From Amber.Howell at MyFWC.com Fri Aug 2 04:13:11 2019 From: Amber.Howell at MyFWC.com (Howell, Amber) Date: Fri, 2 Aug 2019 11:13:11 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Full Time Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Biologist Position-Tequesta Florida Message-ID: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission- OPS Biological Scientist I -77907532 Announcement Type: Open Competitive Rate of Pay: $13.50/hour, 40 hours/week Location: Tequesta, FL Closing Date: August 11, 2019 Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) Section: Wildlife Research - Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles Direct link to apply: https://jobs.myflorida.com/job/TEQUESTA-OPS-Biological-Scientist-I-FWC-77907532-FL-33469/579372800/?locale=en_US DESCRIPTION OF JOB DUTIES: This position is split among the marine mammal and sea turtle sections, located in Tequesta, and participates in Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's manatee research program in a seven-county area along southeast Florida, and will respond to or coordinate response to reports of stranded sea turtles and document the incident. This includes managing a wildlife alert hotline with calls from the public. Work schedule is Thursday through Monday. Duties may include but are not limited to: recover manatee and sea turtle carcasses in southeast Florida, transport carcasses, conduct necropsies, participate in manatee and sea turtle rescue, including coordination of capture and transportation of injured animals to the appropriate rehabilitation facilities; provide training and guidance for Sea Turtle Stranding Network participants, participate in aerial surveys, photograph manatees for photo identification purposes; operate software such as Excel, Access, Word, Adobe, web-based databases, and mapping and interpreting spatial data; assist with regional water temperature monitoring project; data entry, office work and public outreach including working with the media; general cleaning of office and equipment, vehicle, trailer and boat maintenance and other tasks assigned by supervisor; work long, unscheduled hours on short notice that include some evenings and holidays. Occasional overnight travel required. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a major in one of the biological sciences. **Preference may be given to candidates who have marine mammal and sea turtle stranding-response experience. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES: Applicant must obtain boater safety certification and CPR/First Aid within the first six months of employment. Applicant must be able to swim proficiently. Field work is highly physical and applicant must be physically fit and able to lift 75 lbs vertically on a regular basis. Applicant must have the ability to work both as a team member as well as independently in various field situations; must be able to work under adverse field conditions including nights, weekends and holidays; must be able to establish and maintain effective and cooperative working relationships; think logically, multi-task, and apply problem-solving techniques; effectively communicate verbally and in writing; skill in the use of Microsoft Office Software and web-based databases; and maintain a valid FL driver's license. Knowledge of marine animal biology, anatomy, and conservation, especially pertaining to those in Florida and knowledge of terminology and methodology used when collecting data of stranded marine animals and when conducting sea turtle nesting beach surveys. Knowledge of and the ability to use computers, field gear, and cameras are highly desired. The ability to safely operate large trucks, pull trailers and boats less than 30 feet in length is also highly desired. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS: Please submit a current resume, list of three references, and a cover letter along with your State of Florida Employment Profile in People First, as attachments. WHAT IS OPS EMPLOYMENT? Other Personal Services (OPS) temporary employer/employee relationship used solely for accomplishing short term or intermittent tasks. OPS employees do not fill established positions and may not be assigned the duties of any vacant authorized position. OPS employees are at-will employees and are subject to actions such as pay changes, changes to work assignment and terminations at the pleasure of the agency head or designee. WHAT BENEFITS ARE APPLICABLE TO OPS EMPLOYEES? * State of Florida 401(a) FICA Alternative Plan - mandatory * Workers' Compensation - mandatory * Reemployment Assistance (Unemployment Compensation) - mandatory * Participation in state group insurance (must meet eligibility requirements. Consult with People First or the servicing Human Resource Office for details.) * Deferred Compensation - voluntary * Employee Assistance Program - voluntary WHAT BENEFITS ARE NOT APPLICABLE TO OPS EMPLOYEES? * Any form of paid leave * Paid holidays * Participation in the Florida Retirement System * Reinstatement rights or retention rights Amber Howell Research Associate- Marine Mammals Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 19100 SE Federal Hwy, Tequesta FL 33469 561-398-5914 24 hour FWC Hotline: 888-404-3922 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lindsay.jp at gmail.com Fri Aug 2 23:45:55 2019 From: lindsay.jp at gmail.com (Lindsay Porter) Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2019 14:45:55 +0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Asian Marine Mammal Stranding Network meeting Taiwan Message-ID: Asian Marine Mammal Stranding Network (AMMSN), Regional Meeting, Taiwan September 2019 The Third AMMSN will be held in Taiwan in September 2019. Generously supported by the Taiwan Oceans Bureau, there is funding for all registered participants. . The meeting will comprise a symposium and workshops, with international speakers from the International Whale Commission, the National Museum of Nature and Science, Japan, Ocean Park Conservation Foundation and the University of St. Andrews. Workshops will include necropsy techniques, mass stranding protocols, museum specimen curation and case study sessions. For funding support details and registration please go to https://3rdammsns2019.wixsite.com/website Or contact Symposium: Prof. Yang ammsnconf19 at gmail.com Workshops: Prof. Wang ammsnworkshop19 at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Mbaumgartner at whoi.edu Thu Aug 1 13:20:31 2019 From: Mbaumgartner at whoi.edu (Mark Baumgartner) Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2019 16:20:31 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Ocean Sciences top predator session Message-ID: <6DEAD8EF-1596-440F-AAE8-05F0766B048C@whoi.edu> Dear Colleagues, The 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting will take place 16-21 February 2020 in San Diego, California. The meeting is an important venue for scientific exchange across broad marine science disciplines, with sessions on all aspects of oceanography. We would like to call your attention to a session we will be chairing entitled "Advances in the ecology, behavior, physiology, or conservation of marine top predators" (ME001). This session has been convened at the Ocean Sciences meetings since 2010, and it provides a wonderful opportunity for researchers studying a variety of taxa (including marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, and fish) to meet, exchange ideas, and explore commonalities in research methods, scientific questions, and conservation efforts. Please consider submitting an abstract and attending the meeting. Abstracts are due by 11 September 2019. More information on the session is below. Mark Baumgartner, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, mbaumgartner at whoi.edu Daniel Palacios, Oregon State University, daniel.palacios at oregonstate.edu ??????????? Topic: Marine Ecology and Biodiversity Title: Advances in the ecology, behavior, physiology, or conservation of marine top predators Session ID: ME001 Session Description: Top predators are a vital part of the marine ecosystem, and as such, their ecology, behavior and physiology can influence important processes such as trophic interactions, carbon flow, and nutrient recycling. Virtually all top predators have a history of over-exploitation or they have special management status because of their sensitivity to marine industrial activities and other human uses (e.g., bycatch, shipping, resource exploration/extraction). Basic research on top predators often focuses on gaps in our understanding of their ecology, but unlike many other branches of biological oceanography, research can also be motivated directly by management and conservation needs. This session will focus on studies of the ecology, behavior, and physiology of marine top predators that either advance our scientific understanding or support the conservation of these important taxa. Because Ocean Sciences provides a unique forum for marine ecologists, marine biologists, and oceanographers to interact, we seek contributions from researchers studying a wide variety of taxa, including fish, squid, reptiles, seabirds, and marine mammals, from anywhere in the world's oceans. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tbohuszewicz at marineventures.com Thu Aug 1 12:39:15 2019 From: tbohuszewicz at marineventures.com (Teresa (Bohuszewicz) Espy) Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2019 19:39:15 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] PSO-PAM courses available in Florida Message-ID: PSO and PAM courses are being offered in August in Florida, USA, to potential PSOs, MMOs, and PAM Operators. Detailed information can be reviewed in the attached document or at the following link: https://www.marineventures.com/courses. Questions can be directed to BBennett at marineventures.com. Teresa (Bohuszewicz) Espy | MMO/PSO Services Manager Marine Ventures International, Inc. 8524 SW Kansas Avenue Stuart, FL USA 34997 +1 772-419-9627 Main +1 772-419-9634 Direct +1 772-419-9628 Fax www.marineventures.com [cid:1df96a96-7050-4e0d-8f35-22a6bc1fa389 at namprd08.prod.outlook.com] CAGE Code (7RVL5) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 13695 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: PSO_PAM_Course_Flyer.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 145164 bytes Desc: PSO_PAM_Course_Flyer.pdf URL: From tbohuszewicz at marineventures.com Fri Aug 2 11:59:02 2019 From: tbohuszewicz at marineventures.com (Teresa (Bohuszewicz) Espy) Date: Fri, 2 Aug 2019 18:59:02 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] job opportunity in NE for BOEM/NMFS PSO Message-ID: Looking for BOEM/NMFS visual PSO for potential subcontracting in northeastern United States. Must be US citizen or legally allowed to work in the U.S. Please, contact tbohuszewicz at marineventures.com., if interested. Teresa (Bohuszewicz) Espy | MMO/PSO Services Manager Marine Ventures International, Inc. 8524 SW Kansas Avenue Stuart, FL USA 34997 +1 772-419-9627 Main +1 772-419-9634 Direct +1 772-419-9628 Fax www.marineventures.com [cid:1df96a96-7050-4e0d-8f35-22a6bc1fa389 at namprd08.prod.outlook.com] CAGE Code (7RVL5) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 13695 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From rtysonmoore at mote.org Thu Aug 1 06:37:54 2019 From: rtysonmoore at mote.org (Reny Tyson Moore) Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2019 09:37:54 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Request for participation in a survey of photo-ID methods for matching dorsal fins Message-ID: Dear colleagues, We invite you to participate in our survey of the methods used to conduct matching of dorsal fin images for photo-identification studies. We are interested in compiling information on the different methods used, and the pros and cons associated with each of these methods. Recently, several automated algorithms have been developed to identify cetacean dorsal fins and improve the efficiency of the matching process. However, there has been little discussion among users regarding the efficacy or accuracy of these systems. With your help, we hope to start this discussion, and to develop best practices for moving forward with automated dorsal fin matching systems in our community. The survey can be completed here: https://forms.gle/D1NQ1NFXQMxfeVRAA We will present the results of this survey during a workshop we are hosting, ?Rise of the machines - Application of automated systems for matching dolphin dorsal fins: current status and future directions? at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona. The full-day workshop will be held on Sunday December 8. Information about the workshop can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/y2vrb2c4 The focus of the workshop is to bring together photo-ID researchers and algorithm developers to discuss best practices for using fin recognition technology, and to assess whether a single ?standard? system can be developed for automated dorsal fin photo-ID. We hope that you will participate in our survey! We request that you complete it by 11:59 EST on 15 August 2019. The Workshop Organizers, Reny Tyson Moore (Chicago Zoological Society?s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Sarasota, FL USA) rtysonmoore at mote.org Kim Urian (Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC USA) kim.urian at gmail.com -- Reny Tyson Moore, PhD Staff Scientist Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Chicago Zoological Society (352) 408-6018 cell rtysonmoore at mote.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clementchion at gmail.com Fri Aug 2 11:57:14 2019 From: clementchion at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?Cl=C3=A9ment_Chion?=) Date: Fri, 2 Aug 2019 14:57:14 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] PhD opportunity - Characterization and modelling of recreational boating for beluga conservation Message-ID: Hi, We are recruiting a PhD student to characterize and model recreational boater in the summer habitat of the endangered St. Lawrence Estuary beluga population. The project is part of a broader research program aimed at proposing effective solutions to mitigate the impacts of navigation on belugas in the St. Lawrence Estuary (ongoing management process). The full announcement is available at the end of this message. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS ANNOUNCEMENT TO YOUR COLLEAGUES AND CIRCULATE IN YOUR NETWORKS Thanks and have a nice day! Cl?ment Prof. Cl?ment Chion , PhD Universit? du Qu?bec en Outaouais (UQO) D?partement des sciences naturelles ISFORT 819-595-3900 poste: 1467 819-503-2539 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- *PHD SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY* *Agent-based modelling of recreational boating in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay River (Qu?bec, Canada) to mitigate their impacts on belugas and baleen whales* *Goal* : This project aims at developing a spatially explicit agent-based model of recreational boating in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay River (Qu?bec, Canada) to mitigate impacts such as underwater noise, collision, and disturbance on the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga and baleen whales populations. *Description *: The St. Lawrence Estuary beluga population is currently listed as an endangered species under the Species At Risk Act (Canada) and the Act Respecting Threatened and Vulnerable Species (Qu?bec). Other endangered species frequently observed in the St. Lawrence Estuary include the North Atlantic blue and fin whales. Several threats to the recovery of these whale species are coming from the navigation activities occurring in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay River such as animal exposure to underwater noise emitted by surrounding boats, disturbance/harassment, and collisions. Such navigation activities as maritime shipping, ferries and whale-watching excursions are well-documented largely due to AIS data. However, recreational boating in the summer habitat of the St. Lawrence Estuary Beluga is poorly documented with scarce data available. Moreover, no methodology has been proposed so far to monitor recreational boating activities and estimate their impacts on whales. This project will first focus on making a quantitative portrait of recreational boating in the summer habitat of the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga population (thereafter referred to as beluga). This portrait will include a characterization of the fleet, spatial distribution, temporal variability, along with a description of the spatiotemporal dynamics of boater excursions. This project will also allow to identify the main archetypes of recreational boaters along with their decision-making models that will be implemented in an agent-based model. The agent-based model will be used to assess the cumulative impacts of recreational boating on whales in the St. Lawrence Estuary and the Saguenay River and propose mitigation options. The model will also allow to project the impacts of boaters? eco-friendly behaviors on whales. Throughout this project, the PhD student will propose and conduct several data campaigns using different qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data on various objects at different scales (e.g. remote sensing, aerial surveys, GPS tracks, semi-supervised interviews, Q-methodology, questionnaires?). First, the student will develop a methodology and deploy it to characterize the fleet of recreational boats along with the spatiotemporal dynamics of their excursions throughout the summer habitat of beluga whales. Thereafter, the student will propose and implement a method to characterize the behavior and the decision-making process of recreational boaters at sea in order to define archetypes. For each archetype of recreational boater, the student will thus propose a conceptual model of behaviors and decisions including their interactions with whales. The results of these inquiries will be implemented into a spatially explicit agent-based model. The student will then elaborate a validation procedure of the agent-based model of boaters? behaviors. Finally, the validated model of recreational boaters will be integrated into a spatiotemporal simulator of boat-whale interactions in the Saguenay River and the St. Lawrence Estuary. This simulator will be used to assess the relative contribution of each navigation component to the overall impacts on the St. Lawrence whales and to test the effectiveness of various mitigation scenarios. The ideal candidate will show dynamism, motivation, determination, intellectual curiosity and creativity, ability to work independently and as part of a team, along with a great sense of initiative. He/She will need to travel regularly to the Saguenay and the St. Lawrence Estuary region for data collection. He/She will be encouraged and supported to travel for scientific communications (conferences, workshops), meetings with partners and stakeholders. He/She will be part of a dynamic multidisciplinary research team and will benefit from support for different parts of his/her project. The project being funded by the Government of Quebec, the selected candidate will be required to contribute to the production of deliverables for various ministries. *Requirements*: The candidate must possess a Master degree in Geography, Environmental sciences or any discipline relevant to the project. He/She must demonstrate relevant experience in modelling, statistics, and in the use of qualitative methods (e.g. interviews). The candidate must demonstrate proficiency in scientific communication (oral and written) to experts and laypeople, including writing scientific articles and conducting literature reviews, both in French and English. The candidate must demonstrate a dedication to excellence supported by academic records making him/her eligible to provincial and national scholarship competitions. *Assets: *Experience in the following fields will be considered to be assets: - GIS, spatial analysis, and spatial statistics; - Agent-based modelling; - Cognitive psychology and study of human decision-making processes; - Object-oriented programming; - Software and programming language: R, QGIS, Java, Python. *Start date*: January 2020 *Scholarship*: 25 000$/yr for 3 years *Location : *Ripon (Qu?bec, Canada) *Director*: Prof. J?r?me Dupras (UQO-ISFORT) *Co-director: *Prof. Cl?ment Chion (UQO-ISFORT) *Collaborators*: Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), University of Victoria, Parks Canada, Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, R?seau d?observation des mammif?res marins (ROMM). *Application :* ? Email your academic CV (long form), application letter (detailing your skills and assets related to the project requirements), official academic transcripts (Bachelor and Master), and the name and contact information of 3 academic references to Pr. Cl?ment Chion ( clementchion at gmail.com; clement.chion at uqo.ca), Pr. J?r?me Dupras ( jerome.dupras at uqo.ca), and Robert Michaud (rmichaud at gremm.org); ? *Deadline*: *September 15th 2019*, or until the position is filled. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karen.stockin at iwc.int Sat Aug 3 15:20:52 2019 From: karen.stockin at iwc.int (Karen Stockin) Date: Sat, 3 Aug 2019 22:20:52 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] DATE CHANGE - Saturday 7th December for the Harmonising Global Strandings Response In-Reply-To: References: , Message-ID: Dear MARMAM Colleagues Please note the DATE CHANGE to SATURDAY 7TH DEC for the Harmonising Global Strandings Response workshop. This has already been updated on the WMMC registration. On behalf of the the workshop steering group (named here), it is my pleasure to announce the upcoming World Marine Mammal Conference - Harmonising Global Strandings Response on Sunday 8th Dec 0830-1730 Karen Stockin, International Whaling Commission (karen.stockin at iwc.int) Frances Gulland, Marine Mammal Commission (francesgulland at gmail.com) Sarah Wilkin, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (sarah.wilkin at noaa.gov) Brian Sharp, International Fund for Animal Welfare (bsharp at ifaw.org) Sandro Mazzariol, University of Padua (sandro.mazzariol at unipd.it) Mike Ziccardi, UC Davis (mhziccardi at ucdavis.edu) Hugo Nijkamp, Sea-Alarm (nijkamp at sea-alarm.org) Harmonising Global Strandings Response In 2016, an IWC multi-disciplinary expert workshop discussed how best to develop practical guidance on handling cetacean strandings. The workshop concluded that an international Strandings Initiative should be established under the auspices of the IWC. The need for a coherent international umbrella that could link up national marine mammal stranding networks was also a recommendation of the 2018 Sea Alarm workshop organised in Brest, France. The 2019 workshop aims at synergising existing initiatives in marine mammal emergency response. Effectively, the workshop aims to unify the efforts of IWC, ACCOBAMS, ASCOBANS, NOAA, IFAW, BDMLR, PJ and other regional and national networks alongside that of the oil spill response community. The overarching aim is to assess synergies and identify what is required to coordinate, support, enhance and globalise the response to marine mammal strandings. The workshop will attempt to standardise the approach to marine mammal stranding response worldwide, which will in turn lead to improved data collection, animal welfare, and sharing of information and resources, and improved efficiencies during emergencies. This workshop will bring together international government and non-government marine mammal and environmental protection agencies, marine mammal managers and policy makers, first responders and researchers working in strandings contexts. Countries with established networks as well as countries with minimal or no current capacity for stranding response but who share interest in the development of such capacity are particularly welcome. The anticipated output of the workshop is a white paper developed from the workshop proceedings that will be circulated to specific international organisations involved in stranding and oil spill response globally (e.g. IWC, NOAA, ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS, IFAW, WCS etc). Attendee Support and Opportunities: Potential attendees from developing nations whom are keen to attend in anticipation of establishing strandings capacity in their own countries should contact Karen Stockin on karen.stockin at iwc.int to be considered for financial assistance. Additionally, two student rapporteurs are required to assist with the compilation of references and drafting of the post workshop report. Potential volunteers should email the workshop leaders, and if accepted will receive free registration for the workshop. Please register your attendance at https://www.wmmconference.org/workshops/#Establishing%20A%20Global%20Marine%20Mammal%20Stranding%20Network WMMC Workshops ? World Marine Mammal Science Conference www.wmmconference.org Workshop registration is now open! Workshops attendance is on a first come first serve basis. As workshops become full, a waitlist will be created to hold a place for interested attendees. Places are strictly limited so please don't delay! Karen Stockin, PhD Strandings Coordinator International Whaling Commission This e-mail and any files transmitted with it may contain confidential or legally privileged information and is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the named addressee you should delete the email and notify the sender immediately. E-mails are not secure and cannot be guaranteed to be error free as they can be intercepted, amended, or contain viruses. Any opinion and other statement contained in this message and any attachment are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the International Whaling Commission. This e-mail and any files transmitted with it may contain confidential or legally privileged information and is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). If you are not the named addressee you should delete the email and notify the sender immediately. E-mails are not secure and cannot be guaranteed to be error free as they can be intercepted, amended, or contain viruses. Any opinion and other statement contained in this message and any attachment are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the International Whaling Commission. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From laurinhaz at hotmail.com Sat Aug 3 18:38:38 2019 From: laurinhaz at hotmail.com (Laura Reisfeld) Date: Sun, 4 Aug 2019 01:38:38 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Fatal pulmonary parafilaroidiasis in a free-ranging subantarctic fur seal Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, On behalf of all co-authors, I am pleased to announce the publication of our article about fatal pulmonary parafilaroidiasis in a free-ranging subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) coinfected with two gammaherpesviruses and Sarcocystis sp. Reisfeld L, Sacristan C, Sanchez-Sarmiento AM, Costa-Silva S, Diaz-Delgado J, Groch KR, Marigo J, Ewbank AC, Favero CM, Mariotti Guerra J, Ressio RA, Cremer MJ, Esperon F, Catao-Dias JL. (2018). Fatal pulmonary parafilaroidiasis in a free-ranging Subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) coinfected with two gammaherpesviruses and Sarcocystis sp. Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Parasitology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1984-29612019029 In this manuscript we described a case of disseminated verminous pneumonia due to Parafilaroides sp. in a juvenile subantarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis) found dead in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. A concomitant infection with two different gammaherpesviruses was identified by PCR in different tissues; one of them possibly a novel species (tentatively named Otariid herpesvirus 7). Sarcocystis sp. DNA was identified molecularly in skeletal muscle samples with intrasarcoplasmic bradyzoites and no apparent tissue response. All analyzed samples (mandibular, laryngeal, tracheal, and mesenteric lymph nodes, and lung) were PCR-negative for Brucella spp. The most likely cause of death was severe pulmonary parafilaroidiasis. The pathogenic role of the gammaherpesviruses in several of the tissues was not evident. This study describes the pathogenicity of Parafilaroides sp. in a subantarctic fur seal, widens the host range of herpesvirus in pinnipeds, and reports the first molecular identification of Sarcocystis sp. in this species. You can discover more in the links: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31365717 and http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-29612019005011101&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en The article is available at link above or email: lauravet at aquariodesaopaulo.com.br Best regards Laura Reisfeld DVM, MSc, Aquario de Sao Paulo Laboratory of Wildlife Comparative Pathology - LAPCOM School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences - FMVZ University of S?o Paulo (Brazil) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cnau at mote.org Mon Aug 5 10:04:10 2019 From: cnau at mote.org (Christina Nau) Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2019 13:04:10 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Mote Marine Laboratory, Manatee Research Program Internships Message-ID: <1d74951f-d10b-2abc-4a68-4f7305b39156@mote.org> *Program Description* The Manatee Research Program studiesseveral aspects of the biology of manatees inhabiting the waters of southwestern Florida, including population dynamics, population genetics, habitat use, distributional patterns and social behavior. Field data and samples are collected using photo-identification, aerial surveys, and non-invasive genetic sampling. >From spring through early fall, photo-identification, genetic, and behavioral sampling are conducted primarily in Sarasota and Manatee counties.During the winter, field work is conducted primarily in Charlotte Harbor and the Ft. Myers area.Aerial surveys are conducted twice per month (during the non-winter) in Sarasota County to assess relative abundance and distribution of manatees in those waters.The long-term database of the program contributes to management and conservation measurements for Florida manatees. Additionally, the program collaborates with manatee researchers throughout the state of Florida and the Caribbean.For more information about, please visit: https://mote.org/research/program/manatee-research. *WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING INTERNS TO BEGIN IN**January 2020**, WITH APPLICATIONS DUE BY **September 1st 2019**.* *Internship Description* Internships are available during all four seasons and must be a MINIMUM of 12 weeks.Hours are typically Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, although some longer days may be required for field work (especially during the winter season). Interns should expect to spend about 20% of their time in the field and about 80% of their time in the office/lab.Field work duties include assisting with data collection, boat handling, and equipment use and maintenance.Field work requires spending long hours in the field, sometimes in uncomfortable weather conditions.Office/Lab duties include data entry, processing, matching images to known animals, equipment maintenance, and miscellaneous tasks and errands. There is no financial compensation for these internship positions, and successful applicants will be responsible for their own living and transportation expenses. Shared housing opportunities near Mote Marine Laboratory may be available. A few scholarships may be available from Mote Marine Laboratory through a competitive application process (US citizens only). *Required Qualifications* ?Minimum of 18 years of age and engaged in or recently completed undergraduate studies ?A background or degree in Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Zoology, or a related field is preferred ?Basic computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Access); previous experience using ArcMap GIS is a plus but not required ?Excellent communication skills; fluent in English ?Must be physically able to stand for long periods of time and lift heavy objects ?Knowledge of photography/SLR camera use and/or drawing skills are a plus ?Desire and willingness to acquire knowledge and skills related to marine mammal field work and capable of working well as a team ** *To apply for a Manatee Research Program internship:* ?Fill out an application form at Mote Marine Laboratory?s website (https://mote.org/research/internships/college-internship-program-overview) and be sure to select ?Manatee Research Program? as your first choice ?Complete and provide to Mote?s intern office all other application materials including: a statement of interest, current college transcript, letter of recommendation, and /curriculum vitae /(incomplete applications will not be considered) Applicants may contact the Manatee Research Program?s intern coordinator, Christina Nau, (cnau at mote.org ) with questions regarding the internship. -- Christina Nau Manatee Research Program Mote Marine Laboratory 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway Sarasota FL 34236 Phone: (941) 388-4441 ext. 471 cnau at mote.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From greta.dalleluche at griffithuni.edu.au Tue Aug 6 09:53:08 2019 From: greta.dalleluche at griffithuni.edu.au (Greta Dalle Luche) Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2019 16:53:08 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the quantification of steroid hormone profiles in blubber from stranded humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce that the following article has been published: Greta Dalle Luche, Susan Bengtson Nash, John R Kucklick, Fletcher M J Mingramm, Ashley S P Boggs, Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for the quantification of steroid hormone profiles in blubber from stranded humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), Conservation Physiology, Volume 7, Issue 1, 2019, coz030, https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz030 ABSTRACT: Marine mammal blubber is known to have quantifiable concentrations of steroid hormones and is increasingly chosen as a matrix for the detection of these reproductive and stress biomarkers. Steroid hormones act through complex cascades, often in concert, yet studies conducted on cetaceans have rarely measured more than two steroids simultaneously. Due to the role of steroid hormones in multiple physiological processes, and variability in concentration among individuals, data on single compounds are often difficult to interpret. Here a liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous analyses of multiple steroid hormones in cetacean blubber was validated and applied to samples from 10 stranded humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Progesterone, 17?-hydroxyprogesterone, testosterone, androstenedione, oestrone, oestradiol, cortisone, cortisol, corticosterone and 11-deoxycorticosterone were reliably (relative standard deviation on six replicates <15%) and accurately (recovery of an amended sample between 70% and 120%) quantified, but not 11-deoxycortisol. With the exception of progesterone, testosterone, oestradiol and cortisol, these compounds were quantified for the first time in humpback whales. Given that blubber is frequently collected from free-swimming cetaceans in ongoing research programs, the technique developed here could substantially strengthen understanding and monitoring of the physiological condition of these species. The article is online (free access): https://academic.oup.com/conphys/article/doi/10.1093/conphys/coz030/5540810?guestAccessKey=ce81717c-6c2a-47c2-89ec-6a9092ea5df3 Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions (greta.dalleluche at griffithuni.edu.au) Kind regards Greta - Greta Dalle Luche PhD Candidate Griffith University, Environmental Futures Research Institute (EFRI) SOPOPP | Southern Ocean Persistent Organic Pollutants Program Nathan Campus, 170 Kessels Road, QLD 4111 | Brisbane, Australia Mobile: +61/0 410 896069 | E-mail: greta.dalleluche at griffithuni.edu.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From RCarini at mmc.gov Tue Aug 6 07:57:32 2019 From: RCarini at mmc.gov (Roxanne Carini) Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2019 14:57:32 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Survey: Communicating Science for the Conservation of Marine Mammals Message-ID: Survey: Communicating Science for the Conservation of Marine Mammals https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RJCsurvey Disclaimer: This survey is part of a study being conducted by Roxanne J Carini, PhD (the principal investigator), independent of her one-year Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship at the Marine Mammal Commission. Participation is voluntary and anonymous. The purpose of this survey is to better understand attitudes/opinions and levels of engagement of those who work on marine mammal issues regarding how scientific results are applied to marine mammal conservation, policy, and management. A similar survey was originally designed and conducted in 2007 by Vicki Cornish and Raychelle Daniel, while working for the Ocean Conservancy. The survey is re-administered, with minor changes for modernization, to assess current attitudes and how they might have changed since 2007. The results of this survey will be shared as a poster presentation at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain, in December 2019 (Abstract 1121). The results will also be distributed to the MARMAM list-serve and shared broadly with interested government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and others interested in improving communication efforts related to the conservation of marine mammals. This survey will be open on SurveyMonkey for a period of six weeks (until 20 September 2019). https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RJCsurvey Thank you, Roxanne J Carini Roxanne J Carini, PhD John A Knauss Marine Policy Fellow Marine Mammal Commission rcarini at mmc.gov | 301-504-0087 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bruno at thebdri.com Mon Aug 5 02:46:52 2019 From: bruno at thebdri.com (Bruno Diaz Lopez) Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2019 09:46:52 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] Call for applications: Marine Megafauna Research Internship References: <675267381.1103865.1564998412255.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <675267381.1103865.1564998412255@mail.yahoo.com> Call for applications: Marine Megafauna Research Internship at BDRI - August-November 2019 The Marine Megafauna Research Internship program provides the opportunity for highly motivated students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and interested people to work with and learn from a multidisciplinary team of marine mammal scientists, including internationally renowned investigators. The primary aim of our internship program is to train and prepare young scientists to become future leaders in marine mammal science and conservation.? The mission of the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI, ) since 2005 is to contribute to the understanding and conservation of marine mammals and the marine environment in which they live. Our field research experience and commitment to research, education, and conservation make our center an important source of knowledge about marine biodiversity and the environment for scientists, decision-makers, students and the public. Since 2014 the BDRI performs systematic surveys to monitor charismatic marine megafauna (cetaceans, marine birds, sharks, and otters) in one of the most productive oceanic regions in the world (Galician waters, NW Spain). The BDRI office is located in a pleasant research centre located in O Grove, Galicia (NW Spain).? The BDRI is a very international environment, and the everyday working language is English. The institute and research vessels are equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, and the study area has especially good conditions for marine mammals and marine birds research. The incredible diversity of cetaceans present in these waters (22 different species recorded) allows the BDRI team to have several ongoing research projects focused on the study of the ecology and behaviour of bottlenose dolphins, harbour porpoises, Risso?s dolphins, common dolphins, striped dolphins, pilot whales, humpback whales, minke whales, sei whales, fin whales, and blue whales.? PROGRAM DESCRIPTION - An internship period at the BDRI offers an excellent opportunity for interested and motivated people to obtain field and laboratory experience in marine megafauna (cetaceans, marine birds, and otters) field research methodology and data analysis. With state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, participants will be trained to get involved with multiple research projects involving a combination of boat-based surveys onboard research vessels, land-based observations, laboratory work (photo-identification, GIS, bioacoustics, diet analysis, diving behaviour, video analysis, database work, etc), and strandings (response, rescue, necropsy, and data collection).? ?? ADDITIONAL INFORMATION - There are vacancies available from August 15th to November 1st 2019. There is no deadline to apply. However, approved applications are accepted on a first-come, first serve basis. BDRI internships are not paid and this training experience requires a tuition fee which is used to off-set the cost of training, use of research equipment, facilities and research vessels, shared accommodation, and other expenses. The fee reflects the real world costs and expenses that go into making the research program possible and the BDRI Internship Program worthwhile.? BDRI?s reputation for success rests solidly on its ability to carry out studies published in prestigious scientific journals. Scientific articles published by the BDRI team during 2019 (for a full list of publications please visit? ):? - Methion S, Diaz Lopez B (in press) Individual foraging variation drives social organization in bottlenose dolphins. Behavioral Ecology? - Diaz Lopez B, Methion S (2019) Habitat drivers of endangered rorqual whales in a highly impacted upwelling region. Ecological Indicators 103, 610 ? 616.?? - Methion B, D?az L?pez B (2019) First record of atypical pigmentation pattern in fin whale Balaenoptera physalus in the Atlantic Ocean. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms DOI: 10.3354/dao03385?? - Diaz Lopez B, Methion S, Giralt Paradell O (2019) Living on the edge: Overlap between a marine predator?s habitat use and fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic waters (NW Spain). Progress in Oceanography 175, 115 ? 223.?? - Methion S, Diaz Lopez B (2019) Natural and anthropogenic drivers of foraging behaviour in bottlenose dolphins: influence of shellfish aquaculture. Aquatic Conservation Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems? 29(6), 927-937.? - Giralt Paradell O, Diaz Lopez B, Methion S, (2019) Modelling common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) coastal distribution and habitat use: insights for conservation. Ocean and Coastal Management 179, 104836.?? - Diaz Lopez B (2019) "Hot deals at sea": responses of a top predator (Bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus) to human-induced changes in the coastal ecosystem. Behavioural Ecology 2(3), 291-300. Bruno Diaz Lopez Ph.D Chief biologist and Director The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute BDRI Avenida Beiramar 192, O Grove 36980, Pontevedra, Spain www.thebdri.com 0034 684248552 Like us on?Facebook: thebdri. Follow us on?Instagram: @thebdri. Mention us on?Twitter: @thebdri. This email is confidential to the intended recipient(s) and the contents may be legally privileged or contain proprietary and private informations. 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). Thank you for your cooperation. From immacoordinator at gmail.com Wed Aug 7 09:00:31 2019 From: immacoordinator at gmail.com (MMPATF IMMA) Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2019 17:00:31 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] *World Marine Mammal Conference Workshop Announcement - Areas of Interest (AoI) for informing the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) - Barcelona, Sunday, December 8, 12:30-17:30* Message-ID: *World Marine Mammal Conference Workshop Announcement - Areas of Interest (AoI) for informing the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) - Barcelona, Sunday, December 8, 12:30-17:30* Dear Subscribers, Later this year the IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (MMPATF) will be hosting a workshop on the use of Areas of Interest (AoI) for informing the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs). IMMAs are defined as discrete portions of habitat, important to marine mammal species, that have the potential to be delineated and managed for conservation. IMMAs consist of areas that may merit place-based protection and/or monitoring, and can be seen as a marine mammal layer indicative of biodiversity and potentially ecosystem health for consideration by governments, intergovernmental organisations, conservation groups, and the general public. Held before the World Marine Mammal Conference (WMMC) on Sunday - December 8 - in the city of Barcelona, this workshop will aim to bring together experts on global habitat data, historic whaling records, and other existing data 'triggers' which could help identify potential candidate IMMAs. Space at the workshop will be limited so please contact the workshop organisers at immacoordinator(a)gmail.com for all enquiries about the workshop and registration. For more information and queries about the workshop, and the instructions to register, please go to https://tinyurl.com/y6e48zkj - and for any other questions on the IUCN MMPATF and IMMA initiative please visit https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org Sincerely, Dr. Michael J. Tetley IMMA Programme Coordinator IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (MMPATF) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dylan at worldcetaceanalliance.org Tue Aug 6 04:52:23 2019 From: dylan at worldcetaceanalliance.org (Dylan Walker) Date: Tue, 6 Aug 2019 12:52:23 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] World Whale Conference 2019 Full Agenda Message-ID: Dear Marmamers, We are excited to announce that the full program for this October's World Whale Conference has now been published. It is summarized below. For the full program in detail please click here: https://www.worldwhaleconference.com/Conference/Conference-Program *World Whale Conference* *8th ? 11th October 2019* *The Beach House Hotel, 344 The Esplanade, Scarness, Hervey Bay, QLD 4655, Australia* *Conference Agenda* The theme for this year's conference is* ?Journeys that Inspire Change?* With 2020 just around the corner, the World Whale Conference will set out a *10-year* *manifesto* declaring our intentions, motives, and strategy to protect cetaceans and their habitats from 2020-2030. As the largest gathering of whale watching tourism experts, NGOs, scientists, artists, and individuals with a passion for all things cetacean, the World Whale Conference is the perfect place to plan for a brighter future! The conference will breathe life into the manifesto, and give us the hope and direction we need to continue on journeys that inspire change! *MONDAY 7 October - PRE-CONFERENCE DAY* *Excursions* Opportunity to head out whale watching with the Hervey Bay fleet! *Late Afternoon* WELCOME RECEPTION ------------------------------ *TUESDAY 8 October - WWC Day 1* *Journeys That Inspire Change* *Morning* *8:30 ? 9:00* Registration - Tea / Coffee on arrival *9:00 ? 9:30* Launch conference. Official Butchulla Welcome to Country *9:30 ? 10:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: *TBA *10:00 ? 10:45 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: *Thirty years with the Humpback whales of Hervey Bay: an inspirational journey Drs Trish Franklin and Wally Franklin. The Oceania Project, Australia; Southern Cross University, Australia *10:45 ? 11:15 *Morning Tea/Coffee Break *MORNING PRESENTATION SESSION: JOURNEYS THAT INSPIRE CHANGE* *11:15 ? 11:30 *Encounters with Ocean Megafauna Clint Hempsall. Professional cinematographer, Australia *11:30 ? 11:45 *Diving deeper into our relationship with whales and their Ocean home Glenn Edney. Te Wairua O Te Moananui-Ocean Spirit Charitable Trust, New Zealand *11:45 ? 12:00 *"Tails of Stellwagen - Art as Language for Communicating Science" Richard W Dolan, Boston Harbor Cruises. New England Aquarium, USA *12:00 ? 12:15 *Take 3 for the Whales Roberta Dixon-Valk. Take 3 for the Whales, Australia *12:15 ? 12:30 *Whale watching and Akrasia ? an uneasy relationship? Michael L?ck1 and David A. Fennell2 1 Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; 2 Brock University, St Catharines, Canada *12:30 ? 12:45 *Connecting cetaceans with people living far from the sea Ursula Tscherter. Marine biologist and educator, Switzerland *12:45 ? 13:00 *The humpback whale, Madagascar's new emblematic species Anjara Saloma, Marine Charton, Fran?ois-Xavier Mayer, Didier Cabocel, Fran?ois Mailh?, Paolo Lamano, Dina Andrianaivoravelona, Henry Bellon. Cetamada, Madagascar *13:00 ? 14:00* Lunch *14:00 ? 14:15 *The Transformational Power of Swimming with Whales Mette Lubczyk. Senior Swim-with Guide, Tonga *14:15 - 14:30 *What?s in the message? Unpacking message delivery in Australian whale watching tours. Dr Liz Hawkins & Dr Kay Dimmock. Dolphin Research Australia & Southern Cross University, Australia *14:30 ? 15:30 *Workshop: How do we encourage people to act to protect cetaceans and our oceans? Led by Suzanne Rogers, Jo White and Matthew Payne. Human Behaviour Change For Animals, UK *15:30 ? 16:00: *Coffee break *LATE AFTERNOON PRESENTATION SESSION: EXPLORING WHALE MIGRATIONS* *16:00 ? 16:15 *A current affair: associations between the East Australian Current and humpback whale entanglement in Queensland shark-control nets Jessica A. Bolin; David S. Schoeman, Carme Piza-Roca, Kylie L. Scales. Global-Change Ecology Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia *16:15 ? 16:30 *East Australian humpback whales calving on the northern migration: evidence from the Gold Coast Bay, Queensland, Australia Torre-Williams, L1,2, Reinke, J. 2,3, Meynecke, J.O. 2,3, Martinez, E.1,4 1Coastal-Marine Research Group, School of Natural and Computational Sciences, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand; 2Griffith Centre for Coastal Management, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia; 3 Humpbacks and High-rises, Queensland, Australia; 4 Applied and Environmental Sciences Department, NorthTec, Whang?rei 0148, New Zealand *16:30 ? 16:45 *Investigating migration patterns of the humpback whale population D and E1 using citizen science. Jan-Olaf Meynecke, Sarah McCulloch. Humpbacks & High-rises, Griffith Centre for Coastal Management, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia *16:45 ? 17:00 *Monitoring a threatened beluga whale population using photographic identification Kasey Ryan (Presenter) 1, S. Ferguson1,2, M. Marcoux1,2, W.R. Koski3, B. Young2, and C. Watt1,2 1University of Manitoba, Winnipeg MB, Canada; 2Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg MB, Canada; 3LGL Limited, King City ON, Canada *17:00 ? 17:15 *A cost-effective approach for photogrammetry of free-roaming whales Emily A. Gregory, Vikki Schaffer, Javier X. Leon, Carmen Piza-Roca, Kylie L. Scales. University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia *17:15 ? 17:30 *Tired eyes no more: Automated image recognition of humpback whale fluke identification surpasses human manual matching. Ted Cheeseman, Ken Southerland, Jinmo Park, & Phillip Clapham. Southern Cross University, Australia; Happywhale; ESTsoft; NOAA, USA ------------------------------ *WEDNESDAY 9 October WWC DAY 2* *Towards responsible tourism for whales and dolphins* *Morning* *8:30 ? 9:00* Doors open, Tea / Coffee on arrival *9:00 ? 9:15 *Welcome and introductions *9:15 ? 10:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: *The whale watching journey. What have we learned over 50 years of growth? Professor Mark Orams. Sustainability Research Centre, USC Business School, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia; School of Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand *MORNING PRESENTATION SESSION: RESPONSIBLE IN-WATER ENCOUNTERS WITH CETACEANS* *10:00 ? 10:45* Short talks *10:00 ? 10:15 *A review of commercial swim tours with Humpback whales in Australia Raquel Trejo , Brendan P. Kelaher, Anna Scott , Jan-Olaf Meynecke, & Matt Curnock. National Marine Science Centre and Marine Ecology Research Centre, Southern Cross University, Australia; Griffith Centre for Coastal Management, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia; CSIRO Land and Water,c/- ATSIP Building, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia *10:15 ? 10:30 *What do we know about whales in Hervey Bay and how we can protect them? Stephanie Stack. Pacific Whale Foundation, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia *10:30 ? 10:45 *Swim-with-humpback whales in Vava?u, Kingdom of Tonga: Behavioural responses of mothers and calves to swimmer approaches Lorenzo Fiori, Emmanuelle Martinez, Mark B. Orams, Barbara Bollard. Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand *10:45 ? 11:15 *Coffee break *11:15 ? 11:30 *Risky business: Demographics of highly interactive dwarf minke whales during swim-with encounters Suzanne Hillcoat, Dr Alastair Birtles, Dr Naomi Gardiner, Dr Matt Curnock. James Cook University; CSIRO, Australia *11:30 ? 11:45 *?A match made in heaven? Swim-with-cetaceans programs and citizen science provide exceptionally rich opportunities for research? Alastair Birtles, Suzanne Hillcoat, Emily Daley, Claire Barr & Martha Brians. James Cook University, Australia *11:45 ? 12:00 *Exploring the influence of social media on swim-with-whale tourist behaviour: A case study of swim-with humpback whales tourism in Niue Chantal D. Pagel1, Mark Orams1,2, Michael L?ck1. 1Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand; 2University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia *AFTERNOON PRESENTATION SESSION: RESPONSIBLE WHALE WATCHING* *12:00 ? 12:15 *Towards a sustainable whale watching in Reunion island in the South West Indian Ocean: assessing and mitigating humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) tourism disturbance Ludovic Hoarau, Dalleau Mayeul, Delaspre Sylvain, Landes Anne-Emmanuelle. CEDTM (Centre d'Etude et de D?couverte des Tortues Marines), R?union Island *12:15 ? 12:30 *Whale watching tourism promoting the development of coastal communities and local professionals in Brazil Sergio Cipolotti. Humpback Whale Institute, Brazil *12:30 ? 12:45 *When visiting whales in Juneau, Alaska ? Are there enough to go around? Suzie Teerlink. NOAA Fisheries, USA *13:00 ? 14:00 *Lunch *14:00 ? 14:30 Keynote address: *Doing Well by Doing Good: The Importance of Social Enterprise Models in Sustainable Whale Watching Paul Forestell, Ph.D. Pacific Whale Foundation, Hawaii, USA *14:30 ? 14:45 *New Zealand?s Marine Mammals Protection Regulations (MMPR): Why are different user groups violating them? Yasmine M. Elmahdy, Mark B. Orams, Michael L?ck. School of Sport and Recreation, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; USC Business School and Sustainability Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia; School of Hospitality and Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand *14:45 ? 15:00 *The legal frameworks of whale watching activities in the Indian Ocean: evaluating the most effective tools to mitigate whale-watching abuse for the ?whale route? project St?phanie Sorby. University of R?union Island, IRD *15:00 ? 15:15* The dolphin captivity problem and possible solutions Nick Stewart. Global Head of Wildlife ? Dolphins, World Animal Protection, UK *15:15 ? 15:45 *Expert Panel Q&A. What does the future for whale and dolphin tourism look like? *15:45 ? 16:15 *Coffee break *16:15 ? 17:30 *IDEAS EXCHANGE SESSION! How responsible whale watching can save Planet Earth! *17:30 ? 18:30* World Cetacean Alliance Partner meeting / AGM *THURSDAY 10 October WWC DAY 3:* The Power of Local Communities to Protect Whales and Dolphins On site and across Hervey Bay all day *Morning* MORNING WHALE WATCH - Official Conference Event. *08:00 ? 12:00* *Responsible whale watching tour * Take a trip out to see the whales and learn more about responsible whale watching practices. *Afternoon* *14:00 ? 17:00* *The Hervey Bay story* Hear the Hervey Bay story from the local people across Hervey Bay. *Unveiling the Whale Sculpture* The art piece, to be constructed of sustainable bamboo, will represent a humpback whale and calf, signifying the importance of Hervey Bay?s annual ?whale nursery? in the calm waters between K?gari Fraser Island and the mainland. *Evening* *19:30 ? 22:00 *An Evening with Whale People *19:30 ? 20:00. *Video presentations *19:30 ? 19:45 *Educating kids about oceans in their habitat Aeon Bashir, Menaka Nagarajan. Aeon for Ocean, Minnesota, USA *19:45 ? 20:00 *Effects of the interaction with charismatic species on people's environmental awareness in Baja California Sur, Mexico Mar?a Laura Marc?as, Christian Salvadeo, Lizbeth Salgado-Beltran. Universidad Aut?noma de Baja California Sur, Baja California *20:00 ? 22:00* Whale People ? a collection of art and stories about two communities separated by a watery divide! ------------------------------ *FRIDAY 11 October WHS DAY 1:* Whale Conservation and Heritage Awards *Morning* Whale Heritage Sites Summit *Morning session:* *8:30 ? 9:00* Doors open, Tea / Coffee on arrival *9:00 ? 9:30* Keynote address: Glen Miller *9:30 ? 10:45* *Whale Heritage Sites* Celebrating achievements across our network of Whale Heritage Sites and announcing newly certified sites. *10:45 ? 11.15* Morning Tea/Coffee break *11:15 ? 13:00* *Celebrating cetaceans* How to create small and big events that will inspire the next generation of ocean advocates and meet a key criterion for Whale Heritage Site certification! *13:00 ? 14:00* Lunch *Afternoon * *14:00 ? 16:00* Whale Conservation Awards *16:00 ? 16:30* Afternoon Tea/Coffee *16:30 ? 17:00* Launch: Manifesto for Whales and Dolphins ? WCA plan for the next 10 years! *17:00 ? 17:30* Executive summary and close *Evening* *19:00* Dinner at The Hervey Bay Boat Club (raffle / auction / fancy dress / fun!) (details to be announced soon). *SATURDAY 12 October* Stranding Response Workshop: ORRCA (Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia) led Stranding Response Theoretical and Practical Training (To Be Confirmed) *Morning Session:* Stranding Response theory session Preparing for a rescue incident Venue: University Sunshine Coast, Fraser Coast Campus (TBC) *Afternoon Training:* Put our community training to the test on the beach (main beach near the pier, TBC) *Presentation of certificates to all attendees* *Dylan Walker *Chief Executive Officer *World Cetacean Alliance* Studio 3, Lower Promenade Madeira Drive, Brighton, BN2 1ET, UK. t: +44 (0) 1273 355011 c: +44 (0) 7900 471490 e: dylan at worldcetaceanalliance.org World Whale Conference 2019 The World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) is a Partnership of over 100 organisations and individuals in 40 countries worldwide working collaboratively to protect cetaceans and their habitats. World Cetacean Alliance, the Secretariat to the Partnership, is a UK registered Charity no. 1160484. The content of this e-mail is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received this communication in error, be aware that forwarding it, copying it, or in any way disclosing its content to any other person, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the author by replying to this e-mail immediately. Please consider the environment before printing this email or it's attachments. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jamesrichardrobbins at googlemail.com Thu Aug 8 06:11:04 2019 From: jamesrichardrobbins at googlemail.com (James Robbins) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 14:11:04 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Group feeding recorded in leopard seals Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce that the following article has been published in *Polar Biology*: Robbins JR, Poncet D, Evans AR, Hocking, DP. (2019). A rare observation of group prey processing in wild leopard seals (*Hydrurga leptonyx*). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-019-02542-z Abstract: Cooperative feeding is often observed among predators with strong social bonds; however, it is unexpected in solitary predators. During 2016, several mass predation events were witnessed in St Andrews Bay and Right Whale Bay, South Georgia, where up to 36 leopard seals (*Hydrurga leptonyx*) were seen feeding together at king penguin (*Aptenodytes patagonicus*) colonies. Three post-mortem prey-processing events were observed where two leopard seals actively fed on the same carcass in an unusual display of tolerance for a species where anti-social behaviour is the norm. The seals were observed repeatedly tearing adult king penguins between themselves, while floating alongside each other at the surface of the water. This is the first record of co-feeding in this difficult-to-study species; however, it is expected that the behaviour is rare within the population. We propose that the high density of predators combined with the readily available prey, makes it costlier to defend a kill than it is to tolerate kleptoparasitism. It is unclear whether this behaviour shows cooperative feeding, which would likely enable more efficient prey processing: by holding the prey in their jaws, each seal provides an anchor on the prey that others can pull against to stretch and tear it. The article can be accessed with the following link, but feel free to contact me (jamesrichardrobbins at googlemail.com) for a PDF. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-019-02542-z Best wishes, James Robbins -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From severine at thebdri.com Thu Aug 8 06:24:33 2019 From: severine at thebdri.com (Severine Methion) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 13:24:33 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: hypopigmentation in fin whale References: <1636777467.2743365.1565270673437.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1636777467.2743365.1565270673437@mail.yahoo.com> Dear MARMAM colleagues, We are pleased to announce our new publication: Methion S, Diaz Lopez B (2019).?First record of atypical pigmentation pattern in fin whale Balaenoptera physalus in the Atlantic Ocean. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 135:121-125. DOI: 10.3354/dao03385? Abstract Atypical pigmentation, which is rarely observed in the wild, may influence social interactions between animals and can be detrimental for survival. Hypopigmentation, which is the lack of pigment in a part or on the entire body, is a type of atypical pigmentation pattern that can be either acquired (e.g. vitiligo) or congenital resulting from the inheritance of mutations in pigment-related genes (e.g. albinism, leucism and piebaldism). This study documents atypical pigmentation in a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) along the northwestern coast of the Iberian Peninsula (Atlantic Ocean). Photographic and video data collected between 2016 and 2017 on 30 individual fin whales were examined. One fully-grown fin whale exhibited hypopigmentation. Several white patches of different shapes and sizes were present across the body of the fin whale including on the head, body, dorsal fin, flippers, and flukes. The position, shape, and lack of inflammation of the white patches on the whale observed, along with its body length and condition might indicate that the depigmentation pattern is due to vitiligo. To our knowledge, this is the first case of atypical pigmentation pattern in fin whales described with photographs and video records. As these observations are rare, especially in highly migratory, long-lived, marine mammal species, this study provides valuable information to better understand the occurrence of this phenomenon. Further studies are needed to determine the ecological and physiological implications of abnormal colourations, which might have a significant influence on the animal?s survival. The article can be found at the following link:?https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/dao/v135/n2/p121-125/ Feel free to contact me to request a pdf or for any question regarding our work at:?severine at thebdri.com Best regards, Severine Methion, MSc PhD candidate, Universit? de Bordeaux Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute BDRI Av. Beiramar 192, 36980, O Grove, Pontevedra, Spain www.thebdri.com From oliverhooker at prstatistics.com Thu Aug 8 07:19:16 2019 From: oliverhooker at prstatistics.com (Oliver Hooker) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 15:19:16 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] R Package design and development and reproducible data science for biologists - FREE ACCOMMODATION Message-ID: COURSE ON - R Package design and development and reproducible data science for biologists (RPKG01) with free accommodation. PR statistics now has a new accommodation option implemented allowing a limited amount of places with free accommodation. The next 5 people to register for this course will receive free accommodation if they require it (this does not apply to people working in industry). https://www.prstatistics.com/course/r-package-design-and-development-and-reproducible-data-science-for-biologists-rpkg01/ Please email oliverhooker at prstatistics.com with inquiries This course will be delivered by Dr. Cory Merow and Dr Andy Rominger from the 16th - 20th September 2019 in Glasgow City Centre. Course overview: This course will help students develop professional R coding skills by leading them through the process of making reproducible, sharable and easily communicated software centered around developing fully functional R packages and extensions and is thus applicable to any biologists working in the field of marine mammals. In addition to teaching traditional uses of R packages to share quantitative tools, we?ll also show how R packages can be easily developed for individual research projects to share reproducible results. To develop skills, we?ll build several R packages full of useful and general utility functions that will hone coding skills and teach coding tips through the design of these functions. Each day, we?ll reserve time for open work sessions where students can receive mentoring while applying new skills to developing their own application specific package or refining the packages we?re developing for the course. Intended Audience: Anyone wanting to make their data science work accessible, reproducible and usable by others (the importance of specific R packages has grown considerable now that they are frequently cited in peer reviewed literature). This can include researches developing their own quantitative tools or those interested in taking the next step in making their research projects fully reproducible and easily shared. Course program: Monday 16th ? Classes from 09:30 to 17:30 We?ll begin with polishing core skills in the creation, documentation and distribution of code: Writing functions Making your code reproducible by documenting it with RMarkdown and ROxygen Making your first package, breaking it, then fixing it Package structure Tuesday 17th ? Classes from 09:30 to 17:30 Next we dive into specifics critical for the success of collaborative, reproducible and sharable projects: Principles of software development and reproducible projects Writing useful documentation and examples Error handling Collaboration with git and GitHub Wednesday 18th ? Classes from 09:30 to 17:30 We will continue learning about the details that help to make a package robust to different use cases: Dependencies, and achieving independency Unit Testing Vignettes The rules of CRAN and GitHub Thursday 19th ? Classes from 09:30 to 17:30 By now students will have fulling functioning, collaboratively produced, and reproducible R packages. We now turn to two key aspects of software usability: its computational burden, and its cognitive burden. Put simply, we will focus today on making code computationally fast and easy for users to quickly and intuitively understand. Writing fast code Profiling code for speed S3 and S4 objects Friday 20th ? Classes from 09:30 to 16:00 On the final day we will culminate our software development by learning and implementing powerful ways to share our projects with a large audience. Adding a shiny web app to a project Publishing your own package Email oliverhooker at prstatistics.com Check out our sister sites, www.PRstatistics.com (Ecology and Life Sciences) www.PRstatistics.com/consultancy (Statistical and bioinformatics consultancy in all fields) www.PRinformatics.com (Bioinformatics and data science) www.PSstatistics.com (Behaviour and cognition) 1. September 2nd ? 6th 2019 APPLIED METHODS FOR ANALYSING CAPTURE-RECAPTURE (MARK-RECAPTURE) DATA USING SPATIALLY EXPLICIT AND NON-SPATIAL TECHNIQUES (MARK01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Joanne Potts, Dr. David Borchers https://www.prstatistics.com/course/applied-methods-for-analysing-capture-recapture-mark-recapture-data-using-spatially-explicit-and-non-spatial-techniques-mark01/ 2. September 9th ? 13th 2019 GENERALISED LINEAR (MIXED) (GLMM), NONLINEAR (NLGLM) AND GENERAL ADDITIVE MODELS (MIXED) (GAMM) (GNAM01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Mark Andrews https://www.psstatistics.com/course/generalised-linear-glm-nonlinear-nlglm-and-general-additive-models-gam-gnam01/ 3. September 16th ? 20th 2019 STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELS, PATH ANALYSIS, CAUSAL MODELLING AND LATENT VARIABLE MODELS USING R (SMPA01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Mark Andrews https://www.psstatistics.com/course/structural-equation-modelling-and-path-analysis-smpa01/ 4. September 16th ? 20th 2019 R PACKAGE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCIBLE DATA SCIENCE FOR BIOLOGISTS (RPKG01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Cory Merow, Dr. Andy Rominger https://www.prstatistics.com/course/r-package-design-and-development-and-reproducible-data-science-for-biologists-rpkg01/ 5. September 23rd ? 27th 2019 PYTHON FOR DATA SCIENCE, MACHINE LEARNING, AND SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING (PDMS01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Mark Andrews https://www.psstatistics.com/course/python-for-data-science-machine-learning-and-scientific-computing-pdms01/ 6. September 30th ? October 4th 2019 THE PRACTICE OF RADSEQ: POPULATION GENOMICS ANALYSIS WITH STACKS (RDSQ01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Julien Catchen https://www.prinformatics.com/course/the-practice-of-radseq-population-genomics-analysis-with-stacks-rdsq01/ 7. September 30th ? October 4th 2019 INTRODUCTION TO LINUX WORKFLOWS FOR BIOLOGISTS (IBUL04) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Martin Jones https://www.prinformatics.com/course/introduction-to-linux-workflows-for-biologists-ibul04/ 8. October 7th ? 11th 2019 CONSERVATION PLANNING USING PRIORITIZR : FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE (PRTZ01) Athens, GREECE, Dr Richard Schuster and Nina Morell https://www.prstatistics.com/course/conservation-planning-using-prioritizr-from-theory-to-practice-prtz01/ 9. October 14th ? 18th 2019 GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS USING R (GMMR02) Glasgow, Scotland, Prof. Dean Adams, Prof. Michael Collyer, Dr. Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou http://www.prstatistics.com/course/geometric-morphometrics-using-r-gmmr02/ 10. October 14th ? 18th 2019 INTRODUCTION TO BEHAVIOURAL DATA ANALYSIS USINR R (IBDA01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Will Hoppitt https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-behavioural-data-analysis-using-r-ibda01/ 11. October 21st ? 25th 2019 MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES USING THE VEGAN PACKAGE (VGNR01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Guillaume Blanchet www.prstatistics.com/course/multivariate-analysis-of-ecological-communities-in-r-with-the-vegan-package-vgnr01/ 12. November 4th ? 8th 2019 INTRODUCTION TO BAYESIAN DATA ANALYSIS FOR SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES USING R AND STAN (BDRS02) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Mark Andrews https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-bayesian-data-analysis-for-social-and-behavioural-sciences-using-r-and-stan-bdrs02/ 13. November 4th ? 8th 2019 BEHAVIOURAL DATA ANALYSIS USING MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD (BDML02) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Will Hoppitt https://www.psstatistics.com/course/behavioural-data-analysis-using-maximum-likelihood-bdml02/ 14. November 11th ? 15th 2019 APPLIED BAYESIAN MODELLING FOR ECOLOGISTS AND EPIDEMIOLOGISTS (ABME05) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Matt Denwood, Emma Howard https://www.prstatistics.com/course/applied-bayesian-modelling-for-ecologists-and-epidemiologists-abme05/ 15. November 18th ? 22nd 2019 INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURED POPULATION MODELS AND DEMOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION MODELS (IIPM01) Athens, GREECE, Dr Cory Merow https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-structured-population-models-and-demographic-distribution-models-iipm01/ 16. November 18th ? 22nd 2019 GEOSTATISTICS ? HANDLING SPATIAL AND SPATIAL-TEMPORAL DATA USING R (GSFE01) Wimmipeg, CANADA, Dr Guillaume Blanchet https://www.prstatistics.com/course/geostatistics-handling-spatial-and-spatial-temporal-data-using-r-gsfe01/ 17. November 25th ? 29th 2019 ADVANCED RANGE, NICHE, AND DISTRIBUTION MODELING (ASDM01) Athens, GREECE, Dr Cory Merow https://www.prstatistics.com/course/advanced-range-niche-and-distribution-modeling-asdm01/ 18. January 20th ? 24th2020 R4ALL ? INTRODUCTION TO R (R4ALL Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Andrew Beckerman, Dr. Dylan Childs https://www.prstatistics.com/course/population-genetics-inference-with-migrate-pgmg01/ 19. March 16th ? 20th 2020 POPULATION GENETICS INFERENCE WITH ?MIGRATE? (PGMG01) Glasgow, Scotland, Prof. Peter Beerli https://www.prstatistics.com/course/population-genetics-inference-with-migrate-pgmg01/ 20. May 11th ? 15th 2020 FORMALIZING UNCERTAINTY: FUZZY LOGIC IN SPECIES DISTRIBUTION AND DIVERSITY PATTERNS (FLDM01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Marcia Barbosa https://www.prstatistics.com/course/formalizing-uncertainty-fuzzy-logic-in-species-distribution-and-diversity-patterns-fldm01/ 21. May 18th ? 22nd 2020 STRUCTUAL EQUATION MODELLING FOR ECOLOGISTS AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGISTS (SEMR02) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Jonathan Lefcheck, Dr. Jim (james) Grace https://www.prstatistics.com/course/structural-equation-modelling-for-ecologists-and-evolutionary-biologists-semr02/ 22. October 5th ? 9th 2020 ECOLOGICAL NICHE MODELLING USING R (ENMR04) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Neftali Sillero http://www.prstatistics.com/course/ecological-niche-modelling-using-r-enmr04/ 23. October 11th ? 16th 2020 ADVANCED ECOLOGICAL NICHE MODELLING USING R (ABNMR01) Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Neftali Sillero http://www.prstatistics.com/course/advanced-ecological-niche-modelling-using-r-anmr01/ -- Oliver Hooker PhD. PR statistics 2019 publications; A way forward with eco evo devo: an extended theory of resource polymorphism with postglacial fishes as model systems. Biological Reviews (2019). prstatistics.com facebook.com/prstatistics/ twitter.com/PRstatistics groups.google.com/d/forum/pr-statistics-post-course-forum prstatistics.com/organiser/oliver-hooker/ 6 Hope Park Crescent Edinburgh EH8 9NA +44 (0) 7966500340 From eringutbrod at gmail.com Thu Aug 8 21:44:20 2019 From: eringutbrod at gmail.com (Erin Meyer-Gutbrod) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 21:44:20 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Ocean Sciences Meeting 2020 session: Climate Impacts on Marine Species Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, The 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting < https://www2.agu.org/ocean-sciences-meeting/> will take place 16-21 February 2020 in San Diego, California. We are chairing a new session entitled "Climate Impacts on Marine Species" (PC002) < https://agu.confex.com/agu/osm20/prelim.cgi/Session/85723>. This session is an opportunity to exchange ideas about natural and anthropogenic climate effects on marine species. We welcome studies that focus on a wide variety of taxa, including fish, marine mammals, seabirds, corals, invertebrates and plankton. We also welcome research on adopting fishery and/or marine conservation policies in response to climate impacts. Please consider submitting an abstract: < https://agu.confex.com/agu/osm20/pc/papers/index.cgi?sessionid=85723>. Abstracts are due by 11 September 2019. More information on the session is below. Topic: Past, Present and Future Climate Title: Climate impacts on marine species Session ID: PC002 The marine environment is disproportionately impacted by climate change, as evidenced through increasing water temperature, ocean acidification, deoxygenation, rising sea levels, shifting circulation patterns and increased storm activity. We invite presentations that explore the observed or modeled response of marine organisms to climate variability or climate change. Recent studies have revealed climate-mediated declines in some marine species, while others have shown remarkable resilience to climate change. For example, Arctic sea ice loss threatens species that rely on ice for habitat such as polar bears and ringed seals, whereas tuna species that target moderate sea surface temperatures may experience range expansion. Ecological impacts can derive from changes in physiology, bioenergetics, abundance, distribution, habitat, community structure, reproduction, behavior, and phenology. A wide range of marine organisms will be considered, including invertebrates, fish, reptiles, mammals, and sea birds. We also invite presentations that explore climate impacts on marine fisheries in terms of spatial distribution, changing target species and/or gear type, or simply the challenges faced by fisheries management in a changing climate. This session will showcase observed and predicted responses of marine organisms to climate change and provide a venue for researchers to contrast climate-driven phenomena across regions and taxa. Erin Meyer-Gutbrod; University of California, Santa Barbara; elmg at ucsb.edu Vincent S Saba; NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service; Vincent.Saba at noaa.gov Kristin Liisa Laidre; Polar Science Center; klaidre at uw.edu Barbara Muhling; University of California, Santa Cruz; barbara.muhling at noaa.gov -- Erin Meyer-Gutbrod, Ph.D. http://meyer-gutbrod.weebly.com/ Marine Science Institute; Rm 3405 University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93106-6150 eringutbrod at gmail.com 216-548-9082 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From footead at gmail.com Thu Aug 8 04:57:44 2019 From: footead at gmail.com (Andy Foote) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 12:57:44 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on killer whale genomics Message-ID: Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce the publication of our new paper analysing a global dataset of killer whales in the current issue of Molecular Ecology ( https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15099) and is accompanied by a perspective piece focusing on a key finding of archaic 'ghost' ancestry in the Antarctic types (https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15141). To help non-geneticists follow the methods used and the interpretation of results in this study, I've posted a walk through of the results ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtfVBVFNDMM&t=11s). I will try and upload a more polished and scripted version soon. And I hope to upload more overview videos to this Footenotes channel and a website (footenotes.org) under construction. The abstract of the paper is pasted below. - Andy Foote and coauthors Killer whale genomes reveal a complex history of recurrent admixture and vicariance Andrew D. Foote, Michael D. Martin, Marie Louis, George Pacheco, Kelly M. Robertson, Mikkel?Holger S. Sinding, Ana R. Amaral, Robin W. Baird, Charles Scott Baker, Lisa Ballance, Jay Barlow, Andrew Brownlow, Tim Collins, Rochelle Constantine, Willy Dabin, Luciano Dalla Rosa, Nicholas J. Davison, John W. Durban, Ruth Esteban, Steven H. Ferguson, Tim Gerrodette, Christophe Guinet, M. Bradley Hanson, Wayne Hoggard, Cory J. D. Matthews, Filipa I. P. Samarra, Renaud de Stephanis, Sara B. Tavares, Paul Tixier, John A. Totterdell, Paul Wade, Laurent Excoffier, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Jochen B. W. Wolf & Phillip A. Morin Reconstruction of the demographic and evolutionary history of populations assuming a consensus tree?like relationship can mask more complex scenarios, which are prevalent in nature. An emerging genomic toolset, which has been most comprehensively harnessed in the reconstruction of human evolutionary history, enables molecular ecologists to elucidate complex population histories. Killer whales have limited extrinsic barriers to dispersal and have radiated globally, and are therefore a good candidate model for the application of such tools. Here, we analyse a global data set of killer whale genomes in a rare attempt to elucidate global population structure in a nonhuman species. We identify a pattern of genetic homogenisation at lower latitudes and the greatest differentiation at high latitudes, even between currently sympatric lineages. The processes underlying the major axis of structure include high drift at the edge of species' range, likely associated with founder effects and allelic surfing during postglacial range expansion. Divergence between Antarctic and non?Antarctic lineages is further driven by ancestry segments with up to four?fold older coalescence time than the genome?wide average; relicts of a previous vicariance during an earlier glacial cycle. Our study further underpins that episodic gene flow is ubiquitous in natural populations, and can occur across great distances and after substantial periods of isolation between populations. Thus, understanding the evolutionary history of a species requires comprehensive geographic sampling and genome?wide data to sample the variation in ancestry within individuals. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mshero at whoi.edu Fri Aug 9 00:11:22 2019 From: mshero at whoi.edu (Michelle Shero) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2019 03:11:22 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Recruiting - 3 PhD Opportunities Message-ID: Recruiting 3 PhD students at: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Texas Tech University, and University of Nevada Las Vegas in Marine Mammal Physiology, Behavior, and Genetics We are seeking PhD candidates to work on an NSF-funded project using Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica as a model to examine why some individuals within populations produce more offspring than others. The successful candidates will be part of a highly-collaborative team that aims to distinguish which plastic (physiologic and behavioral) and fixed (genetic) traits make some ?robust? female Weddell seals particularly successful at producing pups year-after-year, while other ?frail? females produce far fewer pups throughout their lifetime than the population?s average. The positions ideally would begin Fall 2020, but it would be possible to start later. Student research projects will reflect program needs in the following core fields, but will also be tailored to student interest. Physiology: One student will focus on the physiological factors that impact energy dynamics, aerobic capacity, and reproductive success so experience with biochemistry/molecular labwork is a plus. Example projects include studying female-to-pup energy transfer during lactation in ?robust? vs ?frail? female Weddell seals, links between female physiologic dive capacities and her pup?s, and differences in female reproductive phenology (ovulation timing, pregnancy rates, pregnancy loss) and hormones between ?robust? and ?frail? seals. This student would be housed at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution?s Biology Department, in a joint-program with MIT, advised by Dr. Michelle Shero (www.shero-lab.com ). Details on the WHOI/MIT joint PhD program and admission criteria can be found at http://mit.whoi.edu/program-description , applications due Dec 15. Behavior & Bioenergetics: One student will focus on year-round foraging behavior and the impact this has on activity budgets and bioenergetics, so any prior modeling or programming experience would be viewed favorably. Example projects include studying female-pup pair dive behavior during lactation, differences in summer/winter dive behavior between ?robust? and ?frail? seals, impacts of physiology on post-weaned pup dive behavior, and developing a bioenergetics model to identify crucial deviations in how ?robust? vs ?frail? seals navigate critical life history events. This student would be housed at Texas Tech University?s Department of Biological Sciences with Dr. Jennifer Burns (http://burnslab.wix.com/burnslab ). Prospective student information can be found at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/biology/academics/graduate/prospective-students/ , applications due Jan 15. Genomics: One student will focus on the inherent genomic differences between ?robust? and ?frail? Weddell seals, so experience with bioinformatics analysis would be an asset. Example projects include identifying genetic variants in genes responsible for energy allocation, aerobic scope, and fertility between Weddell seal cohorts through whole-genome sequencing. This student would also perform experiments to demonstrate that genetic variants ultimately have functional effects on animal phenotype (i.e., transcription, translation), and there is additional opportunity for cell culture experiments. This student would be advised by Dr. Allyson Hindle (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Allyson_Hindle ) at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and would also work closely with Dr. Brandon Briggs (University of Alaska Anchorage; https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/biological-sciences/faculty/briggs.cshtml ). Interested students should see: https://www.unlv.edu/degree/phd-biological-sciences ; application deadline is Jan 15. Preference will be given to highly motivated candidates with a Bachelor of Science or Master of Science degree in biology or closely related field, who have a strong academic record, and that enjoy working both in the laboratory and field. Candidates must be physically fit, able to work long hours outdoors in the cold, able to pass medical and dental screening criteria for long deployments in remote field locations and be the holder of a valid passport (U.S. or other). Prior laboratory and/or field research in ecology of mammals is a plus. The successful applicants will spend 2-4 months in the field at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, each year. The grant/institutions will provide student stipend and tuition, and students will be expected to occasionally work as a teaching assistant (varies slightly by institution). The positions are open until filled. Interested applicants should contact Dr. Michelle Shero at > and provide a C.V., unofficial transcript, and a cover letter that indicates which project aspect(s) is/are of greatest interest to the applicant. For further information, please also contact Michelle Shero. Dr. Michelle R. Shero Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 266 Woods Hole Rd MS#50 Woods Hole, MA 02543 508-289-3961 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ann.marie.jacoby at duke.edu Thu Aug 8 16:59:11 2019 From: ann.marie.jacoby at duke.edu (Ann-Marie Jacoby) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 23:59:11 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project Field Assistant Ad Message-ID: Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project Field Assistant Ad The Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project (PCDP) is seeking two dedicated research assistants for the upcoming fall field season (September 3rd to October 23rd, 2019) in Heathsville, Virginia, USA. The PCDP was established in 2015 by Professor Janet Mann of Georgetown University. The PCDP?s mission is to better understand and protect bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Chesapeake Bay and greater western North Atlantic Ocean. Despite being the largest, and most populated estuary in the US, almost nothing is known about bottlenose dolphins in the Chesapeake. Yet, reports of dolphins in the area date back to the 1800s, with sightings as close as 13km from the US? capitol, Washington, DC. This field season is part of an ongoing PhD project studying the populations dynamics, behavior, and historical presence of bottlenose dolphins in the Potomac River-Chesapeake Bay area. Field work is demanding and requires long hours both on and off the water. There is no guarantee of seeing dolphins on a daily basis given their seasonal presence. However, when dolphins are sighted, there can be well over 100 in a group and spending time with them is incredibly fun and rewarding. Field assistants will gain valuable research experience. We particularly encourage those interested in pursuing graduate school in marine mammalogy to apply. Timeframe: ~2 months Field site: Heathsville, Virginia, USA. Heathsville is approximately 200km south east of Washington, D.C. in the Northern Neck of Virginia. Our field site is located where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Even though Heathsville is in relatively close proximity to DC, Heathsville is remote. We do have a fieldhouse with electricity, water, limited cell phone service, and limited internet. Housing will be provided, and the research team will share cooking and cleaning responsibilities in a communal kitchen. We eat a predominantly vegetarian diet. Job responsibilities: Research assistants will help collect transect and behavioral surveys on bottlenose dolphins. Boat work is dependent on weather, but even on windy days we need to be ready to pack up and quickly get out on the water if the wind drops. Days on the water can be consecutive, long, and tiring in variable environmental conditions (often very hot and humid conditions). Days on land require extensive, and tedious, data entry and processing. Most of your time will be spent: -Searching for and spotting dolphins -Driving the boat -Scribing data during surveys -Entering transect surveys and coding photographs on the computer -Doing basic maintenance and equipment prep and cleaning Qualifications: The ideal candidate will be a recent graduate with a science background and a genuine interest in marine mammal science and behavior. This position is well suited for recent graduates of marine biology, animal behavior, zoology, ecology, or similar fields looking to gain additional analytical and in-field experience. Applicants must be able to work closely with a small team (3 people). We not only work together, but also live, cook, and eat together, so being mature and a strong team player is critical. The candidate must: -Possess basic computer skills -Be detail oriented, flexible, and patient -Possess excellent verbal and communication skills -Work well both independently and in a team -Be fluent in English -Have prior research experience (preferably fieldwork) -Be comfortable on a small boat -Be prepared to work long, consecutive days, including weekends The most essential qualifications are that you are flexible, conscientious, and hard-working, and are excited about the research. Salary/funding: This is an unpaid, volunteer position. However, all living expenses (housing, food, and internet) will be fully covered by the project. If you are unable to pay for domestic travel to and from the field site due to any student loans, or other moderate monthly expenses, that could prevent you from accepting this position, please apply anyway. If you are selected, we may be able to use other sources of funding to cover those expenses so that you can take the job. We particularly want to encourage candidates from groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields to apply. If interested please email Ann-Marie Jacoby at amj58 at duke.edu with the subject line Research Assistant Last_Name. Application review will begin immediately, and candidates will be evaluated until the position is filled. In the email, please include: 1. A cover letter describing your research interests, the skills and strengths that you will bring to the position, and what you hope to gain from the project and apply to your career. Please list the full range of your skills, both practical (boat handling, photography, etc.) and academic (statistics, computer programming, etc.). 2. CV 3. A copy of your unofficial transcript 4. Email contacts for 2 references -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tracycollier at oceanassoc.com Thu Aug 8 14:06:16 2019 From: tracycollier at oceanassoc.com (Tracy Collier) Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2019 14:06:16 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Positions providing ESA/MMPA support for NMFS in Honolulu Message-ID: EAS and OAI are looking for qualified people to support the Protected Resources Division of NMFS? Pacific Islands Regional Office. The job listing, including how to apply, is given here . If you have at least a Bachelor?s degree in environmental or natural resources science, deep familiarity with both ESA and MMPA, and some working knowledge of natural resource management in the Pacific Islands, please consider applying! Feel free to contact me if you have questions. Tracy Collier OAI, Project Manager and Senior Associate (206)780-1931 (home office) (206)369-2779 (mobile) tracycollier at oceanassoc.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From adrienne.copeland at noaa.gov Wed Aug 7 12:05:10 2019 From: adrienne.copeland at noaa.gov (Adrienne Copeland - NOAA Affiliate) Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2019 15:05:10 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Ocean Sciences 2020 Soundscapes Session Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, Please consider submitting an abstract to the 2020 Ocean Sciences Meeting session: ME007 - Exploring and Characterizing Deep and Coastal Ocean Soundscapes . Abstracts will be accepted until September 11. Please share this announcement with other interested colleagues and students. Apologies for cross-posting, let us know if you have any questions. The session description is below: The ocean is vast, sparsely charted, deep, and underexplored. The physical properties of the ocean enable sound waves to propagate and be detected over very long, at times even ocean basin-scale distances, and thus sound can be a powerful tool to detect and observe deep-ocean processes. For example, major storm events can significantly raise ambient sound levels in the deep ocean. Many marine animals, from shrimp to whales, use sound to communicate and assess their environment. The combination of biological, geological, physical, and anthropogenic sounds together make up the marine ?soundscape?. Exploring marine soundscapes can lead to a better understanding of the ocean and characterization of these marine environments, as well as providing a measurement of current sound levels to compare against predicted future increases in anthropogenic sound sources. Further, ocean sound was recently identified as an essential ocean variable by the Global Ocean Observing System. This session aims to explore the holistic use of sound to characterize deep and coastal ocean areas, as well as discuss potential gaps in current understanding, and new ways to interpret and quantify ocean soundscapes. Your conveners, Adrienne Copeland (NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research; adrienne.copeland at noaa.gov) Bob Dziak (NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab; robert.p.dziak at noaa.gov) Ana Sirovic (Texas A&M University at Galveston; asirovic at tamug.edu) DelWayne R Bohnenstiehl (North Carolina State University; drbohnen at ncsu.edu) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From emily at emilycunningham.co.uk Fri Aug 9 06:56:02 2019 From: emily at emilycunningham.co.uk (Emily Cunningham) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2019 14:56:02 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: UK seas act as migratory stopover/alternative destination for humpback whales Message-ID: Dear MARMAM colleagues, We are pleased to announce our new open access publication: O'Neil, K.E., Cunningham, E.G. and Moore, D.M., 2019. Sudden seasonal occurrence of humpback whales *Megaptera novaeangliae* in the Firth of Forth, Scotland and first confirmed movement between high-latitude feeding grounds and United Kingdom waters. *Marine Biodiversity Records*, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41200-019-0172-7 Plain English Summary In this publication, we report on the first confirmed record of a UK-sighted humpback whale in their Arctic feeding grounds (Svalbard-Scotland) and suggest that UK seas act as a migratory stopover or alternative destination for eastern North Atlantic humpback whales on their southbound migration. With all data collected by volunteer whale watchers, our new publication is a strong example of the power of citizen science and of science-community collaboration. Abstract Here we report on the sudden seasonal occurrence of humpback whales *Megaptera novaeangliae* within the Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK over the winter months of 2017 and 2018. Sightings and photographs collected by citizen scientists of the Forth Marine Mammal Project were inspected and a fluke photograph compared to existing catalogues from all known feeding and breeding grounds across the North Atlantic. No matches to breeding grounds were found but a fluke match to a non-catalogued individual in Svalbard (Norway) constitutes the first confirmed movement of a UK-recorded humpback whale from high-latitude feeding grounds. A different individual was photographed in the Firth of Forth in both 2017 and 2018, providing evidence of a whale returning to the Firth of Forth in consecutive years. Despite year-round observation, the discrete seasonality of sightings suggests that the Firth of Forth may represent a migratory stopover or alternative destination for humpback whales on their southbound migration. Overall, these findings constitute a formalised baseline of information regarding the occurrence of humpback whales in the Firth of Forth and contribute to our understanding of the migration habits of humpback whales in the eastern North Atlantic. The open access article can be found at the following link: https://mbr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s41200-019-0172-7 A plain English summary (for popular science audiences) can be found at: www.emilycunningham.co.uk/news/ All questions to me at emily at emilycunningham.co.uk Best wishes, Emily *Emily Cunningham* Marine Conservation Research & Consultancy England, UK LinkedIn | Twitter www.emilycunningham.co.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From laura.joan at gmail.com Fri Aug 9 19:47:58 2019 From: laura.joan at gmail.com (Laura Joan Feyrer) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2019 23:47:58 -0300 Subject: [MARMAM] new publication on beaked whale acoustics In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: For those interested in beaked whale acoustics, we are pleased to announce our publication "Click characteristics of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) and Sowerby's beaked whales (Mesoplodon bidens) off eastern Canada," has been published in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (Vol.146, No.1). It can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5111336 DOI: 10.1121/1.5111336 ABSTRACT Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is crucial to expanding the knowledge of beaked whales, including the northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) and Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens). Existing descriptions of clicks produced by these species are limited by sample size, number of individuals recorded, and geographic scope. Data from multiple encounters in the western North Atlantic are used to provide a quantitative description of clicks produced by these species. Recordings from nine encounters with northern bottlenose whales in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were analyzed (N = 2239 clicks). The click type described had a median peak frequency of 25.9 kHz (10th?90th percentile range: 22.9?29.3 kHz), and a median inter-click interval (ICI) of 402 ms (N = 1917, 10th?90th percentile range: 290?524 ms). Recordings from 18 Sowerby's beaked whale encounters from Nova Scotia were analyzed (N = 762 clicks). The click type described had a median peak frequency of 65.8 kHz (10th?90th percentile range: 61.5?76.5 kHz), and a median ICI of 237 ms (N = 677, 10th?90th percentile range: 130?315 ms). These results will contribute to the development of methods to detect and classify beaked whale clicks to the species level, improving the effectiveness of PAM and enhancing scientific understanding and conservation efforts for cryptic and at-risk cetaceans. Cheers, Laura Feyrer, PhD Candidate Dalhousie University Northern Bottlenose Whale Project https://northernbottlenosewhale.weebly.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mendy.garron at noaa.gov Fri Aug 9 10:20:39 2019 From: mendy.garron at noaa.gov (Mendy Garron - NOAA Federal) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2019 13:20:39 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Workshop Announcement for Marine Mammal Emergency Response and Preparedness at the World Marine Mammal Conference Message-ID: Management of Marine Mammal Morbidity and Mortality Events ? Emergency Response and Preparedness Full-day Workshop Sunday, December 8, 2019 Increasing climate and environmental variability may lead to unusual and elevated marine mammal stranding events. The increase in frequency of Unusual Stranding Events (UME) has taxed the resources of established stranding responders as well as local, state, and federal agencies. The need to identify ways to rapidly locate and deploy resources is critical to addressing these emerging events. At the start of 2019, nine federally declared Unusual Mortality Events (UME) were open in the United States, with seven events actively responding to elevated stranding rates of marine mammal taxa from whales to pinnipeds. These mortality events increased the demands placed on the national stranding response network and required a significant amount of additional resources to manage. Over the last decade, stranding responders have worked with local, state, and federal government emergency response frameworks to integrate response efforts related to large scale marine mammal morbidity and mortality events into their response operations. Case studies of large mortality events, high profile stranding cases, and complex incidents will be presented in this workshop, along with lessons learned documented through extensive after-action review processes with stranding network professionals. Recommendations developed by stranding responders and government agencies will be provided and interactive training sessions for marine mammal field responders will be integrated into the workshop. Unusual stranding events considered in this workshop will include mass strandings, elevated stranding rates over an extended time period, oil spill related events, out-of-habitat situations, carcass disposal and general response that taxes the local resources during an emergency response. Intended audience includes existing, as well as newly formed, stranding response organizations, non-governmental, academic, local, state and federal response entities. Workshop Information and Registration We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona! Mendy Garron and Robert DiGiovanni Jr. (workshop organizers) mendy.garron at noaa.gov / rdigiovanni at amseas.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rhtardin at gmail.com Fri Aug 9 05:55:43 2019 From: rhtardin at gmail.com (Rodrigo Tardin) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2019 09:55:43 -0300 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Habitat use models of spatially auto-correlated data: a case study of the common bottlenose dolphin Message-ID: Dear all, We are pleased to announce our latest paper: Rodrigo H. Tardin, Yongwan Chun, Sheila M. Sim?o & Maria Alice S. Alves (2019) Habitat use models of spatially auto-correlated data: a case study of the common bottlenose dolphin, *Tursiops truncatus truncatus*, in southeastern Brazil,Marine Biology Research, DOI: 10.1080/17451000.2019.1644773 Abstract: A common approach to studying habitat use in cetaceans is to conduct line-transect surveys, to investigate their distribution. In developing countries, there are limited resources for data collection. One solution is to employ field surveys to collect a wide range of ecological and behavioural data, for which a haphazard sampling schedule is adopted, to optimize the cost?benefit ratio. As with line-transect surveys, the haphazard sampling may lead to spatial autocorrelation (SAC), an overlooked problem in ecology. Here, we investigated common bottlenose dolphins (*Tursiops truncatus truncatus*) habitat use on an upwelling area and tested an approach that can improve model-based inference on auto-correlated data. We collected data in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, photo-identified 429 individuals and compared the predictions and model coefficients of standard generalized linear model (GLM) without correcting for spatial autocorrelation with a spatial eigenvector generalized linear model (SEV-GLM) which compensates for SAC. Our best SEV-GLM predicted dolphins are more likely to occur on cold waters with increased chlorophyll concentration, indicating dolphins are influenced by the upwelling. Moreover, by correcting for SAC, our models had a better fit to data, magnified the relevance of significant variables and showed smaller and less clumped residuals than when not correcting. The paper is available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17451000.2019.1644773 or email me at: rhtardin at gmail.com. Cheers, Rodrigo Rodrigo Tardin P?s-doutorando - Departamento de Ecologia - IB - UFRJ Pesquisador Associado - Laborat?rio de Bioac?stica e Ecologia de Cet?ceos D.Sc. em Ecologia e Evolu??o - IBRAG - UERJ ----- Post-doctoral fellow - Ecology department - IB - UFRJ (RJ, Brazil) D.Sc. in Ecology and Evolution - UERJ Associate scientist at Cetacean Bioacoustics and Ecology Lab http://lattes.cnpq.br/3231576901208672 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0807-6937 http://www.researcherid.com/rid/J-6566-2013 https://lbec.jimdo.com/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From recruitment at osc.co.uk Fri Aug 9 07:29:38 2019 From: recruitment at osc.co.uk (Recruitment) Date: Fri, 9 Aug 2019 14:29:38 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Vacancies: 1 x MMO & 3 x PAMO Message-ID: Dear MMOs and PAMOs, OSC has the following contract vacancies: 1 x PAMO on a short piling job in North Sea, expected to commence 16th August for approximately 2 weeks. 1 x PAMO for a seismic vessel in North Sea, expected to commence 11th September for approximately 5-6 weeks 1 x MMO and 1 x PAMO for a seismic vessel in North Sea, expected to commence 11th September for approximately 5-6 weeks These vacancies are restricted to EU citizens, or overseas citizens in possession of a current work visa. If you have not worked for OSC previously or recently, we will require scans/copies of your CV, passport, degree certificate(s), MMO and PAM, survival and medical. OSC also has numerous short-notice vacancies at present, some with only 1-2 days' notice, with durations varying from a few days to months, so if personnel are available and seeking work for any duration, it's worthwhile dropping us an email to see if any projects are aligned. We also receive requests for personnel certified to monitor seabirds, so these professionals are also welcome to apply. Kind regards, -- Recruitment Ocean Science Consulting Limited (OSC) Spott Road, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1RR, Scotland, UK T: +44 (0)1368 865 722 W: www.osc.co.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ivlarkin at ufl.edu Sun Aug 11 11:30:45 2019 From: ivlarkin at ufl.edu (Larkin,Iskande (Iske)) Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 18:30:45 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Reminder: Registration open for Fall 2019 - Aquatic Animal Conservation Issues In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1565548245705.35001@ufl.edu> ________________________________ Hi All, The University of Florida, College of Veterinary Medicine would like to send a reminder that registration for our fall online course is open and will remain open until Aug 26th. Aquatic Animal Conservation Issues is an online course (3 credits) designed to introduce students (upper level undergraduate and graduate) and professionals (with an AA or higher degree) to the controversial issues surrounding aquatic animal species ranging from invertebrates to marine mammals, with an emphasis on marine mammals, but also including sea turtles, fisheries, and marine ecosystems. Students enrolled at any College or University within the US or internationally can take this course. For more information about this classes or enrollment, contact Dr. Iske Larkin (ivlarkin at ufl.edu ). If you are interested in taking this class, registration is now open for Fall (2019) until Aug 26th. The semester runs from Monday, August 20th - Wednesday, December 4th. Sincerely, Dr Larkin [Description: AAH logo blue E-Mail Sig] Iske V. Larkin, PhD Lecturer & Education Coordinator Interim Director Aquatic Animal Health Program Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine University of Florida PO Box 100136 2015 SW 16th Ave Gainesville, Florida 32610 Office phone - 352-294-4095 Work cell - 352-494-1742 Fax - 352-392-8289 Program web page: http://aquatic.vetmed.ufl.edu "To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world." -Anonymous ________________________________ Please note that Florida has a broad public records law, and that all correspondence to or from University of Florida employees via email may be subject to disclosure. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3806 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From intern at sealrescueireland.org Thu Aug 1 08:12:25 2019 From: intern at sealrescueireland.org (Gale Loescher) Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2019 16:12:25 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Seal Rescue Ireland - Animal Care and Education Internship Message-ID: Seal Rescue Ireland: Animal Care and Education Internship Seal Rescue Ireland (SRI) is a charity organisation which operates a busy marine animal rescue and rehabilitation centre located in Courtown, Co. Wexford. As the only facility that fully rehabilitates seals within the Republic of Ireland, SRI responds to strandings nationwide. Most reports are for young grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and common seal (Phoca vitulina) pups found sick, injured or orphaned across the Irish coastline. In addition, SRI pursues understanding and public engagement of ocean conservation and sustainability through education, community outreach and research programmes. SRI is currently accepting applications for their dual focus Animal Care and Education Internship programme for next year. With rolling start dates year around, this high paced, full-time position is for a minimum of 12 weeks, but longer time commitments are encouraged. After completion of initial training, interns who excel may be invited to stay longer and offered higher levels of responsibility with the potential for compensation through living expenses. Reports to: Animal Care Manager Job Summary: This position provides the intern with a well rounded experience of both hands-on marine mammal rescue and rehabilitation work, and promoting public understanding of marine conservation as a whole. The candidate?s time will be split in half between assisting in the daily care of the animals and hospital operations, and providing educational tours to the public, assisting with fundraising projects, and assisting with administrative duties. The variation of responsibilities provide interns with excellent understanding of what it takes to successfully operate the many different aspects of a wildlife charity. Additionally, each intern gets the opportunity to independently plan one fundraiser project, to learn leadership and organisational skills. Interns that excel may be offered additional levels of responsibility to pursue specialized skill sets. Requirements: For consideration, applicants must have a background in areas of study such as Pre-Vet, Biology, Zoology, Marine Biology, Conservation Biology, Environmental Science or other animal related field. Applicants must be able to follow written and oral instructions, possess effective communication skills, and be passionate about marine animals and their environment. Applicants should be agile with a good sense of balance in order to maneuver around enclosures, and must be physically fit and able to lift 25 kg. Applicants must possess the ability to adapt in a fast paced, ever changing environment and have a positive, purposeful attitude. They must be willing to work long hours, nights, weekends and holidays. Previous animal care and handling experience as well as public speaking skills are preferred, however interns will receive training to develop these skills. Duties Include: - Daily animal diet preparations and routine cleaning of enclosures and work areas. - Assist with rescue and release of stranded animals. - Take shifts overseeing the stranding hotline and coordinate seal rescue and transport. - Assist in the care of seals (feeding, restraining, medical treatment, daily care). - Help ensure that the clinical areas are stocked, hygienic and prepared to receive animals. - Maintain and update medical records. - Provide assistance to management and rehabilitation staff as needed. - Assist with fundraisers and educational events. - Assist with clerical duties and office work as needed - Participate in educational talks and tours. - Complete and arrange personal fundraiser project in aid of the center. This is an unpaid position. Intern housing is available for 90 Euro/week (including food) on a first come first served basis. Interns are responsible for their own travel expenses. Application Deadlines: 1st of September, 2019 for January to March, 2020 start dates 1st of December, 2019 for April to June, 2020 start dates 1st of March, 2020 for July to September, 2020 start dates 1st of June, 2020 for October to December, 2020 start dates Please visit our website at (http://www.sealrescueireland.org/internships/) to download the application form. Then send completed with your resume and cover letter to: intern at sealrescueireland.org Attention: Animal Care and Education Internship Registered Charity: RCN 20108519 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From st.huggenberger at uni-koeln.de Wed Aug 14 01:40:24 2019 From: st.huggenberger at uni-koeln.de (Stefan Huggenberger) Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2019 10:40:24 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?WMMC_Workshop=3A_The_Diving_Brain_=E2=80=93_Ad?= =?utf-8?q?aptations_for_Extreme_Environments?= Message-ID: <20190814104024.Horde.DJVAXBNSKRTb1T0nTXEsvd_@webmail.uni-koeln.de> Dear MarMamers Here we are happy to announce the workshop ?The Diving Brain ? Adaptations for Extreme Environments? at the World Marine Mammal Conference on Saturday, December 7th 2019 in Barcelona (Spain). Registration for the workshop can be completed at the WMMC website. Further information including a preliminary program are given below. We are looking forward to seeing you in Barcelona, Stefan Huggenberger and Bruno Cozzi (workshop organizers) Workshop description: During the last two centuries, anatomical and physiological studies have been the fundamental background and footing of advanced research on marine mammals. The aims of the workshop are (1st) to give an overview of actual research on the nervous system of diving mammals, its nourishment and blood supply through seminars given by leading experts; and (2nd) to stimulate the discussions between experts and graduate and PhD students. This workshop aims at promoting and supporting basic morphological and physiological research of brain function of marine mammals. This research is unquestionably international, so that we will have speakers from many countries around the world. We want to encourage long-term exchange and research activities on the structure and function of marine mammals as a solid basis for molecular disciplines. The goal and ambition of this workshop is to stimulate and coordinate future research and educational projects. Preliminary workshop program, Saturday 7. December 2019: 09:00 Luciano Fadiga (University of Ferrara, Italy) ? Of men and whales: diving physiology. 09:30 Sam H. Ridgway (San Diego, U.S.A.) ? Cortex and Cerebellum - long and short divers. 10:00 Hannsj?rg Schr?der (University of Cologne, Germany) ? Comparing big brains: a brainstem view. 10:30 Coffee break 11:00 Short presentations from participants - tba - tba - tba [Stefan Huggenberger & Bruno Cozzi (University of Cologne, Germany, and University of Padova, Italy) ? Uncharted territories in the brains of marine mammals]. 12:00 Round table: Future directions and discussion for summarizing main scientific problems (?hot topics?) to encourage joint future activities. 12:40 Conclusion and future venues 13:00 Lunch 14:30 Two parallel afternoon sessions with practical work using modern teaching equipment such as virtual microscopy and open source tools for tomography data (participants can move from one session to the other and back) 1. Navigating through the brain: macro slide series and MRI scans of dolphin brains (90? to 120?) 2. Neuro-histology and routine histological slides from other organs (90? to 120?) -- Dr. Stefan Huggenberger Department II of Anatomy (Neuroanatomy) University of Cologne 50924 Cologne, Germany Fon: +49-221-478-87848 Fax: +49-221-478-1427477 Email: st.huggenberger at uni-koeln.de www.anatomie.uni-koeln.de/21596.html From alice.walters at whales.org Tue Aug 13 01:35:22 2019 From: alice.walters at whales.org (Alice Walters) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 08:35:22 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Workshop - Taking stock of land-based, citizen science cetacean data sets: regional integration and analysis to deliver policy-relevant results Message-ID: <72EC3C7667A5FF488F392BC532BC5DEDE23E5AC7@WDCS-CRIMSON.wdcs-net.wdcs.org> Dear MARMAM community, We would like to draw your attention to the upcoming workshop "Taking stock of land-based, citizen science cetacean data sets: regional integration and analysis to deliver policy-relevant results" to be held in association with the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona on Sunday 8th December, 2019. The purpose of this workshop is to: * Briefly review the range of data sets resulting from land-based citizen science programmes for cetacean monitoring; * Critically assess the potential contribution of such data sets to cetacean monitoring needs, including the extent to which they complement other types of monitoring (e.g. boat surveys, acoustic monitoring), and their limitations; * Critically assess how data from different surveys and areas could be brought together for combined analysis as well as possible applications of such analyses; * Synthesise recommendations for 'core' data requirements to ensure that robust data sets for which future combined analysis is both achievable and useful; and * Develop a roadmap to achieve better harmonized data collection and combined analysis. We welcome participation from anyone involved or interested in collecting or using land-based cetacean sightings data. If you have specific suggestions or questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Graham Pierce (g.j.pierce at iim.csic.es) or myself (alice.walters at whales.org). For more details, or to register, please see the information here: https://www.wmmconference.org/workshops/#Taking%20stock%20of%20land-based,%20citizen%20science%20cetacean%20data%20sets:%20regional%20integration%20and%20analysis%20to%20delivery%20policy-relevant%20results Best wishes Alice Walters, Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and Dr. Graham Pierce, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas (IMM) ________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lahuckst at ucsc.edu Mon Aug 12 12:18:46 2019 From: lahuckst at ucsc.edu (Luis Huckstadt) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 15:18:46 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] WMMC Stable isotopes workshop Message-ID: Dear all, We are looking forward to seeing you at the third workshop on Stable Isotopes in marine mammals: "Application of stable isotopes in studies of marine mammal ecology, biogeography, and physiology. An introduction and update on developing methodologies ". We would like to invite those interested in presenting their work during the workshop to contact us (lahuckst at gmail.com) and your preferences (poster or oral). We are particularly interested in people's experiences (positive and negative), troubleshooting and any advice or suggestion you might have for both bulk-tissue and Compound-Specific Stable Isotope Analysis. We will be contacting colleagues with different levels of expertise to have a better idea of what are the challenges that we, as a community, face when it comes to using stable isotopes to study the biology of marine mammals. Thanks for your feedback and hope to see you in Barcelone! Best, Cory, Seth, and Luis -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sonjasamokovlija at gmail.com Mon Aug 12 06:07:12 2019 From: sonjasamokovlija at gmail.com (Sonja Samokovlija) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 14:07:12 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Survey: Do Marine Mammals in Aquariums receive more freedom debate than Terrestrial Mammals in Zoos? Message-ID: I am doing a survey-based study about animals in captivity and professional opinion about the same. Data collected will be used and interpreted for my degree Honours project in Environmental Conservation, Bangor University. This is an anonymous survey that is targeting professionals in fields of Marine Biology, Zoology, Environmental Conservation, Veterinary Science and Animal care specialists as well as similar fields. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes and it is structured out of short, clear, simple to answer questions with question types such as yes/no questions, scales, and ranking as well as open ending questions. If you have a few minutes to spare and fill it in please do, feel free to ask your colleagues to do the same if they are interested. Thank you! https://szonyas.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/do-marine-mammals-in-aquariums-receive-more-freedom-debate Public opinion questionnaire surveys can experience several types of bias, which are proven by many previous studies (Wassermann et al. 2018). Survey for this study, therefore, focuses on surveying educated professional to determine whether bias can be spotted across different fields due to exposure to debates, animal welfare, and job-creation issues. Furthermore, this study will seek to see what opinion is shared when it comes to the improvement of the welfare of captive mammals. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kate.goggin at noaa.gov Mon Aug 12 06:55:08 2019 From: kate.goggin at noaa.gov (Kate Goggin - NOAA Federal) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 09:55:08 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?Notice=3A_Final_Rule_for_the_Taking_of_Marine_?= =?utf-8?q?Mammals_Incidental_to_the_U=2ES=2E_Navy=E2=80=99s_Survei?= =?utf-8?q?llance_Towed_Array_Sensor_System_Low_Frequency_Active_?= =?utf-8?q?=28SURTASS_LFA=29_Sonar_Training_and_Testing_Activities?= Message-ID: NOAA Fisheries will issue seven-year regulations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to govern the incidental take of marine mammals by the U.S. Navy?s Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active (SURTASS LFA) sonar training and testing activities in the central and western North Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans from August 2019 to August 2026. This will be NOAA Fisheries? fourth rulemaking for Navy SURTASS LFA sonar training and testing activities under the MMPA. NOAA Fisheries? final regulations and the subsequent Letter of Authorization, as well as the ESA Biological Opinion, include required mitigation and monitoring measures that are expected to reduce adverse impacts to marine mammals. The Navy?s SURTASS LFA sonar activities are likely to result in the incidental take of marine mammals by exposing them to sonar. The takes authorized by this action are Level B harassment in the form of behavioral disturbance and temporary threshold shift. No Level A harassment or serious injury or mortality is expected or authorized. Please visit our SURTASS LFA sonar webpage for more information on this action or https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/node/23111 for more information on NOAA?s incidental take program under the MMPA. Kate Goggin HQ Office of Protected Resources Lead Communications Specialist (301) 427-8400 Main (301) 427-8411 Direct Kate.Goggin at noaa.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gduncan-SEA at pointblue.org Mon Aug 12 06:50:53 2019 From: gduncan-SEA at pointblue.org (Garrett Duncan - SEA) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 13:50:53 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Farallon Islands Elephant Seal Research Assistant Message-ID: Point Blue Conservation Science (formerly PRBO) 3820 Cypress Drive Suite 11 Petaluma, CA 94954 707.781.2555 pointblue.org Conservation Science for a healthy planet. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES ON THE FARALLON ISLANDS Point Blue is looking for Volunteer Elephant Seal Research Assistants (3-4) for winter 2019/2020 on Southeast Farallon Island. Research Assistant (RA) responsibilities include, but are not limited to, censusing and monitoring breeding elephant seals, flipper tagging animals, resighting tagged California and Steller?s Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Northern Fur Seals, and surveying for salamanders, crickets, songbirds, seabirds, gulls, burrowing owls, and whales. (Sorry, White sharks are unlikely during the winter months). RAs also contribute to the upkeep and maintenance of the research station and help with food preparation. RAs will work full-time, 7 days a week, with a variable schedule that includes long days and night work. Some field work requires rigorous physical activity including strenuous hiking and climbing. Applicants should enjoy working independently with a high level of responsibility in field work and data entry as well as working frequently with a partner or team. Preference will be given to applicants with a degree in biology or related field and prior ecological research experience. Enthusiasm for field work in windy, cold conditions is essential. The ability to coexist on a small, isolated island with the same crew for several months is essential. If the thought of going several days without updating your Instagram or Facebook page is shocking, then this is not the job for you. Positions are available 7 December 2019 through 28 March 2020 with a minimum 8-week commitment. However, strong preference will be given to applicants who are available for the entire period. We provide transportation to the island and great food and housing. Transportation to San Francisco is not provided. More information can be found at pointblue.org. To apply, please email a single pdf file in the following format: lastname_firstname_2020winterassistant.pdf to Garrett Duncan (gduncan-SEA at pointblue.org). This document should contain your cover letter explaining your interests, your resume, dates of availability, and 3 professional references. Applications accepted until September 30th 2019 but applications will be evaluated as they are received so some positions may be filled before the deadline. Thanks very much, Garrett Duncan -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dr60 at st-andrews.ac.uk Mon Aug 12 08:10:20 2019 From: dr60 at st-andrews.ac.uk (Debbie Russell) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 15:10:20 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Job Opportunity: aerial survey technician Message-ID: Dear all The Sea Mammal Research Unit based at the University of St Andrews in Scotland is looking to employ an additional aerial survey technician. This is a full-time post initially for a duration of three years. Surveys are conducted annually from both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Outwith the survey season, the successful applicant's work will be focussed on processing the images taken and counting the seals on them. Please note, I am afraid this role does not meet the minimum requirements set by the UKVI to enable sponsorship of migrant workers. Deadline: 30 August 2019 For more details and to apply: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/3270/0/237616/889/aerial-survey-technician-tg1159as Thank you and best wishes Debbie *********************************************** Dr Debbie Russell Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) Postal Address: SMRU Scottish Oceans Institute University of St Andrews KY16 8LB Tel (SMRU): +44 (0)1334 467281 Tel (CREEM; Wednesdays): +44 (0)1334 461808 Twitter: @_SMRU_ *********************************************** The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland : No SC013532 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From monica.silva.imar at gmail.com Wed Aug 14 03:36:54 2019 From: monica.silva.imar at gmail.com (=?gb2312?B?TaiubmljYSBTaWx2YQ==?=) Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2019 10:36:54 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on winter feeding and wintering habitats of North Atlantic blue, fin and sei whales revealed by stable isotopes Message-ID: <011701d5528c$31560e00$94022a00$@gmail.com> Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in Royal Society Open Science: Monica A. Silva, Asuncion Borrell, Rui Prieto, Pauline Gauffier, Martine Berube, Per J Palsbol, and Ana Colaco. 2019. Stable isotopes reveal winter feeding in different habitats in blue, fin and sei whales migrating through the Azores. 6. R. Soc. open sci. http://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.181800 Abstract Knowing the migratory movements and behaviour of baleen whales is fundamental to understanding their ecology. We compared ??15N and ??13C values in the skin of blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (Balaenoptera physalus) and sei (Balaenoptera borealis) whales sighted in the Azores in spring with the values of potential prey from different regions within the North Atlantic using Bayesian mixing models to investigate their trophic ecology and migration patterns. Fin whale ??15N values were higher than those recorded in blue and sei whales, reflecting feeding at higher trophic levels. Whales' skin ??15N and ??13C values did not reflect prey from high-latitude summer foraging grounds; instead mixing models identified tropical or subtropical regions as the most likely feeding areas for all species during winter and spring. Yet, differences in ??13C values among whale species suggest use of different regions within this range. Blue and sei whales primarily used resources from the Northwest African upwelling and pelagic tropical/subtropical regions, while fin whales fed off Iberia. However, determining feeding habitats from stable isotope values remains difficult. In conclusion, winter feeding appears common among North Atlantic blue, fin and sei whales, and may play a crucial role in determining their winter distribution. A better understanding of winter feeding behaviour is therefore fundamental for the effective conservation of these species. You can download the paper here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.181800 or email me monica.silva.imar at gmail.com for a PDF. Best regards, M??nica M??nica Almeida e Silva (Marine Biologist, PhD) ----------------------------------------------------- MARE ?C Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre IMAR - Institute of Marine Research Rua Frederico Machado, 4 9901-862 Horta Portugal Phone: (+351) 292200400 Email: masilva at mare-centre.pt; monica.silva.imar at gmail.com http://whales.scienceontheweb.net ----------------------------------------------------- Guest Investigator WHOI ?C Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com Tue Aug 13 07:31:15 2019 From: sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com (Sergio Cobarrubia) Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2019 10:31:15 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Bottlenose Dolphin - Atlantic Spotted Dolphin Project Research In Venezuela. Interns and Volunteer Program 2019 (Sergio Cobarrubia-Russo). Message-ID: BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN - ATLANTIC SPOTTED DOLPHIN PROJECT RESEARCH IN VENEZUELA. INTERNS AND VOLUNTEER PROGRAM 2019. Laboratory of Ecosystems and Global Change (LEGC-IVIC) and Provita. BACKGROUND: The Laboratory of Ecosystems and Global Change (LEGC) of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC, www.ivic.gob.ve) invites the first season of internships-volunteering (2019) in the study of coastal dolphins. LEGC is a scientific team that among its research lines on the fauna of coastal and riparian ecosystems, it has established the first one on aquatic mammals in Venezuela. On the other hand, Provita is an important NGO that contributes to the research and conservation in Venezuela. This research will begin with a project focused on sociobiology (social structure, social networks and bioacoustics) of resident groups of the coastal bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) in the central coast of Venezuela. This, after an experience of 5 years in that locality studying ecological aspects of T. truncatus (https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-018-0401-1). The coast of Aragua not only houses these species, but also the Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni), the common dolphin (Delphinus sp.) and the spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris). Of which basic information is collected too. LEGC interns and volunteers are young, hard-working who are willing to contribute to research by learning as they experience fieldwork in teams, field techniques for collecting and processing data and methodologies. All team members and interns share academic space, housing in the Institute, housework in the study area, knowledge and experience in a friendly and multicultural environment. The internship consists of three weeks: The first week of theoretical-practical introduction (24 theoretical hours and 16 practicals hours) at the IVIC Ecology Center ( www.ivic.gob.ve/es/investigacion-3/centros-31/ecologia-316). The second week of seven field surveys for data collection (42 h) on the Cata Bay (Aragua state) and the third week for data processing and analysis at the IVIC Ecology Center (40 h). The volunteering consist of the second and third weeks. WHERE: Theory: LEGC, Center of Ecology (IVIC) Miranda State, Caracas (10 23 N - 66 58 W). Practice: Cata Bay, western coast of the (rain forest) National Park Henry Pittier, Aragua state (central coast of Venezuela) 150 km from Caracas (DC) (10 29 N - 67 44 W). PROGRAM: Interns (Three weeks), Volunteers (Two weeks). 1st WEEK (LEGC-Ecology Center, 40 hours. For Interns). - Monday: What is a cetacean? The cetaceans and the human in history. Origin, evolution and diversity. Adaptations for aquatic life: Anatomy and Physiology. Life histories. Biogeography Distribution. Ecology Behavior. Conservation. - Tuesday: Identification of species reported for Venezuela. Basic logistics for the study of cetaceans on the mainland, sea and air. Basic equipment to collect information. - Wednesday: How to detect cetaceans and record an effective sighting? Basic data to collect during a sighting, calibration and use of GPS. Configuration and use of the SLR cameras. Download of sightings (GIS). Download pictures and selection (software). - Thursday: Daily encounter ratio. Photo-identification as a tool for ecological and behavioral studies. Estimates of abundance. Local distribution and areas of action. - Friday: Residential patterns. Behavior (deployments, states, daily budget). Habitat use. Social structure and social networks. Bioacoustics. Saturday: Break. Sunday: Transfer to the Cata Bay. 2nd WEEK (Cata Bay-Provita, 42 hours. For Interns and Volunteers). The field surveys will be carried out in a fishing vessel of 9 m in length by 2 of beam. The field work will depend on the climatic conditions, however, the Aragua coast offers few climatic inconveniences throughout the year. There will be 7 mornings of field surveys in the week, after each survey is lunch, rest and then proceed to download the data of sightings and then interpret them preliminarily and discuss them. In the field surveys, it will be implemented: - The identification and recognition of the elements of the marine landscape and the method of tracking and detection of cetaceans. - Ethical navigation mode to study cetaceans. - The basic data collection / sighting. - Use of GPS. - Use of SRL camera. - Counting of individuals and composition of a group. - Identification of the behavioral states that configure group behavior and its recording. - Use of hydrophone. In the afternoon the information of the sightings will be downloaded: - Sighting forms. - Latitude and longitude. - Photographs and their selection. - Voice recordings (behavior). - Recordings of vocalizations. 3rd WEEK (LEGC-Ecology Center, 40 hours. For Interns and volunteers). PRACTICAL FEES: Accomodation (IVIC students residence and apartment in Cata Bay), food and transport (airport-IVIC-Cata Bay-IVIC-airport) are paid. The cost of internships and volunteers is US $ 690 for the compensation of logistical expenses of the field surveys. For more information, please contact:sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com. *Ask all your questions, especially to mitigate your concerns regarding Venezuela. Since our nation is the object of an intense media campaign where opinion matrices project false dystopian scenarios.* WHEN: During the year there will be 6 internships-volunteering sessions (February, April, June, August, October, November). For interns, second, third and fourth week of the months scheduled. For volunteers, third and fourth week of the scheduled months. VACANTS: 4 people / session. Not included in the rate: - Meals in restaurants - Free time activities - Personal insurance (all participants must have health and / or travel insurance) - Personal expenses. INTEREST IS EXPECTED: - Being over 18 years - Iterns: Preference will be given to undergraduate students and professional students (biology, marine biology, environmental, conservation and plus). - Volunteer: No preferences. - Have a mature attitude towards the investigation of marine mammals and environment - Be autonomous and flexible - To be able to live and work in an international team and mainly outdoors in the sea - Speak Spanish, English or Portuguese. ACADEMIC CREDITS: The LEGC will certify the work performed by intern or volunteer through a diploma with the recognition of the hours (academic-practical) worked. APPLICATION AND QUESTIONS: Applicants must write to sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com with the subject "DOLPHINS PROJECT_Name". You will be sent a confirmation email with all the details about the study area and the species present, the practices and requesting your CV resume, motivation letter (small statement about what your expectations are and why you want to work with LEGC) and the internship month of your choice. Applications will be accepted throughout the year, however, early application is recommended due to limited vacancies. PLUS: The possibility of making a second expedition to the sea is open, but for Chichiriviche de la Costa, there is the logistics to study two oceanic species of dolphins such as the spinner dolphin and pilot whale (usually, other species are sighted even shark whale). This second expedition would consist of 5 field surveys to a pelagic zone where the same techniques would be applied. The costs of this logistics are US $ 650. -- *Sergio Enrique Cobarrubia Russo* Laboratorio de Ecosistemas y Cambio Global Centro de Ecolog?a Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cient?ficas Venezuela. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From abostwick at psocertifications.com Mon Aug 12 09:57:29 2019 From: abostwick at psocertifications.com (Angela Bostwick) Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 06:57:29 -1000 Subject: [MARMAM] Protected Species Observer Training in Newport, OR Oct 5-6 Message-ID: <16fdd04599ba8b26c7e26add51394610@psocertifications.com> MPSC is holding a training course in Newport, Oregon which provides Protected Species Observer (also known as Marine Mammal Observer) certification on October 5th and 6th, 2019. This class will include a vessel trip and admission to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where the course will be taking place. The vessel trip will provide opportunity to practice the protected species monitoring identification techniques discussed in class; students will also be able to practice manual settings for wildlife photography using digital SLR cameras, and will learn to estimate distance using binoculars with reticles (cameras and binoculars provided for use). This course will also include a special guest speaker from NMFS, whom will discuss life as an observer and different types of wildlife observer work. This training is approved by the federal agencies Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) in coordination with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to provide Protected Species Observer certification for seismic surveys, and is a long-standing industry standard which is often accepted in various other regions or industries (such as renewable energy, dredging, construction, blasting, and pile driving) where monitoring and mitigation for protected species is needed. The course examines the regulations for reducing impacts to marine mammals and sea turtles, how to visually locate and identify the animals, and objective documentation of animal behavior for reporting to regulatory agencies. A discounted rate is available for students/recent graduates, government/veterans, and non-profit organizations. Lunch is provided each day, along with various identification guides and regulatory documents (yours to keep), advice on applying to PSO positions, admission to the aquarium, the vessel trip, and the professional certification. MPSC will also be holding a PSO course in Galveston, TX on September 28-29, which will include a vessel trip and a tour of the TAMUG sea turtle care facility. Additional information may be found on the MPSC website at http://www.protectedspeciesobservers.com/, by contacting me at ABostwick at PSOCertifications.com, or by phone at 832-523-2402. Thank you, Angela Bostwick Founder / Marine Protected Species Consulting ProtectedSpeciesObservers.com https://Facebook.com/ProtectedSpeciesObservers/ From helene.peltier at univ-lr.fr Wed Aug 14 07:17:11 2019 From: helene.peltier at univ-lr.fr (=?UTF-8?Q?H=c3=a9l=c3=a8ne_Peltier?=) Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2019 16:17:11 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] new publication: ship strikes along French coasts Message-ID: <339fc915-1ca5-5188-7b81-dcada0c5b3d1@univ-lr.fr> Dear colleagues, We are pleased to inform you that a new brief research paper on ship strikes of large whales along the French coasts was recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science: *Monitoring of Marine Mammal Strandings Along French Coasts Reveals the Importance of Ship Strikes on Large Cetaceans: A Challenge for the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive* H?l?ne Peltier , Alain Beaufils, Catherine Cesarini, Willy Dabin, C?cile Dars, Fabien Demaret, Frank Dhermain, Ghislain Doremus, H?l?ne Labach, Olivier Van Canneyt and J?r?me Spitz ^Full text available: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00486/full Abstract: The incidence of marine traffic has risen in recent decades and is expected to continue rising as maritime traffic, vessel speed, and engine power all continue to increase. Although long considered anecdotal, ship strikes are now recognized as a major threat to cetaceans. However, estimation of ship strike rates is still challenging notably because such events occurred generally far offshore and collision between large ships and whales go often unnoticed by ship crew. The monitoring of marine mammal strandings remain one the most efficient ways to evaluate the problem. In France, a national coordinated network collected data and samples on stranded marine mammals since 1972 along the Mediterranean and Atlantic French coasts. We examined stranding data, including photography and necropsy reports, collected between 1972 and 2017 with the aim to provide a comprehensive review of confirmed collision records of large whales in France. During this period, a total of 51 ship strike incidents were identified which represents the 1st identified causes of mortality for large whale in France. It has increased since 1972 with seven records during the 1st decade to reach 22 stranded animals observed between 2005 and 2017. This issue appears particularly critical in the Mediterranean Sea where one in five stranded whales showed evidence of ship strike. This review of collision records highlights the risk of a negative impact of this anthropogenic pressure on the dynamic of whale populations in Europe, suggesting that ship strike rates could not allow achieving the Good Environmental Status of marine mammal populations required by the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Best wishes Helene Peltier -- ---------------------------------- H?l?ne PELTIER -PhD Observatoire PELAGIS UMS 3462 Universit? de La Rochelle-CNRS 5, all?es de l'oc?an 17000 La Rochelle, France LD: +33 (0) 5 46 50 76 83 St: +33 (0) 5 46 44 99 10 http://observatoire-pelagis.cnrs.fr/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From volunteercoordinator at hwdt.org Thu Aug 15 04:44:42 2019 From: volunteercoordinator at hwdt.org (Morven Summers) Date: Thu, 15 Aug 2019 12:44:42 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Final call for 2019 field season volunteers Message-ID: <021001d5535e$d4744ac0$7d5ce040$@hwdt.org> Hello all, *FINAL CALL FOR 2019 FIELD SEASON VOLUNTEERS* The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) conducts cetacean survey expeditions off the west coast of Scotland throughout our field season (April - October) from aboard our research yacht, Silurian. More than a quarter of the world?s whale, dolphin and porpoise species have been recorded in Hebridean seas, making this an area of global importance for cetaceans. However, our seas are under huge pressure; increasingly busy, noisy and polluted. Scotland?s whales and dolphins exist in a fragile state, threatened by a range of environmental, climatic and man-made stresses. Every year we welcome aboard enthusiastic volunteers who are willing to contribute directly to our research work. Volunteers, in effect, become marine mammal scientists for the duration of the survey; living and working aboard Silurian, assisting with day-to-day running, as well as working together as a team to carry out visual and acoustic surveys. This live-aboard experience is like no other in the UK! To find out more about the research projects we facilitate, please CLICK HERE . Volunteers will assist fully in the collection of data, with mega-fauna and sea bird identification training provided. Both acoustic and visual methods are combined to produce comprehensive data sets. During encounters photographs are taken of dorsal fins to undertake Photo Identification analysis. We also deploy laser photogrammetry equipment to measure the length of minke whales ? helping to determine numbers of young whales, assess body conditions for parasites such as sea lice, and classify marks and scars from interactions with marine plastic and fishing gear. The data collected, and subsequent information produced is essential when monitoring the distribution, relative abundance and habitat preference of cetacean species in the Hebrides. Only with coherent data can effective conservation and management strategies be designed to enable long-term protection of the amazing species found in our waters. To read more about what we have learnt from 15 years of monitoring on the west coast of Scotland, check out the first part of our Hebridean Marine Mammal Atlas series by CLICKING HERE. Details of remaining 2019 Expedition Surveys: ? 27th Aug ? 7th Sept (12 days), rendezvous in Kyle of Lochalsh ? where the Isle of Skye bridge meets the mainland ? cost is ?942.50 (35% off!) ? 15th ? 23rd Sept (9 days), rendezvous in Kyle of Lochalsh, cost is ?937.50 (25% off!) ? 28th Sept ? 4th Oct, rendezvous in Tobermory, cost is ?950 ? 5th ? 11th Oct, rendezvous is in Tobermory, this expedition survey is scheduled to coincide with the massive Joint Warrior military exercise, cost is ?950 More information on specific surveys will be provided on completion of a booking form. There is a monetary value attached to participating which includes accommodation (aboard) and food throughout the duration. The income generated allows HWDT to continue this well-established research programme, you can be assured that without your contribution the research couldn't be undertaken. As a volunteer on board Silurian, you will have the opportunity to see first-hand the amazing variety of marine wildlife Scotland has to offer including whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sharks and seabirds. You will explore some of the remotest, wildest parts of the British Isles, anchoring each night in a different secluded bay off one of the many Hebridean islands, venturing ashore to explore. The opportunity to gain sailing experience is also available, although no certificates are issued. For an idea of a standard survey, please check out our latest expedition update by CLICKING HERE . If you are interested in participating in an expedition survey or have any questions, please complete a basic booking form , contact me on volunteercoordinator at hwdt.org , or call 01688 302620 and chat to one of the team. Morven Summers Media and Communications Officer Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust +44 (0)1688 302620 | hwdt.org My standard working week is Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 9am ? 1pm Facebook | Twitter | Instagram -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4874 bytes Desc: not available URL: From costasilva.samira at gmail.com Fri Aug 16 05:50:03 2019 From: costasilva.samira at gmail.com (Samira Costa da Silva) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 09:50:03 -0300 Subject: [MARMAM] new article Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, On behalf of all co-authors, I am pleased to announce the publication of our article about *Toxoplasma gondii* in cetaceans of Brazil. Costa-Silva S, Sacristan C, Gonzales-Viera O, Diaz-Delgado J, Sanchez-Sarmiento AM, Marigo J, Groch KR, Carvalho VL, Ewbank AC, Colosio AC, Marcondes MCC, de Meirelles ACO, Bertozzi CP, Lailson-Brito JJr, Azevedo AF, Ruoppolo V, Oliveira L, Ott PH, Catao-Dias JL. (2019). *Toxoplasma gondii *in cetaceans of Brazil: a histopathological and immunohistochemical survey. Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Parasitology. Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Parasitology. In this manuscript we investigated the occurrence of *T. gondii *by histopathology and immunohistochemistry in tissue samples of 185 animals comprising 20 different cetacean species from Brazil. Three out of 185 (1.6%) animals presented *T. gondii*-associated lesions: a captive killer whale *Orcinus orca*, a free-ranging common bottlenose dolphin *Tursiops truncatus* and a free-ranging Guiana dolphin *Sotalia guianensis*. The main lesions observed in these animals were necrotizing hepatitis, adrenalitis and lymphadenitis associated with protozoal cysts or extracellular tachyzoites presenting immunolabeling with anti-*T. gondii* antibodies. This study widens the spectrum of species and the geographic range of this agent in Brazil, and provides the first reports of* T. gondii *infection in a captive killer whale and in a free-ranging common bottlenose dolphin in South America. You can discover more in the link http://www.scielo.br/pdf/rbpv/2019nahead/1984-2961-rbpv-S1984-29612019051.pdf The article is available at link above or email: costasilva.samira at gmail.com Best regards *Samira Costa Silva* -- Samira Costa da Silva Veterinary, Ph.D. student at Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Animal Health of School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of S?o Paulo M?dica Veterin?ria Doutoranda no Departamento de Medicina Veterin?ria Preventiva e Sa?de Animal da Faculdade de Medicina Veterin?ria e Zootecnia, Universidade de S?o Paulo email:costasilva.samira at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com Fri Aug 16 19:24:58 2019 From: giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com (Giovanni Bearzi) Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2019 04:24:58 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] NEW BOOK: Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Odontocetes Message-ID: Dear colleagues, A book on the ethology and behavioral ecology of odontocetes has just been published by Springer Nature: W?rsig B. (ed.) 2019. Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Odontocetes. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland. Information on the e-book, separate chapters, and hard copy is here: http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030166625 In 23 chapters and 500 pages, a total of 40 authors describe general patterns of ethological concepts of odontocetes in their natural environments, with a strong bent towards behavioral ecology. Examples are given of particularly well-studied species and species groups for which enough data exist, especially from the past 15 years. The aim is to give a modern flavor of present knowledge of ethology and behavior of generally large-brained behaviorally flexible mammals that have evolved quite separately from social mammals on land. As well, the plight of populations and species due to humans is described in multiple chapters, with the goal that an understanding of behavior can help to solve or alleviate at least some human-made problems. This is the first book in a series on the ethology and behavioral ecology of marine mammals, with W?rsig as series editor. These other books will be published throughout the next 2.5 years, on 2) phocids (by Daniel Costa and Elizabeth McHuron), 3) otariids and walrus (by Claudio Campagna and Rob Harcourt), 4) sea otter and polar bear (by Randall Davis and Anthony Pagano), 5) mysticetes (by Christopher W. Clark and Ellen Garland), and 6) sirens (by Helene Marsh). Contents of the first book include: Part I -- Patterns of Odontocete Ethology and Behavioral Ecology Shannon Gowans Grouping Behaviors of Dolphins and Other Toothed Whales http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_1 Peter Tyack Communication by Sound and by Visual, Tactile, and Chemical Sensing http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_2 Robin Vaughn-Hirshorn Social Ecology of Feeding in an Open Ocean http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_3 Dara N. Orbach Sexual Strategies: Male and Female Mating Tactics http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_4 Janet Mann Maternal Care and Offspring Development in Odontocetes http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_5 Stefan Br?ger, Zsuzsanna Br?ger Movement Patterns of Odontocetes Through Space and Time http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_6 Mridula Srinivasan Predator/Prey Decisions and the Ecology of Fear http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_7 Katherine McHugh Odontocete Social Strategies and Tactics Along and Inshore http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_8 Sarah L. Mesnick, Lisa T. Ballance, Paul R. Wade, Karen Pryor, Randall R. Reeves Oceanic Dolphin Societies: Diversity, Complexity, and Conservation http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_9 Giovanni Bearzi, Sarah Piwetz, Randall R. Reeves Odontocete Adaptations to Human Impact and Vice Versa http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_10 Part II -- Examples of Odontocete Ethology and Behavioral Ecology: Present Knowledge and Ways Forward John K. B. Ford Killer Whales: Behavior, Social Organization, and Ecology of the Oceans' Apex Predators http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_11 Mauricio Cantor, Shane Gero, Hal Whitehead, Luke Rendell Sperm Whale: The Largest Toothed Creature on Earth http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_12 Jim Boran, Sara Heimlich Pilot Whales: Delphinid Matriarchies in Deep Seas http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_13 Robin W. Baird Behavior and Ecology of Not-So-Social Odontocetes: Cuvier's and Blainville's Beaked Whales http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_14 Randall S. Wells Common Bottlenose Dolphin Foraging: Behavioral Solutions that Incorporate Habitat Features and Social Associates http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_15 Richard C. Connor, Mai Sakai, Tadamichi Morisaka, Simon J. Allen The Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_16 Marc O. Lammers Spinner Dolphins of Islands and Atolls http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_17 Heidi C. Pearson Dusky Dolphins of Continental Shelves and Deep Canyons http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_18 Dipani Sutaria, Nachiket Kelkar, Claryana Ara?jo-Wang, Marcos Santos Cetacean Sociality in Rivers, Lagoons, and Estuaries http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_19 Rochelle Constantine Hector's and Maui Dolphins: Small Shore-Living Delphinids with Disparate Social Structures http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_20 Jonas Teilmann, Signe Sveegaard Porpoises the World Over: Diversity in Behavior and Ecology http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_21 Thomas A. Jefferson Endangered Odontocetes and the Social Connection: Selected Examples of Species at Risk http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_22 Bernd W?rsig Ethology and Behavioral Ecology of Odontocetes: Concluding Remarks http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16663-2_23 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marib66 at gmail.com Fri Aug 16 08:57:30 2019 From: marib66 at gmail.com (Mariana Barbosa) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 12:57:30 -0300 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on high- frequency social communication in Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America Express Letters: Mariana Barbosa, Lis Bittencourt, Luciana G. Andrade, Tatiana L. Bisi, Jose Lailson-Brito, Jr., and Alexandre F. Azevedo (2019). High-frequency social communication in *Sotalia guianensis. *https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5120550 Abstract This study aimed to investigate the use of high ultrasonic frequencies (above 40 kHz) in the Sotalia guianensis whistle repertoire. The whistles were classified as high-frequency (HF) whistles and very high-frequency (VHF) whistles. Seven parameters were extracted and a general linear mixed effects model was performed between the total number of whistles and VHF ones. Frequency parameters of HF and VHF whistles were the highest reported for this species so far. However, VHF whistles were rare and occurred in situations of high acoustic activity, which may represent a strategy used by dolphins to deal with higher levels of vocalization rates. The paper is open access and can be downloaded in the link below: https://asa.scitation.org/doi/10.1121/1.5120550 Kind regards, Mariana Barbosa -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From recruitment at osc.co.uk Sun Aug 18 11:09:19 2019 From: recruitment at osc.co.uk (Recruitment) Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2019 18:09:19 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] MMO and PAM vacancies Message-ID: Dear MMOs and PAMOs, OSC has MMO and PAM vacancies on seismic surveys in the North Sea. Imminent: 2 x MMOs and 1 x PAMO are required for a mobilisation around 21 August for an estimated duration of 5-6 weeks. September: additional MMOs and PAMOs for rotations on various vessels commencing around 10 September for 5-6 week durations. Additional rotations (durations) might be possible on request. These vacancies are restricted to EU citizens, or overseas citizens in possession of a current work visa. If you have not worked for OSC previously or recently, we will require scans/copies of your CV, passport, degree certificate(s), MMO and PAM, survival and medical. OSC also has numerous short-notice vacancies at present, some with only 1-2 days' notice, with durations varying from a few days to months, so if personnel are available and seeking work for any duration, it's worthwhile dropping us an email to see if any projects are aligned. We also receive requests for personnel certified to monitor seabirds, so these professionals are also welcome to apply. Kind regards, -- Recruitment Ocean Science Consulting Limited (OSC) Spott Road, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1RR, Scotland, UK T: +44 (0)1368 865 722 W: www.osc.co.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tim.awbery91 at gmail.com Fri Aug 16 08:18:46 2019 From: tim.awbery91 at gmail.com (Tim Awbery) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:18:46 +0300 Subject: [MARMAM] VOLUNTEER AND INTERN RECRUITMENT FOR THE MONTENEGRO DOLPHIN RESEARCH (SOUTH ADRIATIC SEA) Message-ID: VOLUNTEER AND INTERN RECRUITMENT FOR THE MONTENEGRO DOLPHIN RESEARCH (SOUTH ADRIATIC SEA) OUR PROJECT The Montenegro Dolphin Research is a scientific project run by Marine Mammals Research Association (DMAD). Our study is the first and only long term research study of marine mammals in Montenegrin coastal waters, with recent surveys covering the northern coastline of Albania. We aim to address questions about marine mammal abundance, distribution and behaviour, define critical habitats and investigate the impact of major threats, ranging from tourism to seismic practices. Our wider attention focuses on the promotion and implementation of awareness initiatives targeted at the local community, particularly youth and women. WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR We offer several volunteering and internship positions: this is a valuable opportunity for graduates, that wish to gain experience in the marine mammal research field, and undergraduates, that would like to obtain internship academic credits. It could be used to develop a scientific project for BSc and MSc thesis. However, we are also open to accept applications from anyone whose passion for marine mammals is strong and sincere. Opportunities are available starting* from September 2019*. The minimum duration of the placements is 2 MONTHS, with possible exceptions for skilled candidates. REQUIREMENTS -True interest for marine conservation, self-motivation, maturity and ability to work responsibly; -Ability to cohabit in a dynamic and multicultural environment; -Respect for the organisation's rules and willingness to follow standards and procedures; -Proven experience of working effectively as part of a team; -Fluent English (both spoken and written) and good communication skills; -Willingness to learn new software applications. -Background in marine biology and previous fieldwork experience are an advantage. FIELD WORK AND RESPONSIBILITIES -Performing land-based surveys at least three times a week, including sunrise and sunset hours; -Performing boat-based surveys once a fortnight (occasionally more if possible). -Collecting dolphins sighting and behavioural data, as well as environmental and anthropogenic data; -Operating theodolite and managing its software Pythagoras; -Data entry and analysis; -Cataloguing and matching individuals of target species for photo-ID studies via Discovery software; -Raising stakeholder awareness through conservation actions. -Promoting citizen-science activities TRAINING The Montenegro Dolphin Research team provides lectures and field work training as well as constant mentoring. You will be given the chance to learn the most popular methodologies used in marine mammal research including: -GIS mapping -Theodolite operation and Pythagoras software; -Photo-identification; -Discovery, Darwin and Logger 2010 software; -Systematic data collection and data analysis; -Visual and acoustic behaviour of marine mammals -Scientific manuscript and technical report writing skills PROJECT PARTICIPATION FEE The positions require a contribution fee of 700 Euros/ month which fully goes to support the project and the participation fee includes: -Accommodation and expenses -Transportation between the project sites within and between Montenegro and Albania -Training and lectures -Scientific support -Field work -Use of the equipment Applicants are responsible for their transportation to/from Montenegro, meals, insurance (all participants should have health and/or travel insurance) and personal expenses. HOW TO APPLY Email your CV and cover letter to *tim.awbery91 at gmail.com * (Tim Awbery) and *info at dmad.org.tr *, explaining why you are a suitable asset for our team and which goals you hope to achieve with us! Please mention the PERIOD OF INTEREST AND DURATION OF AVAILABILITY! If you wish to have more info about our work and get to know us better follow our websites: https://www.dmad.org.tr/volunteering https://www.sancet.org/ https://www.instagram.com/marinemammalsresearch/ https://www.facebook.com/DMADforNature/ All the best, Tim Awbery -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From saawood at ucsc.edu Fri Aug 16 16:47:29 2019 From: saawood at ucsc.edu (Sarah Wood) Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 16:47:29 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Community Science Opportunity: sealcount.com Message-ID: Hello all, We are seeking volunteers to help virtually count pinnipeds and birds on a small island in California (sealcount.com). For my undergraduate senior thesis, I will use drone imagery to census animals on A?o Nuevo island every 2 weeks for the last 3 years. With over 40,000 images of animals to count, our research team in Dan Costa?s lab at UC Santa Cruz is hoping to recruit some help from citizen scientists. This opportunity will allow participants to be part of a collaborative project to better understand how many seals, sea lions, and birds are on A?o Nuevo Island during different seasons and years, and can provide important insight into the health of pinniped and bird populations. Visit sealcount.com to take a brief tutorial and dive right in to counting pinnipeds. For those who are bird-lovers, you can select the bird workflow to count pelicans, cormorants, and gulls as well. Thank you for your help with our project! Happy counting, Sarah Wood (UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student) Roxanne Beltran (UC Santa Cruz postdoctoral fellow) Patrick Robinson (A?o Nuevo Reserve Director) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ecm-parsons at earthlink.net Wed Aug 14 11:11:41 2019 From: ecm-parsons at earthlink.net (Chris Parsons) Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2019 14:11:41 -0400 (GMT-04:00) Subject: [MARMAM] New Marine Mammal Science podcast Message-ID: <1822154661.2145.1565806301888@wamui-tucker.atl.sa.earthlink.net> E.C.M. Parsons BA MA(Oxon)PhD CBiol FMBA FRSB FRGS Scientific Director: SEAQuEST Environmental & Conservation Consulting Affiliate Researcher, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, Glasgow University Scientific Content / Creative Director - Speak Up for Blue Productions Producer & Co-host: Marine Conservation Happy Hour podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marine-conservation-happy-hour/id1358697135 Producer & Co-host: Dugongs & Seadragons podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dugongs-and-seadragons/id1434955767 Producer & Host: Environmental Studies & Sciences podcast (coming soon) Producer & Host: Marine Mammal Science podcast (coming soon) Announcing a new marine mammal science podcast by the Society for Marine Mammalogy ! Episode 1: Endangered Blue Whales With Dr. Asha De Vos In the first of the Marine Mammal Science podcasts, while sailing in the coastal waters of Sri Lanka, Dr. Chris Parsons talks with Dr. Asha De Vos about her research on endangered blue whales in Sri Lanka. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marine-mammal-science/id1475692072 The Marine Mammal Science podcast is produced by Speak Up for Blue productions on behalf of the Society for Marine Mammalogy ########################################################################################### E.C.M. Parsons BA MA(Oxon)PhD CBiol FMBA FRSB FRGS Scientific Content / Creative Director - Speak Up for Blue Productions Producer & Host: Marine Mammal Science podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marine-mammal-science/id1475692072 Producer & Host: Environmental Studies & Sciences podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/environmental-studies-and-sciences/id1475692098 Producer & Co-host: Marine Conservation Happy Hour podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marine-conservation-happy-hour/id1358697135 Producer & Co-host: Dugongs & Seadragons podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dugongs-and-seadragons/id1434955767 From milaja.ny at gmail.com Tue Aug 20 08:09:52 2019 From: milaja.ny at gmail.com (=?UTF-8?Q?Milaja_Nyk=C3=A4nen?=) Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:09:52 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on bottlenose dolphin postglacial colonization Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, On behalf of my co-authors, I'd like to draw your attention to a recently published (as an advance) paper on bottlenose dolphin postglacial colonization: Milaja Nyk?nen, Kristin Kaschner, Willy Dabin, Andrew Brownlow, Nicholas J Davison, Rob Deaville, Cristina Garilao, Kathleen Kesner-Reyes, M Thomas P Gilbert, Rod Penrose, Valentina Islas-Villanueva, Nathan Wales, Simon N Ingram, Emer Rogan, Marie Louis, Andrew D Foote. 2019. Postglacial Colonization of Northern Coastal Habitat by Bottlenose Dolphins: A Marine Leading-Edge Expansion? Journal of Heredity, esz039, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esz039 Abstract Oscillations in the Earth?s temperature and the subsequent retreating and advancing of ice-sheets around the polar regions are thought to have played an important role in shaping the distribution and genetic structuring of contemporary high-latitude populations. After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), retreating of the ice-sheets would have enabled early colonizers to rapidly occupy suitable niches to the exclusion of other conspecifics, thereby reducing genetic diversity at the leading-edge. Bottlenose dolphins (genus *Tursiops*) form distinct coastal and pelagic ecotypes, with finer-scale genetic structuring observed within each ecotype. We reconstruct the postglacial colonization of the Northeast Atlantic (NEA) by bottlenose dolphins using habitat modeling and phylogenetics. The AquaMaps model hindcasted suitable habitat for the LGM in the Atlantic lower latitude waters and parts of the Mediterranean Sea. The time-calibrated phylogeny, constructed with 86 complete mitochondrial genomes including 30 generated for this study and created using a multispecies coalescent model, suggests that the expansion to the available coastal habitat in the NEA happened via founder events starting ~15 000 years ago (95% highest posterior density interval: 4 900?26 400). The founders of the 2 distinct coastal NEA populations comprised as few as 2 maternal lineages that originated from the pelagic population. The low effective population size and genetic diversity estimated for the shared ancestral coastal population subsequent to divergence from the pelagic source population are consistent with leading-edge expansion. These findings highlight the legacy of the Late Pleistocene glacial cycles on the genetic structuring and diversity of contemporary populations. If you would like a PDF copy of the article, please do not hesitate to contact me (milaja.ny at gmail.com). The article is also available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esz039 Kind regards, Milaja Nykanen -- Dr Milaja Nykanen School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork Cork, Ireland Mobile: +353 (0)85 110 1466 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From robert.schick at duke.edu Mon Aug 19 07:43:27 2019 From: robert.schick at duke.edu (Dr Robert Schick, Ph.D.) Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2019 14:43:27 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Reproducible Research Workshop at WMMC Message-ID: It sometimes seems like every week there are news items about the reproducibility crisis in science. If you?ve ever seen such pieces and thought that embracing a reproducible workflow is probably a good idea, but are overwhelmed with not knowing where to start, I have just the solution. On Saturday December 7th, 2019 I'll be offering a day long workshop on reproducible research at the WMMCresearch at the WMMC. I invite you to come along and learn about the underpinnings of a good workflow. The course will be based in R and RStudio, but you needn?t be an expert in either. We?ll cover directory structures, project based workflows, and version control with git and GitHub. The course is targeted towards those interested, but at the early stages of learning about reproducibility. If you are already an expert in git and reproducibility, then this is probably not for you ? but look for an advanced workshop sometime this fall. Feel free to be in touch with any questions about the content. I will be in touch with attendees a week ahead of the workshop with some pre-workshop instructions relating to computing environments. Cheers, Rob -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From matt.gummery at msc.org Mon Aug 19 03:19:16 2019 From: matt.gummery at msc.org (Matt Gummery) Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2019 10:19:16 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] MSC announces conference workshop - Incentivising consistent data collection and transparent report of marine mammal bycatch in fisheries Message-ID: Dear colleagues, I am pleased to announce that the Marine Stewardship Council will be holding a workshop at the World Marine Mammal Conference (WMMC) in Barcelona 2019. Details and registration below. - WORKSHOP TITLE - Incentivising consistent data collection and transparent reporting of marine mammal bycatch in fisheries. - WORKSHOP SUMMARY - The Marine Stewardship Council is a sustainability standard and market-based incentive for fisheries to improve practices and reduce environmental impact, including impacts on marine mammals. Sustainable management of human impacts on marine mammal populations requires consistent, transparent data collection that is often lacking. The MSC would like to explore how to incentivise data-sharing and reward transparency so the true extent of fisheries impacts can be understood and mitigated where necessary. The workshop would include sessions on best practice data collection, consistent data standards, risk-based approaches and behavioural incentives. Conclusions from this workshop will inform the review of the MSC Fisheries Standard, which is presently applied in more than 400 fisheries worldwide. - DATE AND TIME - Sunday 8 December, 0830 - 1730 - REGISTER - Register for the workshop on the WMMC website - https://www.wmmconference.org/workshops/ Kind regards, Matt Gummery Fisheries Assessment Manager matt.gummery at msc.org | + 44 (0) 20 7246 8900 Marine Stewardship Council Marine House | 1 Snow Hill | London EC1A 2DH | United Kingdom ________________________________ Disclaimer The information contained in this communication from the sender is confidential. It is intended solely for use by the recipient and others authorized to receive it. If you are not the recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution or taking action in relation of the contents of this information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. This email has been scanned for viruses and malware, and may have been automatically archived by Mimecast Ltd, an innovator in Software as a Service (SaaS) for business. Providing a safer and more useful place for your human generated data. Specializing in; Security, archiving and compliance. To find out more visit the Mimecast website. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From michael.ladegaard at bios.au.dk Wed Aug 21 05:16:28 2019 From: michael.ladegaard at bios.au.dk (Michael Ladegaard) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 12:16:28 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Context-dependent biosonar adjustments during active target approaches in echolocating harbour porpoises Message-ID: Dear colleagues, It is my pleasure to announce a new biosonar publication, where Peter Madsen and I show how harbour porpoises use different biosonar behaviours depending on the context in which they are echolocating: Context-dependent biosonar adjustments during active target approaches in echolocating harbour porpoises Michael Ladegaard, Peter Teglberg Madsen Journal of Experimental Biology 2019 222: jeb206169 doi: 10.1242/jeb.206169 Published 19 August 2019 In this study, we had two free-swimming porpoises approach the same target over the same approach distance in two highly different environments: a shallow-water pvc-lined pool and a semi-natural harbour net pen. In the confined pool environment, the porpoises showed a higher degree of range-dependent adjustment to the target and used lower source levels (SLs) and shorter interclick intervals (ICIs) compared to the net pen. The ambient noise at the high frequencies relevant for porpoise echolocation was low in both environment, so the porpoises likely changed echolocation behaviour in response to the different reverberant conditions between the two environments. Our study highlight that porpoises approaching a specific echolocation target not only use range-dependent, but also context-dependent biosonar adjustments, thus underscoring the flexibility of toothed whale biosonar. The paper was published in Journal of Experimental Biology and may be downloaded here: https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/16/jeb206169 It is also featured in an Inside JEB article here: https://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/16/jeb210955 In case you cannot access the paper through the JEB website then please send me an email and I will be happy to share a download link with you. All the best, Michael Ladegaard Michael Ladegaard Postdoc building 1130, room 110 Mobile: (+45) 4076 4035 Email: michael.ladegaard at bios.au.dk Web: Michael Ladegaard Department of Bioscience - Zoophysiology Aarhus University C. F. M?llers All? 3, building 1131 8000 Aarhus C Email: mail at au.dk Web: http://bios.au.dk/en/ Lab: http://marinebioacoustics.com/ ABSTRACT: Echolocating mammals generally target individual prey items by transitioning through the biosonar phases of search (slow-rate, high-amplitude outputs), approach (gradually increasing rate and decreasing output amplitude) and buzzing (high-rate, low-amplitude outputs). The range to the main target of interest is often considered the key or sole driver of such biosonar adjustments of acoustic gaze. However, the actively generated auditory scene of an echolocator invariably comprises a large number of other reflectors and noise sources that likely also impact the biosonar strategies and source parameters implemented by an echolocating animal in time and space. In toothed whales, the importance of context on biosonar adjustments is largely unknown. To address this, we trained two harbour porpoises to actively approach the same sound recording target over the same approach distance in two highly different environments: a PVC-lined pool and a semi-natural net pen in a harbour, while blind-folded and wearing a sound recording tag (DTAG-4). We show that the approaching porpoises used considerably shorter interclick intervals (ICIs) in the pool than in the net pen, except during the buzz phase, where slightly longer ICIs were used in the pool. We further show that average click source levels were 4?7?dB higher in the net pen. Because of the very low-level in-band ambient noise in both environments, we posit that the porpoises adapted their echolocation strategy to the different reverberation levels between the two settings. We demonstrate that harbour porpoises use different echolocation strategies and biosonar parameters in two different environments for solving an otherwise identical target approach task and thus highlight that biosonar adjustments are both range and context dependent. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Mahaffys at cascadiaresearch.org Tue Aug 20 21:14:39 2019 From: Mahaffys at cascadiaresearch.org (Sabre Mahaffy) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 04:14:39 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] volunteer with Cascadia Research Collective Message-ID: Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington is now accepting volunteers for U.S. west coast and Hawai?i research for fall of 2019 and winter and spring of 2020! Cascadia Research Collective (CRC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit research and education organization founded in 1979. Most of our research is focused on whale and dolphin populations along the west coast of North America and in Hawai?i. For more information about Cascadia and our research please visit www.cascadiaresearch.org We are seeking volunteers to help with our U.S. west coast and Hawai?i research projects. Both volunteer positions are office-based positions in Olympia, Washington. We are currently filling positions for: Fall (September-December) Winter (January-March) Spring (April-June) Volunteer positions are unpaid, office-based positions in Olympia, WA and housing is not provided. International applicants will also be considered, but it is the responsibility of the applicant to acquire necessary visas and documentation. Position Details: CRC gives priority to juniors or seniors with a science background who are seeking academic credit as well as those enrolled in (or planning to attend) graduate school in a marine science-related field. A full time commitment (40 hours per week) is preferred. Volunteer opportunities are generally three months in length, although exceptions can be made depending on the academic calendar of the college or university. Much of CRC?s work involves photo identification, using natural markings unique to each individual to catalog and track individuals over time. This allows us to study association patterns and movements over extended periods of time, revealing information on population structure and social organization. Volunteers will spend a large portion of their time comparing new photographs to those in our existing catalogs, and may additionally be involved in digital image processing and data entry. Additionally, volunteers may have opportunities to participate in Washington state stranding response, which may include beach surveys, data and specimen collection, data entry, and assisting in necropsies of pinnipeds & cetaceans. US West Coast Research: Volunteers will assist staff on our long-term photo-ID studies of baleen whales, including humpback, blue, and gray whales off the US West Coast and the inside waters of Washington state. For more information, see www.cascadiaresearch.org Hawai?i Research: Volunteers will assist staff on our long-term photo-ID studies of a variety of species of odontocetes (e.g., rough-toothed dolphins, false killer whales, beaked whales) found in Hawaiian waters. For more information, see www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii.htm For a full description of the volunteer positions available, please visit: www.cascadiaresearch.org/interns.htm [http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/files/pictures/DSC_1910.JPG] Interns and volunteers Current and Past Interns & Volunteers | Graduate Students About Cascadia Research www.cascadiaresearch.org Photo identification requires a high degree of focus and attention to detail, and volunteers can expect to spend the majority of their time comparing photographs. Successful applicants should have the following skills: - strong communication skills - focus and attention to detail - willingness to spend long hours in front of a computer - ability to work independently If you are interested in volunteering with Cascadia, please visit our website and send a CV (including references and their contact information), two professional letters of recommendation and a letter of interest that describes why you are applying for the position and how the experience will help you be successful in meeting long-term goals. For a US west coast project volunteer position please send the information to: Kiirsten Flynn: kflynn at cascadiaresearch.org For a Hawai?i project volunteer position please send the information to: Sabre Mahaffy: mahaffys at cascadiaresearch.org If you would like to be considered for either, please indicate that in your letter and send to both. ----------------------------------------- Sabre Mahaffy, M.Sc. Research Biologist Cascadia Research Collective 218 1/2 W. 4th Ave. Olympia, WA 98501 Office 360-943-7325 www.cascadiaresearch.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From RCarini at mmc.gov Wed Aug 21 07:44:34 2019 From: RCarini at mmc.gov (Roxanne Carini) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 14:44:34 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] REMINDER-- Survey: Communicating Science for the Conservation of Marine Mammals In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: REMINDER-- Survey: Communicating Science for the Conservation of Marine Mammals https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RJCsurvey Disclaimer: This survey is part of a study being conducted by Roxanne J Carini, PhD (the principal investigator), independent of her one-year Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship at the Marine Mammal Commission. Participation is voluntary and anonymous. The purpose of this survey is to better understand attitudes/opinions and levels of engagement of those who work on marine mammal issues regarding how scientific results are applied to marine mammal conservation, policy, and management. A similar survey was originally designed and conducted in 2007 by Vicki Cornish and Raychelle Daniel, while working for the Ocean Conservancy. The survey is re-administered, with minor changes for modernization, to assess current attitudes and how they might have changed since 2007. The results of this survey will be shared as a poster presentation at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, Spain, in December 2019 (Abstract 1121). The results will also be distributed to the MARMAM list-serve and shared broadly with interested government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and others interested in improving communication efforts related to the conservation of marine mammals. This survey will be open on SurveyMonkey for a period of six weeks (until 20 September 2019). https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RJCsurvey Thank you, Roxanne J Carini Roxanne J Carini, PhD John A Knauss Marine Policy Fellow Marine Mammal Commission rcarini at mmc.gov | 301-504-0087 Twitter: @MarineMammalCom Website: www.mmc.gov -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From niki.diogou at gmail.com Wed Aug 21 15:56:36 2019 From: niki.diogou at gmail.com (Niki Diogou) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 17:56:36 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] Two New Publications on Sperm Whale Acoustic Ecology in the Offshore Gulf of Alaska Message-ID: Dear all, My colleagues and I are happy to share with the MARMAM Community our two companion papers on *Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) acoustic ecology at Ocean Station PAPA in the Gulf of Alaska*, published online in Deep Sea Research Part I . *- Part 1 investigates the seasonality in sperm whale occurrences* DIOGOU, N., PALACIOS, D. M., NIEUKIRK, S. L., NYSTUEN, J., PAPATHANASSIOU, E., KATSANEVAKIS, S., KLINCK, H., (2019). *Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) acoustic ecology at Ocean Station PAPA in the Gulf of Alaska ? Part 1: Detectability and seasonality.* doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2019.05.007 *Abstract* Sperm whales *Physeter macrocephalus* produce loud, stereotypical click sequences and are an ideal species to be studied with passive acoustic techniques. To increase our limited knowledge of sperm whale occurrence patterns in remote and inaccessible locations of the North Pacific, we analyzed a five-year-long (June 2007?April 2012) acoustic data set recorded at Ocean Station PAPA (OSP; 50?N, 145?W) in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). Firstly, we assessed the sperm whale detection performance of the Passive Aquatic Listener (PAL), and secondly, we investigated temporal patterns of sperm whale presence at OSP. The PAL proved highly efficient, with above 50% probability of detecting more than two sperm whales, a condition met for over 50% of the recordings. Results indicated that sperm whale clicks were recorded year-round, with a clear seasonal pattern. The number of detections during the summer months was approximately 70% higher compared to winter. An ambient noise analysis showed that differences in detection rates were likely not driven by seasonal changes in ambient noise levels. The average propagation range of sperm whale clicks ranged between 7 and 8?km between summer and winter, with slightly decreased detection distances observed in winter. Seasonal shifts in the intensity of the Alaska Current and the latitudinal oscillations of the North Pacific Transition Zone results in changes in water mixing, transport of nutrients and the concentration of prey such as squid, which likely drives sperm whale distribution. The manuscript is available for download at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063718302577 *- Part 2 assesses and explains the sperm whale oceanographic preferences * DIOGOU, N., PALACIOS, D. M., NYSTUEN, J., PAPATHANASSIOU, E., KATSANEVAKIS, S., KLINCK, H., (2019). *Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) acoustic ecology at Ocean Station PAPA in the Gulf of Alaska ? Part 2: Oceanographic drivers of interannual variability*. doi: *https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2019.05.004 * *Abstract* Understanding top predator responses to environmental variability is key to assessing potential impacts of global warming on marine ecosystems. However, tracking environmental changes and their effects across multiple trophic levels up to predators can be difficult. Here, we related the interannual (2007?2012) acoustic occurrence of sperm whales (*Physeter macrocephalus*) at Ocean Station PAPA (OSP), in the offshore Gulf of Alaska (GOA), to environmental drivers within an explicit time-series modeling framework. In a model based on a combination of *in-situ* and remotely sensed variables, ocean heat content (HC), meridional current (V), eddy kinetic energy (EKE), strength of the permanent pycnocline (maxBVF), sea surface temperature (SST) and SST standard deviation (SSTsd) explained 51% of the variability in sperm whale presence, indicating a positive relationship between sperm whale occurrence and increased ocean heating, vertical stratification, and circulation. Sperm whale detections were anomalously high in summer 2010 and winter 2011, and anomalously low at the end of summer and winter 2008, and spring 2011. Results suggest these strongly anomalous detection events reflect a response to El Ni?o?Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, with an 8-month lag. In the study area, El Ni?o leads to a stronger permanent pycnocline, a weakening of the Alaska Gyre, a northward expansion of the North Pacific Subarctic Frontal Zone, and a prevalence of offshore mesoscale eddies, likely favoring the abundance of squid and their predator, the sperm whale. The overall results are consistent with a scenario of increasing sperm whale occurrence at high latitudes under increased ocean warming. The manuscript is available for download at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063718302589 Please do not hesitate to contact me (niki.diogou at gmail.com) with any comments or questions. Enjoy, Niki -- Niki Diogou, PhD *Acoustic Ecology* University of the Aegean, Department of Marine Sciences Oregon State University Research Collective for Applied Acoustics (ORCAA) Hellenic Center for Marine Research, Department of Oceanography *+593 996084868* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marcussalton at gmail.com Wed Aug 21 17:22:11 2019 From: marcussalton at gmail.com (Marcus Salton) Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 10:22:11 +1000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Mechanisms for sex-based segregation in foraging behaviour by a polygynous marine carnivore Message-ID: Dear all, My co-authors and I area pleased to bring to your attention the following publication: Salton M, Kirkwood R, Slip D, Harcourt R (2019) Mechanisms for sex-based segregation in foraging behaviour by a polygynous marine carnivore. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 624:213-226. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13036 ABSTRACT: Sexual segregation in foraging is often attributed to constraints arising from sexual size dimorphism, such as differing physiological abilities and energy requirements, or to reproductive commitments including nutritional requirements and behavioural limitations such as parental care. In species with sexual size dimorphism and a polygynous mating system, there are sex differences in both body size and reproductive commitments, so distinguishing the mechanism underlying sexually segregated foraging is particularly difficult. We investigated movements of the sexually dimorphic, polygynous Australian fur seal *Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus*, and compared foraging strategies of juveniles to adults in order to investigate foraging constraints associated with differences in body size separately from those also associated with reproduction. Foraging trip duration, range, core area, and distance to core area from the breeding site were similar between the sexes in juveniles and adults, but juveniles were overall more constrained than adults. After foraging trips, juveniles and adult females were more likely to return to the breeding site than to other sites, probably because of physiological limitations (juveniles) or reproductive commitments (adult females). Freedom from reproductive commitments allowed adult males to reside in areas away from the breeding site and thereby meet the higher energy requirements arising from their larger body size, without competing with adult females. Consequently, intra-species differences in foraging strategies of Australian fur seals are shaped first by foraging constraints associated with body size, and to a lesser extent by reproductive behaviour. The article can be download from: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v624/p213-226/ or you can email me for a copy. Best regards, Marcus Salton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From awerth at hsc.edu Wed Aug 21 16:34:43 2019 From: awerth at hsc.edu (Alex Werth) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 23:34:43 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on cetacean enamel Message-ID: On behalf of my coauthors Carolina Loch and Ewan Fordyce I am pleased to announce the publication of our article in the Journal of Mammalian Evolution entitled "Enamel Microstructure in Cetacea: A Case Study in Evolutionary Loss of Complexity." It is available on the journal and publisher (Springer) website, DOI:10.1007/s10914-019-09484-7, or you can contact me for a pdf copy if interested. Best regards, Alex Werth, A.J., C. Loch,, and R.E. Fordyce. 2019. Enamel microstructure in Cetacea: a case study in evolutionary loss of complexity. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-019-09484-7 Abstract: Enamel microstructure of 34 species in eight odontocete families is described and categorized according to structural complexity (from no or prismless enamel to highly arranged enamel in decussating layers), then correlated with parameters of ecology, life history, and occlusal function. Overall, more complex dental structure in extant and extinct cetaceans is associated with smaller, more numerous teeth in taxa that bite or grasp smaller, harder prey with longer, narrower jaws and have more oral processing. Enamel complexity loosely correlates with mechanical properties, but measurement of compressive strength is complicated by the presence of cementum overlying or in place of crown enamel. Given the presence of Hunter-Schreger bands and other indices of high microstructural complexity in archaic cetaceans (with presumed plesiomorphic characters), the absence of complex enamel, as well as more generally of gross dental form, signals a loss of complexity in various cetacean lineages. Nonetheless, it is difficult to draw robust or reliable inferences regarding either cetacean phylogeny or dental function given the pattern of presumed loss of tooth complexity, and the confounding presence of numerous exceptions (taxa with complex teeth despite limited use, or with thin, weakly developed enamel and soft, simple teeth despite high occlusal function). Although retention of a complex feature implies its continued adaptive value, and thus selection for the underlying genetic and developmental bases for that complexity, loss of complexity can simply follow absence of function. Loss of complex traits presumably relates to accumulated mutations and economic efficiency, but unfolds with no distinct pattern of distribution. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tiago.marques at st-andrews.ac.uk Thu Aug 22 06:29:14 2019 From: tiago.marques at st-andrews.ac.uk (Tiago Marques) Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 13:29:14 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] distance sampling related workshops at upcoming SMM in Barcelona Message-ID: Dear MARMAMers, If you are attending the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona in December 2019 you might want to know about 2 distance sampling-related workshops, in the morning and afternoon of December 7th. You can sign up as part of registration (or as an add-on to your registration if you've registered already), see https://www.wmmconference.org/. Details about both workshops can be found below and more information, including how to register, on the link above. On behalf of the Distance Sampling workshop?s team, maybe see you in Barcelona ? Tiago Marques Distance sampling surveys of marine mammal density and abundance: from introductory ideas to latest developments December 7th 08:30-12:30 The goal of this workshop is to introduce the latest developments in distance sampling methods and software of particularly relevance to marine mammal scientists. Distance sampling surveys, particularly line transects, are widely used to estimate marine mammal population density and abundance. We will begin by introducing the basic ideas, and then describe how these have been extended to allow: spatial density surface and habitat modelling, passive acoustic density estimation, incorporation of animal movement, long dive times. We will demonstrate the Windows software and latest R-based software packages. At the end of the session, we will divide into groups and discuss topics suggested by workshop participants, as well as priorities for future methods and software development. This workshop is suitable both for complete beginners interested in getting a jump-start on methods for estimating marine mammal density and abundance, as well as seasoned distance sampling practitioners wanting to hear what?s new. Advancing marine species density surface modelling with a focus on extrapolation December 7th 13:30-17:30 Density surface models attempt to describe animal distribution as a function of spatially referenced variables. Data typically come from visual line transect surveys, though other effort-indexed methods (i.e., passive acoustics) are emerging. Outputs include modelled relationships between density and explanatory variables, maps of population density, and stratified estimates of population size with uncertainty. These are of practical use for marine spatial planning and impact assessment. Many statistical approaches are available for density surface modeling. This half-day workshop is being proposed by those involved with the LMR-funded research project, DenMod, that aims to compare the different density surface modelling approaches, identifying common ground and outstanding issues. The workshop will provide participants with progress updates on the priority research areas agreed at the workshop in Halifax 2017. In particular, this workshop will focus on extrapolation of density surface models beyond collected data (when it can be done and how to assess it). We will also present an online resource for common questions and practical problems that researchers encounter when using density surface models. The workshop will consist of a series of short presentations by the DenMod project team on key topics, with a particular focus on extrapolation. We will allow plenty of time for open discussion following the presentations. A report summarising the workshop will be sent to all participants as well as being posted on the project website ? https://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/denmod/ The report of the workshop held in Halifax can also be found here. __________________________________________ Tiago Andr? Marques email (St Andrews): tiago.marques at st.andrews.ac.uk email (FCUL): tamarques at ciencias.ulisboa.pt email (personal): tiagoandremarques at gmail.com Mobile (personal): 00351919651628 Twitter: @TiagoALOMarques Skype: talomar __________________________________________ Google Scholar SHqH7fMAAAAJ ORCID 0000-0002-2581-1972 ResearcherID A-5530-2010 Scopus ID 6603703024 __________________________________________ University of St Andrews Senior Research Fellow School of Mathematics and Statistics Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9LZ, Scotland Phone: 00441334461842 Fax: 00441334461800 The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland : No SC013532 http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/profile/tam2 __________________________________________ Universidade de Lisboa Professor Auxiliar Convidado Departamento de Biologia Animal Centro de Estat?stica e Aplica??es Faculdade de Ci?ncias da Universidade de Lisboa Bloco C6, Piso 4, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, PORTUGAL FCUL: 00351217500170 (my usual office) https://ciencias.ulisboa.pt/pt/perfil/tamarques __________________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rcabprieto at gmail.com Thu Aug 22 07:58:42 2019 From: rcabprieto at gmail.com (Rui Prieto) Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 14:58:42 -0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Request for help in sourcing suction cups for TDRs Message-ID: <003a01d558fa$17f8fe80$47eafb80$@gmail.com> Dear all, We've been using TDRs for a long time in several studies in the Azores, attached with a single suction cup (design attached). Our old suction cups had a very good performance, with long attachment durations and little migration over the body. Unfortunately, we no longer have these suction cups and the Portuguese manufacturer seems to have closed. We tested some similar suction cups, but the results are disappointing. Retention times are just too short for any meaningful study. We would appreciate if any colleagues working with suction cup tags, especially but not exclusively in Europe, could give information on where you obtain your suction cups. Please write back to rcabprieto at gmail.com with the information. In the end, I will compile a list of providers, and post back here. With the very best regards from the Azores, Rui Prieto, IMAR & OKEANOS, University of the Azores MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, FCUL 901-862 Horta Portugal Tel: (351) 292200475 Fax: (351) 292200411 Alternate e-mail: rprieto at mare-centre.pt http://whales.scienceontheweb.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: TDR_VHF_description_uk_sml.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 60393 bytes Desc: not available URL: From vales at cenpat-conicet.gob.ar Wed Aug 21 04:30:03 2019 From: vales at cenpat-conicet.gob.ar (Damian Vales) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2019 08:30:03 -0300 (ART) Subject: [MARMAM] ARGENTINA COURSE: Introduction to Isotopic Ecology for the Study of Marine Mammals In-Reply-To: <474022616.327953.1566386797320.JavaMail.zimbra@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar> Message-ID: <739508900.328023.1566387003214.JavaMail.zimbra@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar> COURSE: Introduction to Isotopic Ecology for the Study of Marine Mammals This course will be delivered by Drs Seth D Newsome (UNM, USA), Luciana Riccialdelli (CADIC-CONICET), Dami?n G Vales (CESIMAR-CONICET), and Roc?o Loizaga (CESIMAR-CONICET) in Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Patagonia Argentina, from 8th ? 12th November 2019. The course is intended to anyone using stable isotope analysis to study marine mammals' ecology. Course overview: The course will cover the theoretical concepts that underlie the application of stable isotopes as natural tracers for the study of the ecology of marine mammals. The use of different sampling designs, data collection, and sample preparations in accordance to the research question posed will be addressed. The use of specific software for the statistical analysis of isotopic results and their corresponding interpretation will also be taught. Finally, the course will cover an introduction to the ecological application of compound-specific stable 15N and 13C isotope analysis of amino acids. Participants are encouraged to bring their own data sets and problems to discuss during the course. Language: The course will be taught in English (SDN) and in Spanish (LR, DGV, RL). Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 35 people, and the course will cost 2,500 ARS per person. Please visit the following links for further details: https://jam.sarem.org.ar/introduccion-a-la-ecologia-isotopica-para-el-estudio-de-los-mamiferos-marinos/ http://www.madryn.unp.edu.ar/index.php/facultad-ciencias-naturales/posgrado/1430-curso-de-posgrado-introduccion-a-la-ecologia-isotopica-para-el-estudio-de-los-mamiferos-marinos Inscription (web form): https://goo.gl/forms/uzSp7H6MW5hwDUjR2 If you have any questions please email: posgrado.fcn.madryn at gmail.com Kind regards, Seth, Luciana, Rocio and Dami?n Dr. Dami?n G. Vales Investigador Asistente CONICET Laboratorio de Mam?feros Marinos (LAMAMA) Centro Para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR, CONICET) Boulevard Brown 2915, (U9120ACD) Puerto Madryn, Argentina Tel: 54 (280) 4883184 Int 1252 Fax: 54 (280) 4883543 E-mail: vales at cenpat-conicet.gob.ar http://www.conicet.gov.ar/new_scp/detalle.php?id=29848&datos_academicos=yes -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: flyer DIFUSION WEB 2.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 1091830 bytes Desc: not available URL: From jon.kurland at noaa.gov Thu Aug 22 14:05:57 2019 From: jon.kurland at noaa.gov (Jon Kurland - NOAA Federal) Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 13:05:57 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Protected Resources Job Opportunity Message-ID: NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region, Protected Resources Division, is advertising to fill a Marine Mammal Specialist position, ZP-401-3 (GS 11/12 equivalent), primarily to coordinate our Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The division is responsible for the conservation and recovery of marine mammals including whales, fur seals, ice seals, harbor seals, and Steller sea lions. The position will be located either in Anchorage or Juneau. The person hired for this job will work in a team environment to support NOAA staff and partners in responding to stranded and entangled marine mammals. The person will also conduct analyses and implement conservation actions to promote the management and recovery of protected species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and Marine Mammal Protection Act, including consultations with other federal agencies under section 7 of the ESA to assess and minimize impacts to listed species, and will have opportunities for engagement in other marine mammal conservation activities. We're looking for someone with excellent project management, analytical, writing, and verbal communication skills. The announcement is now posted at https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/543340000. Please encourage qualified people to apply. Anyone who has questions about the job should feel free to contact Aleria Jensen (aleria.jensen at noaa.gov, 907-586-7248) or me (jon.kurland at noaa.gov, 907-586-7638). Please forward this email to others who may be interested. Thanks! Jon Kurland Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Region -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kim.raum-suryan at noaa.gov Thu Aug 22 12:00:47 2019 From: kim.raum-suryan at noaa.gov (Kim Raum-Suryan - NOAA Federal) Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2019 11:00:47 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Pinniped Entanglement Response Workshop at upcoming WMMC in Barcelona Message-ID: Dear MARMAM members, If you are attending the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona in December 2019 and are interested in pinniped entanglement response, we are having a "Pinniped Entanglement Prevention and Response" workshop on Sunday, December 8, from 08:30-5:30. We look forward to seeing you there! To register for the workshop, please go to: https://www.wmmconference.org/workshops/ and remember that early registration for the conference closes September 4, 2019. More details about the workshop can be found below. *Workshop Summary: *Entanglement in marine debris and fishing gear is increasingly recognized as a serious source of human-caused mortality for pinniped populations world-wide. Pinniped rescue specialists and researchers around the world are working to address this issue, but these efforts are often made in isolation from one another. To provide increased global collaboration and communication among scientists, non-government organizations, non-profits, and others, the Pinniped Entanglement Group (PEG) was created in 2009. The PEG collaborates to reduce pinniped entanglements in marine debris and fishing gear through education, outreach, and rescue. This workshop is intended to bring together researchers, managers, and responders interested in working toward the common goal of reducing global pinniped entanglements and interactions with fishing gear. This is an opportunity to unite those already working on pinniped entanglement prevention and response or those interested in learning more about this topic to share ideas and exchange techniques and methods. The morning session will consist of presentations including 1) pinniped entanglement prevention, 2) entanglement response best practices, 3) fishery interactions and effective deterrents, 4) tool techniques and development, and 5) outreach and education. The afternoon session will start with a panel of experts available to answer questions followed by a group discussion. The discussion period will provide an opportunity to share techniques, establish new connections, identify data gaps, and plan for next steps. This conference provides a valuable opportunity for our global community to meet face to face to improve responses to pinniped entanglement, advance mitigation to reduce marine plastic pollution and to advance the global PEG and their efforts to reduce pinniped entanglements worldwide. *Dissemination of Workshop Results: *A summary report of the workshop will be shared with workshop participants and with the global Pinniped Entanglement Group (PEG). We would also like to produce a journal article based on a review of the issue and identification of priorities for mitigation. If you have questions, please contact Kim Raum-Suryan at kim.raum-suryan at noaa.gov , Dave Zahniser at zahniserd at tmmc.org, or Rebecca McIntosh at rmcintosh at penguins.org.au Thank you, Kim Raum-Suryan, Dave Zahniser, and Rebecca McIntosh -- *Kim Raum-SuryanMarine Mammal Biologist* *Protected Resources Division, Alaska Region, **NOAA Fisheries* *PO Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802 * *(907) 586-7424 **Kim.Raum-Suryan at noaa.gov * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mnoad at uq.edu.au Thu Aug 22 22:58:35 2019 From: mnoad at uq.edu.au (Michael Noad) Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2019 05:58:35 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New PhD project for Australian and New Zealand applicants Message-ID: A new PhD position is available through the Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory at the University of Queensland, Australia. Please note that this position will be supported by an Australian government scholarship and therefore only Australian and New Zealand residents are eligible to apply. Please note that applications close 20 September. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Understanding natural and anthropogenic influences on population health in the eastern Australian humpback whale population Project description Population studies on marine mammals, whether to assess the population-level effects of anthropogenic noise, or monitoring population recovery, requires knowledge on parameters that affect energy intake and energy use. Any natural (e.g. reduction in food availability) or anthropogenic disruptions (e.g. behavioural disturbance leading to increased energy use) may have implications for population survival and growth. This PhD project will fill a major gap in knowledge for eastern Australian humpback whale population health, energy use during migration, and fecundity. The project has two broad aims: 1. To develop baseline population health parameters for a healthy humpback whale population during migration, including body condition for both sexes and pregnancy rates for females. 2. To develop a model relating reproductive status, body condition, and energy use, in migrating humpback whales with a particular emphasis on reproductive females. Outcomes will be used to monitor changes in population health and fecundity, which are essential for predicting the future of the population. These have important conservation implications in managing the growth trajectory of the population, potential population crashes due to natural causes (the population has reached carrying capacity), and anthropogenic disturbances. Data collection will involve sampling humpback whales from the eastern Australian population during both their northward migration towards the Great Barrier Reef calving grounds and southward migration towards the Antarctic feeding grounds. Sampling will be conducted off North Stradbroke Island near Brisbane in June/July and September/October, 2020 and 2021. Drone footage will be collected simultaneously with biopsies. Progesterone concentrations will be measured using enzyme-immunoassays (EIAs) and pregnancy status (non-pregnant, pregnant) assigned to females using lab facilities at the Moreton Bay Research Station. Body condition will be estimated by photogrammetry methods. The scholarship We are offering an opportunity for an excellent PhD candidate to work with Dr. Rebecca Dunlop and Associate Professor Michael Noad, co-leaders of the Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, based at Moreton Bay Research Station, North Stradbroke Island, at the University of Queensland (https://ceal.lab.uq.edu.au/). The candidate with apply for a UQ Graduate School Scholarship (https://graduate-school.uq.edu.au/scholarships), which lasts up to 3.5 years full time. This scholarship is only available to Australian and New Zealand residents/citizens, therefore only those with eligible citizenship/visa conditions should apply. Why work with us? The Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Lab currently has a team of 8 PhD students, 1 honours student, and a small number of interns. As a team, we primarily focus on cetacean acoustic behaviour and the effects of anthropogenic noise, cetacean physiology, and cetacean population dynamics. This project will be primarily focused on cetacean physiology and population dynamics. We value a team-based approach, where supervisors and researchers work effectively together on various projects. We also value gender equity and cultural diversity within the lab. As part of the lab PhD programme, we offer experience in field data collection, grant and report writing, and statistical data analysis. We are also able to offer students industry placements, where we encourage and support students to gain real-world experience. Our lab would provide a challenging but impactful PhD experience and, as such, we are seeking an enthusiastic and capable student with a strong interest in undertaking scientific research in physiology and population ecology. Eligibility To be eligible, you must meet the entry requirements for a higher degree by research. Essential - Strong interest in animal physiology - Experience in the scientific process; experimental design, data collection, statistical analysis and scientific writing. This could be evidenced in either a completed honours, or masters, project. - Ability to work independently as well as part of a team - Willingness to commit to CEAL and be based at MBRS Desirable but not essential - Experience in lab-based work, specifically Enzyme Immunoassays - Experience in field work and field data collection - Experience working on and/or driving boats - Evidence of scientific outputs; conference presentations and/or published scientific papers - Experience in marine mammal research How to apply The documents required for application are: 1) a curriculum vitae inc. details of education as well as research and development activities; 2) a copy of all academic transcripts 3) a letter explaining your motivation for applying for this position 4) names and contact detail of two referees. A reference letter from each referee is also desirable Email items 1 to 4 to r.dunlop at uq.edu.au and mnoad at uq.edu.au by the closing date of 20th September 2019. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From simon.elwen at gmail.com Tue Aug 20 07:42:24 2019 From: simon.elwen at gmail.com (Simon Elwen) Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2019 16:42:24 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Volunteer positions available in Cape Town - Sep-Nov 2019 - Sea Search Message-ID: Sea Search Research & Conservation is a research focused NPO based in Cape Town, South Africa. We currently have openings for 2 long-term volunteers for the period 01 Sep to 30 Nov 2019 to assist with data processing, outreach activities and ad hoc field work focusing on humpback whales and humpback dolphins. As an integral part of a small team working with the project directors and post graduate students - this is a great way to get a wide range of research experience. Volunteers will be directly involved in all day to day activities including data input, photo ID and/or acoustic data processing, public outreach and equipment maintenance but will mainly work on a dedicated data set or project. We welcome participants who might be interested in working on a specific project with the possibility of continuing this as part of their own studies. Placement may be undertaken as credit towards your under- or post-graduate degree (course dependent). Please note, there is an associated fee which covers supervision, training and a contribution to the project for the period. Additionally - volunteers maybe interested in joining the marine mammal research techniques course being run in Nov (see website for details) Please contact info at seasearch.co.za with a CV and brief motivation by email. More information about our group is available on our website here: www.seasearch.co.za or facebook/seasearch Kind regards Dr Simon Elwen -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Simon Elwen Ph.D. NRF Research Fellow at the Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria Based at Sea Search Africa - 4 Bath Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town. Phone: +27 21 788 1206 (Office SA), +27 71 139 5951 (Mob SA) www.seasearch.co.za & www.namibiandolphinproject.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From simon.elwen at gmail.com Sat Aug 24 02:16:04 2019 From: simon.elwen at gmail.com (Simon Elwen) Date: Sat, 24 Aug 2019 11:16:04 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Fwd: Volunteer positions available in Cape Town - Sep-Nov 2019 - Sea Search In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Sea Search Research & Conservation is a research focused NPO based in Cape Town, South Africa. Which also run the Namibian Dolphin Project based in Walvis Bay, Namibia We currently have openings for 2 long-term volunteers for the period 01 Sep to 30 Nov 2019 to assist with data processing, outreach activities and ad hoc field work focusing on humpback whales and humpback dolphins. As an integral part of a small team working with the project directors and post graduate students - this is a great way to get a wide range of research experience. Volunteers will be directly involved in all day to day activities including data input, photo ID and/or acoustic data processing, public outreach and equipment maintenance but will mainly work on a dedicated data set or project. We welcome participants who might be interested in working on a specific project with the possibility of continuing this as part of their own studies. Placement may be undertaken as credit towards your under- or post-graduate degree (course dependent). Please note, there is an associated fee which covers supervision, training and a contribution to the project for the period. Additionally - volunteers maybe interested in joining the marine mammal research techniques course being run in Nov (see website for details) Please contact info at seasearch.co.za with a CV and brief motivation by email. More information about our group is available on our website here: www.seasearch.co.za or facebook/seasearch Kind regards Dr Simon Elwen -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Simon Elwen Ph.D. NRF Research Fellow at the Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria Based at Sea Search Africa - 4 Bath Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town. Phone: +27 21 788 1206 (Office SA), +27 71 139 5951 (Mob SA) www.seasearch.co.za & www.namibiandolphinproject.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From SMccormack at virginiaaquarium.com Fri Aug 23 13:02:47 2019 From: SMccormack at virginiaaquarium.com (Sarah R. Mccormack) Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2019 20:02:47 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Winter Internship - Virginia Aquarium's Stranding Response Program Message-ID: The Virginia Aquarium?s Research & Conservation Division is now accepting Stranding Response Intern applications for Winter 2020. The application deadline is October 13, 2019. Internship duration is January 7, 2020 ? May 29, 2020. Please note that all positions are non-compensatory and housing is not provided by the Virginia Aquarium. Interns are fully responsible for fulfilling all requirements of their home institutions to receive academic credit. Position Overview Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program (VAQS) interns promote the conservation of marine animal species through research, rescue, rehabilitation, and education. Once accepted, interns will be assigned to a focus area of either necropsy or rehabilitation. Interns will be cross-trained in all aspects of stranding response, however, daily tasks will be assigned to interns according to focus area. Stranding work is unpredictable, therefore experiences will vary by internship session. VAQS staff will provide as many learning opportunities as possible during each session. Duties * Respond to live and dead marine mammals and sea turtles in the field. * Participate in all aspects of post-mortem examinations: cutting and sampling, data collection, photographing, carcass removal, and cleaning. * Perform daily husbandry tasks, including food preparation, feeding, and cleaning the rehab area, kitchen and associated supplies. * Assist staff with new admits and daily treatments of patients. Restrain animals for exams, collect vitals (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature) and morphometrics, take photographs, administer medications, and perform wound care. * Ensure response preparedness by stocking response bags, fueling vehicles, and cleaning gear. * Assist with releases of rehabilitation patients, public outreach events, and volunteer/cooperator trainings. * Assist staff with daily administrative tasks, including answering hotline calls, data entry, and completing response paperwork. * Complete other projects and tasks as assigned by VAQS staff. Qualifications * Must be at least 18 years old. * Must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, or have recently graduated (within last two years). * Must be physically fit with the ability to lift 50lbs and walk long distances on the beach in adverse conditions such as extreme heat and cold, humidity, rain, and wind. * Must be self-motivated, articulate, mature, reliable, and responsible. Should work well independently as well as with a team. * Should be comfortable around dead and decomposing animals. * Should be comfortable driving large pick-up trucks and vans (preferred). Willing to learn how to drive response vehicles, if accepted (required). * Background in biology and familiarity with stranding response (preferred). * Experience with DSLR cameras and Microsoft Access (preferred). Position Requirements * Attend VAQS orientation and City of Virginia Beach Defensive Driving. * Possess a valid driver?s license. Internship Learning Objectives Develop fundamental hands-on stranding response and rehabilitation skills: * Perform post-mortem examinations on sea turtle and marine mammals. * Perform basic health assessments of rehabilitation patients, including vitals collection, wound treatment, administering medications, and blood processing. * Complete Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) and Level A forms. * Enter stranding data in Microsoft Access. Intern Schedule Intern is expected to be available 3-4 days per week, 8am-4:30pm. Weekend and holiday coverage is expected. Minimum Commitment Required 24 hours per week for the duration of the internship. Intern Supervisor/Mentor VAQS Volunteer Manager and project supervisor. Work Location Virginia Aquarium?s Marine Animal Care Center Application Requirements If applying via email, please send application to interns at virginiaaquarium.com and copy vaqstranding at gmail.com. A complete Stranding Response Intern packet must include the following components. Incomplete applications will not be considered. * Cover letter including preferred focus area (necropsy or rehabilitation) and internship expectations. While we will do our best to accommodate intern preferences, staff will make the final focus area determination. There is some flexibility with internship start/end dates; please include any known schedule conflicts in your cover letter. * Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center internship application form. * Two letters of recommendation; one must be an academic reference. Letters can be sent separately to vaqstranding at gmail.com * Resume * College transcript(s) For more information about the application process, please visit: https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/about-us/Pages/internship-application.aspx Sarah McCormack Stranding Technician P: (757) 385-6485 C: (917) 880-2160 SMccormack at VirginiaAquarium.com Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Stranding Response Hotline: (757) 385-7575 717 General Booth Blvd. Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451 [cid:94240a82-74ca-4c9e-8bc7-c52a070d8154] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Outlook-olc4xolx.png Type: image/png Size: 16035 bytes Desc: Outlook-olc4xolx.png URL: From id.spec.issue at gmail.com Sun Aug 25 09:49:13 2019 From: id.spec.issue at gmail.com (Special Issue) Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2019 00:49:13 +0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Two upcoming Special Issues on Individual Identification and Photographic Techniques Message-ID: *Two upcoming Special Issues on Individual Identification and Photographic Techniques* For enquires, e-mail: ID.Spec.Issue at gmail.com Two peer-reviewed Special Issues are currently in preparation for the journals *Mammalian Biology* (*MamBio*, 5-Year Impact Factor: 1.9) and *Journal of* *Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology* (*JEMBE*, 5-Year Impact Factor: 2.3) *- MamBio:* Individual Identification in Mammalian Ecological and Behavioural Research *- JEMBE:* Applications of Photographic Techniques in Studies of Marine Vertebrates *The topic:* Individual identification and photographic techniques have been widely used in marine mammal studies for many years. More recently, they have been adopted in studies of a wide range of animal taxa, both marine and terrestrial, from variety of mammals to reptiles, sea birds, elasmobranchs, etc. Similarly, dedicated computer software and image processing applications have been growing in their data management capabilities and analytical power. It is safe to say that even though photographic individual identification is well established as a research tool, the application of photographic techniques continues to broaden and increasingly more researchers include such techniques in their field studies. A compendium of research articles describing current research developments, representative case studies, conservation management implications, and likely future applications in studies of marine and terrestrial mammals (MamBio) and marine vertebrates (JEMBE) will be both timely and a good source of reference for future research. We welcome contributions in a form of original research articles, technical notes on methodological and/or analytical application(s), short concept notes, or review articles (for review articles, please consult their suitability first). *Timeline:* - *MamBio:* Submissions due by Feb/Mar 2020; publication in the 3rd or 4th issue of 2020 - *JEMBE:* Submissions due by Sep/Oct 2020; publication in the 2nd issue of 2021 All submissions will be handled by the MamBio and JEMBE online system. Dedicated submission portal for MamBio will be open for manuscript submission in early-2020, and for JEMBE in mid-2020. Accepted papers will be published online within couple of weeks following their acceptance. There will be no publication costs; and the whole Special Issue of *Mammalian Biology* will be available for free download as Open Access for 1 month following the publication, with no costs to the authors. For expression of interest and enquires, contact the editorial team at the following e-mail address: ID.Spec.Issue at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From perrtreer at savannahstate.edu Tue Aug 27 06:08:47 2019 From: perrtreer at savannahstate.edu (Perrtree, Robin) Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 13:08:47 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Dolphin Research Internship in Savannah, Georgia Message-ID: Savannah State University Dolphin Sciences Laboratory (SSUDS lab) internships The SSUDS lab is located adjacent to the marsh on the campus of Savannah State University in coastal Georgia and is led by Dr. Tara Cox. The SSUDS lab studies spatial ecology, conservation biology of long-lived marine vertebrates, marine and coastal policy and management, and human interactions with marine mammals. Current projects include: Human-interaction behaviors (particularly begging), stock structure and abundance estimates, catalog matching to other study areas in the SE USA, contaminant loads, and genetics of common bottlenose dolphins. The SSUDS Lab selects volunteer interns during three seasons each year: * Winter/Spring (positions January to May, applications due by October 1st); * Summer (positions May to August, applications due by March 1st); * Fall (positions August to December, applications due by June 1st). Interns will support graduate research on common bottlenose dolphins living in the local waterways. There may be additional opportunities to help other marine science graduate students with diverse fieldwork. The SSUDS lab is currently accepting applications for Spring 2020 interns. There are 2 positions available. Application deadline is October 1st. Dates: Jan 6 - May 29 (Start and end dates are flexible) Location: Savannah State University in Savannah, Georgia Time: Interns are expected to commit to ~30 hours per week, and time will be split between lab and field work. Dolphin surveys will be conducted 2 days per month, with additional surveys in May. Duties: Lab duties: photo-identification, data entry and double checking Field duties: assisting with small boat-based photo-identification surveys including sighting dolphins, recording data, photographing dorsal fins, and measuring environmental variables Stranding response: although strandings are rare and unpredictable, you may be asked to help with data collection and necropsies Class: Interns are welcome to sit in on the GIS course taught by Dr. Cox in the spring. Please note that hours spent in class do not count towards lab hours. Extra Opportunities: Local Volunteer Opportunities: Previous interns have taken advantage of their spare time to get involved with our network of marine science researchers in Georgia 1) Other SSU Marine Science Program Labs (field and lab research on shrimp, flatfish, oyster restoration, marine chemistry, etc.) 2) Tybee Island Marine Science Center (environmental education) 3) Skidaway Institute of Oceanography 4) GA DNR Non-game Division (cetacean, manatee, and sea turtle research) Qualifications: * Minimum age of 18 years old * Currently or recently enrolled in a college-level program in marine biology, biology, zoology, or related field * Strong interest in marine mammals, the environment, and conservation * Computer proficiency, especially MS Office; MS Access and ArcGIS experience a plus * Excellent verbal communication skills, fluent in English * Enthusiastic and dedicated, with strong interpersonal skills and ability to maintain a professional appearance and demeanor * Strong sense of responsibility, work ethic, and attention to detail * Works well in a team environment as well as individually * Ability to work long days in the sun/heat/cold on a small boat To apply please submit the following via email with the subject "SSUDS Internship" to perrtreer at savannahstate.edu. All attached files must be named starting with your last name (e.g. Lastname-SSUDS_application_spring_2020.doc, Lastname-transcript). Please combine your application materials into 1-2 files. * A cover letter describing why you are interested in this position, how the experience will help you meet your long-term goals, and your dates of availability. * A resume (or curriculum vitae) describing your relevant training and experience. * Current academic transcripts (unofficial are sufficient). * Names and contact information for two references. International applicants will be considered, but it is the responsibility of the applicant to acquire necessary visas and documentation This position is unpaid, and interns are responsible for providing their own housing and transport to Savannah, GA. If accepted, we can provide contact information for possible shared housing opportunities with SSU students or other interns. This is a great opportunity to work with scientists and graduate students in the field and lab while gaining experience with photo-identification and boat-based marine mammal surveys. Savannah State University offers a Master of Science in Marine Sciences; thus, successful interns may have future opportunities for graduate study in the SSUDS lab or other labs in the Marine Sciences Program. For more information about Marine Sciences at SSU please visit: https://www.savannahstate.edu/cost/mar-env-science/marine-science/index.shtml ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Robin Perrtree SSUDS Lab Manager Marine Sciences Technician Savannah State University Marine Science Research Center room 111 912-358-3301 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From recruitment at osc.co.uk Tue Aug 27 09:48:00 2019 From: recruitment at osc.co.uk (Recruitment) Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 16:48:00 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Dual MMO & PAM vacancy in Caribbean In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear MMOs and PAMOs, OSC has the following urgent vacancy in the Caribbean: 1 x dual MMO/PAMO to mobilise end of August for an analogue and digital survey for clearance, followed by geotechnical operations, for 3 weeks plus weather/technical downtime (so potentially 5-6 weeks). We are also filling numerous short-notice vacancies, some with 1-2 days? notice only, with durations varying from a few days to months, so if personnel are available and seeking work for any duration, it?s worthwhile dropping us an email to see if any projects are aligned. Kind regards, -- Recruitment Ocean Science Consulting Limited (OSC) Spott Road, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1RR, Scotland, UK T: +44 (0)1368 865 722 W: www.osc.co.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From eric.archer at noaa.gov Wed Aug 28 10:32:12 2019 From: eric.archer at noaa.gov (Eric Archer - NOAA Federal) Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 10:32:12 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper describing North Pacific fin whale subspecies Message-ID: On behalf of my coauthors, I'm pleased to announce the publication of our paper in the *Journal of Mammalogy, *entitled, *Revision of fin whale Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) subspecies using genetics* Frederick I Archer, Robert L Brownell, Brittany L Hancock-Hanser, Phillip A Morin, Kelly M Robertson, Kathryn K Sherman, John Calambokidis, Jorge Urb?n R, Patricia E Rosel, Sally A Mizroch, Simone Panigada, Barbara L Taylor https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz121 *Abstract* Three subspecies of fin whales (*Balaenoptera physalus*) are currently recognized, including the northern fin whale (*B. p. physalus*), the southern fin whale (*B. p. quoyi*), and the pygmy fin whale (*B. p. patachonic*a). The Northern Hemisphere subspecies encompasses fin whales in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans. A recent analysis of 154 mitogenome sequences of fin whales from these two ocean basins and the Southern Hemisphere suggested that the North Pacific and North Atlantic populations should be treated as different subspecies. Using these mitogenome sequences, in this study, we conduct analyses on a larger mtDNA control region data set, and on 23 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 144 of the 154 samples in the mitogenome data set. Our results reveal that North Pacific and North Atlantic fin whales can be correctly assigned to their ocean basin with 99% accuracy. Results of the SNP analysis indicate a correct classification rate of 95%, very low rates of gene flow among ocean basins, and that distinct mitogenome matrilines in the North Pacific are interbreeding. These results indicate that North Pacific fin whales should be recognized as a separate subspecies, with the name *B. p. velifera* Cope in Scammon 1869 as the oldest available name. -- *Eric Archer, Ph.D.* Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NMFS/NOAA) 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 USA 858-546-7121 (work) 858-546-7003 (FAX) Marine Mammal Genetics Group: swfsc.noaa.gov/mmtd-mmgenetics GitHub: github.com/ericarcher Adjunct Professor, Marine Biology Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego http://profiles.ucsd.edu/frederick.archer " *The universe doesn't care what you believe. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn't ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.*" - Randall Munroe "*Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.*" - Benjamin Franklin "*...but I'll take a GPS over either one.*" - John C. "Craig" George -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From eric.archer at noaa.gov Wed Aug 28 10:35:10 2019 From: eric.archer at noaa.gov (Eric Archer - NOAA Federal) Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 10:35:10 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on fin whale acoustics Message-ID: On behalf of my co-authors, I'm pleased to announce publication of our paper in* Marine Mammal Science*, entitled, *Quantifying spatial and temporal variation of North Pacific fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) acoustic behavior* Frederick I. Archer, Shannon Rankin, Kathleen M. Stafford, Manuel Castellote, Julien Delarue https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12640 *Abstract* In order to help develop hypotheses of connectivity among North Pacific fin whales, we examine recordings from 10 regions collected in the spring and fall. We develop a Random Forest model to classify fin whale note types that avoids manual note classification errors. We also present a method that objectively quantifies the note and pattern composition of recordings. We find that fin whale recordings near Hawaii have distinctive patterns, similar to those found in other regions in the central North Pacific, suggesting potential migration pathways. Our results are consistent with previous studies that suggest there may be two different populations utilizing the Chukchi Sea and central Aleutians in the fall and mix to some degree in the southern Bering Sea. Conversely, we found little difference between spring and fall recordings in the eastern Gulf of Alaska, suggesting some residency of whales in this region. This is likely due to fine scale similarities of calls among the inshore regions of British Columbia, while offshore areas are being utilized by whales traveling from various distant areas. This study shows how our novel approach to characterize recordings is an objective and informative way to standardize spatial and temporal comparisons of fin whale recordings. -- *Eric Archer, Ph.D.* Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NMFS/NOAA) 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 USA 858-546-7121 (work) 858-546-7003 (FAX) Marine Mammal Genetics Group: swfsc.noaa.gov/mmtd-mmgenetics GitHub: github.com/ericarcher Adjunct Professor, Marine Biology Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego http://profiles.ucsd.edu/frederick.archer " *The universe doesn't care what you believe. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn't ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.*" - Randall Munroe "*Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.*" - Benjamin Franklin "*...but I'll take a GPS over either one.*" - John C. "Craig" George -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From JFujii at mbayaq.org Wed Aug 28 09:39:15 2019 From: JFujii at mbayaq.org (Jessica Fujii) Date: Wed, 28 Aug 2019 16:39:15 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter Program Intern applications now open Message-ID: The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Otter Program is seeking enthusiastic and motivated individuals for two internship programs, 1) Sea Otter Research and 2) Sea Otter Care for January -June 2020. Research internship responsibilities include, but are not limited to, data collection from shore using radio telemetry equipment and making visual observations with spotting scopes. Interns will record daily re-sights, forage observations, and activity budget data on marked wild sea otters. Animal care internship responsibilities include, but are not limited to, daily care and feeding of ill, injured or orphaned sea otters, maintenance and cleaning of animal tanks and enclosures, and computer data entry. Interns may also assist with rescues of live-stranded otters, tracking of released otters, and administration of medication to sick otters. Qualified applicants must be able to work in a team environment, as well as independently without direct supervision, and must have good communication skills. All internship opportunities are unpaid or STEM Internships (STEM may include funding provided through your educational institution). College credit may also be available. Please refer to your College/University's student services division. Early submission of applications is encouraged. Deadline to apply September 30, 2019. For more information and to apply, go to: Sea Otter Research https://montereybayaquarium.snaphire.com/jobdetails?ajid=APOd8 Sea Otter Care https://montereybayaquarium.snaphire.com/jobdetails?ajid=PROd8 Jessica Fujii SORAC Senior Research Biologist P 831-648-4930 Monterey Bay Aquarium 886 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940 www.montereybayaquarium.org Our mission is to inspire conservation of the ocean. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.gif Type: image/gif Size: 1079 bytes Desc: image001.gif URL: From marieguilpin at gmail.com Thu Aug 29 05:53:47 2019 From: marieguilpin at gmail.com (Marie Guilpin) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 08:53:47 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] New Article: Foraging energetics and prey density requirements of western North Atlantic blue whales in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada Message-ID: Dear MARMAM, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of our new paper in Marine Ecology Progress Series: Guilpin M, Lesage V, McQuinn I, Goldbogen JA, Potvin J, Jeanniard-du-Dot T, Doniol-Valcroze T, Michaud R, Moisan M, Winkler G (2019) Foraging energetics and prey density requirements of western North Atlantic blue whales in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 625:205-223. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13043 ABSTRACT: Foraging efficiency (FE) is determined by the ratio of energy intake to energy expenditure and represents a metric for estimating the capacity to store energy. Blue whales Balaenoptera musculus rely mostly on stored energy reserves for reproduction. They feed almost exclusively on krill, which vary in density and abundance both spatially and temporally. We used 10 depth?velocity archival tags deployed on blue whales foraging in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada, to identify feeding events. We modeled krill densities required to equal or exceed energy expenditures and allow energy storage. During the daytime, blue whales generally dove deeper and performed fewer but longer feeding dives than at other times of the diel cycle (10 vs. 28 feeding dives h?1); however, they performed more lunges per dive during daytime (3 vs. 1 lunge dive?1), which resulted in a stable feeding rate around the clock. Only 11.7 and 5.5% of the Arctic and northern krill patches measured in situ contained densities allowing blue whales to achieve neutral energetic balance (FE = 1); less than 1.5% of patches allowed FE of ?3. While FE leading to successful reproduction and adequate fitness is unknown, these results underscore the necessity for blue whales to seek the highest densities within patches to reach neutral balance or allow energy storage. These findings further our understanding of blue whale foraging ecology and habitat suitability, and may help predict the effects of climate and natural variability or of potential fisheries on krill densities and blue whale condition. Please feel free to e-mail me at marieguilpin at gmail.com for a pdf of the paper. Best regards, Marie Guilpin Marie Guilpin, PhD Candidate in Oceanography Universit? du Qu?bec ? Rimouski - Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski 300, all?e des Ursulines Rimouski, Qc, G5L 3A1 marieguilpin at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Stephen_Trumble at baylor.edu Thu Aug 29 11:13:36 2019 From: Stephen_Trumble at baylor.edu (Trumble, Stephen) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 18:13:36 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] WMMC Endocrinology workshop - Sun afternoon, 8 Dec 2019, 1230-1730 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: There is a growing interest in using hormones as a tool in marine mammal ecology/behavior/physiology. Therefore, we are pleased to be hosting a half-day workshop session on marine mammal endocrinology at the World Marine Mammal Conference (Barcelona). The workshop will be Sunday afternoon, Dec. 8th, 12:30-17:30. This workshop represents a unique opportunity for the SMM scientific community to weigh in on this important topic as well as provide participants with the latest scientific and technological advances in the field of marine mammal endocrinology. We are actively seeking speakers and participants interested in discussing the current state of the field of marine mammal endocrinology; discussing topics including analytic methods, sample matrices, research questions/goals, experimental design and future directions. Graduate students are particularly encouraged to attend, as one of the purposes of the workshop is to stimulate potential collaborations. Registration fee is USD $70. Coffee and snacks provided. Please contact workshop leaders if interested in presenting your research or lead a discussion. Talks will be limited to 15 minutes. Tentative schedule forthcoming. To register, see: https://www.wmmconference.org/workshops/. Details: WMMC Workshop: Marine Mammal Endocrinology (Barcelona, Spain) Date & Time: Sunday, December 8, 12:30-17:30 Workshop Leaders: Sascha Usenko, Baylor University, Sascha_Usenko at baylor.edu Stephen Trumble, Baylor University, Stephen_Trumble at baylor.edu Kathleen E. Hunt, George Mason University, kehunt at gmu.edu -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 17911 bytes Desc: not available URL: From rguazzo at ucsd.edu Thu Aug 29 13:07:31 2019 From: rguazzo at ucsd.edu (Regina Guazzo) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 13:07:31 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Gray whale migration patterns through the Southern California Bight Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, My co-authors and I are excited to announce the following open-access publication: Guazzo RA, Schulman-Janiger A, Smith MH, Barlow J, D?Spain GL, Rimington DB, Hildebrand JA (2019) Gray whale migration patterns through the Southern California Bight from multi-year visual and acoustic monitoring. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 625:181-203. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12989 Abstract: Sightings and acoustic recordings from eastern North Pacific gray whales in the Southern California Bight were analyzed for interannual changes and compared with concurrent environmental measurements during 7 migration seasons (2008-2009 to 2014-2015). Acoustic call counts recorded on an offshore hydrophone were highly variable from year to year. Assuming an average calling rate of 7.5 calls whale-1 d-1, the estimated number of whales migrating by this hydrophone would be <10% of the population within 20 km of the offshore hydrophone in most years. In contrast, the estimated number of gray whales migrating off Santa Barbara and Los Angeles based on visual surveys grew at a greater rate (11% yr-1 and 26% yr-1, respectively) than the population size growth rate (5% yr-1). Over the studied migration seasons it seems an increasing proportion of the population was using the nearshore migration corridor in the Southern California Bight, especially near Los Angeles. This trend could increase the negative anthropogenic impact on this species. Although several large-scale climatic events occurred between 2008 and 2015, neither water temperature in the Southern California Bight nor sea ice timing in the gray whale Arctic feeding area improved generalized additive models of gray whale nearshore sightings or offshore acoustic presence. Over these times, the gray whale migration timing appears to be driven more by their biological clock and instinct than by the extrinsic factors accounted for in the present analysis. Future work should test if other factors influence the gray whale migration over longer timescales. Please email me (rguazzo at ucsd.edu) if you have any questions about this work. All my best, Regina Regina A. Guazzo, PhD Environmental Readiness Branch Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (c) 908.507.1421 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From andrew.bill at saltwaterinc.com Fri Aug 30 13:14:05 2019 From: andrew.bill at saltwaterinc.com (Andrew Bill) Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 12:14:05 -0800 Subject: [MARMAM] Section 7 Information Consultation Services Message-ID: <51E08E53-B806-461B-8A6D-147228FDAFB4@saltwaterinc.com> Saltwater Inc is seeking a Section 7 Information Consultant to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southeast Regional Office (SERO), Protected Resources Division (PRD). Background The NMFS SERO is responsible for the management, conservation, and protection of living marine, estuarine, and anadromous species and their habitats found in the eight coastal states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, as well as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. SERO PRD administers the Region?s responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). There are 32 ESA-listed species in the Southeast Region, including sea turtles, whales, fish, corals, and seagrass. Twelve of these species have designated critical habitat in the Southeast. The single largest task carried out by SERO PRD is administering Section 7 of the ESA, consulting with federal agencies to conserve listed species and critical habitat during project development and implementation. Section 7 consultation is required when an action authorized, funded, or carried out by a federal action agency may affect a listed species or designated critical habitat. Informal consultation can be completed if the action may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect, listed species and critical habitat. An action is not likely to adversely affect ESA resources when all effects to listed species or critical habitat are expected to be insignificant (not able to be meaningfully measured), discountable (extremely unlikely to occur), or wholly beneficial (strictly positive effects). Informal consultation is only initiated when NMFS has all of the information necessary to fully evaluate the action and its effects to ESA resources. Informal consultation is concluded when NMFS issues its Letter of Concurrence (LOC) to the action agency. If an action is likely to adversely affect listed species or critical habitat, formal consultation is required. Location: Work will be conducted offsite (i.e. telework), and travel is expected. Salary and Benefit: This is a full-time position. Salary commensurate with experience. Comprehensive benefits package. Duties ? Attend a kick-off meeting in St. Petersburg, FL o Meet the PRD Project Lead o Review available Section 7 resources (templates, checklists, guidance, examples, and information sources) provided by the PRD Project Lead o Discuss SERO?s informal Section 7 process with the PRD Project Lead and ask clarifying questions ? When an informal Section 7 consultation request is received, the Contractor shall review the request package for completeness o The Contractor shall be assigned 27 consultation requests over the period of performance. o The contractor shall determine completeness of consultation request packages using the Section 7 resources provided by the PRD Project Lead and any other relevant information sources that may be relevant to the consultation o If the consultation request package is deemed complete, notify the PRD Project Lead that consultation is initiated ? Draft a Request for Additional Information (RAI) if the consultation request is deemed incomplete, asking for only the information necessary to initiate consultation o The Contractor shall draft an RAI and submit it to the federal action agency via email informing them that the consultation request package is incomplete o The Contractor shall include standard language in their RAI that if the federal action agency has not responded within 45 days, the consultation request will be withdrawn by NMFS o The Contractor shall send a reminder to the federal action agency that their 45-day response deadline is approaching, if necessary o The Contractor shall alert the PRD Project Lead that the consultation request should be withdrawn, if necessary o The Contractor shall copy the PRD Project Lead on all correspondence with the federal action agency o The Contractor shall document all phone calls with a federal action agency by sending a follow-up email to the federal action agency, copying the PRD Project Lead. The Contractor shall provide the PRD Project Lead with a phone log that includes the project identifying number, the date of the phone call, who they talked to, and the general topic(s) discussed ? Review the federal action agency?s RAI response o The Contractor shall determine whether the federal action agency?s response contains the remaining information needed to initiate consultation o The Contractor shall draft additional RAI's, if necessary, repeating Task 3 above o Once all requested information is received from the federal action agency, alert the PRD Project Lead that consultation is initiated ? Confirm the action agency?s effect determination o The Contractor shall determine whether the federal action agency?s effect determination is accurate. o If the determination is not Likely to Adversely Affect (LAA), the Contractor shall alert the PRD Project Lead, that the consultation is LAA. The consultation will be returned to the PRD Project Lead for reassignment to NMFS/SERO/PRD Staff. ? Draft 22 LOCs and submit for review (based on the expected numbers of consultations not withdrawn or determined to be LAA) o The Contractor shall draft LOCs using ? the available Section 7 resources provided by the PRD Project Lead (templates, checklists, guidance, examples, and information sources) ? information received from the federal action agency ? any additional relevant information obtained by the Contractor o The Contractor shall submit any remaining correspondence and any additional documentation used to complete the consultation, from the federal action agency or obtained by the Contractor, to the PRD Project Lead when the draft LOC is submitted for review ? Address PRD Project Lead comments on draft LOCs o The PRD Project Lead will provide comments to the Contractor within 3 weeks of receipt of the draft LOC o The contractor shall address all comments provided on the draft LOC and resubmit to the PRD Project Lead o The contractor shall contact the PRD Project Lead if clarification on the comments is needed o The contractor shall respond to additional comments from the PRD Project Lead, if necessary, repeating the steps above ? The contractor shall close-out the consultation by sending any remaining correspondence and any additional documentation used to complete the consultation, from the federal action agency or obtained by the contractor, to the PRD Project Lead ? The contractor shall delete all project files and correspondence from the contractor?s computer upon project completion. The Contractor will provide the PRD Project Lead with a deletion log that includes the project identifying number, the files (file type and filename) deleted, and the date of deletion. Other Duties ? When assigned an informal Section 7 consultation request, review the request package for completeness ? Draft a Request for Additional Information (RAI) if the consultation request is deemed incomplete, asking for only the information necessary to initiate consultation ? Review the federal action agency?s RAI response ? Confirm the action agency?s effect determination ? Draft an LOC and submit for review ? Address PRD Project Lead comments on draft LOCs ? Removal of all project files and correspondence from the Contractor?s computer upon notification by the PRD Project Lead of project completion, withdrawal, or return of a LAA consultation. ? Monthly progress report to include, but not necessarily be limited to, status of all consultations, issues encountered, interactions with action agencies, recommendations, if applicable Required Minimum Knowledge and Experience ? Minimum of a Bachelor?s degree in an environmental science or associated discipline (e.g., biology, ecology, fisheries biology, marine biology, natural resource management, conservation biology, landscape ecology, or restoration ecology) ? Demonstrated knowledge and experience with Section 7 consultations requirements of the ESA ? Demonstrated knowledge of SERO?s ESA-listed species and their habitats ? Strong understanding of the coastal and marine ecology of the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean ? Critical thinking and the ability to assess potential impacts to ESA resources associated with coastal and marine activities (e.g., dredging, construction, restoration, military operations) ? Proficient with common databases and office productivity programs, such as Word, Excel, Gmail, Google docs, and Endnote ? Strong organizational skills with ability to work independently and comply with project deadlines ? Strong communication skills and the ability to work well with others, including a diverse array of federal action agencies ? Strong professional writing skills and the ability to express both biological and regulatory concepts in plain language If you are interested in being considered for this position, please send a cover letter and resume to: Stacey Hansen @ stacey.hansen at saltwaterinc.com Only qualified applicants that meet minimum experience or background requirements stated above need apply. When applying for this position you will be asked to upload your resume at the end of this online application. Applicants should submit a resume that includes the following: Cover letter that briefly describes how you meet the required and preferred qualifications listed. Work history for past 10 years or since last full-time education. Education. Previous experience or training with similar requirements. Three professional references. Include your name in the document file name. Upload your resume in readable, not scanned, PDF or Word format (PDF is preferred). In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States, complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire, and successfully complete a federal government background check. Saltwater Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable federal or state law. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cnau at mote.org Fri Aug 30 05:22:31 2019 From: cnau at mote.org (Christina Nau) Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 08:22:31 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Mote Marine Laboratory, Manatee Research Program Internships Message-ID: <71a855f0-ee20-b053-2e9d-cf75eca9eb13@mote.org> *Program Description* The Manatee Research Program studiesseveral aspects of the biology of manatees inhabiting the waters of southwestern Florida, including population dynamics, population genetics, habitat use, distributional patterns and social behavior. Field data and samples are collected using photo-identification, aerial surveys, and non-invasive genetic sampling. >From spring through early fall, photo-identification, genetic, and behavioral sampling are conducted primarily in Sarasota and Manatee counties.During the winter, field work is conducted primarily in Charlotte Harbor and the Ft. Myers area.Aerial surveys are conducted twice per month (during the non-winter) in Sarasota County to assess relative abundance and distribution of manatees in those waters.The long-term database of the program contributes to management and conservation measurements for Florida manatees. Additionally, the program collaborates with manatee researchers throughout the state of Florida and the Caribbean.For more information about, please visit: https://mote.org/research/program/manatee-research. *WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING INTERNS TO BEGIN IN**January 2020**, WITH APPLICATIONS DUE BY **September 1st 2019**.* *Internship Description* Internships are available during all four seasons and must be a MINIMUM of 12 weeks.Hours are typically Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm, although some longer days may be required for field work (especially during the winter season). Interns should expect to spend about 20% of their time in the field and about 80% of their time in the office/lab.Field work duties include assisting with data collection, boat handling, and equipment use and maintenance.Field work requires spending long hours in the field, sometimes in uncomfortable weather conditions.Office/Lab duties include data entry, processing, matching images to known animals, equipment maintenance, and miscellaneous tasks and errands. There is no financial compensation for these internship positions, and successful applicants will be responsible for their own living and transportation expenses. Shared housing opportunities near Mote Marine Laboratory may be available. A few scholarships may be available from Mote Marine Laboratory through a competitive application process (US citizens only). *Required Qualifications* ?Minimum of 18 years of age and engaged in or recently completed undergraduate studies ?A background or degree in Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Zoology, or a related field is preferred ?Basic computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Access); previous experience using ArcMap GIS is a plus but not required ?Excellent communication skills; fluent in English ?Must be physically able to stand for long periods of time and lift heavy objects ?Knowledge of photography/SLR camera use and/or drawing skills are a plus ?Desire and willingness to acquire knowledge and skills related to marine mammal field work and capable of working well as a team ** *To apply for a Manatee Research Program internship:* ?Fill out an application form at Mote Marine Laboratory?s website (https://mote.org/research/internships/college-internship-program-overview) and be sure to select ?Manatee Research Program? as your first choice ?Complete and provide to Mote?s intern office all other application materials including: a statement of interest, current college transcript, letter of recommendation, and /curriculum vitae /(incomplete applications will not be considered) Applicants may contact the Manatee Research Program?s intern coordinator, Christina Nau, (cnau at mote.org ) with questions regarding the internship. -- Christina Nau Manatee Research Program Mote Marine Laboratory 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway Sarasota FL 34236 Phone: (941) 388-4441 ext. 471 cnau at mote.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From interns at aimm-portugal.org Fri Aug 30 03:47:22 2019 From: interns at aimm-portugal.org (AIMM Internships) Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:47:22 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] DOLPHIN RESEARCH INTERNSHIP IN PORTUGAL Message-ID: *BACKGROUND: *The Marine Environment Research Association - AIMM, is a non-profit, non-governmental organization focused on the research and conservation of marine species, running an ongoing study of cetaceans in southern Portugal (Algarve). This project aims to obtain baseline information on species occurrence, behavior, and social structure of the local cetacean populations in order to obtain scientific data to support conservation measures and inform marine management policies. The main species observed are Short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), although other species such as Minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) can also be sighted. AIMM Interns are young, hard-working individuals who are willing to contribute to the association and support on-going activities, while experiencing fieldwork at sea, learning data collection and processing methodologies, and being a part of AIMM's team of researchers and marine biologists for a period of time. All team members and participants share accommodation, house tasks, knowledge and experience in an environmental friendly and multicultural environment. Interns have the additional option to enrich their time with AIMM by beginning or improving their SCUBA skills with a PADI-certified instructor. *WHERE:* Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal *WHEN:* The field season lasts from 1st of May to 31st October 2019. The minimum internship attendance is 7 days, preferably starting on a Monday. *FIELDWORK: *The field trips are conducted in AIMM's research vessel, Ketos, or in opportunistic platforms (commercial dolphin-watching boats). Fieldwork is dependent on weather conditions and seat availability in the dolphin-watching boats. Field days can be intense, especially in the peak of summer, but are fulfilling and good fun. The interns will be trained to: ? Conduct on-board surveys of marine species occurrence; ? Record effort tracks on a handheld GPS; ? Collect data on behavior, group size, species, etc.; ? Collect photos to photo-identification, acoustic recording, and underwater videos while on-board; ? Secchi disk methodology; ? Help to collect of drone footage from the marine mammals. *DATA ANALYSIS: *This will be conducted on a daily basis and will entail entering data into established databases and spreadsheets, photo-identification processing, and preliminary data interpretation. *INTERNSHIP FEES:* AIMM is a non-profit organization that relies on donations from our volunteers, partners, and conservation-minded people like you so that we may continue our important research and education programs in the Algarve. This internship requires a monetary contribution which is used to off-set the cost of accommodation and running a non-profit. For more information on internship fees for the 2019 season, please contact: interns at aimm-portugal.org We have a special deal for you book the internship for October 2019. *Included* in the fee is: ? Accommodation in the research house; ? Transportation to/from the marina; ? Meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner); ? Fieldwork in the research vessel or commercial dolphin-watching vessels. *Not included* in the fee is: ? Transportation to/from Albufeira; ? Meals in restaurants and snacks; ? Free time activities; ? Personal insurance (all participants should have health and/or travel insurance); ? Personal expenses. *INTERNS ARE EXPECTED TO:* ? Be above the age of 16; ? Have a mature attitude towards marine mammal research and environment; ? Be autonomous and flexible; ? Be able to live and work in an international team and mainly outdoors at sea; ? Speak English; ? Participate for minimum 7 days. *Preference will be given* to those who have: ? Relevant marine mammal field experience ? Working experience on research vessels ? Experience working from dolphin/whale watching platforms ? Experience in photo-identification ? Professional cameras that can be used for photo-ID ? Availability to stay for longer periods of time *INTERNSHIP APPLICATION: * Applicants should fill up the online application at: http://www.aimmportugal.org/dolphin-research-internship AIMM will send a confirmation e-mail with all the details about the internship and asking for your Resume/CV, motivation letter (small statement on which are your expectations and why do you want to work with AIMM) and the period of time that you want do the program. OR Applicants should send an e-mail to: interns at aimm-portugal.org, with the subject ?*DOLPHIN RESEARCH INTERNSHIP*?. You will receive and e-mail with the availability and all the others details. Applications will be accepted during all season, however, early application is recommended due to limited vacancies. The follow link is a short video about the internship in Albufeira. You get a different perspective and feedback from old participants about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zTIEQEsftA *Contacts*: interns at aimm-portugal.org | www.aimmportugal.org | -- *AIMM Portugal* - Ass. Investiga??o do Meio Marinho | Marine Environment Research Association *Website*: www.aimmportugal.org [image: AIMM Portugal | facebook] [image: AIMM Portugal | twitter] [image: AIMM Portugal | instagram] [image: AIMM Portugal | youtube] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jctesta at umces.edu Thu Aug 29 13:33:32 2019 From: jctesta at umces.edu (Testa, Jamie) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 16:33:32 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Chesapeake DolphinWatch seeks part-time volunteer in Maryland, USA Message-ID: We are currently searching for a Volunteer Research Assistant to assist with a citizen scientist project called Chesapeake DolphinWatch ( www.umces.edu/dolphinwatch) at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) in Solomons, Maryland, U.S.A. This position is for approximately 20 hours per week for 3 months with the possibility of extension. Duties will include dolphin data verification, data analysis, managing app software, hydrophone retrievals and deployments, and interacting with citizen scientists via email and social media. The project involves the use of C-POD click detectors therefore experience with these devices, or similar types, will be preferable. Applicants should be familiar with Microsoft Word and Excel. Experience with working with citizen scientists, marine mammals, and sound analysis is desirable. The ability to format and analyze data in Excel or the R software package and perform GIS mapping is also preferable. For more details, please contact the project coordinator, Jamie Testa ( jctesta at umces.edu). Minimum requirement is a B.S. degree with at least 3 months research experience. This volunteer position is unpaid. Anticipated start date is 20 September 2019. Applications should include a cover letter, CV, and the names and contact information of three references (including email and phone) to be received by 7 September 2019 by email to dolphinwatchcb at umces.edu with CDW-VOL in the subject line. -- *Jamie C. Testa* Chesapeake DolphinWatch Project Coordinator & Research Assistant University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science jctesta at umces.edu www.umces.edu/dolphinwatch Pronouns: she, her, hers -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kmchugh at mote.org Fri Aug 30 06:39:30 2019 From: kmchugh at mote.org (Katie McHugh) Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 09:39:30 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Extended deadline! Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Internships Message-ID: <51211ab8-97d6-8612-17b1-3ac5b3d64dbe@mote.org> *Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Internships* The Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP), a partnership led by the Chicago Zoological Society and based at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, conducts the world?s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population. The program?s primary goal is to contribute to a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of populations of small cetaceans, as well as the natural and anthropogenic factors that impact them. The SDRP uses an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach in conducting studies of bottlenose dolphins within Sarasota Bay, Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, Naples/Marco Island, and the Gulf of Mexico coastal waters.? For more information about the SDRP, please visit:www.sarasotadolphin.org . The SDRP selects volunteer interns during three seasons each year: * Winter/Spring (positions January to April, applications due to Mote by September 1st); * Summer (positions mid-May to August, applications due to Mote by March 1st); * Fall (positions September to December, applications due to Mote by June 1st). **WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING INTERNS TO BEGIN IN JANUARY 2020, APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 10th. All applications received by this date will be fully reviewed.** Internships must be a minimum of 10 weeks of participation, but ideally will run for 12-16 weeks. Please note that we typically only seek 2-4 interns for each session and that we receive many more applications than we have openings ? the selection process is very competitive.Successful candidates will participate in the following research projects: 1)*Dolphin population monitoring project**:*(/YEAR ROUND/) This study continues to monitor the resident bottlenose dolphin community in Sarasota Bay and vicinity.? Duties in the field will include assisting with boat-based photographic identification surveys for dolphin groups during one to two weeks per month. Behavioral, location, individual, and environmental data will be recorded for each dolphin group, and additional data related to human-dolphin interactions will also be collected in conjunction with this project. While in the lab (at least 2 weeks per month), work will generally involve photo-identification of dolphins, computer data entry and double-checking, logging of videos into database and archives, dolphin dorsal fin identification catalog updates, boat and field equipment maintenance, and other duties. 2) *Dolphin prey and habitat use project**:* (/JAN-MAR & JUN-SEPT ONLY/) This study uses the Sarasota dolphin community and fish populations to study relationships between distributions of dolphins and their prey and factors that affect fish community ecology, such as red tide.? While in the field, work will involve sampling of fish communities through purse seining techniques and collection of other environmental data. Interns typically participate in this project 2-3 days per month. 3)*Other projects* (/TBD/)Interns may participate in other research projects, depending on availability and timing of grant funding for specific projects.Interns may also be asked to assist with dolphin rescues. Interns should expect to spend about 20% of their time in the field, and about 80% of their time in the lab working with data, or performing equipment maintenance. There is no financial compensation for these internship positions, and successful applicants will be responsible for their own living and transportation expenses. Shared housing opportunities near Mote Marine Laboratory may be available. A few scholarships may be available from Mote Marine Laboratory through a competitive application process (US citizens only). Applicants would ideally have the following qualifications: * Minimum of 18 years of age and engaged in or recently completed undergraduate or graduate studies; * A background or degree in marine biology, biology, ecology, zoology, wildlife, fisheries, or a related field; * Basic computer proficiency in Microsoft Office programs (especially Excel and Access); * Excellent verbal communication skills, fluent in English; * Must be physically fit and able to swim; * Must be able to work effectively as part of a team; * Some prior field research experience preferred but not required; * Enthusiasm and desire to learn a variety of field and lab based research methods; * A willingness to spend a minimum of 10-12 weeks working full time as a volunteer with our program. ** ** *To apply for a Sarasota Dolphin Research Program internship, interested persons should:* 1) Fill out an application form at Mote Marine Laboratory?s website (http://mote.org/research/internships) and be sure to select ?Sarasota Dolphin Research Program? as your first choice; 2) Complete and provide to Mote?s intern office all other application materials including: a statement of interest, current college transcript, letter of recommendation, and /curriculum vitae /(incomplete applications will not be considered); 3) Send an email to SDRP Intern Coordinator (Katie McHugh, _kmchugh at mote.org_) stating your name, contact information, exact dates and duration of availability, where you learned about the internship opportunity (/e.g. /Mote, SDRP, Chicago Zoological Society, MARMAM, etc.), and that you have provided all application materials to the Mote intern office, as detailed above. All applications will be reviewed; those received by the application deadline will be given first priority. Applicants may contact Dr. Katie McHugh (941-388-4441 ext. 450, kmchugh at mote.org ) in the SDRP with any questions. Applicants applying because of an interest in engaging in graduate studies with the SDRP should discuss their interests with Program Director Randall Wells, PhD, upon acceptance into the program.There is no assurance that participation as an intern with the SDRP will lead to graduate research program opportunities. -- ************************************ Katherine McHugh Staff Scientist Sarasota Dolphin Research Program Chicago Zoological Society c/o Mote Marine Laboratory 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy Sarasota, FL 34236 (941) 388-4441 x450 office kmchugh at mote.org ************************************ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From madda.fumagalli at gmail.com Sat Aug 31 02:22:22 2019 From: madda.fumagalli at gmail.com (Maddalena Fumagalli) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 11:22:22 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] New publications: "Population ecology and the management of whalewatching operations on a data-deficient dolphin population" and "Wildlife tourism through the co-creation lens" Message-ID: <3EFC1D22-68F2-4328-AB70-55A24D56A28F@gmail.com> Dear MARMAM friends and colleagues, my coauthors and I are pleased to announce the publication of the following papers. They both offer reflections on the phenomenon of swim-with wild dolphins and its management, but approach the topic from two, quite different, perspectives. Fumagalli M., Cesario A., Costa M., Notarbartolo di Sciara G., Harraway J. and Slooten E. (2019). Population ecology and the management of whalewatching operations on a data-deficient dolphin population. Ecology and Evolution. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ece3.5565 Abstract: 1) Whale watching is a popular commercial activity, producing socio?ecological benefits but also potential long?term effects on the targeted cetacean population. This industry is currently developing in data?deficient contexts in a largely unregulated fashion. Management schemes should adopt precaution and be informed by the relevant literature, but would be more effective if the assessment of the target population vulnerability, biological impacts, and management implications was drawn from site?specific data. 2) This paper focuses on a reef?associated, data?deficient population of spinner dolphins in the Egyptian Red Sea. In Satayah Reef, new information on population size and dynamic parameters were documented using visual observation and photo?identification?based capture?recapture methods (Cormack?Jolly?Seber time?since?marking model). 3) Dolphins occurred on 98% of the survey days. Average school size was 66 individuals (?42.1 SE), with most groups including calves. The population was equally divided into recurrent and transient individuals. An ?emigration + mortality? model best described residence at the site. Five recurrent males (5% of the Satayah population) provided connectivity between this and the geographically close population of Samadai Reef. 4) Average annual survival probability was 0.83 (?0.06 SE) in the year following first capture and 0.99 (?0.06 SE) for recurrent individuals. Mean yearly population sizes ranged 143?207 individuals. 5) The study had the power to detect a 30% decline in the population, but not the rate of change in abundance estimated from the data (r = 0.018 ? 0.04), which would have required a 3? to 5?times longer study. Synthesis and application: These findings advance the assessment of the Satayah population's intrinsic vulnerability and have three major management applications: (a) the delineation of management units; (b) the identification of key indicators for future impact monitoring and assessment; and (c) realistic estimates of the statistical power for trend detection. Based on our results, we recommend supporting future research, devising site?specific time?area closure plans, and integrating them in a regional scheme. Approaches employed in this case study can inform the management of whale watching industries targeting other data?deficient populations Bertella G., Fumagalli M. and Williams-Grey V. (2019). Wildlife tourism through the co-creation lens. Tourism Recreation Research, 44(3): 300-310. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02508281.2019.1606977 Abstract: This study reflects on the conceptualisation of wild animals as co-creators. Its purpose is to encourage reflection about the role of animals in wildlife tourism. Therefore, to this end ? and in the belief that diversity and creativity are important elements in critical thinking ? the study was developed by a research team with diverse professional backgrounds. It adopts a fictional methodological approach, employing a fictive dialogue between a tourist joining a swim-with-dolphins tour and a dolphin and draws upon recent scholarly contributions on animals from the perspective of various disciplines, including philosophy, biology and tourism, The study?s most important contribution comes in the form of a discussion of the co-creation concept from a critical perspective, based on innovative and explicitly-described ontological, epistemological and methodological considerations Please feel free to contact us should you have any comments or would like to request a copy of the works. Best regards, Madda Maddalena Fumagalli, PhD Marine Biologist & Conservation Scientist www.linkedin.com/in/maddalena-fumagalli -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rebeccaboys at hotmail.com Thu Aug 29 15:34:04 2019 From: rebeccaboys at hotmail.com (Rebecca Boys) Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2019 22:34:04 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Reminder: Necropsy workshop for students at WMMC Message-ID: Dear Marmamers, This is a reminder about the upcoming Student Necropsy workshop being hosted at the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona As early registration is fast approaching, please do remember to have a look at our necropsy workshop and sign up if you are a student! Details of the workshop, venue and costs are below. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions. Workshop Summary: The student necropsy workshop will be split into two parts, a morning session for up to 100 students, where we aim to explain the basis of some of the main pathological problems dealt with during necropsies and the sampling procedures. Talks will be short and cover a range of topics, including: How to recognize Peracute underwater entrapment (PUE), Common parasitic infections in small cetaceans at necropsy, Sampling for toxicological investigations, Criteria for diagnosis of main infectious disease of cetaceans. The second session in the afternoon will be a practical necropsy for a maximum of 25 students. These students will need to show that performing a necropsy is an essential part of their current/ near future studies and so would be beneficial (please fill in the required information as mentioned below). The main aims of this session will be how to perform a necropsy, and how to evaluate ear sense. Confirmed speakers for the workshop include: Dr Thierry Jauniaux, Prof Antonio Fernandez, Dr Manuel Arbelo, Prof Antonio Raga, Prof Xon Borrell and Steffen De Vreese. The second session in the afternoon will be a practical necropsy for a maximum of 25 students. Participants wishing to attend the practical session must write a brief explanation when filling out the registration form, about how attending the practical will be particularly beneficial to them, because performing a necropsy is an essential part of their current/near future studies; required information on the form includes (1) Details of how you are currently using necropsy sampling techniques in your work (or how you aim to apply necropsy sampling to work that you are planning), and (2) Details of any previous necropsy experience (e.g. workshops attended, classes, internships etc..). The main aims of this session will be how to perform a necropsy, and how to evaluate ear sense. Venue for both sessions: Veterinary School of University Aut?noma of Barcelona (UAB). Train travel necessary. We will meet at 7.15 am at Pla?a Catalunya, near to the Apple Store entry. A map with the exact meeting point will be provided via email. We will travel together via S2 train to the Universitat Aut?noma de Barcelona (UAB). Travel from Pla?a Catalunya train station to the University Aut?noma is expected to take 35 ? 40 minutes, plus 10 minutes by walking to the Veterinarian school. To get to Pla?a Catalunya from the CCIB ? take the L4 Subway Line from El Maresme | F?rum station to Urquinaona station, then 7 minute walk to Pla?a Catalunya . Click HERE for transit map. Cost: Participants will be required to pay 5 euros on the day to the organizers to cover costs of the workshop, including tea/ coffee and light snacks. Students are responsible for buying their own tickets to go to the UAB campus. These are the same tickets that you can use on the metro throughout Barcelona (Ticket of 1 ZONE). There are different types of tickets, depending on the number of journeys that you want to buy. We recommend you to buy a ?T-10 from 1 ZONE?, a multi-person travel card with 10 journeys (total price = 10.20?, each travel costs about 1?). You can find more information about tickets in the following link: https://www.tmb.cat/en/barcelona-fares-metro-bus Format: The morning session will involve a series of speakers, with a maximum of 100 participants. The afternoon session will be a focused practical exercise for students that currently use necropsies/ pathology as part of their work, limited to a maximum of 25 currently enrolled students. Thank you, Rebecca Boys on behalf of the Organisers ------------------------------------------------------------- Rebecca M Boys Marine Biologist PhD Candidate Coastal Marine Research Group Massey University New Zealand https://www.coastalmarineresearchgroup.com/ https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/explore/research/animal-veterinary/animal/marine/marine_home.cfm @RebeccaMBoys European Cetacean Society Student Representative- World Marine Mammal Conference Society of Marine Mammalogy Education Committee Member European Cetacean Society National Contact Person for New Zealand -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rguazzo at ucsd.edu Fri Aug 30 11:43:49 2019 From: rguazzo at ucsd.edu (Regina Guazzo) Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2019 11:43:49 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New Publication: Gray whale call and blow rates Message-ID: Dear colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of the following open-access publication: Guazzo RA, Weller DW, Europe HM, Durban JW, D'Spain GL, Hildebrand JA (2019) Migrating eastern North Pacific gray whale call and blow rates estimated from acoustic recordings, infrared camera video, and visual sightings. Scientific Reports 9:12617. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-49115-y Abstract: During the eastern North Pacific gray whale 2014?2015 southbound migration, acoustic call recordings, infrared blow detections, and visual sightings were combined to estimate cue rates, needed to convert detections into abundance. The gray whale acoustic call rate ranged from 2.3?24 calls/whale/day during the peak of the southbound migration with an average of 7.5 calls/whale/day over both the southbound and northbound migrations. The average daily calling rate increased between 30 December?13 February. With a call rate model, we estimated that 4,340 gray whales migrated south before visual observations began on 30 December, which is 2,829 more gray whales than used in the visual estimate, and would add approximately 10% to the abundance estimate. We suggest that visual observers increase their survey effort to all of December to document gray whale presence. The infrared camera blow rate averaged 49 blows/whale/hour over 5?8 January. Probability of detection of a whale blow by the infrared camera was the same at night as during the day. However, probability of detection decreased beyond 2.1 km offshore, whereas visual sightings revealed consistent whale densities up to 3 km offshore. We suggest that future infrared camera surveys use multiple cameras optimised for different ranges offshore. I am happy to respond to any questions about this work at rguazzo at ucsd.edu Thank you, Regina Regina A. Guazzo, PhD Environmental Readiness Branch Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (c) 908.507.1421 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From dinets at gmail.com Sat Aug 31 10:05:22 2019 From: dinets at gmail.com (dinets .) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 13:05:22 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] dwarf sperm whales surface feeding Message-ID: Are there any records of dwarf sperm whales feeding on the surface? I recently saw them swimming in circles just outside a feeding aggregation of wedge-tailed shearwaters, strongly suggesting that they were also catching something (appr. 27.81N 141.78E). I looked through the few books I have and everything I could find on Kogia in Google Scholar, but didn't find any mention of surface feeding. Looks like everybody just assumes them to be obligatory deep divers, even though the list of known prey species on OBIS-SEAMAP page includes some squid species (i. e. Ilex argentinus) that are caught on surface by squid fisheries. Vladimir Dinets Science & Technology Associate, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan Research Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA dinets.info Virus-free. www.avast.com <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From joannakershaw at hotmail.com Sat Aug 31 09:17:03 2019 From: joannakershaw at hotmail.com (Joanna Kershaw) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 16:17:03 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New Review Article - Mercury in cetaceans: Exposure, bioaccumulation and toxicity Message-ID: Dear MARMAM, We are pleased to announce the publication of our review article in Science of the Total Environment - Mercury in cetaceans: Exposure, bioaccumulation and toxicity. Abstract: The fate and transportation of mercury in the marine environment are driven by a combination of anthropogenic atmospheric and aquatic sources, as well as natural geological inputs. Mercury biomagnifies up the food chain, resulting in the bioaccumulation of toxic concentrations in higher trophic organisms even when concentrations in their habitat remain below the threshold level for direct toxicity. As a result, mercury exposure has been recognised as a health concern for both humans and top marine predators, including cetaceans. There appears to be no overall trend in the global measured concentrations reported in cetaceans between 1975 and 2010, although differences between areas show that the highest concentrations in recent decades have been measured in the tissues of Mediterranean odontocetes. There is increasing concern for the impacts of mercury on the Arctic marine ecosystem with changes in water temperatures, ocean currents, and prey availability, all predicted to affect exposure. The accumulation of mercury in various tissues has been linked to renal and hepatic damage as well as reported neurotoxic, genotoxic, and immunotoxic effects. These effects have been documented through studies on stranded and by-caught cetaceans as well as in vitro cell culture experiments. Demethylation of methylmercury and protection by selenium have been suggested as possible mercury detoxification mechanisms in cetaceans that may explain the very high concentrations measured in tissues of some species with no apparent acute toxicity. Thus, the ratio of selenium to mercury is of importance when aiming to determine the impact of the contaminant load at an individual level. The long-term population level effects of mercury exposure are unknown, and continued monitoring of odontocete populations in particular is advised in order to predict the consequences of mercury uptake on marine food chains in the future. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133683 Best wishes, Joanna Kershaw and Ailsa Hall -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mwhite at sea2shore.org Sat Aug 31 18:26:19 2019 From: mwhite at sea2shore.org (Melanie White) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 21:26:19 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Right Whale Aerial Survey Observer Job Announcement Message-ID: <000201d56064$437b0730$ca711590$@sea2shore.org> Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute Right Whale Aerial Survey Observers Job Announcement Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, a non-profit research and conservation organization, is seeking temporary, seasonal aerial observers for marine mammal surveys from December 2019 through March 2020. These positions are in anticipation of research activities to be conducted in the southeastern United States, contingent upon funding.?Responsibilities will include participating in aerial flights up to five days per week, data processing, and photo analysis. Observers are required to complete an aviation and marine safety/survival training course.?Housing is provided and will be located in St. Simon?s Island, Georgia.? ?? Qualifications:? Previous aerial or marine mammal survey experience, as well as experience in photo-identification of large cetaceans, is strongly desired. Applicants should be skilled in database entry and other computer applications including photo processing software. The ability to live and work well in a team environment and work in a small aircraft up to eight hours per day is required.?We are currently accepting applications from U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Job Description: Job Title: Right Whale Aerial Observer Hours: 40 hrs/week from December 2019 through March 2020 Responsibilities: ? Participating in right whale aerial surveys under the direct supervision of the Right Whale Team Leader. ? Collecting data and images on right whales (condition, behavior, associations, status, etc.), and location data on ships and other species of interest. ? Facilitating the transmittal of location information to the various communication networks, the U.S. Navy, Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR), Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, New England Aquarium, NOAA, and the University of Rhode Island. ? Photographing sightings via digital photography and processing and matching those images following each flight. ? Verifying and conducting quality control checks on aerial survey data. ? Completing data spreadsheets, analyzing data, report writing, and other tasks as required and/or assigned by the supervisor. Benefit Summary: Worker?s Compensation coverage; housing provided. Please submit a cover letter, resume, and three references to Clearwater Marine Aquarium Human Resources Department (mailto: ddesantis at cmaquarium.org) by September 20, 2019. Phone calls are not permitted. Melanie White Research Biologist Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute 249 Windward Passage Clearwater, FL ?33767??????????? mwhite at cmaquarium.org C: 518.339.1202 http://www.cmaresearchinstitute.org From tracycollier at oceanassoc.com Sat Aug 31 18:44:21 2019 From: tracycollier at oceanassoc.com (Tracy Collier) Date: Sat, 31 Aug 2019 18:44:21 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Telework--Saltwater and Ocean Associates looking for ESA Section 7 expertise to support the SE Regional Office of NMFS Message-ID: <4C31C810-E44B-4CDA-93A9-E8C94C2FFC5F@oceanassoc.com> Please see this link to a position, open for applications now through September 3, to support the SERO in conducting Section 7 ESA consultations. The position can be done via telework, with occasional visits to SERO in St. Pete, FL. Apply directly through the link above, and feel free to contact me for more information. Best, Tracy Tracy Collier OAI, Project Manager and Senior Associate (206)780-1931 (home office) (206)369-2779 (mobile) tracycollier at oceanassoc.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: