beach office to support project managers with a variety of offshore, energy, restoration, DOD, and other environmental projects. This position will be responsible for coordinating environmental and permitting documents, interacting with client and regulatory agencies, and coordinating staff work assignments. Our successful candidate must have strong technical research and writing skills with educational emphasis and experience in marine species biology and policy. Please view our website at www.ene.com to see the full posting and to apply online. Thank you! Maureen O'Neill, PHR Corporate Recruiter Ecology and Environment, Inc. 368 Pleasant View Drive, Lancaster, NY? 14086 Phone: 716-684-8060 Ext:?2310?|?? Fax: 716-684-4832 moneill at ene.com?? |?? www.ene.com From recruitment at osc-nz.co.nz Wed Nov 26 03:36:44 2014 From: recruitment at osc-nz.co.nz (OSC NZ Recruitment Department) Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 11:36:44 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] NZ DOC qualified MMOs and PAM Ops Message-ID: <5475BB4C.5050504@osc-nz.co.nz> Dear MMOs and PAM Operators, We invite applications from MMOs and PAM Operators who are classified as qualified under the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC) seismic code of conduct. At this particular time, applicants must have 12 weeks experience in NZ waters. Applicants with the 12 weeks NZ experience, but without DOC accreditation are still encouraged to apply, as Ocean Science Consulting NZ (Asia-Pacific) Ltd (www.osc-nz.co.nz ) is an approved DOC training provider for both MMOs and PAM Operators. Due to the volume of recruitment mail, we are unable to respond to all applicants, sorry, so please do not expect an acknowledgement. Please apply by email only to recruitment at osc-nz.co.nz ; recruitment enquiries to other OSC email addresses will be deleted. Please feel free to circulate this email amongst colleagues looking for work. If the applicant is not already on our database, we will require a CV (Word format) that includes, inter alia, MMO/PAM qualifications and experience, and a current phone number, with copies (ideally JPEGs) of offshore survival and medical certs including any vaccinations (all of which should be listed on CVs along with expiry details for quick reference), passport, any resident permit(s), any visa(s), driver's licence(s), and degree certs. Note that only a CV is required in the first instant for short-listing candidates, so the rest is optional. Clients are increasingly requesting evidence of any science/engineering degrees (e.g. marine biology, oceanography, acoustics, signal processing), so be prepared to follow up with necessary documents. If you have provided documents previously, rest assured they are already on file and you should not resend them; be aware that when the same applicants regularly bombard us with the same attached documents, we have no choice but to delete their emails as they otherwise clog up our inbox/server; however, we do encourage all applicants to send us updated CVs or replacement scans for expired offshore survival/medical certs, or simply contact us to provide an update on availability. Thanks and kind regards, -- Recruitment Department OSC NZ Ltd PO Box 106767 Auckland City 1143 New Zealand T: +64 9 927 7614 W: www.osc-nz.co.nz -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pirotts at libero.it Fri Nov 28 06:34:14 2014 From: pirotts at libero.it (Enrico Pirotta) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 15:34:14 +0100 (CET) Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on the effects of boat disturbance on dolphin foraging activity Message-ID: <2029590775.1092661417185254705.JavaMail.httpd@webmail-33.iol.local> Dear MARMAM colleagues, We are pleased to announce that the following paper has been published online: Enrico Pirotta, Nathan D. Merchant, Paul M. Thompson, Tim R. Barton, David Lusseau (2015). Quantifying the effect of boat disturbance on bottlenose dolphin foraging activity. Biological Conservation 181: 82?89. Abstract: Assessments of anthropogenic impacts on marine wildlife often concentrate on large-scale displacement. However, changes in the activity patterns of animals that do not flee could also affect their energy balance. Increasing boat traffic raises concerns for exposed marine mammals. Understanding risk perception is critical for effective mitigation and management, but it is hard to disentangle the effect of noise, physical presence of boats, and context. We used passive acoustic techniques to quantify how boat disturbance affected bottlenose dolphin foraging activity, and characterized the conditions influencing responses. To account for potential masking effects of boat noise on foraging vocalizations (buzzes), we developed a novel procedure to estimate the relationship between buzz detection probability and noise levels in particular 1/3 octave bands. Bayesian hierarchical modeling was then used to assess the effect of boat presence on buzz occurrence, as well as potential interactions with noise level, location, year, day, hour, dolphin group size, and boat type and number. Our results indicate that boat presence was associated with a short-term 49% reduction in foraging activity, but there was no relationship with noise level. Differences between sites and between years suggested a variable susceptibility depending on foraging conditions. This effect increased for increasing number of boats and depended on boat type. This is the first study conclusively showing that boat physical presence, and not just noise, plays a large role in disturbance. KEY WORDS: Behavioral response; Bayesian hierarchical model; Feeding buzz; Noise masking; Passive acoustic data; Vessel traffic A PDF copy of the work can be downloaded for free (until 17/01/2015) from: http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1Q6X41R~dwRRe Please do not hesitate to contact me for any question regarding our work. Best Regards, Enrico Pirotta From kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk Fri Nov 28 01:55:57 2014 From: kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk (Kathy James) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 09:55:57 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Education and Awareness Assistant opportunity - Sea Watch Foundation Message-ID: <003201d00af1$81e2b9a0$85a82ce0$@seawatchfoundation.org.uk> Sea Watch Foundation ? Voluntary Education and Awareness Assistant opportunity in Cardigan Bay for the 2015 summer season The Sea Watch Foundation is seeking an education and awareness assistant for the 2015 season. This position will suit a volunteer who has a strong interest in marine conservation and recognises the importance of educating and raising awareness by involving the public. The assistant will be responsible in aiding the Sightings Officer with the following duties: ? Promoting and organising the National Whale and Dolphin Watch 2015 event (25thJuly to 2nd August) ? Participating in presentations and creating activities to take to local schools ? Researching and writing articles ? Creating educational/promotional materials (posters, displays, flyers) ? Assisting in the organisation of training courses ? Social networking (Facebook, Twitter, website) ? Raising Sea Watch Foundation profile within the New Quay community (organising events, manning the Sea Watch stand on the pier at weekends etc.) ? Representing Sea Watch at public events around the UK ? Liaising with the Adopt a Dolphin Coordinator for the promotion of Sea Watch Foundation and Adopt a Dolphin The education and awareness assistant will also have some opportunity to be involved in the field work aspects of the ?Cardigan Bay Monitoring Project ? (land-based and boat-based surveys). This project manages the conservation of a resident population of bottlenose dolphins, the largest in the UK. Monitoring of harbour porpoise and grey seal populations is also part of the project. The field season will run from April to October 2015 and has been split into one period of 6 weeks followed by three periods of 7 weeks. One assistant is required for each period however preference will be given to those who can stay for more than one period, including the whole seven month field season. The assistant will be based in New Quay, West Wales. Accommodation is provided at a rate of approximately ?60/week in a house sharing with the research interns. The assistant is responsible for their own travel and living expenses, but it is generally quite easy to obtain part-time paid work in the area if required. Intern periods for summer 2015: Period 1: 13/04 ? 24/05, Period 2: 25/05 ? 12/7, Period 3: 13/07 ? 30/8, Period 4: 31/08 ? 18/10 Important skills/qualifications Essential: * a strong interest in marine conservation and education * confidence to interact with the public * excellent verbal and writing skills * must have initiative and bring their own ideas and personality to the position * strong commitment to volunteering work * an ability to work in an organised and reliable manner and to manage a variable workload * an ability to get on well with others in a small team and shared accommodation Desirable: * a background in marine biology/environmental science or similar * a strong interest and knowledge of British cetaceans * good IT skills (Office package) * prior experience in public speaking * prior experience in boat-based survey work * willingness to work long hours outdoors in often very changeable Welsh weather To apply: Please send your CV, covering letter reporting any relevant experience you have and specifying the period(s) you would prefer to volunteer for and contact details of two referees, to Kathy James (kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk). Deadline: 4th January 2015. Please specify EDUCATION ASSISTANT APPLICATION into your subject title. Applicants must be available for interview via Skype during the week commencing 12th January and will be notified of the outcomes by the 30th January 2015. The Sea Watch Foundation The Sea Watch Foundation is a national marine environmental research charity that aims to achieve better conservation of whales and dolphins in the seas around Britain and Ireland, by involving the public in scientific monitoring of populations and the threats they face. It is the longest-running research charity in UK focusing upon cetaceans around the British Isles, and maintains a national sightings database, the largest in Europe. It works closely with all the UK statutory conservation agencies, and advises UK government, the UNEP Regional intergovernmental Conservation Agreement - ASCOBANS, the European Commission, as well as the major conservation charities and marine industries operating in the UK. At Sea Watch Wales, we are dedicated to raising awareness, knowledge and conservation of the marine wildlife of the region. Our work is funded by the Countryside Council for Wales, Defra, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, and Environment Wales; and we work closely with the local management authority, Ceredigion County Council. Public awareness We aim to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of the local marine wildlife and the habitats supporting them, to encourage respect and conservation of the area and its wildlife for future generations. We also run training courses for the public in cetacean identification and survey methods. A list of recent of recent awareness and education achievements is given below: ? Sea Watch Director, Peter Evans, received the European Cetacean Society Conservation Award, 2012 ? Sea Watch Foundation was recipient of the UNEP/ASCOBANS ?Outreach and Education Award?, 2009 ? Sea Watch Foundation was voted best UK animal adoption scheme by BBC Wildlife, December 2008 Kathy James Sightings Officer Sea Watch Foundation Paragon House Wellington Place New Quay Ceredigion SA45 9NR Tel: 01545 561227 www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk Fri Nov 28 01:59:17 2014 From: kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk (Kathy James) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 09:59:17 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Research Internships Opportunities - Sea Watch Foundation Message-ID: <004501d00af1$f9b35520$ed19ff60$@seawatchfoundation.org.uk> Sea Watch Foundation ? 2015 VOLUNTEER Research Internships Opportunities for Cardigan Bay Marine Mammal Monitoring Project, New Quay, Wales Field season: 13th of April 2015 - 18th of October 2015 Application deadline: 31st of January 2015 On behalf of Sea Watch Foundation (SWF) staff (www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk ), I am pleased to announce that we are currently accepting internship applications for our field season 2015. SWF is a registered marine environmental research charity whose mission is to achieve a better understanding and conservation of the marine mammal populations in the seas around Britain and Ireland. Led by Director Prof. Evans since 1991, the Cardigan Bay Marine Mammal Monitoring Project, provides invaluable scientific information about the natural history, distribution, habitats and short and long term conservation threats of marine mammal populations (bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise and grey seal), through continuous research and education. SWF Director, received the European Cetacean Society Award for his research in 2012 and SWF was the recipient of the UNEP/ASCOBANS ?Outreach and Education Award? in 2009. Our work is funded by the Countryside Council for Wales, Defra, Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Heritage Lottery Fund. We work closely with the local management authority, Ceredigion County Council, and have the support numerous volunteers in the office and in the field. The project offers the participants the opportunity to learn and practice techniques used in scientific data collection and the study of marine mammal populations (e.g. land observations, boat-based surveys, photo-identification, line-transects, theodolite, cybertracker and acoustic monitoring). The interns? responsibilities will be to support the SWF staff by taking part in the following tasks: ? Daily land-based surveys ? Daily two hours boat-based surveys conducted with the support and generosity of ?Dolphins Spotting Boat Trips? ? Weekly boat based dedicated surveys, including line-transect (weather dependent) ? Photo-identification studies ? Acoustic monitoring ? Theodolite and digiscope surveys ? Data entry ? Awareness raising ? Education initiatives ? Assist with and participate in training courses and public talks. Research interns can expect to gain a solid foundation in collecting scientific data to be used by our staff in peer reviewed publications. This is an excellent opportunity to gain an insight into the work conducted by marine mammal scientists. SWF staff is committed with the importance of giving the participants of our internship programme the knowledge and experience necessary in their continuation towards higher education or a future job in the field of marine mammals research. The field season will be split into four separate periods of seven weeks each (the first period will consist of six weeks). Preference will be given to those who can stay for more than one period. Accommodation will be provided in the interns? house at a rate of approximately ?60/week. Interns will be responsible for their own travel expenses, visa requirements and living expenses. Due to the touristic back-ground of New Quay, part-time paid work it is generally easy to find if required by the intern. Interns will generally have two days off per week, although not necessarily consecutive days and usually just one during each weekend. Intern periods for summer 2015: Period 1 13/04 ? 24/05, Period 2 25/05 ? 12/7, Period 3 13/07 ? 30/08, Period 4 31/08 ? 18/10 Essential requirements: ? background in Biology, Marine Biology, Zoology, Environmental Science or similar ? willingness to work long hours outdoors sometimes in harsh weather conditions ? strong commitment to volunteer work ? self-motivated with the drive and determination to work responsibly and independently ? an ability to get on well with others in a shared office and home To apply: -Download the research internship application form from our web page www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/internships/ -Send your application together with a cover letter and CV to Dr. Duss?n-Duque- salome.dussan-duque at seawatchfoundation.org.uk Please specify NEW QUAY INTERN APPLICATION 2015 into your subject title. ONLY successful applicants will be notified of the results of their application by the end of February 2015. Kathy James Sightings Officer Sea Watch Foundation Paragon House Wellington Place New Quay Ceredigion SA45 9NR Tel: 01545 561227 www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk Fri Nov 28 01:53:57 2014 From: kathy.james at seawatchfoundation.org.uk (Kathy James) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 09:53:57 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Research Assistant and Intern Coordinator Opportunity - Sea Watch Foundation Message-ID: <002201d00af1$3a98e880$afcab980$@seawatchfoundation.org.uk> Sea Watch Foundation ? 2015 ONE VOLUNTEER Research Assistant and Intern Coordinator Opportunity for Cardigan Bay Marine Mammal Monitoring Project, New Quay, Wales Field season: 6th of April 2015 - 18th of October 2015 Application deadline: 10th of January 2015 On behalf Sea Watch Foundation (SWF) staff (www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk ), I am pleased to announce that we are currently accepting applications for our Research Assistant 2015 position. SWF is a registered marine environmental research charity which mission is to achieve a better understanding and conservation of the marine mammal populations in the seas around Britain and Ireland. Led by Director Prof. Evans since 1991, the Cardigan Bay Marine Mammal Monitoring Project, provides invaluable scientific information about the natural history, distribution, habitats and short and long term conservation threats of marine mammal populations (bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise and grey seal), through continuous research and education. SWF Director, received the European Cetacean Society Award for his research in 2012 and SWF was the recipient of the UNEP/ASCOBANS ?Outreach and Education Award? in 2009. Our work is funded by the Countryside Council for Wales, Defra, Joint Nature Conservation Committee and the Heritage Lottery Fund. We work closely with the local management authority, Ceredigion County Council, and have the support numerous volunteers in the office and in the field. The Research Assistant is responsible for assisting the Monitoring Officer in the running of the ?Cardigan Bay Monitoring Project? and coordinating the project interns. The project offers the participants the opportunity to learn and practice techniques used in scientific data collection and the study of marine mammal populations (e.g. land observations, boat-based surveys, photo-identification, line-transects, theodolite, cybertracker and acoustic monitoring). The Research Assistant can expect to gain a solid foundation in collecting marine mammal scientific data to be used by themselves and/or our staff in peer reviewed publications. SWF staff are committed to the Research Assistant gaining scientific knowledge through training and in situ experience. We highly support the continuation of the Research Assistant in higher education or a future job in the field of marine mammal research. Daily responsibilities will include but are not limited to: ? Coordinate between the Monitoring Officer/Sightings Officer and the project interns ? Organising the interns? weekly schedules as well as the rotations for dedicated surveys ? Supervising the interns in the laboratory and interns house ? Dealing with IT staff to set up the computers in the laboratory ? Maintenance and validation of all databases (vessel and land-based watches, effort, photo-ID, acoustics) ? Assisting the Monitoring Officer in training the interns in the use of field equipment such as: theodolite, digiscope, GPS, hydrophone, Cybertracker, and cameras ? Assisting the Monitoring Officer/Sightings Officer in basic training of land- and boat based surveys, data entry and more ? Assisting the Monitoring Officer in the matching and cataloguing of bottlenose dolphins and maintenance of the photo-ID database Requirements: ? Minimum BSc degree or higher in Biology, Marine Biology, Zoology, Environmental Science or similar ? Previous experience in marine mammal research and a strong interest and knowledge of British cetaceans and boating experience are desirable ? The applicant must be proficient with database and word processing software and be willing to learn new software applications. Specific experience in Access and/or GIS would be advantageous ? The preferred candidate should have a proven track record as a team player as the project will involve working closely with other researchers but also must be able to supervise small groups of people as they will be coordinating at least 6 interns per period ? Self-motivated with the drive and determination to work responsibly and independently This position is unpaid but accommodation expenses through the whole period will be covered at the intern?s house. The Research Assistant will be responsible for their own travel expenses, visa requirements and living expenses. Due to the touristic back-ground of New Quay, part-time paid work is generally easy to find if required by the applicant. The Research Assistant will have one day of every weekend free and a week vacation between the end of the second research interns period (12/07/2015) and beginning of the third one (13/07/2015). Dates for this week could be previously agreed if inconvenient for the Research Assistant. To apply: -Download the Research Assistant application form from our web page http://www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk/internships/ -Send your application together with a cover letter and CV to Dr. Duss?n-Duque- salome.dussan-duque at seawatchfoundation.org.uk Please specify NEW QUAY RESEARCH ASSISTANT APPLICATION 2015 in your subject title. ONLY successful applicants will be contacted to arrange a Skype interview by the end January 2015. The interviews will be conducted between the second and the sixth of February 2015. Dr Salom? Duss?n-Duque Marine Mammal Ecologist Monitoring Officer Sea Watch Foundation Cardigan Bay, Wales UK Kathy James Sightings Officer Sea Watch Foundation Paragon House Wellington Place New Quay Ceredigion SA45 9NR Tel: 01545 561227 www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From david at deafwhale.com Thu Nov 27 04:42:22 2014 From: david at deafwhale.com (David Williams) Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 20:42:22 +0800 Subject: [MARMAM] looking for research papers on whalebone whales In-Reply-To: <4F6381C006A376409224CACE9A310535119DBF@VMEXCHANGEMBS5A.isad.isadroot.ex.ac.uk> References: <4F6381C006A376409224CACE9A310535119DBF@VMEXCHANGEMBS5A.isad.isadroot.ex.ac.uk> Message-ID: <54771C2E.2040400@deafwhale.com> Dear Marmamers: I seek any information on the absences of whalebone whales in area were they should be plentiful. For example, it was noted in 2007 that gray whales normally present off Vancouver Island were missing anomalously. Any information of great whales missing for an area where they would normally be would be greatly appreciated. Thanks David Williams From kdudzinski at dolphincommunicationproject.org Sat Nov 29 07:49:55 2014 From: kdudzinski at dolphincommunicationproject.org (Kathleen M. Dudzinski) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 10:49:55 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Aquatic Mammals 40.4 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 titles represent the contents of the most recent issue (Volume 40, issue 4, 2014) of Aquatic Mammals. The online issue is now available at this link: http://www.aquaticmammalsjournal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=57&Itemid=157. Volume 40 represents the 40th anniversary for Aquatic Mammals! For individuals with a print subscription, the joint hard copy of 40.3/40.4 will be mailed in December. 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. Links to a purchase page for each article are also included below. Please see list below for Volume 40, issue 4 contents. 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 ******* Lonneke L. IJsseldijk, Jaap Steenbergen, Andrea Gr?ne, Sjoukje Hiemstra, Marja J. L. Kik, and Lineke Begeman. 2014. Short Note: Apparent Emergence of Bow-Caught Fin Whales (Balaenoptera physalus) Found in the Netherlands. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 317-320. Oph?lie Sagnol and Femke Reitsma. 2014. A Spatio-Temporal Model to Track Individuals from a Shore-Based Station: A Case Study for Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Off Kaikoura, New Zealand. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 321-328. Fernando F?lix and H?ctor M. Guzm?n. 2014. Satellite Tracking and Sighting Data Analyses of Southeast Pacific Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae): Is the Migratory Route Coastal or Oceanic? Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 329-340. Wu Fuxing, Wang Xianyan, Ding Xiaohui, Miao Xing, and Zhu Qian. 2014. Distribution Pattern of Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) along Coastal Waters of Fujian Province, China. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 341-349. Elizabeth M. George and Michael Noonan. 2014. Respiration Rates in Captive Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas): Effects of Season, Sex, Age, and Body Size.Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 350-356. Christian D. Ortega-Ortiz, Fernando R. Elorriaga-Verplancken, Silvia A. Arroyo-Salazar, Reyna X. Garc?a-Valencia, Ariadna E. Ju?rez-Ruiz, Norma A. Figueroa-Soltero, et al. 2014. Short Note: Foraging Behavior of the Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno bredanensis) in Coastal Waters of the Mexican Central Pacific. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 357-363. Fernando R. Elorriaga-Verplancken, Matthew J. Tennis, and Robin F. Brown. 2014. Short Note: Unprecedented Resighting in Mexico of a Male California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) from Oregon During the 2014 Breeding Season. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 364-367. Lauren E. Dares, Jordan M. Hoffman, Shih Chu Yang, and John Y. Wang. 2014. Short Note: Habitat Characteristics of the Critically Endangered Taiwanese Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) of the Eastern Taiwan Strait. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 368-374. Eduardo Morteo, Axay?catl Rocha-Olivares, and Luis G. Abarca-Arenas. 2014. Sexual Segregation of Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 375-385. Christian D. Ortega-Ortiz, Fernando R. Elorriaga-Verplancken, Aramis Olivos-Ortiz, Marco A. Li??n-Cabello, and Manuel H. Vargas-Bravo. 2014. Insights into the Feeding Habits of False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens) in the Mexican Central Pacific. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 386-393. Lonneke L. IJsseldijk, Andrea Gr?ne, Sjoukje Hiemstra, Jeroen Hoekendijk, and Lineke Begeman . 2014. Short Note: A Record of Twin Fetuses in a Harbor Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) Stranded on the Dutch Coast. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 394-397. Ranil P. Nanayakkara, Tharaka Kusuminda, and Thomas A. Jefferson. 2014. Can the Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin (Sousa plumbea) Survive in Sri Lanka? Occurrence of a Relict Population in Puttalam Lagoon. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 398-406. Ewa I. Borowska, Zuzanna Nowak, Cornelis van Elk, and Magnus Wahlberg. 2014. Short Note: Determining Genotypes from Blowhole Exhalation Samples of Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 407-411. Teresa M. Garcia, Todd L. Green, Michael A. De Miranda, Jr., Linnea E. Pearson, Lauren M. Cuevas, Ashley M. Larson et al. 2014. Consideration of Diet Was Necessary for the Successful Isolation and Culture of Weddell Seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) Myoblasts. Aquatic Mammals 40(4): 412-422. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jpgallo at ciad.mx Fri Nov 28 13:48:40 2014 From: jpgallo at ciad.mx (Gallo, Juan Pablo Gallo) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 14:48:40 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on DDE on Delphinus capensis Message-ID: Dear MARMAM colleagues We are pleased to announce that the following paper has been published online: Gallo-Reynoso JP, TB Malek, J Garc?a-Hern?ndez, L V?zquez-Moreno, I Segura-Garc?a. 2014. Concentrations of DDE in blubber biopsies of free-ranging long-beaked common dolphins (*Delphinus capensis*) in the Gulf of California. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. DOI 10.1007/s00128-014-1414-3 Abstract Long-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) in the Gulf of California have been exposed to persistent contaminants that originated in large agricultural areas near the coast. Live common dolphins were sampled by remote dart biopsies to determine concentrations of tDDT in blubber. Life stage and initial gender identification was determined by field observations. Gender was confirmed by genetic analysis of the skin. Concentration of tDDT in blubber was analyzed by gas chromatography. The 16 samples collected consisted of: 2 adult males, 6 adult females, and 8 juveniles. 4,40-DDE was detected in most of the samples with 4,40-DDD and 4,40-DDT under detection levels. Concentrations of DDE varied from nondetectable to 87.3 lg/g lipid weight with a median of 16 lg/g lipid weight. The highest concentration was detected in an immature female. No differences were detected between gender or life stage but this could be attributed to small sample size. We recommend continued sampling of D. capensis blubber biopsies from the Gulf of California in order to relate these levels with affected in vitro biomarkers such as mixed function oxidase activity. Keywords: 4,40-DDT; Common Dolphins; Delphinus capensis; Gulf of California To acces to this paper you should dowload it from the Journals web site. DOI 10.1007/s00128-014-1414-3 Please be free to contact me for any question regarding our work. With kind regards. -- Dr. Juan Pablo Gallo Reynoso Centro de Investigaci?n en Alimentaci?n y Desarrollo A.C., Unidad Guaymas Carretera a Varadero Nacional km 6.6 Col. Las Playitas, Guaymas, Sonora C.P. 85480, M?xico Tel?fono: +52 (622) 225 28 24 http://www.ciad.mx/guaymas/nutrias/INDEX.HTM https://www.researchgate.net/profile/JP_Gallo-Reynoso/?ev=hdr_xprf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From info at edmaktub.com Sat Nov 29 00:30:16 2014 From: info at edmaktub.com (Edmaktub) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 09:30:16 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Fin whale Research Assistant Program (Barcelona - Spain) Message-ID: Name and Affiliation: Edmaktub Association MESSAGE: EDMAKTUB ASSOCIATION 7-Day Fin whale Research Assistant Program | Vilanova i la Geltr?, Barcelona (SPAIN) Want to be part of a pioneer research project to study fin whales? remarkable presence near Barcelona?s coast? Interested in joining a scientific campaign while you enjoy seeing many other cetacean species and seabirds in Mediterranean waters? We are seeking volunteers to assist in next year?s research campaign in the catalan coast, between Barcelona and Tarragona (NW Mediterranean basin), which will take place from mid-February to mid-June 2015, to study fin whales? use of Catalan waters in the are of Garraf (central-south Catalonia) as a potential feeding station during their migrations across the Mediterranean Sea. This is the first dedicated study that has ever been conducted in this area, which includes the use of new non-invasive techniques such as drones (used to obtain blow samples for genetic studies). Last season we already had 62 fin whale sightings and 48 individuals photo-identified. We invite you to join EDMAKTUB ?s research team for 7 days to participate in our ongoing research. Volunteers will have the chance to enjoy the high marine biodiversity found in the area, including: bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and Risso?s dolphins (Grampus griseus); many seabird species, some of which are endangered such as the Balearic shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus), Mediterranean shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan), Cory's shearwater (Calonectris diomedea), Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), and Northern gannet (Morus bassanus); different fish species (such as sunfish, manta ray and blue-fin tuna); many invertebrates; and sometimes even Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta)! FIN WHALE PROJECT Our research campaigns focus on the monitoring of fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), the second largest species on earth and the only regular whale in the Mediterranean, presence in Catalan waters (NW Mediterranean basin) using visual vessel-based surveys. We offer the opportunity to learn about marine species and habitats in the study area; gain experience in field work and monitoring techniques (including non-invasive techniques such as the use of drones to obtain blow samples for genetic studies and the use of hydrophones for passive acoustic studies), data processing and analysis. Assistants will also be able to listen to vocalisations recorded in the field and help in the processing of photos taken from sightings. During their free time and when weather conditions are unfavourable for boat surveys, volunteers will be able to visit Barcelona and enjoy its vibrant cultural offer, as well as to enjoy a huge variety of wildlife while doing some trekking and nature expeditions in Garraf?s Natural Park (beautiful location where we?re based). The campaign period will be divided into one-week sessions. A maximum of 6 assistants will be able to join each session, and priority will be given to volunteers who can join more than one session. We welcome undergraduate and postgraduate students who require field work support and office space to conduct their research projects (please contact us by email to discuss project ideas). No previous experience, nor specific knowledge, is required as EDMAKTUB staff will provide all the necessary information and training. Volunteering with EDMAKTUB you will learn about the rich marine fauna found in the Garraf area and cetaceans? census techniques while you enjoy full-day survey trips on our catamaran along the Catalan coast. Data collected by volunteers during the surveys will contribute to our long running research studies on fin whales habitat usage, abundance, photo-identification, feeding behaviour and acoustic studies. We offer a fantastic opportunity for you to make a positive contribution to marine wildlife conservation and also meet new people who share your interests! Here you will find a short video describing our ?Fin whale Project?. Additionally, we also offer you the opportunity to join us on our BCNCET one-week summer campaigns (June-September 2015) in which we study the presence and distribution of all cetacean species found in the Balearic Sea, between Barcelona and the Balearic Islands. EDMAKTUB is a non-profit organization that relies on its volunteers? and collaborators? donations to cover the costs and support the work of the project. Volunteers are an essential part of the association and play a vital role in our work. Join us in this unforgettable experience which will allow you to stay in direct contact with the marine environment and its fascinating inhabitants! If you are interested and would like more information on dates and prices, please contact us on info at edmaktub.com EDMAKTUB Association: for the study and disclosure of the marine environment www.edmaktub.com Facebook: Edmaktub -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cdmacleod at gisinecology.com Sun Nov 30 12:43:42 2014 From: cdmacleod at gisinecology.com (Colin D. MacLeod) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 20:43:42 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Two New Short GIS Courses For Biologists From GIS In Ecology Message-ID: <7E65EA2C53654F2A88ADE53A925A55C2@House1> GIS In Ecology will be offering two new short GIS courses for biologists in February 2015. These courses will be held in Glasgow in Scotland, and will be taught by Dr. Colin D. MacLeod, a biological researcher with more than 15 years experience in using GIS. Each course will run for two days, with the second course being held directly after the first to make it logistically easier for those wanting to do both courses. These courses are: 1. An Introduction To Investigating The Home Ranges Of Individual Animals (9 ? 10 February 2015): This course will provide an introduction to investigating the home ranges of individual animals using a GIS-based approach. It will cover how to create a minimum convex polygon (MCP), how to create a kernel density estimate (KDE) in environments with and without barriers to movements, how to create 50 and 95% percentage volume contours PVCs) and how to select an appropriate bandwidth/h value. This course is aimed at anyone who wishes to use GIS to study the home ranges of animals in either the terrestrial or aquatic environments, even if they have little or no existing knowledge of GIS. It will primarily use ArcGIS software, but it will also cover the use of ArcMET and Geospatial Modelling Environment (GME) for home range analyses. Duration: 2 days. Cost: ?295 (?200 for students, unwaged and those working for NGOs). Places will be limited to a maximum of 14 people and will be filled on a first come, first served basis. For more information on this course, visit www.gisinecology.com/Training_Course_Home_Range_February_2015.htm or email info at GISinEcology.com. Places can also be booked through this email address. 2. An Introduction To Creating Custom GIS Tools For Biological Research (11 ? 12 February 2015): This course will provide an introduction to the creation of custom GIS tools for use in all areas of biological research. Creating custom GIS tools for biological research allows you not only to automate frequently repeated tasks (saving time and reducing the risk of accidental processing errors), but it also allows non-GIS specialists to process and analyse data using standard protocols in a GIS-based environment by running a single easy-to-use tool. This means that creating custom GIS tool provides an effective way of expanding the pool of individuals within a research group or organisation who can carry out specific and complex GIS tasks. The course will consist of background session which will explain the principles of creating your own custom GIS tools, as well as practical exercises in which a number of example tools will be built and tested. There will also be the option of building your own custom tool to automate a task of your choice. This course assumes that you have at least a basic knowledge of GIS and is not aimed at complete beginners. It will use the ModelBuilder module of ESRI?s ArcGIS sofware to show how biologists can create custom GIS tools for use in their research. Duration: 2 days. Cost: ?295 (?200 for students, unwaged and those working for NGOs). Places will be limited to a maximum of 14 people and will be filled on a first come, first served basis. For more information on this course, visit www.gisinecology.com/Training_Course_Custom_GIS_Tools_February_2015.htm or email info at GISinEcology.com. Places can also be booked through this email address. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sostres.marta at gmail.com Sun Nov 30 04:54:00 2014 From: sostres.marta at gmail.com (Marta Sostres) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 13:54:00 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on static acoustic monitoring of dolphins and porpoises (C-PODs/T-PODs) Message-ID: Dear all, I am happy to announce the publication of the following article: Marta Sostres Alonso & Hanna K. Nuuttila (2014):* Detection rates of **wild harbour porpoises and bottlenose dolphins using static acoustic click loggers vary with **depth,* Bioacoustics: The International Journal of Animal Sound and its Recording. Available at: *http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09524622.2014.980319#.VHsEjzGG-So * Please, do not hesitate to contact me for a free copy or for any further questions. Best regards, Marta Sostres. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From michael at graywhalescount.org Sun Nov 30 13:18:30 2014 From: michael at graywhalescount.org (Michael H Smith) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 13:18:30 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Seeking Research Assistants for Gray Whales Count, Santa Barbara, California Message-ID: RESEARCH ASSISTANT (RA) POSITIONS AVAILABLE - seeking two, volunteer Research Assistants for research on Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) migrating northbound through the nearshore of the Santa Barbara Channel. Gray Whales Count (GWC) is seeking Research Assistants (RA) to assist in our annual survey, conducted from shore at Counter Point, in the Coal Oil Point Reserve, Goleta, California, USA, adjacent to the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). This position is open to citizens of the United States of America and those authorized to work in the United States. The 2015 survey begins February 17 and continues every day through May 25, from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Sunday. We are looking for passionate, caring individuals who would be available to begin Saturday, February 14 to train and assist with preparations and willing to commit for fifteen weeks, including the fourteen-week survey and wrap-up. GWC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization for research and education. The primary goal of research is to estimate the number of Gray whales and Gray whale calves migrating northbound through our corridor and to share our data to complement similar sampling-studies along the California coast. A secondary goal is to document the variety and quantity of other marine mammals in the ocean area around our site, which is now a Marine Protected Area. We are able to monitor human activity, including interactions with marine mammals, including Gray whales. Goals of education are to teach the process of scientific research to Counters and to give them the opportunity to conduct a meaningful study, to experience marine mammals in their natural environment, and to share this process and their enthusiasm with publics through direct interchange, outreach, and various media. RAs will be trained by the Project Coordinator and, in-turn, share the responsibility for research and education. Applicable skills learned and achieved include: > Process, concepts, and protocols of the survey > Ability to identify a multitude of marine mammal species from a distance, including but not limited to: Gray whales, Humpback whales, Bottlenose dolphins, Common dolphins, Pacific white-sided dolphins, Harbor seals, California Sea lions, Sea otters, etc. > Identify behaviors of these marine mammals > Distinguish calves from juveniles and adults > Identify vessels and vessel operations > Detailed, consistent data entry > Learn about marine mammals in their natural environment and the forces that affect them, both natural and anthropogenic > Developing responsibility and a working relationship within a team Because of the training required, applicants must be willing to commit full-time to the project for the time period involved (minimum of 15 weeks, which can be extended if the applicant desires to be involved with data entry and analysis). This will entail up to 9 hours of work a day for at least 5 days a week. (With training, RA?s are required to work everyday the first two weeks.) The Count is 7 days per week and the RA may commit additional to the Count as desired. The more time you can put in, the more you will get out of your experience. Priority will be given to those candidates with associative career goals who are able to participate fully. This is a unique opportunity to gain extensive experience in scientific fieldwork in an environment rich with diverse populations of marine mammals. You will work with equally diverse individuals who are caring, attentive, and curious. Gray whales are a sentinel species traveling from temperate lagoons in Mexico, along the dynamic California Current at the eastern edge of the North Pacific Ocean to the Arctic waters of northern Alaska in one of the longest marine mammal migrations. There are boundless avenues of exploration, and Gray Whales Count can begin your journey. Requirements: > Even though we are situated in Southern California, you must be able to withstand harsh weather conditions. Fieldwork can be physically and mentally demanding at times. > Willingness to work long hours. > Experience with a camera and digital asset management a plus. > Commit for a minimum of fifteen weeks, full time (minimum five days per week). > Enrolled in or completed a degree in biology, marine science, zoology, environmental science, animal behavior or a related field. > Previous field experience with marine wildlife and observation is highly recommended but not required. > Ability to work in a team environment. Cannot stress this enough. You will be trained to be a leader of an operation with people of differing experience and dedication. > Be enthusiastic and possess a caring, positive attitude, with a strong desire to learn. > Be adaptable and patient. The migration is characterized by pulses rather than a steady stream; and weather is the unknown factor: wind, rain, and fog can shut us down. > We strive for a perfection that cannot be attained. We are forgiving and learn from experience. This is a volunteer position. The selected RAs will be responsible for their own transportation to and from Santa Barbara/Goleta, California and daily to the survey site. Recognizing that living costs are high in this area, Gray Whales Count will award a $500 stipend to assist each RA with expenses upon successful completion of the RA position. RAs will be responsible for all for living expenses while volunteering for Gray Whales Count. To apply: Please send cover letter/resume to Project Coordinator, Michael Smith michael at graywhalescount.org . We strongly recommend you look over our website: graywhalescount.org to familiarize yourself with our operation. In the cover letter, please address why you wish to participate in Gray Whales Count and what you hope to achieve in your experience. There is no deadline to apply. The position will remain open until it is filled. Please consider applying early in order to arrange travel plans and to secure room and board. Michael H Smith, Project Coordinator Gray Whales Count nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation for research and education 1 Fellowship Circle Santa Barbara, CA 93109 USA (805) 698-3505 mobile New Phone Number michael at GrayWhalesCount.org project-collaborators include: Cascadia Research Collective, Olympia, Washington Journey North, Norwich, Vermont NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla Scripps Whale Acoustic Lab, SIO / UCSD, La Jolla UCSB's Coal Oil Point Reserve, Goleta -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: