From burnhamr at uvic.ca Tue Jun 2 09:51:23 2020 From: burnhamr at uvic.ca (burnhamr) Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2020 09:51:23 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New publications on whale acoustics use Message-ID: I'm happy to share 2 new publications The first is a continuation of the discussion of 'Whale Geography' (previous discussion here:https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133317734103) Burnham, R.E. 2020. Whale Geography: A species-centric approach applied to migration' 44 (3)_: _419-434 It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133320922417 Abstract: Understanding the biogeography of a species begins by mapping its presence over time and space. The use of home ranges, breeding and feeding areas, migration paths and movement patterns between the two are also inherent to their ecology. However, this is an overly simplified view of life histories. It ignores nuanced and complex exchanges and responses to the environment and between conspecifics. Having previously advocated for a more species-centric approach in a discussion of 'whale geography', I look to better understand the driving factors of migrations, and the information streams guiding the movement, which is key to the biogeography of large whale species. First, I consider the processes underlying the navigation capacities of species to complete migration, and how, and over what scales, sensory information contributes to cognitive maps. I specifically draw on examples of large-scale, _en masse_ migrators to then apply this to whales. I focus on the acoustic sense as the principal way whales gain and exchange information, drawing on a case study of grey whale (_Eschrichtius robustu_s) calling behaviour to illustrate my arguments. Their consistent employment of far-propagating calls appears to be tied to travel behaviours and probably aids navigation and social cohesion. The range over which calls are being propagated to conspecifics, or perhaps being echoed back to the individual, underlies the distance over which the cognitive maps are being both formed and employed. I believe understanding these processes edges us closer to understanding species biogeography. The second is adaptation of a paper myself and colleagues published on our glider research in the offshore waters of the Canadian Pacific that has been adapted for a younger audience in Frontiers for Young Minds. Burnham R.E. 2020. Learning About Whales by Listening for Their Calls. Front. Young Minds. 8:55. Accessed here: https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00055 Abstract: Populations of large whales have been reduced to very low numbers, primarily by hunting. As the number of whales became smaller, they became harder to find. In the past, whalers knew where to go to hunt, but now scientists who study whales can find it hard to know which areas whales use to feed, breed, or even travel through. We now realize how important whales are for keeping oceans healthy, so scientists are trying to learn as much as they can about large whales. Underwater sound recordings are helping us find some of the rarest whales in the northeast Pacific by listening for their calls. We use underwater microphones, called hydrophones, set on the ocean floor and on ocean gliders, which are small submarines, to help us learn about where whales are, when they are there, and most importantly, what they are doing. The original article this is adapted from is: Burnham, R. E., Duffus, D. A., and Mouy, X. 2019. The presence of large whale species in Clayoquot Sound and its offshore waters. _Cont. Shelf Res._ 177:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2019.03.004 If you would like a PDF of any of these papers feel free to contact me Rianna Burnham, PhD. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kinguq at gmail.com Mon Jun 1 16:23:19 2020 From: kinguq at gmail.com (Daniel Pike) Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2020 19:23:19 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on cetacean abundance in the Central North Atlantic Message-ID: We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in NAMMCO Scientific Publications: Pike, D.G., Gunnlaugsson, T., Mikkelsen, B., Halld?rsson, S.D., V?kingsson, G.A., Acquarone, M. & Desportes, G. (2020). Estimates of the Abundance of Cetaceans in the Central North Atlantic From the T-NASS Icelandic and Faroese Ship Surveys Conducted in 2007. *NAMMCO Scientific Publications *11. https://doi.org/10.7557/3.5269 *ABSTRACT* The Trans-North Atlantic Sightings Survey (T-NASS) carried out in June-July 2007 was the fifth in a series of large-scale cetacean surveys conducted previously in 1987, 1989, 1995 and 2001. The core survey area covered about 1.8 million nm? spanning from the Eastern Barents Sea at 34?E to the east coast of Canada, and between 52?N and 78?N in the east and south to 42?N in the west. We present design-based abundance estimates from the Faroese and Icelandic vessel survey components of T-NASS, as well as results from ancillary vessels that covered adjoining areas. The 4 dedicated survey vessels used a Buckland-Turnock (B-T) mode with a tracker platform searching an area ahead of the primary platform and tracking sightings to provide data for bias correction. Both uncorrected estimates, using the combined non-duplicate sightings from both platforms, and mark-recapture estimates, correcting estimates from the primary platform for bias due to perception and availability, are presented for those species with a sufficient number of sightings. Corrected estimates for the core survey area are as follows: fin whales (*Balaenoptera physalus*): 30,777 (CV=0.19); humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*): 18,105 (CV=0.43); sperm whales (*Physeter macrocephalus*): 12,268 (CV=0.33); long-finned pilot whales (*Globicephala melas*): 87,417 (CV=0.38); white-beaked dolphins (*Lagenorhynchus albirostris*): 91,277 (CV=0.53); and white-sided dolphins (*L. acutus*): 81,008 (CV=0.54). Uncorrected estimates only were possible for common minke whales (*B. acutorstrata*): 12,427 (CV=0.27); and sei whales (*B. borealis*): 5,159 (CV=0.47). Sighting rates from the ancillary vessels, which used a single platform, were lower than those from the dedicated vessels in areas where they overlapped. No evidence of responsive movement by any species was detected, but there was some indication that distance measurements by the primary platform may have been negatively biased. The significance of this for the abundance estimates is discussed. The relative merits of B-T over other survey modes are discussed and recommendations for future surveys provided. The paper is available for download here: https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/5269 Best regards, Daniel Pike. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com Wed Jun 3 02:45:14 2020 From: lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com (Lydia Tivenan) Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 10:45:14 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Competition Announcement - bycatch mitigation research Message-ID: *Competition Announcement - Chance to win marine acoustic equipment for bycatch mitigation research!* To celebrate the recent publication, "Assessing the Effects of Banana Pingers as Bycatch Mitigation Device for Harbour Porpoises *(Phocoena phocoena)"* by Omeyer et al., 2020, Fishtek Marine in collaboration with Chelonia LTD are running an exciting competition, for marine mammals scientists working in bycatch mitigation research. We are giving away $8000 of marine acoustic equipment (x2 C-PODs, x1 cycling Banana pinger). *Who should apply?* Anyone working with fisheries with the aim of reducing cetacean bycatch and ideally with the ability to publish scientific research. Applicants should demonstrate a drive and strategy to achieve a conservation outcome on a regional scale in the next 3 years. We would also welcome Government regulators and fisheries authorities looking to comply with the new Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provisions to apply. Preference for those working in the gill, drift and set net fisheries with cetacean bycatch issues and those working with Narrow Band High Frequency species (NBHF) and protected species. **Deadline for applications 30th June 2020** Read Omeyer et al., 2020 (open access) paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00285/full For more information about Fishtek Marine and how to apply: https://www.fishtekmarine.com/competition/ Find out more about Chelonia LTD: https://www.chelonia.co.uk/ Many thanks, Lydia *Lydia Tivenan ? *Bycatch Mitigation Assistant, Fishtek Marine Ltd. Unit 1a Webbers Way, Dartington, Devon. TQ9 6JY. United Kingdom. *t.* +44 (0)1803 225253 *e.* lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com *w.* http://www.fishtekmarine.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smithkerrij at gmail.com Wed Jun 3 06:19:02 2020 From: smithkerrij at gmail.com (Kerri J. Smith) Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 08:19:02 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Cetacean Skeletons Demonstrate Ecologically Relevant Variation in Intraskeletal Stable Isotopic Values Message-ID: Dear all, We are pleased to share our recent publication on carbon and nitrogen isotope variation in cetacean skeletons. Smith KJ, Sparks JP, Timmons ZL and Peterson MJ (2020) Cetacean Skeletons Demonstrate Ecologically Relevant Variation in Intraskeletal Stable Isotopic Values. *Front. Mar. Sci.* 7:388. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00388 Conservation science requires quickly acquiring information and taking action in order to protect species at risk of extinction. Stable isotope measurements are one way to rapidly gather data regarding species? foraging ecology and habitat use, and passively collected samples limit additional stress to at-risk species. For these samples to be useful, however, we must know how representative they are of the stable isotope ratios of the entire organism. Bone tissue, often stored in museum collections or research centers, may be the most readily available tissue from rare, endangered, or extinct vertebrates, but using bone requires practitioners to understand intraskeletal stable isotope variation. We sampled the same eight skeletal elements from 72 cetacean skeletons from 14 species to evaluate intraskeletal variation in carbon and nitrogen isotope values. We found considerably more variation than anticipated. Carbon intraskeletal ranges varied from 0.4 to 7.6?, with 84.7% (*n* = 61) of skeletons having a range >1?, and 55.5% (*n* = 40) exhibiting a range >2?. Similarly, nitrogen intraskeletal ranges varied from 0.4 to 5.2?, with 59.7% (*n* = 43) of skeletons exhibiting a range >1?, and 15.3% (*n* = 11) with a range >2?. There were differences in which bones contributed most to intraskeletal variation; however, we advise against using humeri and mandibles as these bones presented the most consistent trends in deviation from the intraskeletal means for both isotopes. The large intraskeletal variation we observed is likely due to changes in foraging behavior or habitat use being reflected differently in bone isotope ratios due to differences in bone turnover rates. We suggest that for cetaceans, intraskeletal carbon isotope ranges >1? and nitrogen ranges >2? are ecologically relevant, and that using different bones from animals of the same population may produce false positive differences in foraging behavior or habitat within the population if intraskeletal variation is not considered. Future studies should use the same bones from each animal and conduct species-specific analyses of intraskeletal variation, if possible, when using specimens of opportunity. Failure to consider this variation could lead to erroneous conclusions regarding a species range or key habitats, jeopardizing conservation efforts. Cheers, Kerri *--Kerri J. Smith, Ph.D.* Postdoctoral Researcher - Baylor University Research Fellow - Smithsonian Institution Website ?The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.? -Charles Darwin -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Tobias.Schaffeld at tiho-hannover.de Tue Jun 2 05:26:49 2020 From: Tobias.Schaffeld at tiho-hannover.de (Schaffeld, Tobias) Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2020 12:26:49 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper about Effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, My Co-Authors and I are pleased to advertise our recent publication. We investigated the effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea. This technique was used as an alternative to pile-driving. Citation: Baltzer, J., Maurer, N., Schaffeld, T., Ruser, A., Schnitzler, J. G., and Siebert, U. (2020). ?Effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea,? J. Sea Res., 162, 101912. doi:10.1016/j.seares.2020.101912 Link to full paper: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1b9~o_VVcRgsQW Highlights ? Source level of the vibration embedment noise was 148.2 dB re 1 ?Pa2s. ? Median sound exposure levels ranged from 120 to 99 dB re 1 ?Pa2s at distances between 394 and 2288 m. ? Vibration embedment noise might exert a behavioural reaction on a local scale. ? Marine mammals and fish may be affected to distances of 375 and 766 m, respectively. Abstract: Anchor pipe vibration embedment operations during the construction of seed mussel collectors were performed in the Wadden Sea, a designated World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2009. We recorded 200 min of underwater noise during the construction of seven anchor pipes. Underwater noise was recorded simultaneously at three positions with a water depth of 9 m with increasing distance to the construction site to assess the disturbance potential to the marine fauna. The recorded vibration embedment noise was a continuous sound with durations of 2?55 s, with most energy below 1 kHz and peak frequencies around 900 Hz. Background noise level at a distance of approximately 1 km increased around 13 dB at frequencies between 800 and 1000 Hz. We estimated the sound propagation by a non-linear logarithmic regression by means of the intercept, slope and attenuation factor, which allowed us to evaluate the received sound levels that reach an animal in certain distances from the construction site. The estimated sound exposure level (SEL) of the source was 148.2 dB re 1 ?Pa2s and the median SEL ranged from 120 to 99 dB re 1 ?Pa2s at distances between 394 and 2288 m, respectively. Behavioural thresholds for indigenous species of marine mammals in the Wadden Sea as well as representative fish species were used to determine effect radii of vibration embedment noise. Our study showed that the detected anchor pipe vibration embedment noise might exert a behavioural reaction on a local scale. Marine mammals could be affected by the construction operations up to a distance of 375 m and fish up to a distance of 766 m. These zones of responsiveness for vibration embedment operations are relatively small, compared to pile driving, which is regularly used during construction operations. Our study shows that it is important to monitor and assess any kind of noise introduction to verify, whether a sustainable human use with respect to the complied guidelines is ensured without affecting the marine fauna. That is the first step to maintain a good environmental status as implemented in the MSFD. With kind regards Tobias Schaffeld -- Tobias Schaffeld Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation Werftstr. 6 / 25761 B?sum / Germany Tel +49 511 856 8164 / Fax +49 511 856-8181 Tobias.Schaffeld at tiho-hannover.de http://www.tiho-hannover.de/kliniken-institute/institute/institut-fuer-terrestrische-und-aquatische-wildtierforschung/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From keenerb at tmmc.org Tue Jun 2 07:51:09 2020 From: keenerb at tmmc.org (Bill Keener) Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2020 14:51:09 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Request for information on harbor porpoise behavior In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Dear MARMAM community, We are working on an international collaborative paper documenting harbor porpoise mating patterns globally. If you or your colleagues have photos, videos or other data on harbor porpoise aerial behavior or mating, please reach out us. Our goal is to document whether the conspicuous behavior that we described from San Francisco Bay in our 2018 paper (the male's rapid approach to the female's left side that often ends with the male becoming aerial) occurs in all harbor porpoise populations. Our results have shown that porpoise aerial behavior may be a sign of mating activity, and such observations could factor into decisions affecting potential breeding hotspots and the designation of marine protected areas. Our open access paper in Aquatic Mammals (https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.6.2018.620) is available here: 44_6_keener. At the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, we presented a poster inviting collaborators, available here: https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/assets/pdfs/vetsci-stranding/scientific-contributions/2019/Webber_et_al_2019_Porpoise_mating_behavior_WMMC_Poster.pdf All the best, Bill Keener (The Marine Mammal Center; keenerb at tmmc.org) Marc Webber (The Marine Mammal Center; webberm at tmmc.org) Dara Orbach (Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi; dara.orbach at tamucc.edu) Bill Keener Research Associate Cetacean Field Research Program KeenerB at tmmc.org | C: 415.297.6139 | MarineMammalCenter.org The Marine Mammal Center, 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito, CA 94965 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From erin.oleson at noaa.gov Wed Jun 3 21:52:53 2020 From: erin.oleson at noaa.gov (Erin Oleson - NOAA Federal) Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 18:52:53 -1000 Subject: [MARMAM] DCLDE2020 Kona - Call for participation Message-ID: Aloha to the marine mammal bioacoustics community. We?re pleased to announce that the calls for abstracts, workshop/tutorial proposals, exhibits, sponsorship, and student travel support for DCLDE 2020 Kona are open! The website has been updated with important dates, updates, and submission forms: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/ore/dclde/. [DCLDE 2020 Kona = 9th International Workshop on Detection, Classification, Localization and Density Estimation of Marine Mammals using Passive Acoustics, Kailua-Kona Hawaii, 7-11 December 2020]. Re. COVID-19: We know there is a lot of uncertainty in the world and especially as it relates to travel and meetings. For now, we are holding course on scheduling for DCLDE2020 in the hopes of minimal impact to the event. We plan to re-evaluate the situation in mid-summer. Updates will be posted on the DCLDE2020 website as they become available. Best regards, Erin Oleson and Eva-Marie Nosal DLCDE 2020 Kona Co-chairs -- *Erin Oleson, PhD* *Leader*, Cetacean Research Program NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center office: (808) 725-5712 Erin.Oleson at noaa.gov https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pacific-islands/about-us/whale-and-dolphin-surveys-pacific-islands -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pjbouchet at gmail.com Thu Jun 4 02:52:27 2020 From: pjbouchet at gmail.com (Phil Bouchet) Date: Thu, 04 Jun 2020 10:52:27 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: A standard protocol for reporting species distribution models Message-ID: Dear MARMAMers, My colleagues and are delighted to share our new open access publication in Ecography. The paper presents a standard protocol (called ?ODMAP?) for building and reporting on species distribution models (SDMs), with direct relevance to marine mammal research. ODMAP was designed as a structured checklist that details the key steps involved in the development and analysis of modern SDMs. With it, we hope to increase the transparency and reproducibility of SDM studies, facilitate peer-review and expert evaluation of model quality, support meta?analyses, and encourage model users to consider various aspects of the modelling workflow that may sometimes be overlooked. Zurell D, Franklin J, K?nig C, Bouchet PJ, Serra-Diaz JM, Dormann CF, Elith J, Fandos Guzman G, Feng X, Guillera-Arroita G, Guisan A, Leit?o PJ, Lahoz-Monfort JJ, Park DS, Peterson AT, Raacciuolo G, Schmatz DR, Schr?der B, Thuiller W, Yates KL, Zimmermann NE, Merow C (2020). A standard protocol for reporting species distribution models. Ecography (online early). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecog.04960 *Abstract* Species distribution models (SDMs) constitute the most common class of models across ecology, evolution and conservation. The advent of ready?to?use software packages and increasing availability of digital geoinformation have considerably assisted the application of SDMs in the past decade, greatly enabling their broader use for informing conservation and management, and for quantifying impacts from global change. However, models must be fit for purpose, with all important aspects of their development and applications properly considered. Despite the widespread use of SDMs, standardisation and documentation of modelling protocols remain limited, which makes it hard to assess whether development steps are appropriate for end use. To address these issues, we propose a standard protocol for reporting SDMs, with an emphasis on describing how a study's objective is achieved through a series of modeling decisions. We call this the ODMAP (Overview, Data, Model, Assessment and Prediction) protocol, as its components reflect the main steps involved in building SDMs and other empirically?based biodiversity models. The ODMAP protocol serves two main purposes. First, it provides a checklist for authors, detailing key steps for model building and analyses, and thus represents a quick guide and generic workflow for modern SDMs. Second, it introduces a structured format for documenting and communicating the models, ensuring transparency and reproducibility, facilitating peer review and expert evaluation of model quality, as well as meta?analyses. We detail all elements of ODMAP, and explain how it can be used for different model objectives and applications, and how it complements efforts to store associated metadata and define modelling standards. We illustrate its utility by revisiting nine previously published case studies, and provide an interactive web?based application to facilitate its use. We plan to advance ODMAP by encouraging its further refinement and adoption by the scientific community. The paper is accompanied by a Shiny app available here at https://odmap.wsl.ch/ Best wishes, Phil Dr. Phil Bouchet | Postdoctoral Research Fellow Centre for Research into Ecological & Environmental Modelling (CREEM) The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens University of St Andrews, St Andrews Fife KY16 9LZ, Scotland (UK) E pjbouchet at gmail.com | pb282 at st-andrews.ac.uk -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com Wed Jun 3 19:25:58 2020 From: sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com (Sergio Cobarrubia) Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 22:25:58 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Bottlenose Dolphin Project Research in Venezuela. Interns and Volunteer Program 2020. Message-ID: BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN PROJECT RESEARCH IN VENEZUELA. INTERNS AND VOLUNTEER PROGRAM 2020. BACKGROUND: The Laboratory of Ecosystems and Global Change (LEGC) of the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC, www.ivic.gob.ve) invites the second season of internships-volunteering (2020) 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) 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 home this 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, no roof. 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. We recommend wearing a long-sleeved shirt, cool pants, hat and sunscreen (30-50 PF). 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 digital camera. - Counting of individuals and composition of a group. - Identification of the behavioral states that configure group behavior and its recording. - Use of hydrophone. - Identification and counting of birds. -Identification and counting of vessels and other antropic objects. 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. - Shark whales sightings. - Birds sightings. - Vessels and anthropic objects sightings. 3rd WEEK (LEGC-Ecology Center, 40 hours. For Interns and volunteers). PRACTICAL FEES: Accommodation (IVIC students residence and apartment in Cata Bay), food and transport (airport-IVIC-Cata Bay-IVIC-airport) are paid. The cost of internships is US $ 720 for the compensation of logistical expenses of the field surveys. For more information, please contact:sergio.cobarrubia at gmail.com. There is also the opportunity for 6-week internships and two field survey sessions (1,250 USD). The logistic cost for volunteers is US $ 500. *Ask all your questions, especially to mitigate 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 one-day expedition to the pelagic habitat is opened, this other expedition will allow us to watch Atlantic spotted dolphins, spinner dolphins or pilot whales. -- *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 ehines at sfsu.edu Thu Jun 4 08:41:41 2020 From: ehines at sfsu.edu (Ellen M Hines) Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2020 15:41:41 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] A new publication: Getting to the bottom of bycatch, a GIS-based toolbox to assess thee risk of marine mammal bycatch Message-ID: Greetings all, on behalf of my colleagues, we are happy to share this new open access publication as part of a special issue on Marine Vertebrate Bycatch in Endangered Species Research: https://www.int-res.com/journals/esr/specials/marine-vertebrate-bycatch-problems-and-solutions/ Getting to the bottom of bycatch: a GIS-based toolbox to assess the risk of marine mammal bycatch https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/42/n042p037.pdf Ellen Hines, Louisa S. Ponnampalam, Chalatip Junchompoo, Cindy Peter, Long Vu, Thien Huynh, Marjolaine Caillat, Andrew F. Johnson, Gianna Minton, Rebecca L. Lewison, Gregory M. Verutes ABSTRACT: Marine mammal bycatch poses a particular challenge in developing countries, where data to document bycatch and its effects are often lacking. Using the Bycatch Risk Assessment (ByRA) toolkit, based on InVEST open-source models, we chose 4 field sites in Southeast Asia with varying amounts of data on marine mammals and fishing occurrence: Trat province in the eastern Gulf of Thailand, the Sibu-Tinggi Islands and Kuching Bay, Malaysia, and Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve in southwestern Vietnam. These field sites have similar species of coastal marine mammals, small-scale and commercial fisheries, and support for research from universities and/or management. In Thailand and Kuching, results showed changing patterns of fishing and Irrawaddy dolphin Orcaella brevirostris habitat use across seasons, showing how bycatch risk could change throughout the year. Risk maps for dugongs Dugong dugon in peninsular Malaysia highlighted patterns of bycatch risk concentrated around a mainland fishing pier, and revealed high risk in a northern subregion. In Vietnam, first maps of bycatch risk for the Irrawaddy dolphin showed the highest risk driven by intensive use of gillnets and trawling gear. ByRA pinpointed areas of spatial and seasonal bycatch exposure, and estimated the consequence of bycatch on local species, providing managers with critical information on where to focus bycatch mitigation and meet new global standards for US Marine Mammal Protection Act and other international regulation (e.g. Official Journal of the European Union 2019; Regulation 2019/1241) compliance. The toolbox, a transferable open-source tool, can be used to guide fisheries management, marine mammal conservation, spatial planning, and further research. Thanks to funding from the IWC Bycatch Mitigation Initiative, we have manuals for the toolbox in both English and Spanish (Kuit et al 2020). Please email me and I'm glad to send. Be well and be safe, Ellen Ellen Hines, PhD Associate Director and Professor of Geography & Environment Estuary and Ocean Science Center San Francisco State University 3150 Paradise Dr. Tiburon, CA 94920 ehines at sfsu.edu https://eoscenter.sfsu.edu/content/ellen-hines -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com Sat Jun 6 09:38:10 2020 From: giovanni.bearzi at gmail.com (Giovanni Bearzi) Date: Sat, 06 Jun 2020 18:38:10 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Marine biology on a violated planet: from science to conscience Message-ID: Dear colleagues, the article below stems from my experience as a dolphin researcher: Bearzi G. 2020. Marine biology on a violated planet: from science to conscience. Ethics in Science and Environmental Politics 20:1-13. It is open access and freely available at: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esep/v20/p1-13/ ABSTRACT - Humanity?s self-ordained mandate to subdue and dominate nature is part of the cognitive foundation of the modern world--a perspective that remains deeply ingrained in science and technology. Marine biology has not been immune to this anthropocentric bias. But this needs to change, and the gaps between basic scientific disciplines and the global conservation imperatives of our time need to be bridged. In the face of a looming ecological and climate crisis, marine biologists must upgrade their values and professional standards and help foster the radical transformation needed to avert a climate and ecological breakdown. To prevent some of the damage, they must cross the imaginary line that separates science from science-based activism and consciously pursue the health and durability of human and natural communities. To this end, they can (1) develop compelling narratives that engage human society, with emphasis on care for the wild living world; (2) move beyond marine conservation on paper and avoid self-serving complaisance; (3) advocate constructive changes in market and human behaviour, not only by documenting damage but also by clarifying how the extraction, production and consumption system can be steered away from practices that harm nature; (4) push for systemic change in politics through individual and collective efforts, supporting environmental activism and those who demand biosphere-saving policies; and (5) endorse a more ecocentric and holistic world vision, relinquishing contempt for spiritual wisdom and liaising with (or at least not dismissing) spiritual traditions that encourage equality, self-restraint and environmental sustainability. - - - - - - - Giovanni Bearzi From kasandragalvez at hotmail.com Wed Jun 3 15:23:42 2020 From: kasandragalvez at hotmail.com (=?iso-8859-1?Q?Casandra_G=E1lvez?=) Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 22:23:42 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Guadalupe fur seal article In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Hello I just want to share this article about Guadalupe fur seal growth and survival. Impacts of extreme ocean warming on the early development of a marine top predator: The Guadalupe fur seal https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2019.102220 Highlights * The northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave occurred in 2014-2016. * An anomaly of +1 ?C reduces the weight of Guadalupe fur seal neonates in ~1.7 kg. * The lowest neonatal survival coincided with the highest warming variability (2015). * Extreme warming in 2014-2015 could have reduced nursing females prey availability. * Climate change would affect this subspecies' early development. Abstract >From fall 2013 through 2015, a large-scale, multi-year warm water anomaly occurred in the northeast Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon had negative impacts on some oceanic predators, including higher mortalities and poor body conditions. We studied the effect of this warm water anomaly on the weight gain of Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus philippii townsendi) neonates off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Individuals were captured, marked, and weighed every 13-15 days, up to 60 days of age, during the early nursing seasons (mid-June to mid-August) of 2014-2016 at this subspecies' only reproductive colony, located on Guadalupe Island. The body weight was measured at each capture and recapture. A hierarchical Bayesian model was used to explore the impact of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies on the neonates' weights. The hierarchical structure included connected models for the spring-summer SST trend around the colony, the neonatal body weight gain with age, and the relationship between the anomalies of both variables. Marked neonates were also tracked in order to estimate survival rates during first two months of age. Overall, positive SST anomalies had a negative effect on neonatal body weight gain. The northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave precipitated the lowest weights at birth and the slowest weight gain in 2014, as well as low weights and the lowest survival rate in 2015, likely due to the persistence of the warm anomalies. The evident sensitivity of Guadalupe fur seal neonates to regional warming conditions highlights their vulnerability under scenarios of climate change, which could impede this subspecies' continued recovery from near extinction. Best regards, Casandra G?lvez, Enviado desde Outlook Mobile ________________________________ From: MARMAM on behalf of marmam-request at lists.uvic.ca Sent: Wednesday, June 3, 2020 1:00:28 PM To: marmam at lists.uvic.ca Subject: MARMAM Digest, Vol 179, Issue 1 Send MARMAM mailing list submissions to marmam at lists.uvic.ca To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to marmam-request at lists.uvic.ca You can reach the person managing the list at marmam-owner at lists.uvic.ca When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of MARMAM digest..." Today's Topics: 1. New publications on whale acoustics use (burnhamr) 2. New paper on cetacean abundance in the Central North Atlantic (Daniel Pike) 3. Competition Announcement - bycatch mitigation research (Lydia Tivenan) 4. New publication: Cetacean Skeletons Demonstrate Ecologically Relevant Variation in Intraskeletal Stable Isotopic Values (Kerri J. Smith) 5. New paper about Effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea (Schaffeld, Tobias) 6. Request for information on harbor porpoise behavior (Bill Keener) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Tue, 02 Jun 2020 09:51:23 -0700 From: burnhamr To: marmam at lists.uvic.ca Subject: [MARMAM] New publications on whale acoustics use Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I'm happy to share 2 new publications The first is a continuation of the discussion of 'Whale Geography' (previous discussion here:https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133317734103) Burnham, R.E. 2020. Whale Geography: A species-centric approach applied to migration' 44 (3)_: _419-434 It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133320922417 Abstract: Understanding the biogeography of a species begins by mapping its presence over time and space. The use of home ranges, breeding and feeding areas, migration paths and movement patterns between the two are also inherent to their ecology. However, this is an overly simplified view of life histories. It ignores nuanced and complex exchanges and responses to the environment and between conspecifics. Having previously advocated for a more species-centric approach in a discussion of 'whale geography', I look to better understand the driving factors of migrations, and the information streams guiding the movement, which is key to the biogeography of large whale species. First, I consider the processes underlying the navigation capacities of species to complete migration, and how, and over what scales, sensory information contributes to cognitive maps. I specifically draw on examples of large-scale, _en masse_ migrators to then apply this to whales. I focus on the acoustic sense as the principal way whales gain and exchange information, drawing on a case study of grey whale (_Eschrichtius robustu_s) calling behaviour to illustrate my arguments. Their consistent employment of far-propagating calls appears to be tied to travel behaviours and probably aids navigation and social cohesion. The range over which calls are being propagated to conspecifics, or perhaps being echoed back to the individual, underlies the distance over which the cognitive maps are being both formed and employed. I believe understanding these processes edges us closer to understanding species biogeography. The second is adaptation of a paper myself and colleagues published on our glider research in the offshore waters of the Canadian Pacific that has been adapted for a younger audience in Frontiers for Young Minds. Burnham R.E. 2020. Learning About Whales by Listening for Their Calls. Front. Young Minds. 8:55. Accessed here: https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2020.00055 Abstract: Populations of large whales have been reduced to very low numbers, primarily by hunting. As the number of whales became smaller, they became harder to find. In the past, whalers knew where to go to hunt, but now scientists who study whales can find it hard to know which areas whales use to feed, breed, or even travel through. We now realize how important whales are for keeping oceans healthy, so scientists are trying to learn as much as they can about large whales. Underwater sound recordings are helping us find some of the rarest whales in the northeast Pacific by listening for their calls. We use underwater microphones, called hydrophones, set on the ocean floor and on ocean gliders, which are small submarines, to help us learn about where whales are, when they are there, and most importantly, what they are doing. The original article this is adapted from is: Burnham, R. E., Duffus, D. A., and Mouy, X. 2019. The presence of large whale species in Clayoquot Sound and its offshore waters. _Cont. Shelf Res._ 177:15-23. doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2019.03.004 If you would like a PDF of any of these papers feel free to contact me Rianna Burnham, PhD. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Mon, 1 Jun 2020 19:23:19 -0400 From: Daniel Pike To: marmam at lists.uvic.ca Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on cetacean abundance in the Central North Atlantic Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in NAMMCO Scientific Publications: Pike, D.G., Gunnlaugsson, T., Mikkelsen, B., Halld?rsson, S.D., V?kingsson, G.A., Acquarone, M. & Desportes, G. (2020). Estimates of the Abundance of Cetaceans in the Central North Atlantic From the T-NASS Icelandic and Faroese Ship Surveys Conducted in 2007. *NAMMCO Scientific Publications *11. https://doi.org/10.7557/3.5269 *ABSTRACT* The Trans-North Atlantic Sightings Survey (T-NASS) carried out in June-July 2007 was the fifth in a series of large-scale cetacean surveys conducted previously in 1987, 1989, 1995 and 2001. The core survey area covered about 1.8 million nm? spanning from the Eastern Barents Sea at 34?E to the east coast of Canada, and between 52?N and 78?N in the east and south to 42?N in the west. We present design-based abundance estimates from the Faroese and Icelandic vessel survey components of T-NASS, as well as results from ancillary vessels that covered adjoining areas. The 4 dedicated survey vessels used a Buckland-Turnock (B-T) mode with a tracker platform searching an area ahead of the primary platform and tracking sightings to provide data for bias correction. Both uncorrected estimates, using the combined non-duplicate sightings from both platforms, and mark-recapture estimates, correcting estimates from the primary platform for bias due to perception and availability, are presented for those species with a sufficient number of sightings. Corrected estimates for the core survey area are as follows: fin whales (*Balaenoptera physalus*): 30,777 (CV=0.19); humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*): 18,105 (CV=0.43); sperm whales (*Physeter macrocephalus*): 12,268 (CV=0.33); long-finned pilot whales (*Globicephala melas*): 87,417 (CV=0.38); white-beaked dolphins (*Lagenorhynchus albirostris*): 91,277 (CV=0.53); and white-sided dolphins (*L. acutus*): 81,008 (CV=0.54). Uncorrected estimates only were possible for common minke whales (*B. acutorstrata*): 12,427 (CV=0.27); and sei whales (*B. borealis*): 5,159 (CV=0.47). Sighting rates from the ancillary vessels, which used a single platform, were lower than those from the dedicated vessels in areas where they overlapped. No evidence of responsive movement by any species was detected, but there was some indication that distance measurements by the primary platform may have been negatively biased. The significance of this for the abundance estimates is discussed. The relative merits of B-T over other survey modes are discussed and recommendations for future surveys provided. The paper is available for download here: https://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/NAMMCOSP/article/view/5269 Best regards, Daniel Pike. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 10:45:14 +0100 From: Lydia Tivenan To: marmam at lists.uvic.ca Subject: [MARMAM] Competition Announcement - bycatch mitigation research Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" *Competition Announcement - Chance to win marine acoustic equipment for bycatch mitigation research!* To celebrate the recent publication, "Assessing the Effects of Banana Pingers as Bycatch Mitigation Device for Harbour Porpoises *(Phocoena phocoena)"* by Omeyer et al., 2020, Fishtek Marine in collaboration with Chelonia LTD are running an exciting competition, for marine mammals scientists working in bycatch mitigation research. We are giving away $8000 of marine acoustic equipment (x2 C-PODs, x1 cycling Banana pinger). *Who should apply?* Anyone working with fisheries with the aim of reducing cetacean bycatch and ideally with the ability to publish scientific research. Applicants should demonstrate a drive and strategy to achieve a conservation outcome on a regional scale in the next 3 years. We would also welcome Government regulators and fisheries authorities looking to comply with the new Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provisions to apply. Preference for those working in the gill, drift and set net fisheries with cetacean bycatch issues and those working with Narrow Band High Frequency species (NBHF) and protected species. **Deadline for applications 30th June 2020** Read Omeyer et al., 2020 (open access) paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00285/full For more information about Fishtek Marine and how to apply: https://www.fishtekmarine.com/competition/ Find out more about Chelonia LTD: https://www.chelonia.co.uk/ Many thanks, Lydia *Lydia Tivenan ? *Bycatch Mitigation Assistant, Fishtek Marine Ltd. Unit 1a Webbers Way, Dartington, Devon. TQ9 6JY. United Kingdom. *t.* +44 (0)1803 225253 *e.* lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com *w.* http://www.fishtekmarine.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 3 Jun 2020 08:19:02 -0500 From: "Kerri J. Smith" To: marmam at lists.uvic.ca Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Cetacean Skeletons Demonstrate Ecologically Relevant Variation in Intraskeletal Stable Isotopic Values Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Dear all, We are pleased to share our recent publication on carbon and nitrogen isotope variation in cetacean skeletons. Smith KJ, Sparks JP, Timmons ZL and Peterson MJ (2020) Cetacean Skeletons Demonstrate Ecologically Relevant Variation in Intraskeletal Stable Isotopic Values. *Front. Mar. Sci.* 7:388. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00388 Conservation science requires quickly acquiring information and taking action in order to protect species at risk of extinction. Stable isotope measurements are one way to rapidly gather data regarding species? foraging ecology and habitat use, and passively collected samples limit additional stress to at-risk species. For these samples to be useful, however, we must know how representative they are of the stable isotope ratios of the entire organism. Bone tissue, often stored in museum collections or research centers, may be the most readily available tissue from rare, endangered, or extinct vertebrates, but using bone requires practitioners to understand intraskeletal stable isotope variation. We sampled the same eight skeletal elements from 72 cetacean skeletons from 14 species to evaluate intraskeletal variation in carbon and nitrogen isotope values. We found considerably more variation than anticipated. Carbon intraskeletal ranges varied from 0.4 to 7.6?, with 84.7% (*n* = 61) of skeletons having a range >1?, and 55.5% (*n* = 40) exhibiting a range >2?. Similarly, nitrogen intraskeletal ranges varied from 0.4 to 5.2?, with 59.7% (*n* = 43) of skeletons exhibiting a range >1?, and 15.3% (*n* = 11) with a range >2?. There were differences in which bones contributed most to intraskeletal variation; however, we advise against using humeri and mandibles as these bones presented the most consistent trends in deviation from the intraskeletal means for both isotopes. The large intraskeletal variation we observed is likely due to changes in foraging behavior or habitat use being reflected differently in bone isotope ratios due to differences in bone turnover rates. We suggest that for cetaceans, intraskeletal carbon isotope ranges >1? and nitrogen ranges >2? are ecologically relevant, and that using different bones from animals of the same population may produce false positive differences in foraging behavior or habitat within the population if intraskeletal variation is not considered. Future studies should use the same bones from each animal and conduct species-specific analyses of intraskeletal variation, if possible, when using specimens of opportunity. Failure to consider this variation could lead to erroneous conclusions regarding a species range or key habitats, jeopardizing conservation efforts. Cheers, Kerri *--Kerri J. Smith, Ph.D.* Postdoctoral Researcher - Baylor University Research Fellow - Smithsonian Institution Website ?The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.? -Charles Darwin -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2020 12:26:49 +0000 From: "Schaffeld, Tobias" To: "marmam at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: [MARMAM] New paper about Effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Dear Colleagues, My Co-Authors and I are pleased to advertise our recent publication. We investigated the effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea. This technique was used as an alternative to pile-driving. Citation: Baltzer, J., Maurer, N., Schaffeld, T., Ruser, A., Schnitzler, J. G., and Siebert, U. (2020). ?Effect ranges of underwater noise from anchor vibration operations in the Wadden Sea,? J. Sea Res., 162, 101912. doi:10.1016/j.seares.2020.101912 Link to full paper: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1b9~o_VVcRgsQW Highlights ? Source level of the vibration embedment noise was 148.2 dB re 1 ?Pa2s. ? Median sound exposure levels ranged from 120 to 99 dB re 1 ?Pa2s at distances between 394 and 2288 m. ? Vibration embedment noise might exert a behavioural reaction on a local scale. ? Marine mammals and fish may be affected to distances of 375 and 766 m, respectively. Abstract: Anchor pipe vibration embedment operations during the construction of seed mussel collectors were performed in the Wadden Sea, a designated World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2009. We recorded 200 min of underwater noise during the construction of seven anchor pipes. Underwater noise was recorded simultaneously at three positions with a water depth of 9 m with increasing distance to the construction site to assess the disturbance potential to the marine fauna. The recorded vibration embedment noise was a continuous sound with durations of 2?55 s, with most energy below 1 kHz and peak frequencies around 900 Hz. Background noise level at a distance of approximately 1 km increased around 13 dB at frequencies between 800 and 1000 Hz. We estimated the sound propagation by a non-linear logarithmic regression by means of the intercept, slope and attenuation factor, which allowed us to evaluate the received sound levels that reach an animal in certain distances from the construction s! ite. The estimated sound exposure level (SEL) of the source was 148.2 dB re 1 ?Pa2s and the median SEL ranged from 120 to 99 dB re 1 ?Pa2s at distances between 394 and 2288 m, respectively. Behavioural thresholds for indigenous species of marine mammals in the Wadden Sea as well as representative fish species were used to determine effect radii of vibration embedment noise. Our study showed that the detected anchor pipe vibration embedment noise might exert a behavioural reaction on a local scale. Marine mammals could be affected by the construction operations up to a distance of 375 m and fish up to a distance of 766 m. These zones of responsiveness for vibration embedment operations are relatively small, compared to pile driving, which is regularly used during construction operations. Our study shows that it is important to monitor and assess any kind of noise introduction to verify, whether a sustainable human use with respect to the complied guidelines is ensured withou! t affecting the marine fauna. That is the first step to maintain a good environmental status as implemented in the MSFD. With kind regards Tobias Schaffeld -- Tobias Schaffeld Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research (ITAW) University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation Werftstr. 6 / 25761 B?sum / Germany Tel +49 511 856 8164 / Fax +49 511 856-8181 Tobias.Schaffeld at tiho-hannover.de http://www.tiho-hannover.de/kliniken-institute/institute/institut-fuer-terrestrische-und-aquatische-wildtierforschung/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Tue, 2 Jun 2020 14:51:09 +0000 From: Bill Keener To: "marmam at lists.uvic.ca" Subject: [MARMAM] Request for information on harbor porpoise behavior Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Dear MARMAM community, We are working on an international collaborative paper documenting harbor porpoise mating patterns globally. If you or your colleagues have photos, videos or other data on harbor porpoise aerial behavior or mating, please reach out us. Our goal is to document whether the conspicuous behavior that we described from San Francisco Bay in our 2018 paper (the male's rapid approach to the female's left side that often ends with the male becoming aerial) occurs in all harbor porpoise populations. Our results have shown that porpoise aerial behavior may be a sign of mating activity, and such observations could factor into decisions affecting potential breeding hotspots and the designation of marine protected areas. Our open access paper in Aquatic Mammals (https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.44.6.2018.620) is available here: 44_6_keener. At the World Marine Mammal Conference in Barcelona, we presented a poster inviting collaborators, available here: https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/assets/pdfs/vetsci-stranding/scientific-contributions/2019/Webber_et_al_2019_Porpoise_mating_behavior_WMMC_Poster.pdf All the best, Bill Keener (The Marine Mammal Center; keenerb at tmmc.org) Marc Webber (The Marine Mammal Center; webberm at tmmc.org) Dara Orbach (Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi; dara.orbach at tamucc.edu) Bill Keener Research Associate Cetacean Field Research Program KeenerB at tmmc.org | C: 415.297.6139 | MarineMammalCenter.org The Marine Mammal Center, 2000 Bunker Road, Sausalito, CA 94965 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM at lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam ------------------------------ End of MARMAM Digest, Vol 179, Issue 1 ************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rtysonmoore at mote.org Thu Jun 4 12:58:58 2020 From: rtysonmoore at mote.org (Reny Tyson Moore) Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2020 15:58:58 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] Virtual Marine Mammal Course Opportunity (June 26-August 6) Message-ID: Greetings! The Duke University Marine Lab (DUML) is currently accepting enrollments for our summer Marine Mammals course. This six-week virtual course will cover the biology and conservation of marine mammals. We will introduce you to the basic biology of various taxonomic groups, describe some of the research approaches used to study them, and conclude with a consideration of their conservation. Virtual laboratories and interactive activities will focus on topics including diving physiology, photographic-identification methods, population biology, bio-acoustics, bio-logging, and drones. We will also take advantage of opportunities to interact with marine mammal experts from around the world, including many from DUML, through virtual guest lectures, field trips, and discussion panels, and through the creation of a DUML Marine Mammals podcast. This course is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students. ENV 376L or BIO 376L (undergraduate) / ENV776L (graduate) 4 Duke credits. Instructor: Reny Tyson Moore (tyson.moore at duke.edu) Tuition: $3,200+fees Dates: June 29 - August 6, 2020 Times: Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 9am ? 4pm EDT (however, an asynchronous option will be available to accommodate all students) To apply: Visit Duke?s Summer Session website: https://summersession.duke.edu/visiting-college-students and complete the online application:https://duke.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_22XiGjJTUGVB7lb Tuition and fees can be found here: https://summersession.duke.edu/visiting-college-students/u-s-students/tuition-aid -- 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 smithkerrij at gmail.com Thu Jun 4 10:31:18 2020 From: smithkerrij at gmail.com (Kerri J. Smith) Date: Thu, 4 Jun 2020 12:31:18 -0500 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Evaluation of two lipid removal methods for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis in whale tissue Message-ID: Dear all, We are pleased to share our recent publication on lipid extraction methods for stable isotope analysis of beaked whale tissue. Smith, KJ, Trueman, CN, France, CAM, Peterson, MJ. Evaluation of two lipid removal methods for stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis in whale tissue. *Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom*. 2020. https://0-doi-org.lib.utep.edu/10.1002/rcm.8851 The presence of lipids in animal tissues can influence the interpretation of stable isotope data, particularly in lipid?rich tissues such as the skin and muscle of marine mammals. The traditionally employed chloroform:methanol delipidation protocol has the potential to alter ?15N values in proteinaceous tissues. Our objective was to determine whether cyclohexane is an alternative extraction method, effectively removing lipids without altering ?15N values. Kidney, liver, muscle, and skin samples were collected from beach?cast Sowerby's beaked whales (*Mesoplodon bidens *). Control subsamples were processed without delipidation extraction, and duplicate subsamples were extracted with either chloroform:methanol or cyclohexane. ?13C, ?15N, and C:N values were determined by continuous?flow elemental analysis isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Paired Wilcoxon tests were used to evaluate the change in isotope ratios after extraction, and unpaired Wilcoxon tests were used to evaluate difference in isotope ratios between extractions. Cyclohexane is an effective delipidation technique for tissues with low and moderate lipid content. Chemical delipidation influenced ?15N values; extracted samples generally showed an increase in ?15N values which varied from 0.0? to 1.7?. Chloroform:methanol extraction resulted in alterations to ?15N values greater than the analytical precision for all analyzed tissues. Changes to ? 15N values after cyclohexane extraction were at or near the analytical precision in liver and muscle but greater than the analytical precision for kidney and skin. We recommend processing duplicate subsamples for stable isotope analysis, one with and one without extraction in order to obtain accurate values for each isotope ratio. Prolonged chemical extractions are not necessary to effectively remove lipids. When samples are limited, we suggest using cyclohexane for tissues with low or moderate lipid content, and chloroform:methanol for lipid?rich tissues. Cheers, Kerri *--Kerri J. Smith, Ph.D.* Postdoctoral Researcher- Laboratory of Ecological and Adaptational Physiology Research Fellow - Smithsonian Institution Website ?The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.? -Charles Darwin -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ahmedshawky_7 at hotmail.com Sun Jun 7 12:19:26 2020 From: ahmedshawky_7 at hotmail.com (Ahmed Shawky) Date: Sun, 7 Jun 2020 19:19:26 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication for spinner dolphins Message-ID: Dear All, I and my co-authors are very delighted to share our new publication with you. It is entitled " Effects of Swim-with-Dolphins Tourism on the Behaviour of Spinner Dolphins at Samadai Reef, Egyptian Red Sea", that published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. Abstract: 1. Spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris, are the primary target for marine mammal tourism in Egypt. The present study investigated the short-term effects of tourist presence on the behaviour of spinner dolphins at Sha'ab Samadai (Samadai Reef), in the southern Egyptian Red Sea. 2. The reef has a large central lagoon where a population of spinner dolphin regularly rest from mid-morning to mid-afternoon; visitors are permitted to snorkel in the southern part of the lagoon, but not in the northern closed zone that the dolphins mainly use. 3. Dolphin behaviour was monitored both on days when tourist boats were present and on days when they were absent. In the presence of tourists the proportion of time that the dolphins spent resting was reduced by two-thirds, whereas the times spent milling, travelling, and showing avoidance behaviour all increased. 4. Furthermore, upon using Markov chain modelling to investigate the effect of tourist presence on the transition probabilities between dolphin activity states, significant changes were found in 10 of the 25 possible behavioural transitions, including increased probabilities of transitioning from resting to milling or travelling, from milling to travelling or avoiding, and from travelling to avoiding. 5. These findings raise concerns that despite the management measures in place, tourist activities affect the dolphins? behaviour to a greater extent than was previously apparent, with potential long-term negative effects on their energy budget. 6. The study led to proposals for amending the zoning of the site and for strengthening the regulations for tourist vessels. You can access the publication article via this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3332 All the best and stay safe. Ahmed Dr Ahmed M. Shawky - Marine Biology - PhD Technical Office of the Minister of Environment Master Instructor PADI No.639747 - EFRI Trainer www.ahmedshawky.net - mobile:(+2)01013854500 [https://ipmcdn.avast.com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-round-orange-animated-no-repeat-v1.gif] Virus-free. www.avast.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avmoura at miiz.waw.pl Mon Jun 8 10:35:46 2020 From: avmoura at miiz.waw.pl (Andre E. Moura) Date: Mon, 08 Jun 2020 17:35:46 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Post-doctoral position in Dolphin ImmunoGenomics, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Poland Message-ID: Dear Marmam subscribers, A postdoctoral research assistant position is available in a project analysing genome wide variation in striped dolphins in relation to Morbillivirus infection. The work will carried out in the cetacean ecology and evolution research group led by Dr Andre E. Moura at the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences (MIZ-PAS). We are re-advertising this position, as the previous round got disturbed by the Covid19 lockdowns. It is still a dynamic situation, so if you are interested in applying but worried about time frame, please do get in touch and we will find a workable solution. The position is available for 30 months, and includes a three month probation period. The ideal start date is August 2020, although there is of course flexibility to account for the current pandemic situation. The research group is based at the Research Station of the MIZ-PAS in Gda?sk, and maintains strong links with the main research facilities of the MIZ in Warsaw. Therefore, research visits at the main MIZ facilities in Warsaw may be required as part of the job duties. The Research Station also hosts groups working on canid genomics and avian immunogenetics. The post-doctoral assistant will possess expertise in evolutionary genomics, population genomics or bioinformatics. Candidates can have a background (BSc or MSc degree) in biology, zoology, bioinformatics, computer science, or related fields, and a PhD degree (awarded or to be awarded soon) in a relevant area. The PhD degree should have been awarded no earlier than 7 years before the start of employment. The candidate must be eligible to work in Poland at the time of appointment. A list of required skills can be seen at the end of this message. To apply, the following documents should be sent to Andre Moura at avmoura at miiz.waw.pl no later than 28.06.2020: 1. Copy of a PhD certificate 2. Curriculum vitae including a publication list, with the following statement provided at the end and signed: ?I give my consent to the processing of personal data provided in my application documents by the Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS for the purpose of the recruitment process, pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018 (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1000) and in agreement with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation; L 119 from 04.05.2016)?. IMPORTANT: Applications that do not include this statement cannot be processed. 3. Motivation letter (maximum one page) 4. A copy of one research paper to be evaluated in the recruitment process 5. Contact details of two persons who can be contacted for references. The interviews of shortlisted candidates will take place in early July, and will be held by teleconference (Skype, Zoom, etc.). Interviews in person at the Research Station in Gda?sk-G?rki Wschodnie are possible, but only if it is logistically feasible and safe to do so. Informal inquiries can also be addressed to Andre Moura. Essential skills: 1. Experience with preparing NGS libraries and processing NGS data 2. Good knowledge of evolutionary theory and/or population genetic theory 3. Experience of Linux/Unix environment; 4. Experience with at least one coding language (e.g. Python, Perl, Unix Shell scripts); 5. Good organisational skills; 6. Experience with large databases; 7. Ability to work independently and to communicate with a multi-disciplinary team; Desirable skills: 8. Experience with analysing whole-genome datasets, aligning to reference genomes, SNP detection; 9. Experience with software for evolutionary genomic analyses; 10. Experience with online genomic databases; 11. Good understanding of natural selection theory; 12. Good understanding of mammalian immune system; 13. Experience of working in an international team. Research environment The research at the MIZ is focused on a broad range of themes in animal biology, including systematics, biogeography, evolutionary biology, ecology and population genetics. Andre Moura research group is part of the Laboratory of the Molecular and Biometric Techniques led by Prof. Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, grouping researchers focused on population genetics, phylogeography and evolutionary genomics of a broad range of animal taxa. MIZ laboratories contain modern equipment for genomic analyses, including Pacific Biosciences RSII long-read sequencer and Illumina MiSeq System. The state-of-the-art ancient DNA laboratory carries out work on mammalian palaeogenetics. The Museum zoological collection is among the largest and most valuable in Europe. From Jamie_Womble at nps.gov Mon Jun 8 11:00:50 2020 From: Jamie_Womble at nps.gov (Womble, Jamie N) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2020 18:00:50 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New Publication: Modelling pinniped abundance and distribution using counts at terrestrial sites and in-water sightings Message-ID: Dear MARMAM community, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce a recent publication, Modelling pinniped abundance and distribution using counts at terrestrial sites and in-water sightings, that was recently published in the journal Ecological Modelling. Whitlock, S.L., Womble, J.N., Peterson, J.T. (2020) Modelling pinniped abundance and distribution using counts at terrestrial sites and in-water sightings. Ecological Modelling 420, p.108965. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2020.108965 Abstract: Pinnipeds are commonly monitored using aerial photographic surveys at land- or ice-based sites, where animals come ashore for resting, pupping, molting, and to avoid predators. Although these counts form the basis for monitoring population change over time, they do not provide information regarding where animals occur in the water, which is often of management and conservation interest. In this study, we developed a hierarchical model that links counts of pinnipeds at terrestrial sites to sightings-at-sea and estimates abundance, spatial distribution, and the proportion of time spent on land (attendance probability). The structure of the model also allows for the inclusion of predictors that may explain variation in ecological and observation processes. We applied the model to Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Glacier Bay, Alaska using counts of sea lions from aerial photographic surveys and opportunistic in-water sightings from vessel surveys. Glacier Bay provided an ideal test and application of the model because data are available on attendance probability based on long-term monitoring. We found that occurrence in the water was positively related to proximity to terrestrial sites, as would be expected for a species that engages in central-place foraging. The proportion of sea lions in attendance at terrestrial sites and overall abundance estimates were consistent with reports from the literature and monitoring programs. The model we describe has benefit and utility for park managers who wish to better understand the overlap between pinnipeds and visitors, and the framework that we present has potential for application across a variety of study systems and taxa. Please contact Steve Whitlock (swhit at uw.edu) or Jamie Womble (Jamie_Womble at nps.gov) to request a PDF of the publication. Thank you, Jamie Jamie N. Womble, Ph.D. Biologist - Marine National Park Service, Glacier Bay Field Station Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve 3100 National Park Road Juneau, Alaska 99801 USA 907.364.1577 (phone) 907.957.1563 (mobile) 907.364.2606 (fax) https://www.nps.gov/articles/jamie-womble.htm https://www.nps.gov/glba/learn/nature/seal.htm https://www.nps.gov/im/sean/seaotters.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kinguq at gmail.com Mon Jun 8 12:06:16 2020 From: kinguq at gmail.com (Daniel Pike) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2020 15:06:16 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on cetacean numbers and trends around Iceland Message-ID: We are pleased to announce the publication of our paper: Distribution and abundance of cetaceans in Icelandic waters over 30 years of aerial surveys. The paper is available here: Pike, D. G., Gunnlaugsson, T., Sigurj?nsson, J., & V?kingsson, G. A. (2020). Distribution and Abundance of Cetaceans in Icelandic Waters over 30 Years of Aerial Surveys. NAMMCO Scientific Publications 11. https://doi.org/10.7557/3.4805 Best regards, Daniel Pike. ABSTRACT Beginning in 1986, 7 aerial surveys covering the coastal waters of Iceland have been conducted up to and including 2016. In addition, 7 partial surveys covering portions of the same area and at different times of the year have been flown in the same 30-year period. We present previously unpublished abundance estimates, corrected to the extent feasible for known biases, for common minke whales (*Balaenoptera acutorostrata*), humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*), white-beaked dolphins (*Lagenorhynchus albirostris*) and harbour porpoises (*Phocoena phocoena*) from some or all of the 2007, 2009 and 2016 surveys. We also examine the distribution of these and other species in Icelandic waters over the 30-year timespan of the surveys, and changes observed over the period. The relative abundance of common minke and humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins was comparatively low in the spring and fall, and peaked in June and July when all of the main surveys have been carried out. An analysis of changes in density as an index of relative abundance from all surveys (1986-2016) indicates that common minke whale abundance decreased by up to 75% after 2001 and has remained at a relatively low level since then. This decrease has been particularly apparent in the southwest and southeast of Iceland, areas which previously had very high densities. Relative abundance of humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins has increased over the period 1986-2016, particularly in the northern part of the survey area. Estimating harbour porpoise abundance and trend was considered unfeasible except from the surveys conducted in 2007 and 2016, which provide abundance estimates of similar magnitude. We place these observed changes in context of oceanographic and ecosystem changes documented over the same period. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Ladd.Irvine at oregonstate.edu Tue Jun 9 08:54:04 2020 From: Ladd.Irvine at oregonstate.edu (Irvine, Ladd) Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2020 15:54:04 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales Message-ID: Hello Marmam, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce the publication of our open access paper An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error in the journal Animal Biotelemetry. Irvine, L.M., Winsor, M.H., Follett, T.M. Mate, B.R., Palacios, D.M. An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error. Anim Biotelemetry 8, 20 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x Abstract Background: Argos satellite telemetry is used globally to track terrestrial and aquatic megafauna, yet the accuracy of this system has been described empirically only for a limited number of species. We used Argos-linked archival tags with Fastloc GPS deployed on free-ranging sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (B. physalus) whales to derive empirical estimates of Argos location errors for these species, examine possible behavior-related differences, and test the effect of incorporating species-specific error parameters on performance of a commonly used movement model. Results: Argos location errors for blue and fin whale tags were similar and were combined (n = 1712 locations) for comparison against sperm whale tags (n = 1206 locations). Location error magnitudes for tags attached to sperm whales were significantly larger than blue/fin whale tags for almost all Argos location classes (LC), ranging from 964 m versus 647 m for LC 3, respectively, to 10,569 m versus 5589 m for LC B, respectively. However, these differences were not seen while tags floated at the surface after release. Sperm whale tags were significantly colder than ambient temperature when surfacing from a dive, compared to blue/fin whale tags (16.9 ?C versus 1.3 ?C, respectively) leading to larger changes in tag temperature during post-dive intervals. The increased rate of tag temperature change while at the surface was correlated to increased error magnitude for sperm whales but not blue/fin whales. Movement model performance was not significantly improved by incorporating species-specific error parameters. Conclusions: Location accuracy estimates for blue/fin whales were within the range estimated for other marine megafauna, but were higher for sperm whales. Thermal inertia from deep, long-duration dives likely caused transmission frequency drift and greater Argos location error in sperm whales, as tags warmed at the surface during post-dive intervals. Thus, tracks of deep-diving species may be less accurate than for other species. However, differences in calculated error magnitude between species were less than typical scales of movement and had limited effect on movement model performance. Therefore, broad-scale interpretation of Argos tracking data will likely be unaffected, although fine-scale interpretation should be made with more caution for deep-diving species inhabiting warm regions. A pdf copy is available at https://rdcu.be/b4H5n Please contact me with any questions at ladd.irvine at oregonstate.edu Cheers, Ladd -- Ladd M. Irvine, M.S. Sr. Faculty Research Assistant Marine Mammal Institute and Dept. of Fisheries & Wildlife Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center 2030 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, OR 97365, USA MMI Profile | ResearchGate -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lbejder at hawaii.edu Mon Jun 8 13:52:56 2020 From: lbejder at hawaii.edu (Lars Bejder) Date: Mon, 8 Jun 2020 10:52:56 -1000 Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?Applications_are_now_open_for_the_2020_summer_?= =?utf-8?q?course_=22Applying_Innovative_Technologies_in_Marine_Sci?= =?utf-8?b?ZW5jZeKAnS4=?= Message-ID: Applications are now open for the 2020 summer course "Applying Innovative Technologies in Marine Science?. Location: Hawai?i Institute of Marine Biology (University of Hawai?i at M?noa), USA Would you like to participate in an all expenses-paid class on new technologies and marine science at Coconut Island? The Marine Mammal Research Program (www.mmrphawaii.org) at the University of Hawaii will be accepting four or five participants to this year's Schmidt Summer Program in marine Science. Dates: August 31st to September 25th, 2020 Format: 4-week intensive, on-site summer program Cost: All costs are covered (course fees, accommodation, subsistence food, and reasonable travel costs) Nationalities: all can apply The goal of this course is to introduce participants to innovative technologies and their uses in the field of marine science. The course will be open to incoming graduate students, graduate students, postdocs, and other early-career researchers. The course will leverage the exceptional research capacities, facilities, and location of HIMB and Moku o Lo?e (Coconut Island) to advance scientific and career goals of participants who otherwise may not have this unique opportunity. The course will include lectures, hands-on field work, a lab component, and data analysis for projects developed during the program. The course will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of conducting robust science, including open and reproducible science, science communication beyond academia to diverse stakeholder groups, and more. Included in the course will be a statistical programming module and guest lectures by scientists, conservation practitioners, and managers using cutting-edge technology. Participants will gain hands-on exposure to a range of technologies and tools relevant to the instructors? and guest instructors? research portfolios (e.g., unoccupied aerial systems, above-water and underwater photogrammetry, remote sensing imagery, 3D laser scanning and printing, and more). Broadening participants? exposure to new and emerging technologies will provide them a foundation upon which to incorporate these technologies into their scientific and career goals. To apply, see details on the following link: https://www.mmrphawaii.org/post/2020-himb-schmidt-summer-program-in-marine-science-apply-now Important note: Please understand that the dates above are a placeholder, and that the course may be delayed further or cancelled altogether in 2020 depending on progress towards reopening institutions and travel. Also, note that acceptance may be contingent upon rules for travel from participants? countries. We reserve the right to cancel the program or individual participation should our COVID-19 restrictions not align with the restrictions of the nations of participants Kind regards, Lars -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From claire.garrigue at ird.fr Tue Jun 9 21:13:52 2020 From: claire.garrigue at ird.fr (Claire GARRIGUE) Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2020 15:13:52 +1100 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Searching for humpback whales in a historical whaling hotspot of the Coral Sea Message-ID: <1e8ef515-c300-a6fa-926a-37a87574c782@ird.fr> Dear colleagues, ?We are pleased to announce that the following paper have been published in Endangered Species Research: Garrigue, Derville, Bonneville, Baker, Cheeseman, Millet, Paton, Steel 2020. Searching for humpback whales in a historical whaling hotspot of the Coral Sea, South Pacific. Endangered Species Research, 42:67-82 doi.org/10.3354/esr01038 Please find abstract below Searching for humpback whales in the Coral sea two centuries post whaling *Abstract: Humpback whales/Megaptera novaeangliae/were severely depleted by commercial whaling. Understanding key factors in their recovery is a crucial step for their conservation worldwide. In Oceania, the Chesterfield-Bellona archipelago was a primary whaling site in the 19^th century, yet has been left almost unaffected by anthropogenic activities since. We present the results of the first multidisciplinary dedicated surveys in the archipelago assessing humpback whale populations 2 centuries post-whaling. We encountered 57 groups during 24 survey days (2016-2017), among which 35 whales were identified using photographs of natural markings (photo-ID), 38 using genotyping and 22 using both. Humpback whales were sparsely distributed (0.041 whales km^-1 ): most sightings concentrated in shallow inner-reef waters and neighbouring offshore shallow banks. The recently created marine protected area covers most of the areas of high predicted habitat suitability and high residence time from satellite-tracked whales. Surprisingly for a breeding area, sex ratios skewed towards females (1:2.4), and 45% of females were with calf. Connectivity was established with the New Caledonia breeding area to the east (mtDNA/F/_ST = 0.001, p > 0.05, 12 photo-ID and 10 genotype matches) and with the Australian Great Barrier Reef breeding area to the west (mtDNA/F/_ST = 0.006, p > 0.05). Movement of satellite-tracked whales and photo-ID matches also suggest connections with the east Australian migratory corridor. This study confirms that humpback whales still inhabit the Chesterfield-Bellona archipelago 2 centuries post whaling, and that this pristine area potentially plays a role in facilitating migratory interchange among breeding grounds of the western South Pacific.* -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2020_Garrigue et al_graphical_abstract_ESR2020_ENG-small.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 275264 bytes Desc: not available URL: From edmaktub at edmaktub.com Wed Jun 10 05:53:13 2020 From: edmaktub at edmaktub.com (edmaktub) Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2020 14:53:13 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Expedition 2020 Gulf of Guinea Message-ID: <4d2effe6-2d77-b295-2a8c-ff6f68461152@edmaktub.com> Dear Marmamers, I would like to draw your attention to the following: EDMAKTUB Expedition Gulf of Guinea 2020. Do you want to be part of the team? We look for collaboration with other local or international groups The EDMAKTUB association announces its next Gulf of Guinea Expedition 2020 within the SACET Project (South Atlantic Cetacean Project). Departing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the expedition will travel the west coast of Africa until reaching the Gulf of Guinea. The project consists in obtaining maximum data on cetaceans both during the journey and in the gulf area. At the same time, all possible information will be obtained on all species of marine animals, oceanographic conditions and the presence of waste and/or plastics. The project aims to collaborate with both local and international organizations by offering the possibility of sharing information, collecting data or samples and participating in campaigns. The countries in the Gulf of Guinea where work is likely to be carried out are Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, without excluding other possibilities and also depending on the situation of each country during the expedition, in respect to both the Covid19 pandemic and the collaborations available that will allow us to carry out research in them. The scheduled dates are from July to December 2020. More information on the webpage http://www.edmaktub.org/en/sacet-project-gulf-guinea/ We invite any, especially local, entities from any of the countries in this area and also internationally, that may be interested in collaborating and/or participating and in obtaining data and / or collecting samples. At the same time, up to four people who want to participate in the expedition are required, prioritizing, if possible, the ability to depart from the Canary Islands or to join the team at one of the possible destinations. We are looking for anyone who has a profile in marine sciences, specific knowledge of cetaceans is not necessary. Knowledge of photography and video documention and social networks would be an important asset. It is important to have a minimal level of nautical experience as a lot of time will be spent on board. We are also opening up the possibility to those who do not have so much time and want to participate in periods of at least 10 days- contact us to organize this option that will be provided from August 20 to December 15. As it is not a funded project, those who form part of the team will have to finance their own travel expenses to and from the point of departure, and although it will not be a paid activity, they will not have any expenses while on board. People who want to participate for short periods will have to make a financial contribution. If you have questions and are interested in joining us, write to us at info at edmaktub.org If you know someone interested please share! -- ???????------------------- Eduard Degollada Bastos DVM PhD President Associaci? EDMAKTUB www.edmaktub.org Fb edmaktub Youtube edmaktub Email edmaktub at edmaktub.org Ph +34630038829 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From avmoura at miiz.waw.pl Wed Jun 10 06:23:03 2020 From: avmoura at miiz.waw.pl (Andre E. Moura) Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2020 13:23:03 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] PhD position in Dolphin Evolutionary Ecology, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Poland Message-ID: Dear Marmam subscribers, A fully-funded PhD position is available in a project integrating functional genomics and 3D skull shape modelling of bottlenose dolphins globally. The project is led by Dr Andre E. Moura at the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, whose research group is focused on cetacean ecology and evolution. The research group is based at the Research Station of the Museum and Institute of Zoology (MIZ), Polish Academy of Sciences in Gda?sk ? G?rki Wschodnie. The successful candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student in the Bioplanet Doctoral School of the Polish Academy of Sciences, with starting date of October 1st 2020 (application to the Doctoral School is required, and attendance of the required oral entry exam). A tax-free stipend is available for the 4 years of the PhD and is not extendible. The stipend is sufficient to cover life expenses of a single person and ensures a good standard of life in Poland. The School does not charge tuition fees, and includes mandatory and optional classes for PhD students, which are run in English. Travelling from Gda?sk to Warsaw will be required to attend the classes. The project involves collaboration with international institutions, including the Smithsonian Museum (Washington, USA) and the National Museum for Nature and Science (Tokyo, Japan), and will likely require travelling to museums worldwide for data collection (funding is provided). This includes a 3 month stay in Japan for data collection and learning of 3D modelling techniques (will require funding application to relevant scheme). We are mindful that travelling might be disturbed under the current Covid19 situation, and any decisions regarding travelling for this project will take the situation into account as it develops. How to Apply: A list of the required qualifications/skills can be found at the end of this email. To apply an email message with the subject ?Application for PhD position in dolphin evolutionary ecology? should be sent to avmoura at miiz.waw.pl no later than 03/07/2020, and including the following documents: 1. Copy of the master's or bachelor's certificate if the master's degree is still ongoing. 2. Curriculum vitae including the publication list, with the following statement provided at the end and signed: ?I give my consent to the processing of personal data provided in my application documents by the Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS for the purpose of the recruitment process, pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018 (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1000) and in agreement with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation; L 119 from 04.05.2016)?. Applications that do not include this statement won't be considered. 3. Motivation letter (maximum one page) 4. If available, a copy of one research paper to be evaluated in the recruitment process. If this is not available, a copy of undergraduate or Master thesis is acceptable. 5. Contact details of two persons who can be contacted for references. The interviews of shortlisted candidates will take place in early July, and will be held by teleconference (Skype, Zoom, etc.). Interviews in person at the Research Station in Gda?sk ? G?rki Wschodnie are possible, but only if it is logistically feasible and safe to do so. Informal inquiries can also be addressed to Andre Moura. Requirements Candidates can have a background in biology, zoology, bioinformatics, or related fields. The candidate must have a master's degree completed at the time of registration at the doctoral school. Authorship in peer-review publications as a first author is highly valued. The following essential criteria must be met: 1. Masters degree in biology or other relevant fields 2. Self-motivated character 3. Willingness to learn new methodologies 4. Highly organised and capable of independent work 5. Willingness to travel during the PhD studies 6. Ability to communicate with a multi-disciplinary team; In addition, the following criteria will be favoured: 7. First authorship in peer-review publications 8. Experience with morphological analyses 9. Experience with genetic analyses 10. Knowledge of cetacean biology 11. Experience working in an international team. Research environment The research at the MIZ is focused on a broad range of themes in animal biology, including systematics, biogeography, evolutionary biology, ecology and population genetics. Andre Moura?s research group is part of the Laboratory of the Molecular and Biometric Techniques led by Prof. Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, grouping researchers focused on population genetics, phylogeography and evolutionary genomics of a broad range of animal taxa. MIZ laboratories contain modern equipment for genomic analyses, including Pacific Biosciences RSII long-read sequencer and Illumina MiSeq System. The state-of-the-art ancient DNA laboratory carries out work on mammalian palaeogenetics. The Museum?s zoological collection is among the largest and most valuable in Europe. From oliverhooker at prstatistics.com Wed Jun 10 18:35:50 2020 From: oliverhooker at prstatistics.com (Oliver Hooker) Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2020 02:35:50 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?b?T05MSU5FIENPVVJTRSDDouKCrOKAnCBJbnRyb2R1Y3Rp?= =?utf-8?q?on_to_R_for_ecologists_and_evolutionary_biologists_=28IR?= =?utf-8?q?FB04=29_This_course_will_be_delivered_live?= Message-ID: ONLINE COURSE ??? Introduction to R for ecologists and evolutionary biologists (IRFB04) This course will be delivered live 23 June 2020 - 24 June 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-r-for-ecologists-and-evolutionary-biologists-irfb04/ Course overview: The 2 day course will consist of a series of modules designed to build required R skills and statistical understanding to develop yourself or move on to more advanced courses. The skills learnt are very suited to handling and analysing many types of data frequently encountered in the field of marine mammals. At its conclusion, participants will have acquired basic skills in coding with R, and will be able to perform and interpret simple analyses, and critically evaluate similar analyses from the scientific literature and technical reports. All example datasets used for practical???s will have an ecological and evolutionary theme Any questions please email oliverhooker at prstatistics.com Upcoming courses ONLINE COURSE ??? Introduction to R for ecologists and evolutionary biologists (IRFB04) This course will be delivered live 23 June 2020 - 24 June 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-r-for-ecologists-and-evolutionary-biologists-irfb04/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Reproducible Data Science using RMarkdown, Git, R packages, Docker, Make & Drake, and other tools (RDRP01) This course will be delivered live 29 June 2020 - 3 July 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/reproducible-data-science-and-r-package-design-rdrp01/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Applied Bayesian modelling for ecologists and epidemiologists (ABME06) This course will be delivwered live 20 July 2020 - 24 July 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/applied-bayesian-modelling-for-ecologists-and-epidemiologists-abme06/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Introduction to generalised linear models using R and Rstudio (IGLM01) This course will be delivered live 23 July 2020 - 24 July 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-generalised-linear-models-using-r-and-rstudio-iglm01/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Species Distribution Modeling using R (SDMR02) This course will be delivered live 27 July 2020 - 30 July 2020 https://www.prstatistic s.com/course/species-distribution-modeling-using-r-sdmr02/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Introduction to mixed models using R and Rstudio (IMMR02) This course will be delivered live 6 August 2020 - 7 August 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-mixed-models-using-r-and-rstudio-immr02/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Data visualization using GG plot 2 (R and Rstudio) (DVGG01) This course will be delivered live 20 August 2020 - 21 August 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-data-visualization-using-gg-plot-2-r-and-rstudio-dvgg01/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Data wrangling using R and Rstudio (DWRS01) This course will be delivered live 3 September 2020 - 4 September 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-data-wrangling-using-r-and-rstudio-dwrs01/ ONLINE COURSE ??? Fundamentals of populations genetics using R (FOPG01) This course will be delivered live 14 September 2020 - 18 September 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/fundamentals-of-populations-genetics-using-r-fopg01/ Advanced Ecological Niche Modelling Using R (ANMR01) 12 October 2020 - 16 October 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/advanced-ecological-niche-modelling-using-r-anmr01/ -- Oliver Hooker PhD. PR statistics 2020 publications; Parallelism in eco-morphology and gene expression despite variable evolutionary and genomic backgrounds in a Holarctic fish. PLOS GENETICS (2020). IN PRESS www.PRstatistics.com facebook.com/PRstatistics/ twitter.com/PRstatistics 53 Morrison Street Glasgow G5 8LB +44 (0) 7966500340 +44 (0) 7966500340 From sclymene at aol.com Tue Jun 9 09:33:42 2020 From: sclymene at aol.com (Thomas Jefferson) Date: Tue, 9 Jun 2020 16:33:42 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] Fwd: RARE MARINE MAMMAL BOOKS AVAILABLE In-Reply-To: <795643608.1557677.1591714303931@mail.yahoo.com> References: <795643608.1557677.1591714303931.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <795643608.1557677.1591714303931@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1775541846.1647521.1591720422367@mail.yahoo.com> RARE MARINE MAMMAL BOOKS AVAILABLE ?? ?VIVAVaquita! is a non-profit organizationdedicated to working to help save the vaquita from extinction.? All funds raised are actively used forresearch and conservation work on the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), the world?smost endangered marine mammal species. ?The globalpopulation of this species now numbers less than 15 individuals and is nearingextinction. Visit our website at www.vivavaquita.org for more details.? ?? ?VIVAVaquita! has hundreds of marine mammal books, reprints, monographs, and journalsthat are available for a donation to the organization.? Below is a sample of some of the rarer items we have (pricelisted is suggested donation, shipping is extra), but there are many, many moreand suggested donation amounts range from US$1-150.? For a list of additional books available (andphotos), please contact us. For more info, or to order books, please contactTom Jefferson at? sclymene at aol.com.?HC = hardcover, PB = paperback/soft wrappers.?Bessesen, B. 2018. Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime inthe Sea of Cortez. Island Press.? NEW.? HC.? $15.?Delyamure, S. L. 1968. Helminthofauna of Marine Mammals(Ecology and Phylogeny). Israel Program for Scientific Translations.? PB.? $10.?FAO. 1978. Mammals in the seas: Volume I. Report of the FAOAdvisory Committee on Marine Resources Research.? FAO of the United Nations.? HC.? $9.?FAO. 1979. Mammals in the seas: Volume II. Pinniped speciessummaries and report on sirenians.? FAOof the United Nations.? HC. $9.?Fay, F. H. 1982. Ecology and biology of the Pacific walrus,Odobenus rosmarus divergens Illiger. North American Fauna 74:279 pp.? PB.? $15.?Gaskin, D. E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins, and Seals, WithSpecial Reference to the New Zealand Region. Heineman Educational Books.? Dust jacket damaged, but book in goodcondition.? HC.? $9.?Gaskin, D. E. 1982. The Ecology of Whales and Dolphins.Heinemann, London.? PB.? $7.?Goode, G. B. 1887. The Fisheries and Fishery Industries ofthe United States. Section III ? Fisheries of North America (including marinemammal sections).? Government PrintingOffice.? HC.? $35.?Hawley, F. 1958. Whales and Whaling in Japan (offprint ofpp. 51-102, excerpts on original rare paper). Kyoto.? HC.? 51pp.? $35.?Howell, A. B. 1927. Contribution to the anatomy of theChinese finless porpoise, Neemeris phocaenoides. Proceedings of the UnitedStates National Museum 70:1-43.? PB.? $3.?Jefferson, T. A., S. Leatherwood and M. A. Webber. 1993.Marine Mammals of the World: FAO Species Identification Guide. United NationEnvironment Programme and Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN.? PB.? $25.?Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. 2015.Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification.Academic Press/Elsevier.? NEW.? HC.? $52.?Kaiser, H. E. 1974. Morphology of the Sirenia. A Macroscopicand X-ray Atlas of the Osteology of Recent Species. S. Karger, Basel.?? NEW.? HC(in plastic wrap).? HC.? $28.?Kleinenberg, S. E., A. V. Yablokov, B. M. Belkovich and M.N. Tarasevich. 1964. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas): Investigation of theSpecies. Israel Program for Scientific Translations.? HC.? $22.?Klinowska, M. 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises, and Whales of theWorld: The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.? HC.? $10.?Lilljeborg, W. 1867. On two subfossil whales discovered inSweden. Nova Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsalla. [3] 6(2):1-48.? PB.? $9.?Miller, G. S. and R. Kellogg. 1955. List of North Americanrecent mammals. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 205:954 pp.? HC.?$10.?Mitchell, E. 1965. History of research at Shark Tooth Hill.Kern County Historical Society.? HC.? $8.?Mitchell, E. (ed). 1975. Review of biology and fisheries forsmaller cetaceans. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 32(7):879-1242.?? Special issue of journal ondolphins, porpoises, and small whales.? PB.? $9.?Mitchell, E. D. 1975. Porpoise, dolphin and small whalefisheries of the world. IUCN Monograph 3:129 pp.? PB.? $7.?Moore, J. C. 1968. Relationships among the living genera ofbeaked whales with classifications, diagnoses and keys. Fieldiana Zoology53:209-298.? PB.? $7.?Perrin, W. F. 1975. Variation and taxonomy of spotted andspinner porpoise (genus Stenella) in the eastern tropical Pacific and Hawaii.Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography 21:206 pp.? PB.? $14.?Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world: systematicsand distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4:231 pp.? NEW.?$7.?Ridgway, S. H. 1972. Mammals of the Sea: Biology andMedicine. Pages 812 pp. Charles C. Thomas.?HC, mint condition.? $120.?Ridgway, S. H. and R. Harrison (eds). 1994. Handbook ofMarine Mammals, Vol. 5: The First Book of Dolphins. 416 pp. Academic Press.? NEW, HC.?$110.?Risting, S. 1928. Whales and whale foetuses. Rapports etProces-Verbaux des Reunions 50:122 pp.? PB.? $9.?Ronald, K. and A. W. Mansfield (eds). 1975. Biology of theSeal: Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Guelph 14-17 August 1972. 557 pp.Rapports et Proces-Verbaux de Reunions.? PB.? $8.?Scheffer, V. B. and J. W. Slipp. 1948. The whales anddolphins of Washington State, with a key to the cetaceans of the west coast ofNorth America. American Midland Naturalist 39:257-337.? PB.? $8.?Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute. Vols.24-26 hardbound in buckram, plus separate issues of vols. 26, 29, 30, 32, and33.? $28 for hardbound set, or $10/looseissue.?Sergeant, D. E. 1962. The biology of the pilot or potheadwhale Globicephala melaena (Traill) in Newfoundland waters. Bulletin of theFisheries Research Board of Canada 132:84 pp.?PB.? $10.?True, F. W. 1904. Whalebone Whales of the Western NorthAtlantic Compared with Those Occurring in European Waters with SomeObservations on the Species of the North Pacific. Smithsonian Contributions toKnowledge.? First edition, pages in finecondition, but removed from binding.? $38.?True, F. W. 1910. An account of the beaked whales of thefamily Ziphiidae in the collection of the United States National Museum, withremarks on some species in other American museums. Bulletin of the UnitedStates National Museum 73:42 pp. + plates.?PB.? $35.?Wursig, B., T. A. Jefferson and D. J. Schmidly. 2000. TheMarine Mammals of the Gulf of Mexico. Texas A&M University Press.? NEW.? HC.? $6.?Zhou, K. and Zhang Xingduan. 1991. Baiji: The Yangtze RiverDolphin and Other Endangered Animals of China. Stonewall Press.? NEW.? HC.? $4. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk Fri Jun 12 03:14:41 2020 From: s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk (TWISS, SEAN D.) Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2020 10:14:41 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] =?windows-1252?q?NEW_PAPER=3A_Stress_coping_styles_in_gr?= =?windows-1252?q?ey_seals_and_reproductive_outcomes_=96_Open_Access?= Message-ID: Dear Marmamers, My co-authors and I would like to draw your attention to a new paper that has just been published in Scientific Reports examining the links between stress coping styles (linked to ?personalities?) in grey seals and reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes. The paper is Open Access and can be found at; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66597-3 Full details and abstract: Reactive stress-coping styles show more variable reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes Sean D. Twiss, Courtney R. Shuert, Naomi Brannan, Amanda M. Bishop & Patrick. P. Pomeroy Sci Rep 10, 9550 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66597-3 Abstract Stress-coping styles dictate how individuals react to stimuli and can be measured by the integrative physiological parameter of resting heart-rate variability (HRV); low resting HRV indicating proactive coping styles, while high resting HRV typifies reactive individuals. Over 5 successive breeding seasons we measured resting HRV of 57 lactating grey seals. Mothers showed consistent individual differences in resting HRV across years. We asked whether proactive and reactive mothers differed in their patterns of maternal expenditure and short-term fitness outcomes within seasons, using maternal daily mass loss rate to indicate expenditure, and pup daily mass gain to indicate within season fitness outcomes. We found no difference in average rates of maternal daily mass loss or pup daily mass gain between proactive and reactive mothers. However, reactive mothers deviated more from the sample mean for maternal daily mass and pup daily mass gain than proactive mothers. Thus, while proactive mothers exhibit average expenditure strategies with average outcomes, expenditure varies much more among reactive mothers with more variable outcomes. Overall, however, mean fitness was equal across coping styles, providing a mechanism for maintaining coping style diversity within populations. Variability in reactive mothers? expenditures and success is likely a product of their attempts to match phenotype to prevailing environmental conditions, achieved with varying degrees of success. Best wishes to all, Sean _________________________________ Dr. Sean Twiss, Associate Professor in Animal Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biosciences, South Road, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. E-mail: s.d.twiss at durham.ac.uk Web-site: https://www.dur.ac.uk/biosciences/about/schoolstaff/academicstaff/?id=1132 Blog: http://sealbehaviour.wordpress.com/ Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre: www.dur.ac.uk/beer-centre Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1350 (office) Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1247 (lab) Fax: +44 (0)191 334 1201 _________________________________ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nikipardalou at gmail.com Mon Jun 15 08:26:14 2020 From: nikipardalou at gmail.com (Niki Pardalou) Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2020 18:26:14 +0300 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Factors influencing dolphin depredation in coastal fisheries of the northern Aegean Sea: Implications on defining mitigation measures Message-ID: Dear MARMAM community, We are delighted to announce the publication of our paper in Marine Mammal Science Pardalou A, Tsikliras AC (2020) Factors influencing dolphin depredation in coastal fisheries of the northern Aegean Sea: Implications on defining mitigation measures. Mar Mam Sci: 1-24. doi:10.1111/mms.12702 Abstract Dolphin interactions with coastal fisheries are of major concern, reportedly leading to gear damage, which increases the cost of coastal fishing globally and in the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this study was to determine the effect that gear, target species, mesh size, depth, soaking duration, fishing area, and season have on net depredation frequency and to offer insights on possible mitigation solutions. From November 2013 to February 2016 we monitored 107 active coastal fishers in 22 ports of the northern Aegean Sea coastline, identified the main target species of the fishery and recorded the damages on gill nets and trammel nets caused by dolphins, mainly the common bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*). Quasi-binomial generalized linear models were used to determine the relationship between the examined factors and depredation frequency. The analysis revealed that the gears mostly depredated were gill nets and trammel nets with small mesh sizes, mainly targeting surmullet (*Mullus surmuletus*), red mullet (*Mullus barbatus*), common sole (*Solea solea*), European hake (*Merluccius merluccius*), and the caramote prawn (*Melicertus kerathurus*). The probability of depredation was also significantly dependent on the fishing area. The full paper may become available upon request at apardalou[@]bio[.]auth[.]gr Androniki Pardalou PhD Student in Fisheries Biology Laboratory of Ichthyology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Orchid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0566-0337 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Androniki Pardalou PhD Student in Fisheries Biology Laboratory of Ichthyology, School of Biology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki UP Box 134, University Campus 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece Tel. : +30 2310 998268 Fax : +30 2310 998279 Skype : pardalou Email : apardalou at bio.auth.gr Webpage : http://fishlab.bio.auth.gr --------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tracy.gill at noaa.gov Tue Jun 16 06:45:05 2020 From: tracy.gill at noaa.gov (Tracy Gill - NOAA Federal) Date: Tue, 16 Jun 2020 09:45:05 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] June 17 NOAA webinar: Differences in the evolutionary potential of two populations of northern bottlenose whales and the impacts of whaling Message-ID: *OneNOAA Science Seminar Series * *Please send to anyone (in or outside of NOAA or US) who might be interested; thanks!* *Title: * *Differences in the evolutionary potential of two populations of northern bottlenose whales and the impacts of whaling* *Speakers: * *Laura J. Feyrer*, PhD Candidate, Whitehead Lab, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada and *Tony Einfeldt*, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Marine Gene Probe Lab, Dalhousie University, NS, Canada *When: *Wednesday, June 17, 2020, 12-1pm EDT *Where: *Webinar - see access below *Sponsor: *NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) science seminar coordinator Tracy Gill *Webinar Access:* Register at: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/feyrer/event/registration.html *After registering, you will get a confirmation email with a link to the webinar. *Before the webinar, you should test your ability to use Adobe Connect at: https://noaabroadcast.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm Users should use either google, IE or Edge on Windows or Safari if using a Mac. Audio is over the computer, so adjust volume on your computer speakers or headset. Questions will be addressed in the chat window. This Webcast will be recorded, archived and made accessible. Questions? Email Tracy.Gill at noaa.gov *Abstract: *Distinct populations may respond differently to range?wide exploitation, resulting in evolutionary impacts and reduced genetic diversity that can limit recovery and resilience of remnant populations. Sequencing the full mitogenomes and 37 novel microsatellites for 127 specimens of northern bottlenose whales(Hyperoodon ampullatus), we reconstructed the trajectories of two distinct populations that were heavily exploited by commercial whaling. We found that for a small population at their range edge, the impacts of whaling were more severe than for the larger more connected population, and combined with having the lowest range?wide genetic variability of any cetacean, we suggest northern bottlenose whales may face genetic limitations to the recovery of their populations. *About the Speakers: * *Laura Joan Feyrer* is the Chief Scientist for the Northern Bottlenose project and a PhD candidate, working with Dr. Hal Whitehead at Dalhousie University. Most of her field work has been conducted from a 40? sailboat 200 miles offshore of Nova Scotia in the Sable Gully, and around the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Her research focuses on the population ecology and management of endangered northern bottlenose whales in the Northwest Atlantic. * Dr. Anthony Einfeldt* is a researcher working on conservation genomics and population genetics in marine systems,particularly in the North Atlantic. He uses genetic tools to address ecological and evolutionary questions, such as how humans shape species' distributions,how dispersal abilities and the environment interact to connect populations,and how sex chromosomes evolve. These questions involve work on a diverse array of systems, including mudflat invertebrates, marine and anadromous fishes, and beaked whales. *Subscribe to the OneNOAA Science Seminar weekly email: *Send an email to OneNOAAscienceseminars-request at list.woc.noaa.gov with the word `subscribe' in the subject or body. Visit the OneNOAA Science Seminar Series website for more information. -- Tracy A. Gill tracy.gill at noaa.gov 240-533-0349 Physical Scientist & NOAA/NOS Science Seminar Coordinator NOAA | NOS | National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Marine Spatial Ecology Division | Biogeography Branch 1305 East West Hwy, SSMC4, N/SCI-1, Rm 9208 Silver Spring, MD 20910-3278 *Check out **the OneNOAA Science Seminar Series website for the schedule and to **sign up for the weekly NOAA seminar email list.* o o ><(((o> o < o < ><(((o> ><(((o> -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hkatesvarghese at ccom.unh.edu Wed Jun 17 08:29:43 2020 From: hkatesvarghese at ccom.unh.edu (Hilary Kates Varghese) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2020 11:29:43 -0400 Subject: [MARMAM] new paper on the effect of two deep water ocean mapping surveys on beaked whale behavior Message-ID: <01b301d644bc$1fe8f6f0$5fbae4d0$@ccom.unh.edu> Dear MARMAM community, On behalf of my coauthors, I am pleased to announce the publication of our work on the effect of two deep-water (12 kHz) multibeam echosounder surveys-used for ocean mapping-on Cuvier's beaked whale foraging behavior in southern California. Please find the article, "The effect of two 12 kHz multibeam mapping surveys on the foraging behavior of Cuvier's beaked whales off of southern California," on The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America website: https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0001385 ABSTRACT: The impact of multibeam echosounder (MBES) operations on marine mammals has been less studied compared to military sonars. To contribute to the growing body of MBES knowledge, echolocation clicks of foraging Cuvier's beaked whales were detected on the Southern California Antisubmarine Warfare Range (SOAR) hydrophones during two MBES surveys and assembled into foraging events called group vocal periods (GVPs). Four GVP characteristics were analyzed Before, During, and After 12 kHz MBES surveys at the SOAR in 2017 and 2019 to assess differences in foraging behavior with respect to the mapping activity. The number of GVP per hour increased During and After MBES surveys compared with Before. There were no other differences between non-MBES and MBES periods for the three other characteristics: the number of clicks per GVP, GVP duration, and click rate. These results indicate that there was not a consistent change in foraging behavior during the MBES surveys that would suggest a clear response. The animals did not leave the range nor stop foraging during MBES activity. These results are in stark contrast to those of analogous studies assessing the effect of Naval mid-frequency active sonar on beaked whale foraging, where beaked whales stopped echolocating and left the area. Thank you, Hilary Kates Varghese PhD Candidate Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping University of New Hampshire 24 Colovos Rd. Durham, NH 03824 USA hkatesvarghese at ccom.unh.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mac64 at st-andrews.ac.uk Wed Jun 17 09:27:44 2020 From: mac64 at st-andrews.ac.uk (Monica Arso Civil) Date: Wed, 17 Jun 2020 16:27:44 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on determining pregnancy status in harbour seals from progesterone concentrations Message-ID: Dear all, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper, which is now available online: Hall, A., Hewitt, R., and M. Arso Civil (2020). "Determining pregnancy status in harbour seals using progesterone concentrations in blood and blubber." General and Comparative Endocrinology 295: 113529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113529 Abstract: Pregnancy status in harbour seals can be estimated from concentrations of progesterone in blubber as well as in blood samples, which are significantly higher in pregnant than non-pregnant animals. This study investigated the accuracy of estimating pregnancy rates using samples from live-captured and released harbour seals from three regions around Scotland, coupled with observed pregnancy outcomes. Concentrations of progesterone in blood (plasma) and blubber were obtained during the capture of animals early in the year (February to May). Individual animals were identified from the unique markings on their pelage, with a proportion (n = 51) of females re-sighted during the subsequent breeding season and the reproductive outcomes determined (pregnant or possibly non-pregnant) during observations from long-term photo-identification studies. Generalised linear models with a binomial link function were fitted to training (60% of the data) and test datasets (40% of the data) to estimate pregnancy status from progesterone concentrations in blubber, plasma or both, and a received operating curves (ROC) approach was used to evaluate the performance of each classifier. The accuracy for the plasma concentrations was 85% with a high classification performance (as estimated from an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.82). The Youden method to determine the cut-point (threshold) and bootstrapping the training dataset resulted in a cut-point of 58 ng ml?1 (95th percentiles, 25?102 ng ml?1). For blubber, the accuracy was 77% (AUC = 0.86) with an optimal cut-point of 56 ng g?1 (95th percentiles, 26?223 ng g?1). In the combined analysis (both blubber and plasma), the accuracy was 87.5% (AUC 0.81) with the cut-points of 72 ng ml?1 (95th percentiles, 25?103 ng ml?1) in plasma and 56 ng g?1 (95th percentiles, 26?223 ng g?1) in blubber. These thresholds were then used to estimate the pregnancy proportions among adult females at the three study sites, including those that were not included in the photo-id studies. Proportions were high at all sites, (63%?100%) regardless of which matrices were used and were not statistically significantly different from each other but suggested that analysing concentrations in both sample matrices would minimise the uncertainty. A pdf copy of the paper is available from https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bFMI3oGhLXld Please get in touch for any questions regarding our work (ajh7 at st-andrews.ac.uk) Kind regards, Ailsa Hall, Rebecca Hewitt and Monica Arso Civil. Dr M?nica Arso Civil Research Fellow Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews St Andrews, Fife KY16 8LB Tel: 01334 463630 Twitter: @monicaarso http://biology.st-andrews.ac.uk/contact/staffProfile.aspx?sunid=mac64 Harbour Seal Decline Project: https://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/harbourseals/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland (SC013532) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jj_alava at yahoo.com Thu Jun 18 14:50:02 2020 From: jj_alava at yahoo.com (Juan Jose Alava) Date: Thu, 18 Jun 2020 21:50:02 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on Persistent Organic Pollutants and mercury in bottlenose dolphins from the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador References: <378991215.425674.1592517002895.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <378991215.425674.1592517002895@mail.yahoo.com> DearMarmam colleagues, II trust this message finds you well. In behalf of my co-authors, I pleasedto share a new paper on ?PersistentOrganic Pollutants and Mercury in Genetically Identified Inner EstuaryBottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Residents of the Guayaquil Gulf, Ecuador: Ecotoxicological Science in Supportof Pollutant Management and Cetacean Conservation,? which is the first contribution on the ecotoxicological assessment of persistent organic pollutants (POPs)and mercury in a small cetacean species in Ecuador?s continental coast, and oneof the first ones along the Pacific coast of South America. ? This article is an Open Access paper and can be found at the following links; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00122/full https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2020.00122 ? Fulldetails and abstract: Citation: Alava JJ*, Calle P,Tirap? A, Biedenbach G, Alvarado Cadena O, Maruya K, Lao W, Aguirre W, Jim?nezPJ, Dom?nguez GA, Bossart GD and Fair PA (2020) Persistent Organic Pollutantsand Mercury in Genetically Identified Inner Estuary Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiopstruncatus) Residents of the Guayaquil Gulf, Ecuador: EcotoxicologicalScience in Support of Pollutant Management and Cetacean Conservation. Front.Mar. Sci. 7:122. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2020.00122 ? *Correspondence: Juan Jos? Alava, j.alava at oceans.ubc.ca; jalavasa at sfu.ca ? Published: 20 March 2020. ? Abstract Thebottlenose dolphin is one of the most common cetaceans found in the coastal waters,estuaries, and mangroves of Ecuador. However, its population size is graduallydeclining in the Gulf of Guayaquil, and anthropogenic factors including habitatdegradation, uncontrolled dolphin watching, dredging activities, increasingmaritime traffic, underwater noise, bycatch, and marine pollution have beenimplicated in their decline. Very little is known about contamination bypersistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury in bottlenose dolphins fromthe Pacific coast of South America. To address this research gap, the firstassessment of total mercury (THg) and POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs), in free-ranging bottlenose dolphins in mangroves (El Morro MangroveWildlife Refuge) of the Gulf of Guayaquil, was conducted in Ecuador in 2018.Dolphin samples (i.e., skin and blubber; n = 9), were obtained usingdart biopsy field methods for contaminant analysis. POP concentrations rangedfrom 0.56 to 13.0 mg/kg in lipid weight, while THg ranged from 1.92 to 3.63mg/kg in dry weight. The predominant POPs were OCPs (50% of ?POP), followed byPCBs (46%) and PBDEs (6.0%); particularly, p,p?-DDE, the main DDTmetabolite and a potent anti-androgenic, accounting for 42% of ?POP, rangingfrom 0.12 to ?7.0 mg/kg lw, followed by PCB 153 (8.0%)and PCB 180 (5.0%). PBDE 47 accounted for 2.0% of ?POP. While the POPconcentrations are lower than those found in dolphins from many other regionsof the world, some of the THg concentrations are within the concentration rangefound in dolphins from the southeastern coast of the United States. Theecotoxicological risk assessment showed that some of the sampled dolphins areexposed to immunotoxic and endocrine disruption effects by POPs and mercury.The low genetic diversity of this distinctive dolphin population, likelyexhibiting genetic isolation and a unique evolutionary heritage, could be lostif the population continues to decline in the face of anthropogenic threats,including chemical pollution. Our finding shows that bottlenose dolphins incoastal Ecuador are exposed to environmental contaminants and can be used assentinel species for ecosystem health to monitor pollution in the region and tosupport ecotoxicological risk assessment and regional pollutant management. Keywords: contaminants, POPs, organic mercury, marine mammals,toxicological risk assessment, mangroves, Gulf of Guayaquil, South America ? Wishingyou all well and stay safe. JuanJose Alava-------------------- Juan Jose Alava, PhD. Research Associate, Nippon Foundation-Ocean Litter Project Principal Investigator, Ocean Pollution Research Unit (OPRU) Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Faculty of Science, The University of British Columbia AERL 2202 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 Canada http://oceans.ubc.ca/juan-jose-alava/?? https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Juan_Jose_Alava/contributions?ev=prf_act Adjunct Professor Resource and Environmental Management, Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6,Canada E-mail: jalavasa at sfu.ca -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kate.sprogis at bios.au.dk Fri Jun 19 04:40:54 2020 From: kate.sprogis at bios.au.dk (Kate Rose-Ann Sprogis) Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2020 11:40:54 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Vessel noise levels drive behavioural responses of humpback whales with implications for whale-watching In-Reply-To: <681C324E-E125-4737-883C-27ABA8505DDA@bios.au.dk> References: <681C324E-E125-4737-883C-27ABA8505DDA@bios.au.dk> Message-ID: Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce the following paper published in eLife. Title: Vessel noise levels drive behavioural responses of humpback whales with implications for whale-watching. Authors: Kate R. Sprogis, Simone Videsen and Peter T. Madsen. Abstract: Disturbance from whale-watching can cause significant behavioural changes with fitness consequences for targeted whale populations. However, the sensory stimuli triggering these responses are unknown, preventing effective mitigation. Here, we test the hypothesis that vessel noise level is a driver of disturbance, using humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) as a model species. We conducted controlled exposure experiments (n= 42) on resting mother-calf pairs on a resting ground off Australia, by simulating whale-watch scenarios with a research vessel (range 100 m, speed 1.5 knts) playing back vessel noise at control/low (124/148 dB), medium (160 dB) or high (172 dB) LF-weighted source levels (re 1 ?Pa RMS at 1m). Compared to control/low treatments, during high noise playbacks the mother?s proportion of time resting decreased by 30%, respiration rate doubled and swim speed increased by 37%. We therefore conclude that vessel noise is an adequate driver of behavioural disturbance in whales and that regulations to mitigate the impact of whale-watching should include noise emission standards. Reference: Sprogis KR, Videsen S, Madsen PT (2020) Vessel noise levels drive behavioural responses of humpback whales with implications for whale-watching. eLife. doi: 10.7554/eLife.56760 The accepted pre-manuscript is online (PDF to freely download), with the full online typeset edition to follow (in a few weeks). Kind regards, Kate Sprogis Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Post-doctoral Fellow Marine Bioacoustics Lab, Dept. of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Denmark kate.sprogis at bio.au.dk | Kate Sprogis Photography Twitter, Instagram: @KateSprogis [cid:image001.jpg at 01D6463F.40473220] Recent papers: - Sprogis KR, Bejder L, Hanf D, Christiansen F. 2020. Behavioural responses of migrating humpback whales to swim-with-whale activities in the Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 522:151254. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2019.151254 - Christiansen F, Sprogis KR, Gross J, Castrillon J, Warick HA, Leunissen E & Bengtson Nash S. 2020. Variation in outer blubber lipid concentrations does not reflect morphological body condition in humpback whales. Journal of Experimental Biology. doi: 10.1242/jeb.213769 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 5411 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From luigi.valeri at gmail.com Mon Jun 15 14:07:05 2020 From: luigi.valeri at gmail.com (Luigi Valeri) Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2020 23:07:05 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Tailless whale in the Mediterranean: what can be done? Message-ID: Hi all, I am writing to ask for advice/help about a poor fin whale, which has lost its tail and has been found in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Italy. You can see the whale in the following video, which has been recorded three days ago off Capo Spartivento (Reggio Calabria, Italy) https://youtu.be/mxqslemqz1s Local conservationists think it might have lost its tail after getting entangled in fishing gear or the like. They also say the whale is about 15-meter long, looks really weakened by starvation and in a desperate situation. *Does anyone know what can be done in such cases to help the whale, if anything?* I was just wondering whether anyone worldwide has just come up with some special device/solution to help whales in such sad predicaments. If you want more information, you can consider getting in touch with the local conservationist who shot the video. His contact info is available on his Blue Conservancy group website: Filippo Armonio, cell. +393283020921, info at blueconservancy.org. Many thanks for any advice or help. Best regards, Luigi Valeri Cell. +39 335 310655 luigi.valeri at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cdmacleod at gisinecology.com Fri Jun 19 03:58:48 2020 From: cdmacleod at gisinecology.com (cdmacleod at gisinecology.com) Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2020 11:58:48 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] New Online Training Course: An Introduction to Basic Statsistics for Biologists using R - 6th to 9th July 2020 In-Reply-To: <2499c76e3598d992a632882d524fe382@gisinecology.com> References: <2499c76e3598d992a632882d524fe382@gisinecology.com> Message-ID: <8cb9258e593a77bddd567bd8f896e01d@gisinecology.com> Before we start our summer series of GIS courses, _GIS In Ecology_ will be running a new instructor-led online course based around our latest book, A_n Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R_. In the last decadde, R has become the software package for analysing all types of biological data, including data collected from marine mammals. As a result, knowing how to use R can now be considered a key skill for almost all marine mammalogists. However, many people (especially those who primarily work in non-academic environments) struggle to learn R, leaving them unable to make the most of its powerful data processing and analytical capabilities to the detriment of their own research and the field of marine mammalogiy as a whole. This course will be held over Zoom video-conferencing and will provide all the practical knowledge and experience you need to get started with analysing biological data using R. As a result, no previous experience with R or statistical analysis is required to do this course. It uses a user-friendly approach based around task-oriented learning (which will be familiar to those who have previously done our GIS courses or used our books), meaning that it can help you quickly and easily get to grips with using R for data processing, creating graphs, and statistical analysis of biological data in a short space of time, even if you have never used R before, or have tried before and have found yourself struggling to use it successfully. It will run from the 6th to the 9th of July 2020, with one session being held each day between 14:00 and 17:00 British Summer Time (we are based in Scotland so this is the time zone we operate in). This allows participants from as wide a range of time zones to participate in the course. However, if these times are not suitable for you, please let us know as we may be able to provide the same sessions at other times of day, depending on demand. Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 19 people. The fees for this course are GBP 250 per person (with a discounted rate of GBP 195 for students, the unwaged and those working for registered charities). To book a place, or for more information, you can either visit http://gisinecology.com/stats-for-biologists-1/live-online-course-an-introduction-to-basic-statistics-for-biologists-using-r/ or email us at info at GISinEcology.com. About the Course: This is a practical course and it is aimed at anyone who wishes to learn how to carry out basic data processing and statistical analyses on biological data using R. This includes importing data sets into R, error-checking and processing them to prepare them for analysis, calculating basic summary statistics, creating graphs, assessing and transforming their distributions, and running statistical tests such as Shapiro-Wilk tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, paired t-tests, Wilcoxon Matched Pairs tests, F-tests for equality of variance, Levene's tests, ANOVAs, Kruskal-Walis tests, chi-squared tests, correlations and linear regressions. It will also cover how to use R, how to work out how to do things for yourself in R and how to create annotated R script archives of what you have done. Each session will consist of a series of background talk covering specific topics (more details are provided below), followed by related practical exercises based on instructions from _An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R_. As a result, all participants will receive a free copy of this book shipped to their address in advance of the start of the course. While you are encouraged to remain online during the practical sessions, you can choose to go off-line as you work though the exercises (or if you need to take a break). However, if you have any questions, the course instructor will be available throughout the course for you to ask any questions you wish at any point. This course will be hosted by Dr Colin D MacLeod, one of the authors of An Introduction to Basic Statistics for Biologists using R. Dr MacLeod has been working in biological research for more than 25 years. He is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications and a series of books written to help biologists learn practical skills, such as statistics and GIS. At the end of the course, all attendees will receive a certificate of attendance and completion. Each certificate is embossed with the GIS In Ecology official stamp to prevent its fraudulent reproduction. In addition, each certificate has its own unique identification number that we will record, along with your name, meaning that we can verify the authenticity of the certificates we issue (and the course you have completed) on request. THIS COURSE WILL COVER: 1. An introduction to R and Rstudio (and, if required, this will include help with installing these software packages). 2. What you need to know to get started with using R. 3. What to do if you get stuck with using R for data processing and statistical analysis. 4. How to import data into R and prepare it for analysis. 5. How to create graphs from biological data in R. 6. How to assess and transform the distribution of biological data. 7. How to compare data from different groups with statistical analysis. 8. How to use correlations and regressions to biological data. 9. How to work out how to do things in R. 10. How to create an annotated R code archive so you have a record of what you have done. ================================================================================== GIS IN ECOLOGY - Providing Training, Advice And Consultancy On The Use Of GIS In Ecology Web: www.GISinEcology.com [1] Email: info at GISinEcology.com Need to ask a question about using GIS? Try the GIS In Ecology Forum: www.GISinEcology.com/GIS_in_Ecology_forum.htm [2] Books From GIS In Ecology Staff: GIS For Biologists: A Practical Introduction For Undergraduates; RRP: ?24.99 An Introduction To Integrating QGIS And R For Spatial Analysis; RRP: ?19.99 An Introduction To Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) Using QGIS And R; RRP: ?19:99 If you wish to purchase these books, visit: http://www.gisinecology.com/book-shop/ To help the environment, please do not print out this email unless it is unavoidable. ================================================================================== > Links: ------ [1] http://www.GISinEcology.com [2] http://www.GISinEcology.com/GIS_in_Ecology_forum.htm -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From t.jauniaux at ulg.ac.be Mon Jun 15 00:28:50 2020 From: t.jauniaux at ulg.ac.be (Thierry Jauniaux) Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2020 09:28:50 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] marine mammal necropsy workshop Message-ID: <1E7A184F-D86C-4052-A494-706E6C54773B@ulg.ac.be> Please find attached details of the 14th annual necropsy workshop This year innovation will be the organization of the workshop in 2 sessions - July 10: on-line webinar with telenecropsy (telemedicine applied for dissection and necropsy) - October 13-15: face-to-face postmortem practice (Pathology dept, ULiege) More details: https://www.fmv.uliege.be/cms/c_5775495/fr/14th-marine-mammal-necropsy-workshop Information: t.jauniaux at uliege.be Registration: a.wlasowski at uliege.be Deadline: June 22 Best regards Thierry -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.fortune at oceans.ubc.ca Fri Jun 19 10:23:28 2020 From: s.fortune at oceans.ubc.ca (Fortune, Sarah) Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2020 17:23:28 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on bowhead whale seasonal diving and foraging behaviour Message-ID: <27a9a5d6cc514847ab8631dc4317049b@oceans.ubc.ca> Dear colleagues, My co-authors and I are happy to share our recently published paper on bowhead whale foraging ecology with you. Fortune SME, Ferguson SH, Trites AW, LeBlanc B, LeMay V, Hudson JM, Baumgartner MF (2020) Seasonal diving and foraging behaviour of Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowhead whales. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 643:197-217. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13356 ABSTRACT: Climate change may affect the foraging success of bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus by altering the diversity and abundance of zooplankton species available as food. However, assessing climate-induced impacts first requires documenting feeding conditions under current environmental conditions. We collected seasonal movement and dive-behaviour data from 25 Eastern Canada-West Greenland bowheads instrumented with time-depth telemetry tags and used state-space models to examine whale movements and dive behaviours. Zooplankton samples were also collected in Cumberland Sound (CS) to determine species composition and biomass. We found that CS was used seasonally by 14 of the 25 tagged whales. Area-restricted movement was the dominant behaviour in CS, suggesting that the tagged whales allocated considerable time to feeding. Prey sampling data suggested that bowheads were exploiting energy-rich Arctic copepods such as Calanus glacialis and C. hyperboreus during summer. Dive behaviour changed seasonally in CS. Most notably, probable feeding dives were substantially shallower during spring and summer compared to fall and winter. These seasonal changes in dive depths likely reflect changes in the vertical distribution of calanoid copepods, which are known to suspend development and overwinter at depth during fall and winter when availability of their phytoplankton prey is presumed to be lower. Overall, CS appears to be an important year-round foraging habitat for bowheads, but is particularly important during the late summer and fall. Whether CS will remain a reliable feeding area for bowhead whales under climate change is not yet known. Please let me know if you'd like a PDF copy. All the best, Sarah Sarah Fortune, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Marine Mammal Research Unit Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries Room 247, AERL, 2202 Main Mall University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1Z4 s.fortune at oceans.ubc.ca -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jj_alava at yahoo.com Fri Jun 19 15:38:18 2020 From: jj_alava at yahoo.com (Juan Jose Alava) Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2020 22:38:18 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] =?utf-8?q?Sharing_new_publication_on_=E2=80=9CMarine_mam?= =?utf-8?q?mals_used_as_bait_for_improvised_fish_aggregating_devices_in_ma?= =?utf-8?q?rine_waters_of_Ecuador=2C_eastern_tropical_Pacific=22?= References: <135241439.963557.1592606298532.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <135241439.963557.1592606298532@mail.yahoo.com> Dear Marmam colleagues, I trust this message finds you well. On behalf of my co-authors (Dr. CristinaCastro, Dr. Koen Van Waerebeek and Diana C?rdenas), I am pleased to share a newpaper on ?Marine mammals used as baitfor improvised fish aggregating devices in marine waters of Ecuador, easterntropical Pacific,? which is was pushy early this year in EndangeredSpecies Research (ESR) and represent the first effort to identify and assess theimpact of fish aggregating devices (FADs)on marine mammals, including pinnipeds, small toothed cetaceans and largewhale species in waters off Ecuador?s coast,and one of the first ones along the Pacific coast of South America. This contributionis part of the ESRSpecial: Marine vertebrate bycatch: problems and solutions (https://www.int-res.com/journals/esr/specials/marine-vertebrate-bycatch-problems-and-solutions/). The articleis an Open Access paper and can be found at the following links; https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v41/p289-302/ https://www.int-res.com/articles/esr2020/41/n041p289.pdf Fulldetails and abstract: Citation: Castro C, Van WaerebeekK, C?rdenas D, Alava JJ (2020) Marine mammals used as bait for improvised fishaggregating devices in marine waters of Ecuador, eastern tropical Pacific.Endangered Species Research 41:289-302. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01015 ? *Correspondence: Juan Jos? Alava, j.alava at oceans.ubc.ca; jalavasa at sfu.ca ? Online publication date: March 12,2020 ? Abstract Fish aggregating devices (FADs) arefloating objects typically used to attract and capture pelagic fish inindustrial tuna fisheries. This study documents 9 cases, involving 31 marinemammals, of incidentally captured, killed or otherwise retrieved cetaceans andpinnipeds which were used, or presumably used, as bait for improvised fishaggregation devices (IFAD) by artisanal fishers in coastal Ecuador. At least 3species of small cetaceans were affected, including pantropical spotted dolphinStenella attenuata, short-finned pilot whale Globicephalamacrorhynchus, pygmy killer whale Feresa attenuata and anunidentified small delphinid, as well as South American sea lions Otariabyronia which were reportedly killed on purpose for this fishing practice.A sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus and a humpback whale Megapteranovaeangliae were presumably found floating at sea and opportunisticallyexploited as FADs. The South American sea lion represented 80.6% of marinemammals used as bait associated with FADs (25 sea lions out of 31 marinemammals), while the remaining 5 (possibly 6) cetacean species represented19.4%. This is the first report of baited FADs in Ecuador, the extent of whichis still unknown. This fishing technique has not been documented in othernations along the west coast of South America, although baiting of gillnetswith marine mammal parts is common in Peru. Without fisheries management andregulation, this illegal fishing practice could rapidly expand and lead tofurther direct kills and conservation problems for targeted marine mammalpopulations in the eastern tropical Pacific. A bottom-up fisheries policy inconcert with community-based conservation to ban the use of marine mammals asFAD bait is recommended ? Keywords: Cetacean ? Pinniped ? Sea turtles ? Bycatch ? Bait ?Conservation ? Fisheries management ? South America ? Pacific Ocean ? Wishingyou all well and stay safe. ? Juan Jose Alava -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From DAnderson at cascadiaresearch.org Sat Jun 20 13:49:49 2020 From: DAnderson at cascadiaresearch.org (David Anderson) Date: Sat, 20 Jun 2020 20:49:49 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Is it all about the haul? Pelagic false killer whale interactions with longline fisheries in the central North Pacific Message-ID: We are pleased to announce the publication of a new paper titled Is it all about the haul? Pelagic false killer whale interactions with longline fisheries in the central North Pacific Anderson, D., Baird, R.W., Bradford, A.L., Oleson, E.M., 2020. Is it all about the haul? Pelagic false killer whale interactions with longline fisheries in the central North Pacific. Fish. Res. 230, 105665 You can download the PDF free for the next 50 days at https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bGRt_3nFpOJXc A B S T R A C T Pelagic false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are killed or seriously injured in the Hawai?i-based deep-set longline fishery more than any other cetacean, with bycatch regularly exceeding allowable levels. Telemetry data from five satellite-tagged whales (from three groups) and longline logbook entries (4182 sets) from the Hawai?i-based longline fisheries are used to assess the range of the population and potential interactions with longline gear. A switching state-space model with a 4 -h time step was used to assess the behavior of the tagged whales. Two of the groups remained within the U.S. EEZ surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, while one group spent 87.5 % of its time in international waters to the east of the Hawaiian archipelago. Tagged whales came within 100 km of only 26 sets over the 184 days of tag data, with only two of the three groups coming within 50 km of a set. Only twice were whales (from only one group) known to approach closely enough to interact with gear, during two series of three deep-sets, with only one of the six sets recording no catch (indicating probable catch depredation). Movement towards the sets was most dramatic during the haul phase, in one case the tagged whales moved almost 100 km towards the gear in 7 h. During one set in each of the two interactions, whale behavior changed to ?area restricted search? (indicative of foraging) during periods that overlapped with hauling of the gear. Overall, our results show that pelagic false killer whales spend a relatively small proportion of their time interacting with U.S. longline gear, and suggest that hauling gear may be an important cue initiating interactions. Dave Anderson ----- Dave Anderson Research Biologist, Cascadia Research Collective Cascadia Research Collective 218 1/2 W. 4th Avenue Olympia, WA 98501 USA Follow Cascadia on Facebook Watch us on YouTube Cascadia's Hawai'i web page -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ctclark at alaska.edu Sun Jun 21 12:16:13 2020 From: ctclark at alaska.edu (Casey Clark) Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2020 12:16:13 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Determining Pacific walrus sex using mandible measurements Message-ID: <34DB03AB-DA92-4252-BBE8-64DB20A71569@alaska.edu> Hello MARMAM Members, On behalf of my colleagues and myself, I am pleased to share our new paper ?Determining sex of adult Pacific walruses from mandible measurements?, now available on early view at the Journal of Mammalogy. The article can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/2BtEpfC Taylor, N., C.T. Clark, N. Misarti, and L. Horstmann. 2020. Determining sex of adult Pacific walruses from mandible measurements. Journal of Mammalogy: XX(X):1-10 doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaa051 Abstract: Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) play a vital role in Arctic marine ecosystems and the subsistence lifestyle of Alaska Native communities. Museum collections contain numerous archaeological and historic walrus specimens that have proven useful in a variety of studies; however, for many cases, the sex of these specimens is unknown. Sexes of adult (> 5 years determined by tooth aging) Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus) have been accurately determined in previous studies using mandible measurements. We tested the validity of this approach for Pacific walruses, and used full fusion of the mandibular symphysis to define adults. Using high precision digital calipers (? 0.01 mm), four measurements were taken either on the left or right side of 91 walrus mandibles: 80 modern mandibles (70 known-sex specimens; 10 unknown-sex specimens) and 11 archaeological mandibles of unknown sex. We used linear discriminant function analysis (LDFA) to determine what measurements best distinguished Pacific walrus males from females. Minimum mandible thickness had the most predictive power, whereas mandible length, height, and depth, were less predictive. Posterior probabilities indicated that LDFA classified the known-sex Pacific walruses with 100% accuracy, and unknown sex with ? 90% probability. The ability to define the sex of unknown individuals accurately could greatly increase the sample size of future projects dealing with skeletal remains, and will improve future research efforts. I am happy to provide a PDF of the article upon request. Please email me (ctclark at uw.edu ) or the lead author (nataylor2 at alaska.edu ) if you are interested, or if you have any questions about the paper. Best regards, Casey Clark JISAO Postdoc University of Washington ctclark at uw.edu -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From francesco at idsse.ac.cn Mon Jun 22 03:14:22 2020 From: francesco at idsse.ac.cn (Francesco Caruso) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 18:14:22 +0800 (GMT+08:00) Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Influence of acoustic habitat variation on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in shallow waters of Hainan Island, China Message-ID: <54b95b79.1b458.172db858ccc.Coremail.francesco@idsse.ac.cn> Dear MARMAM readers, we are pleased to share the publication of our Article in The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. Francesco Caruso, Lijun Dong, Mingli Lin, Mingming Liu, Wanxue Xu, and Songhai Li. Influence of acoustic habitat variation on Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in shallow waters of Hainan Island, China. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 147:6, 3871-3882. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0001384. ABSTRACT: The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (IPHD, Sousa chinensis) is a coastal species inhabiting tropical and warm-temperate waters. The presence of this vulnerable dolphin was recently discovered in shallow waters southwest of Hainan Island, China. The influence of the acoustic habitat on the distribution and behavior of IPHD was investigated using an array of passive acoustic platforms (n=6) that spanned more than 100 km of coastline during a 75-day monitoring period. Its presence was assessed within 19 215 five-min recordings by classifying echolocation clicks using machine learning techniques. Spectrogram analysis was applied to further investigate the acoustic behavior of IPHD and to identify other prominent sound sources. The variation in the ambient noise levels was also measured to describe the spatiotemporal patterns of the acoustic habitat among the different sampling sites. Social and feeding sounds of IPHD (whistles and click-series of pulsed sounds) were identified together with other biological sources (finless porpoise, soniferous fishes, and snapping shrimps) and anthropogenic activities (ship noise, explosions, and sonars). Distribution, acoustic behavior, and habitat use of this nearshore dolphin species were strongly influenced by the abundance of soniferous fishes, and under similar conditions, the species was more acoustically active in locations with lower noise levels. Best regards, Francesco Francesco Caruso, Ph.D. - Postdoctoral Researcher Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering Chinese Academy of Sciences 28 Luhuitou Road, Sanya, 572000, China -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 43103 bytes Desc: not available URL: From odei.garcia19 at gmail.com Mon Jun 22 02:39:34 2020 From: odei.garcia19 at gmail.com (Odei Garcia-Garin) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:39:34 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: No evidence of microplastics in Antarctic fur seal scats Message-ID: Dear MARMAM list members, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share our recent study: No evidence of microplastics in Antarctic fur seal scats from a hotspot of human activity in Western Antarctica Garcia-Garin, O., Garc?a-Cuevas, I., Drago, M., Rita, D., Parga, M., Gazo, M., Cardona, L. (2020). No evidence of microplastics in Antarctic fur seal scats from a hotspot of human activity in Western Antarctica. Science of the Total Environment, 737, 140210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140210 Abstract: Microplastics are present in almost all seas and oceans, including the Southern Ocean. To the south of the Antarctic Polar Front, microplastics are present mainly west to the Antarctic Peninsula, but information is scarce about their impact on the pelagic food web. Here, we analysed 42 scats of male Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) collected in late summer at Deception Island (South Shetland Islands), which allowed us to assess the presence of microplastics in the pelagic food web of the Bransfield Strait (Western Antarctica). Furthermore, we analysed the hard remains of prey in the scats to characterize the diet of fur seals. Hard remains recovered from the scats revealed that male Antarctic fur seals foraged on krill and myctophid fishes during late summer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) revealed that none of the seven fragments and three fibres recovered from their scats were microplastics, but rather were silicate minerals and chitin. These results suggest that the levels of microplastic pollution in the pelagic food web of the Bransfield Strait are extremely low. The paper can be accessed using the following link: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bHCAB8ccoHEV Or send me an e-mail (odei.garcia at ub.edu) for the full text. All the best, Odei Garcia-Garin -- Odei Garcia-Garin, PhD student Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ci?ncies Ambientals, Facultat de Biologia, Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona, 08028. +34 695100641 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From marieltdoeschate at gmail.com Mon Jun 22 09:30:30 2020 From: marieltdoeschate at gmail.com (Mariel ten Doeschate) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 17:30:30 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] First confirmed stranding of a True's beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus) in the UK Message-ID: Dear all, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of this short note on the first confirmed stranding of a *True?s beaked whale* (*Mesoplodon mirus*) in Britian, which was published in Mammal Communications earlier this month. The 490cm long female stranded on a rocky shore at Kearvaig Bay, in the north-west of Scotland, on the 29th January 2020. This finding adds a fourth new cetacean species to strand on the UK shoreline since stranding surveillance schemes began in 1990. The paper is freely available and can be downloaded via the following link: https://www.mammal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/MC2003_TruesBeakedWhale-1.pdf Corresponding author: Andrew Kitchener, (a.kitchener at nms.ac.uk) Many thanks, Mariel *Mariel ten Doeschate MSc* Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme Department of Veterinary and Animal Science Northern Faculty, SRUC An L?chran, 10 Inverness Campus Inverness, IV2 5NA www.strandings.org +44 (0) 7990513589 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From escajeda at uw.edu Mon Jun 22 08:01:50 2020 From: escajeda at uw.edu (Erica Escajeda) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 08:01:50 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Recent publication on the acoustic presence of fin whales in the Bering Strait region Message-ID: Dear MARMAM Community, It is with great pleasure that I, along with my co-authors, announce our recent publication: Variability in fin whale (*Balaenoptera physalus*) occurrence in the Bering Strait and southern Chukchi Sea in relation to environmental factors *Abstract*: Fin whales (*Balaenoptera physalus*) are common summer visitors to the Pacific Arctic, migrating through the Bering Strait and into the southern Chukchi Sea to feed on seasonally-abundant prey. The abundance and distribution of fin whales in the Chukchi Sea varies from year-to-year, possibly reflecting fluctuating environmental conditions. We hypothesized that fin whale calls were most likely to be detected in years and at sites where productive water masses were present, indicated by low temperatures and high salinities, and where strong northward water and wind velocities, resulting in increased prey advection, were prevalent. Using acoustic recordings from three moored hydrophones in the Bering Strait region from 2009?2015, we identified fin whale calls during the open-water season (July?November) and investigated potential environmental drivers of interannual variability in fin whale presence. We examined near-surface and near-bottom temperatures (T) and salinities (S), wind and water velocities through the strait, water mass presence as estimated using published T/S boundaries, and satellite-derived sea surface temperatures and sea-ice concentrations. Our results show significant interannual variability in the acoustic presence of fin whales with the greatest detections of calls in years with contrasting environmental conditions (2012 and 2015). Colder temperatures, lower salinities, slower water velocities, and weak southward winds prevailed in 2012 while warmer temperatures, higher salinities, faster water velocities, and moderate southward winds prevailed in 2015. Most detections (96%) were recorded at the mooring site nearest the confluence of the nutrient-rich Anadyr and Bering Shelf water masses, ~35 km north of Bering Strait, indicating that productive water masses may influence the occurrence of fin whales. The disparity in environmental conditions between 2012 and 2015 suggests there may be multiple combinations of environmental factors or other unexamined variables that draw fin whales into the Pacific Arctic. *Citation*: Escajeda, E., K. M. Stafford, R. A. Woodgate, and K. L. Laidre. 2020. Variability in fin whale (*Balaenoptera physalus*) occurrence in the Bering Strait and southern Chukchi Sea in relation to environmental factors. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 104782, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2020.104782. Please feel free to contact me for a .pdf copy. Wishing you all health and happiness, Erica Escajeda -- PhD Student Laidre Lab School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences University of Washington ericaescajeda.weebly.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From rjoy at sfu.ca Mon Jun 22 11:01:42 2020 From: rjoy at sfu.ca (Ruth Joy) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:01:42 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Postdoc in Machine Learning and Killer Whale Acoustics Message-ID: Dear MARMAM-Users, We are pleased to announce the following position for a Postdoctoral Researcher. We welcome all applicants, however due to COVID travel restrictions, if you are not in Canada already, please check if you are able to obtain a work permit and travel provisions for Canada. The project Only 72 Southern Resident Killer Whale individuals remain as of February 2020, the population cannot risk any injuries or mortalities from ships that transit through their habitat. The goal is to automatically detect whale sounds from underwater acoustic signals so as to alert ships of their presence to reduce the risk of collisions. The research goals involve development of machine learning tools for under-water acoustic signals and extend into uncertainty quantification and sequential experimental design. A deep learning approach will be used to develop a whale detector from a catalog of labelled sounds from different killer whale types and ambient sounds. In order to validate and improve the whale detector, an active learning (human-in-the-loop) approach will be developed to prioritize new annotation tasks for the human analyst. The end result will be integrated into open-source software, including a plug-in for PAMGuard for use by people working in marine mammal acoustics. There is room for applied and methodological research. The team: Ruth Joy, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences and the School of Environmental Science, Simon Fraser University Dave Campbell, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Carleton University. Oliver Kirsebom, Marine Environmental Research Infrastructure for Data Integration and Application Network (MERIDIAN), Dalhousie University Fabio Frazao, Institute for Big Data Analytics, Dalhousie University *Steven Bergner*, Big Data Centre, Simon Fraser University *Scott Veirs*, Orcasound open-source software project What the supervisors are offering: The intent is to build your research program, boost your employability, and build your professional network, while saving the whales. This post-doctoral opening is designed to ensure collaborative and networking opportunities for the candidate. There is a clear target research project, but the candidate will have academic freedom to become involved in other research projects that align with their career goals. Opportunities to Build Academic Collaborations Across Canada: When travel becomes realistic once again, the project has funding for the candidate to spend collaborative time at Simon Fraser University, as well as Dalhousie University. We want to help you to develop career connections across Canada. While being hosted in Ottawa, the candidate will be introduced to a network of collaborators at government research labs such as the National Research Council of Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans, as well as other academic institutions. Details Salary: $65,000 per year plus travel. Project duration: 2 years Location: Carleton University, Ottawa but we understand the world is strange these days and needs some flexibility. Qualifications: - The candidate must have experience working with real data. - The candidate must have strong computing skills in R and/or python. - The candidate should have a skillset emphasizing computational statistics, statistical computing, and/or machine learning. - The candidate would ideally have interests / strengths in some of: statistical algorithms, high performance computing, audio signal processing, ecological modelling, computational statistics, state space modelling, Bayesian sampling algorithms, or hierarchical modelling. To Apply Send an email to: RuthJoy and DaveCampbell With the subject ?Postdoc: Save the Whales?, please include your potential start date in your cover letter. Deadline: July 15th, 2020, or until the position is filled. For any questions do not hesitate to contact me. Best regards, Ruth Joy. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com Tue Jun 23 03:27:43 2020 From: lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com (Lydia Tivenan) Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2020 11:27:43 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Last Call - Bycatch mitigation research equipment competition Message-ID: *LAST CALL 1 week left to apply - Chance to win marine acoustic equipment for bycatch mitigation research!* To celebrate the recent publication, "Assessing the Effects of Banana Pingers as Bycatch Mitigation Device for Harbour Porpoises *(Phocoena phocoena)"* by Omeyer et al., 2020, Fishtek Marine in collaboration with Chelonia LTD are running an exciting competition, for marine mammals scientists working in bycatch mitigation research. We are giving away $8000 of marine acoustic equipment (x2 C-PODs, x1 cycling Banana pinger). *Who should apply?* Anyone working with fisheries with the aim of reducing cetacean bycatch and ideally with the ability to publish scientific research. Applicants should demonstrate a drive and strategy to achieve a conservation outcome on a regional scale in the next 3 years. We would also welcome Government regulators and fisheries authorities looking to comply with the new Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) import provisions to apply. Preference for those working in the gill, drift and set net fisheries with cetacean bycatch issues and those working with Narrow Band High Frequency species (NBHF) and protected species. **Deadline for applications 30th June 2020** Read Omeyer et al., 2020 (open access) paper: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00285/full For more information about Fishtek Marine and how to apply: https://www.fishtekmarine.com/competition/ Find out more about Chelonia LTD: https://www.chelonia.co.uk/ Many thanks, Lydia *Lydia Tivenan ? *Bycatch Mitigation Assistant, Fishtek Marine Ltd. Unit 1a Webbers Way, Dartington, Devon. TQ9 6JY. United Kingdom. *t.* +44 (0)1803 225253 *t.* +44 (0)7963 161736 *e.* lydia.tivenan at fishtekmarine.com *w.* http://www.fishtekmarine.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From selina at dmad.org.tr Mon Jun 22 04:18:10 2020 From: selina at dmad.org.tr (Selina Brouwer) Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2020 13:18:10 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Remote Internship Message-ID: Dear all, *Please find below details of our Remote Internship with DMAD* The borders of many countries remain closed and it is currently almost impossible to travel safe due to the outbreak of COVID-19, but that doesn't mean that you can't benefit from our knowledge and develop your career or get help with your thesis remotely. You can receive both research and public outreach experience working with the DMAD team. http://www.dmad.org.tr/remote-internships WHO ARE DMAD AND WHAT DO WE DO? DMAD - Marine Mammals Research Association have scientific projects running in Turkey, Montenegro and Albania. We conduct long-term studies of marine mammals in Istanbul, Antalya, the Levantine Sea, Montenegrin coastal waters and 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 hydrocarbon exploration. Our wider attention focuses on the promotion and implementation of awareness initiatives targeted at the local community. More details on the projects can be found here: http://www.dmad.org.tr/our-projects ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP: The DMAD team provides lectures and training as well as constant support. You will be given the chance to learn the most popular methodologies used in marine mammal research including: -Cetacean species identification within the Mediterranean -Population statuses and threats to marine mammals within the Mediterranean -Software used in the field (Pythagoras, Logger 2010) -Data analysis using GIS, R, Distance, Mark -Passive Acoustic Monitoring using PamGuard -Residency Pattern Analysis -Scientific support on manuscript and technical report writing including thesis supervision-Population PARTICIPATION FEE: The internship is for 2 months and is about 100 hours and requires a contribution fee of 380euro, which fully goes to supporting the project. WHATS INCLUDED IN THE FEE: -PDF copies of the training and lectures -Audio recordings -Scientific support through weekly Skype calls -Real data and practical examples to work through -Certification HOW TO APPLY Our next Remote Internship starts on the 20th of July 2020 and has a limited number of places. Email your CV and cover letter to info at dmad.org.tr, explaining the subject of your thesis in the cover letter. If you wish to have more info about our other internships and work please take a look at some of our web pages and social media: Our research: http://www.dmad.org.tr/our-projects Our remote internships: http://www.dmad.org.tr/remote-internships Our publications: http://www.dmad.org.tr/our-publications Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinemammalsresearch/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DMADforNature/ All the best, DMAD team *info at dmad.org.tr * *www.dmad.org.tr * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From elisabeth.bogle at h-mar.org Tue Jun 23 16:19:38 2020 From: elisabeth.bogle at h-mar.org (elisabeth.bogle at h-mar.org) Date: Tue, 23 Jun 2020 16:19:38 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] Marine Animal Response Internships in Hawaii Message-ID: <20200623161938.bffb6d5d2fd7edfb4b3b555b3ddb0f1c.37085c5ffa.mailapi@email25.godaddy.com> JOIN OUR FIELD RESPONSE TEAM on the beautiful island of Oahu in the State of Hawaii. We are accepting applications for interns for our Fall 2020 internship period. The deadline is July 31st, however, applications will be reviewed as they come in, and positions will be assigned as responses are received so apply soon. Here is more detail about this opportunity. ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR) is the field operations arm of Hawaii Marine Mammal Alliance Inc. and is the largest Hawaii-based non-profit marine species conservation and response organization. We cover nearly 300 miles of coastline on the islands of Oahu and Molokai with our team of volunteers, interns and staff. We are a U.S. based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation, conservation and stewardship of Hawaii's protected marine species and our ocean ecosystem. We focus our work on marine species whose natural behaviors and habitat put animals in close proximity to and are therefore most affected by human impacts. These species include the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, the threatened green sea turtle, the endangered hawksbill sea turtle and several vulnerable seabird species. HMAR is supported by private donations, corporate funding and government grants and operates under partnerships with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the State of Hawaii and others. More information about HMAR is available at http://h-mar.org. FIELD OUTREACH AND SUPPORT (FSO) TEAM INTERN DUTIES: -Responding to sightings of endangered or threatened marine species such as Hawaiian monk seals and sea turtles to provide shoreline response to haul-outs and strandings. -Perform or assist in field escalations, interventions, stranding support and rescues. -Report on animal behavior, provide animal assessment information, provide photo-documentation and other important data used in protected marine species research, health management and species recovery efforts. -Perform outreach to the public to teach sustainable human interaction and fishery behaviors and encourage stewardship of protected marine species and the ocean ecosystem. -Participate in dispatch and reporting activity such as the taking and documenting phone call reports of marine species activity, coordinating field response activity, data entry and generating reports. LOCATION: These positions require on-island travel throughout the island of Oahu in the State of Hawaii. FIELD SUPPORT AND OUTREACH (FSO) INTERN GENERAL REQUIREMENTS: -This is an un-paid internship that requires the intern to live on the island of Oahu in the State of Hawaii for the period beginning 2 weeks prior to the start of the internship until the end of the internship. The intern is responsible for all lodging, living and transportation costs associated with the internship. -U.S. citizenship or possession of a passport and all applicable visas and work permits are needed prior to and during the internship period. -18 or more years of age. -English language fluency. -Must be a degree-seeking student or a graduate of a college or university program associated with one of the following courses of study: marine biology, marine ecology, conservation, environmental science or a related field. -Minimum grade point average (GPA). For college/university graduates, a 2.7 cumulative GPA prior to the internship. For current students, a 2.7 cumulative GPA prior to and during the internship. -If college credit for this internship is desired it is the responsibility of the intern to obtain necessary approvals from the applicable college or university. -Ability to walk in sandy, rocky and unstable shoreline conditions for 2 miles. - Ability to work outdoors in a sunny, rainy, windy and hot climate. -Ability to lift and carry a minimum of 75 pounds for 100 feet in shoreline beach and rocky conditions. -Ability to swim required. -Ability to maintain a calm demeanor in potentially stressful conditions. -Possess a team-based work ethic and attitude. -Acceptance of our Intern Policies, Waivers, Releases and Indemnifications agreement. -Attend mandatory in-field or classroom training sessions as required. - Possess an interest in and a desire to engage with the public. - Must have access to a reliable car or truck (truck preferred) during the internship period. Motorcycles or scooters will not be sufficient. -Possession of a valid driver's license. -Proof of automobile insurance carrying Hawaii minimum liability coverage levels. -Access to a cellular phone with 4G data service and camera. -Access to a digital camera (not a smartphone) with at least a 35X zoom lens and Wi-Fi capability. If it does not have wifi capability, you can buy an adapter. FIELD SUPPORT AND OUTREACH INTERNSHIP ACTIVITY EXPECTATIONS: - Internship term: Minimum of 3 months (may be extended for up to 1 year upon mutual agreement). Start date for 3-month minimum internship is somewhat flexible, but must be between August 15th and September 30th, 2020. Interns must be on Oahu, settled and ready to begin training at least 2 weeks prior to the internship start date. -Hours per week: 20 hours minimum, however, due to the unpredictable nature of marine animal response, the intern may sometimes be required to work beyond, or outside of, their normal scheduled hours. Work hours flexibility is required. Travel time to and from training and field response locations is not included in these minimum hours. The intern must be able and willing to work flexible hours including weekends and holidays. -The intern must be available for response anywhere on the Island of Oahu in the State of Hawaii. FIELD SUPPORT AND OUTREACH INTERNSHIP DEADLINE AND APPLICATION PROCESS: The deadline for Fall 2020 internships is July 31, 2020, however, applications will be reviewed as they come in and internship positions will be assigned as they are received so apply soon. To apply, please go to http://h-mar.org/jointheteam/ and complete the online application. IN ADDITION to completion of the online application, please submit the following information via email to elisabeth.bogle at h-mar.org A cover letter of interest, maximum of 1 page, including your dates of availability. Confirmation that you have, or will have, access to a reliable car or truck during the internship period (truck preferred). A resume describing your training, experience, relevant skills and GPA (maximum of 2 pages). Names and contact information for three references. Your application cannot be considered unless both the online application and the required documents listed above are received. We look forward to receiving your application and thank you for your interest in Hawaii Marine Animal Response (HMAR). Elisabeth Pendergrass Bogle Field Support & Outreach Lead Internship Manager Hawaii Marine Animal Response elisabeth.bogle at h-mar.org Direct: 404-323-6318 Sighting Hotline: (808) 220-7802? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From swild at ab.mpg.de Thu Jun 25 08:50:07 2020 From: swild at ab.mpg.de (Wild, Sonja) Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2020 15:50:07 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] NEW PUBLICATION: Integrating genetic, environmental and social networks to reveal transmission pathways of a dolphin foraging innovation Message-ID: <1edc1354eea04efbb5e9395f1183fd97@ab.mpg.de> Dear MARMAM colleagues, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in Current Biology: Sonja Wild, William J.E. Hoppitt, Simon J. Allen, Michael Kr?tzen. Integrating genetic, environmental and social networks to reveal transmission pathways of a dolphin foraging innovation. Current Biology. 25 June 2020. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.069 Summary: Cultural behavior, that transmitted among conspecifics through social learning [1], is found across various taxa [2?6]. Vertical social transmission from parent to offspring [7] is thought to be adaptive because of the parental generation being more skilled than maturing individuals. It is found throughout the animal kingdom, particularly in species with prolonged parental care e.g. [8,9]. Social learning can also occur among members of the same generation [4,10,11] or between older, non-parental individuals and younger generations [7] via horizontal or oblique transmission, respectively. Extensive work on primate culture has shown that horizontal transmission of foraging behavior is biased toward species with broad cultural repertoires [12], and those with increased levels of social tolerance [13,14], such as great apes. Vertical social transmission has been established as the primary transmission mechanism of foraging behaviors in the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) population of Shark Bay, Western Australia [6,9,15,16]. Here, we investigated the spread of another foraging strategy, ?shelling? [17], whereby some dolphins in this population feed on prey trapped inside large marine gastropod shells. Using a multi-network version of ?network-based diffusion analysis? (NBDA), we show that shelling behavior spreads primarily through non-vertical social transmission. By statistically accounting for both environmental and genetic influences, our findings thus represent the first evidence of non-vertical transmission of a foraging tactic in toothed whales. This research suggests there are multiple transmission pathways of foraging behaviors in dolphins, highlighting the similarities between cetaceans and great apes in the nature of the transmission of cultural behaviors. The article can be downloaded under: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.05.069 Video abstract here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9nc3-pz7Tc Want a copy? Have a question? Email me on: swild at ab.mpg.de Cheers, Sonja Wild & co-authors ------------------------------------------------------- Sonja Wild Postdoctoral Researcher Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour - University of Konstanz Cognitive and Cultural Ecology Lab - Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior website: https://sites.google.com/view/sonjawild twitter: @wild_sonja -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From len.thomas at st-andrews.ac.uk Fri Jun 26 08:50:44 2020 From: len.thomas at st-andrews.ac.uk (Len Thomas) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2020 16:50:44 +0100 Subject: [MARMAM] Workshop registration open: Mark-recapture distance sampling, 24-25th August 2020 Message-ID: Mark recapture distance sampling training workshop Registration is now open for our latest online interactive training workshop, on mark-recapture distance sampling. Join us by video from anywhere around the world! For full details, and to register, please go to https://www.creem.st-andrews.ac.uk/mark-recapture-distance-sampling-workshop/ Workshop Overview Conventional distance sampling methods assume that all animals at zero distance are detected with certainty. However, in some situations this assumption is violated, and some animals are missed, causing a negative bias in the density and abundance estimates. This occurs on some shipboard surveys of marine mammals, for example, where animals may be missed on the trackline because they are underwater while the survey vessel passes, or because the sea conditions are rough so that even some animals right on the line are missed. The former (being underwater and so not available for detection) is often called availability bias and the latter perception bias. In this two-day workshop, we cover survey protocols and analytical methods for dealing with both perception bias and availability bias. The workshop is intended for those already familiar with the basics of distance sampling. Instructors Len Thomas and David Borchers Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling University of St Andrews Timing 24th and 25th August 2020 17:00-19:30 British Summer Time // 12:00-14:30 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) // 09:00-11:30 Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) Enrolment limit 15 participants Format and delivery method The workshop will be a mix of live online interactive sessions, delivered via videoconference software (Microsoft Teams), and computer exercises. There will be two sessions in total, on successive days, with a total class time of 4 hours (including breaks) and an additional computer exercise to complete after the first day and before the second. Exercises can be undertaken using Distance for Windows or R (via the mrds package). -- Len Thomas len.thomas at st-andrews.ac.uk lenthomas.org @len_thom Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling and School of Mathematics and Statistics The Observatory, University of St Andrews, Scotland KY16 9LZ Office: UK+1334-461801 Admin: UK+1334-461842 The University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532. From cgb at smruconsulting.com Fri Jun 26 03:25:12 2020 From: cgb at smruconsulting.com (Cormac Booth) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2020 10:25:12 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] Marine mammal job posting: St Andrews opportunities Message-ID: We are pleased to announce two new job marine mammal postings: SMRU Consulting ? Principal Scientist/Consultant: ?SMRU Consulting are looking to attract a highly motivated, experienced person with a passion for the application of robust, evidence-based approaches to the assessment, monitoring and management of anthropogenic impacts on marine mammals. The initial focus of this role will be to support the needs of our industry and government clients in dealing with challenges of marine mammal conservation in relation to the sustainable development of renewable energy projects. SMRU Consulting?s services span the breadth of the industry ? from the provision of project specific advice and technical services, to the delivery of strategic research projects, assessment and tools. We are looking for candidates with existing experience that can be applied to our current and future project portfolio, with a focus on the offshore wind sector, although there will be the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of sectors and projects. Much of this activity is specifically related to the potential for impacts from underwater noise, a stimulating and growing field of marine mammal science. We are keen therefore to attract talented candidates with experience in this area.? For full particulars please see: http://www.smruconsulting.com/job-vacancies/ CREEM/SMRU Consulting (shared position) ? Statistical Consultant (2 year post): ?This is a two year fixed-term post. We are looking for a statistical consultant to support both the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) and SMRU Consulting (SMRUC). The two groups have a history of successfully collaborating on applied projects that require statistical expertise. We require additional personnel to support this collaboration and allow us to be more agile in our responses to funding opportunities with short deadlines, which are quite common in calls from NGOs, industry, and some government agencies. In particular we would like to be more responsive to the increasing number of opportunities to engage with marine renewable energy initiatives. The post holder will be expected to generate funding income, in collaboration with CREEM and SMRUC staff, by responding to proposal calls and tenders, particularly those released by government and industry.? For full particulars please see: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/6839/0/271020/889/statistical-consultant-ar2369nb and http://www.smruconsulting.com/job-vacancies/ Dr Cormac Booth Principal Scientist [SMRU_Consulting_Horizontal_(rgb) (1)_smaller] SMRU Consulting | New Technology Building | North Haugh | St Andrews | Fife KY16 9SR | UK Email: cgb at smruconsulting.com |Tel: +44 (0)131 46 38 555 |Mob: +358 40 321 9235 | Main Office: +44-1334-464746 www.smruconsulting.com | Twitter: @SMRU_Consulting | http://www.linkedin.com/company/smru-marine?? P Please consider whether you really need a hard copy of this email before printing it - thank you NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This message, and any attachments, are intended solely for the addressee and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy this email. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from any virus, we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. SMRU Consulting is a trading name of SMRU Limited, which is a limited company registered in Scotland, Registered Number: SC296937. Registered Office: 5 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 8EJ. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4445 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From afahlman at whoi.edu Thu Jun 25 11:47:23 2020 From: afahlman at whoi.edu (Andreas Fahlman) Date: Thu, 25 Jun 2020 20:47:23 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] Blood and tissue gas solubility alters lung volume during diving Message-ID: Dear All We are happy to share our new paper that details how differences in blood and tissue gas solubility of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen results in changes in mass-balance and ung volume during diving. The reference, url and abstract are below and anyone wanting a pdf copy of the article can send an email to: afahlman at whoi.edu Thank you Andreas Reference: Fahlman, A., Sato, K., and Miller, P. (2020). Improving estimates of diving lung volume in air-breathing marine vertebrates. The Journal of Experimental Biology 223, jeb216846. DOI: 10.1242/jeb.216846 URL: https://jeb.biologists.org/content/223/12/jeb216846 Abstract: The air volume in the respiratory system of marine tetrapods provides a store of O2 to fuel aerobic metabolism during dives; however, it canalso be a liability, as the associated N2 can increase the risk of decompression sickness. In order to more fully understand the physiological limitations of different air-breathing marine vertebrates, it is therefore important to be able to accurately estimate the air volume in the respiratory system during diving. One method that has been used to do so is to calculate the air volume from glide phases ? periods of movement during which no thrust is produced by the animal ? which many species conduct during ascent periods, when gases are expanding owing to decreasing hydrostatic pressure. This method assumes that there is conservation of mass in the respiratory system, with volume changes only driven by pressure. In this Commentary, we use previously published data to argue that both the respiratory quotient and differences in tissue and blood gas solubility potentially alter the mass balance in the respiratory system throughout a dive. Therefore, near the end of a dive, the measured volume of gas at a given pressure may be 12?50% less than from the start of the dive; the actual difference will depend on the length of the dive, the cardiac output, the pulmonary shunt and the metabolic rate. Novel methods and improved understanding of diving physiology will be required to verify the size of the effects described here and to more accurately estimate the volume of gas inhaled at the start of a dive. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: smime.p7s Type: application/pkcs7-signature Size: 1487 bytes Desc: not available URL: From niemeyerattademo at yahoo.com.br Fri Jun 26 04:56:14 2020 From: niemeyerattademo at yahoo.com.br (=?UTF-8?Q?Fernanda_L=C3=B6ffler_Niemeyer_Attademo?=) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:56:14 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] Manatee Behavior - Illustrated Guide References: <1352894264.4069558.1593172574854.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1352894264.4069558.1593172574854@mail.yahoo.com> DearMARMAM-Users, ? It is withgreat pleasure that I, along with my co-authors, shared our book on manateebehavior. "ManateeBehavior - Illustrated Guide" The guidewas prepared by ICMBio, together with sirenian researchers in Brazil. Thematerial illustrates the various behaviors of the species, using simplelanguage, with didactic illustrations on the subject, so that the reader has abetter view of the manatee's activities and a standardized interpretation ofwhat is being observed. The"Manatee Behavior - Illustrated Guide" addresses guidelines on how todevelop research involving the behavior of Amazonian and marine manatees, fromresearch planning, choice of data collection methodologies, identification ofbehavior, interpretation and analysis of the results. Downloadnow and learn more about these amazing animals. Right link:?https://bit.ly/36o88Ci See thisand other publications there on our website. ICMBio / CMA publications https://bit.ly/3bXDalw -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From niemeyerattademo at yahoo.com.br Fri Jun 26 05:11:23 2020 From: niemeyerattademo at yahoo.com.br (=?UTF-8?Q?Fernanda_L=C3=B6ffler_Niemeyer_Attademo?=) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:11:23 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on aortic arch of Antillean manatee References: <1102845468.4074193.1593173483338.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <1102845468.4074193.1593173483338@mail.yahoo.com> DearMARMAM-Users, ? Dr Oliveira and I,together with our team, are happy to share our recently published article onaortic manatee bow with you. "Angioarchitectureof collateral arteries of the aortic arch of Antillean manatee (Trichechusmanatus manatus Linnaeus, 1758)" Abstract: The aortic arrangement is an important structureassociated with the maintenance of homeostasis. Based on this information, thisstudy was conducted to describe the collateral arteries of the aortic arch ofAntillean manatee and define the standard model for the species. Threespecimens, an adult male, adult female and a male neonate, all strandings onthe coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, were used. The study wasperformed in the Laboratory of Morphophysiology of Vertebrates of the FederalUniversity of Rio Grande do Norte, where in situ photographs were taken todemonstrate their topography. Subsequently, their hearts were removed and fixedin 10% formaldehyde and after 72?hr were dissected and analysed, obtainingschematic drawings and photographs of the vascular arrangement. The aortic archwas represented by three collateral arteries identified as the brachiocephalictrunk, left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery. This arrangementwas similar to that found for other sirenians, and yet, for other mammals likehooded seal, murine, margarita island capuchin, black?handed tamarin, Mongoliangerbil and human. The morphological similarity presented in this study with differentspecies of mammals, including humans, may contribute valuable information froman evolutionary point of view. ?Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/ahe.12477 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From StephanieStack at pacificwhale.org Fri Jun 26 17:07:03 2020 From: StephanieStack at pacificwhale.org (Stephanie Stack) Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2020 00:07:03 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] =?windows-1257?q?New_publication=3A_Spinner_dolphins_in_?= =?windows-1257?q?Hawai=91i?= Message-ID: On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to share our latest research paper on spinner dolphins in Hawai?i. Stack SH, Olson GL, Neamtu V, Machernis AF, Baird RW, Currie JJ (2020) Identifying spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris longirostris movement and behavioral patterns to inform conservation strategies in Maui Nui, Hawai?i. Marine Ecology Progress Series 644:187-197. ABSTRACT: Spinner dolphins in Hawai?i exhibit a predictable diurnal behavioral pattern which makes them vulnerable to human disturbance: feeding at night in offshore waters and resting during daytime in bays. There is concern that human activity, such as swimming with and viewing wild dolphins from vessels, is altering their natural behavioral patterns and preventing them from having adequate rest. In light of this, state and federal management agencies are proposing enhanced protection measures. Research on spinner dolphins has largely focused off Hawai?i Island and there are insufficient data from Maui Nui (Maui, L?na?i, Kaho?olawe, and Moloka?i) to inform appropriate management measures for the genetically distinct stock that resides around these islands. Using location data from 316 encounters between 1996 and 2019, we identified 2 hotspots for spinner dolphins within the region, located along west Maui and south L?na?i. The predominant behavior observed was traveling, and there was little resting behavior documented throughout the study period, with no resting behavior observed along the coastline of Maui. Our findings revealed that spinner dolphins use a wide variety of available habitat in Maui Nui and were observed resting both near the shore of L?na?i and in the channels between islands. Based upon these findings, the proposed lone area for closure in south Maui is inadequate for providing protection to spinner dolphins during resting hours, and we propose that the identified hotspots be considered as additional sites for closures, in addition to an approach limit for vessels transiting Maui Nui. To read more, the paper is open-access and freely available at https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v644/p187-197 Stephanie Stack Chief Biologist Pacific Whale Foundation www.pacificwhale.org/research -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gschorr at marecotel.org Fri Jun 26 22:15:45 2020 From: gschorr at marecotel.org (Greg Schorr) Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2020 22:15:45 -0700 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper on Cuvier's beaked whale diving behavior Message-ID: Dear colleagues, We are writing to share a link to our new paper, recently published in Marine Ecology Progress Series. Barlow, J. Schorr, G.S., Falcone, E.A., Moretti, D. 2020. Variation in dive behavior of Cuvier's beaked whales with seafloor depth, time-of-day, and lunar illumination. Marine Ecology Progress Series 644: 199-214. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13350 The paper can be downloaded from: https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v644/p199-214/ or you can email gschorr(at)marecotel.org, or any of the other authors directly for a copy. ABSTRACT: Depth distributions were analyzed from a study of 19 Cuvier?s beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) that were tagged with satellite transmitting tags off southern California. Over 113,000 depth measurements were made over the equivalent of ~200 sampling days. The mean foraging depth was 1,182 m (standard deviation, s.d. = 305 m) and the mean of the maximum depth of all foraging dives is 1,427 m (s.d. = 298 m). Mean foraging depths increased with seafloor depths up to a maximum of ~1,300 m at a seafloor depth of 1,900 m, but decreased slightly to a mean of ~1,200 m at seafloor depths of 2,000-4,000 m. Near-bottom habitat appears to be important for foraging; whales spent ~30% of their foraging time within 200 m of the bottom at seafloor depths of 1,000-2,000 m. However, little foraging time was spent near the bottom at seafloor depths greater than 2,000 m. The percentage of time spent at near-surface depths (< 50 m) was more than twice as high at night (25%) as during the day (12%). Lunar light also appears to affect diving, with 28% of dark nights and only 17% of brightly moon-lit nights spent at these near-surface depths. The apparent avoidance of surface waters during daytime and on brightly moon-lit nights is consistent with avoidance of visual predators. A considerably greater fraction of time was spent foraging at night (24.8%) than during the day (15.7%), possibly due to energetic constraints imposed by predator avoidance during the day Best regards, Greg -- Greg Schorr Research Scientist Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research 2468 Camp McKenzie Trail NW, Seabeck WA 98380-4513 206-931-4638 www.marecotel.org Follow MarEcoTel on Facebook Follow MarEcoTel on Twitter -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From carolrelvas at gmail.com Sun Jun 28 04:58:20 2020 From: carolrelvas at gmail.com (Carolina Relvas) Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2020 08:58:20 -0300 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication: Blowhole anomaly in pantropical spotted dolphin Message-ID: Dear MARMAM subscribers, We are pleased to announce the new publication: "Blowhole anomaly in pantropical spotted dolphin (Delphinidae: *Stenella attenuata*)". Relvas CI, Moore M, Milmann L. Blowhole anomaly in pantropical spotted dolphin (Delphinidae: *Stenella attenuata*). Mar Mam Sci. 2020;1?5. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12708 *Abstract* The note documented a blowhole anomaly in a pantropical spotted dolphin (*Stenella attenuata*) that occurred in offshore waters of South eastern Brazil (21?11?02.54?S, 39?54?37.74?W) at 1,539 m depths. During the observation an adult with a very distinguished blowhole was observed and the sequence of photos not only recorded the structure, but also the moment when the dolphin opened the blowhole for expiration, inspiration, and closure as it submerges again in the water. It appears that two functional blowholes are present in the individual, with separate nasal passages and blowhole-associated muscles that can be seen in action. The hypothesis of an ontogenetic anomaly since fetal development should not be discarded. The sequence of photographs showed that the individual had control over the closure of the vestibular bag using the closing musculature while submerging. During the sighting and confirmed by the photographs it was apparent that the individual was an adult, suggesting that it had a healthy life. An influence of the nasal apparatus configuration may exist for the individual's vocalization. We believe this is the first record of this type of anomaly in the respiratory tract of a functional odontocete. This article can be found at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/mms.12708 Please don?t hesitate to contact me directly for any queries ( carolrelvas at gmail.com) Best wishes, *MSc. Carolina Iozzi Relvas* Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From africanbioacoustics at gmail.com Mon Jun 29 03:05:11 2020 From: africanbioacoustics at gmail.com (ABC) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2020 12:05:11 +0200 Subject: [MARMAM] ABC Conference Going ONLINE Message-ID: [image: image.png]Please circulate this email to relevant mailing lists/to people of interest: *WE'RE GOING ONLINE!!!* 2nd - 5th November 2020 - Worldwide! In light of the global COVID-19 crisis, the ABC organization committee has decided to push forward with a hybrid conference, moving all presentations to an online space with an option of attending in-person in accordance with governmental restrictions. Through this decision, we hope to be more inclusive and to ensure the health and safety of all of our delegates! We are offering the same great opportunities to participate in the African Bioacoustics Community Conference, without the need to travel. >From the 2nd of November 2020, we'll be diving straight into 4 days of fascinating talks and poster presentations from scientists and researchers all over the world! This conference has a strong marine mammal focus, as acoustic methodology is a common and important tool in marine mammal research, used for passive acoustic monitoring, behavioural studies, and marine mammal conservation. As a result, there will be many talks concerning bioacoustics research done on marine mammals and a plenary presented by Prof Magnus Wahlberg on hearing in marine species. This year our focus is on even greater representation! We are seeking plenary speakers for the conference who are preferably living and working in Africa. Get in touch with us if you want to be considered for a plenary talk. *Abstract Deadline has been extended to: 15th August 2020* We sincerely hope that you will join us! Please visit our website and take note of the fees updates and changes to the conference deadlines and events. https://africanbioacoustic.wixsite.com/abcommunity Best regards, The ABC Team -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 504222 bytes Desc: not available URL: From m_jedensjo at hotmail.com Mon Jun 29 05:53:39 2020 From: m_jedensjo at hotmail.com (=?Windows-1252?Q?Maria_Jedensj=F6?=) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2020 12:53:39 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New publication on Tursiops taxonomy in Australian waters Message-ID: Dear all, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the following publication in Canadian Journal of Zoology: Taxonomy and distribution of bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops) in Australian waters: an osteological clarification. Abstract: Species relationships in the bottlenose dolphin (genus Tursiops Gervais, 1855) are controversial. We carried out a comprehensive osteological study of 264 skulls, including type specimens, and 90 postcranial skeletons of Tursiops spp. to address taxonomic uncertainties in Australia using two-dimensional (2D) measurements, and three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (3DGM), tooth and vertebral counts, and categorical data. Analyses provided support for the presence of two forms, aligned to the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus (Ehrenberg, 1832)) and the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)), including type specimens. The Burrunan dolphin (Tursiops australis Charlton-Robb, Gershwin, Thompson, Austin, Owen and McKechnie, 2011) fell well within T. truncatus for both 2D and 3DGM methods. Thirteen Tursiops spp. specimens, no T. australis specimens, were of intermediate size (2D) and could not be assigned to either species. For 3DGM data, there was a strong allometric influence and few non-allometric differences between species. Length and width of the cranium and rostrum were important discriminating variables. Tursiops aduncus was smaller, had more teeth, fewer vertebrae, and more erosion on the pterygoids and frontals than T. truncatus. Overall cranium shape was round in T. aduncus and angular in T. truncatus. Skull length of T. aduncus was smaller in low than in high latitudes. This study highlights the importance of large sample size, multiple analytical methods, and extensive geographical coverage when undertaking taxonomic studies. The full citation is: Jedensj?, M., Kemper, C.M., Milella, M., Willems, E. and Krutzen, M., 2020. Taxonomy and distribution of bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops) in Australian waters: an osteological clarification. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 98: 461?479. A full copy of the manuscript can be downloaded from https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjz-2018-0270, or a pdf can be emailed upon request from Maria (m_jedensjo at hotmail.com). Kind regards, Maria Jedensj? (on behaf of all co-authors) University of Z?rich, Switzerland South Australian Museum, Adelaide -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jhawse at islandpress.org Mon Jun 29 06:50:44 2020 From: jhawse at islandpress.org (Jen Hawse) Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2020 13:50:44 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] =?windows-1252?q?Read_the_e-book_=93Vaquita=94_for_free_?= =?windows-1252?q?this_summer!?= Message-ID: >From June 29 ? July 7, Island Press is offering the e-book Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime in the Sea of Cortez by Brooke Bessesen for free. This conservation detective story examines the world?s most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita. Living in Mexico?s Upper Gulf region, the ?panda of the sea? has seen its numbers drastically reduced in the past several decades. Who is to blame? Brooke Bessesen takes us on a journey to uncover the story. She interviews townspeople, fishermen, scientists, and activists, teasing apart a complex story filled with villains and heroes, a story whose outcome is unclear. In this fast-paced, soul-searing tale, Brooke learns that there are no easy answers when extinction is profitable. If you?d like to dive deeper into the subject we have a webinar and study/reader?s guide available as well. Read Vaquita, for free, now till July 7. Please share this with your network far and wide! Together, we can spread the word about this vulnerable species before it?s too late. Jen Hawse | Partnerships Manager | she, her Island Press 2000 M St NW, Suite 650 Washington, DC 20036 202.232.7933 x60 | http://www.islandpress.org Twitter: @IslandPress | Facebook.com/IslandPress Join our newsletter: http://bit.ly/IP-newsletter This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the addressee and may not be disclosed to or used by anyone other than the addressee. If you have received this e-mail in error, please advise the sender immediately and delete the email (and all attachments) from your computer system. Thank you. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From p.hostetter at archipelago.gr Mon Jun 29 23:53:31 2020 From: p.hostetter at archipelago.gr (Patrice Hostetter) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2020 09:53:31 +0300 Subject: [MARMAM] Job Posting: Head of Marine Mammal Research and Research Assistant Message-ID: Dear All, Please find information about two open positions of Head of Marine Mammal Research and Research Assistant at Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation *Head of Marine Mammal Research and Research Assistant* *ARCHIPELAGOS INSTITUTE OF MARINE CONSERVATION IN GREECE* http://archipelago.gr/en/ Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation is looking for a ?Head of Marine Mammal Research? and ?Research Assistant? to join us as soon as possible (July)at our research bases, located in the NE Aegean islands.The goal of the Archipelagos? Marine Mammal Research Team is to monitor the regional status of marine mammal and sea turtle populations and their habitats in the Aegean, an area where data relating to these species is largely deficient. By gathering data on species populations and their respective threats, the research team works to fill these knowledge-gaps, identifying critical habitats that are especially susceptible to human and environmental impacts. The primary role of the Head of Marine Mammal Research will be coordinating research projects, leading surveys, training and guiding interns, and general base management. The primary role of the Assistant will be to support the Marine Mammal Supervisors. The position will be open until filled. *ESSENTIAL REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:* ? *For **Head of Marine Mammal Research*: A Master?s degree in marine biology or related field; + preferably 2 or more years of marine mammal research experience. *For Assistant*: a Bachelor?s degree in a marine biology-related field. ? Managing and training students and volunteers and demonstrated leadership, supervision, and team-building skills. ? Knowledge of methods of data collection and principles and techniques of research and analysis, in particular: bioacoustics technics, P-ID, behaviour, GIS, data analysis and modelling. ? Previous experience in research conservation projects and field surveys on marine mammals. ? Able to conduct fieldwork in all weather conditions and be comfortable to spend a long time on a research vessel. ? Excellent verbal and written English communication skills and good computer skills. ? Ability to write scientific reports and papers. ? Work during weekends and holidays when required. ? Driving license. *PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: * Experience in field research projects on marine mammal, boat-based survey, bioacoustics and GIS. *Location*: Lipsi and Samos Islands, Greece. *We offer:* *For **Head of Marine Mammal Research:* salary according to the experience, accommodation and full board. *For Assistant*: accommodation and full board *APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:* Please submit a current resume (maximum 5 pages), list of three references, and a cover letter expressing your interest to info at archipelago.gr Regards, *Patrice Hostetter* *Head of Marine Mammal Research* *MSc in Marine Biology & Ecology* *Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation* *www.archipelago.gr * Marine Research Base: P.O. Box 42, Pythagorio, Samos 83103, Greece Telephone: +30 22730 61191 Fax: +30 22730 37533 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Joseph.Waldron at environment-agency.gov.uk Tue Jun 30 05:05:51 2020 From: Joseph.Waldron at environment-agency.gov.uk (Waldron, Joseph) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2020 12:05:51 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New vacancy - Natural England -Senior Specialist, Marine Mammal Message-ID: Natural England are currently seeking to fill various exciting roles, including: Senior Specialist, Marine Mammal Salary: ?31,493 - ?38,689 (Natural England's policy is to appoint at the salary minimum. However, for exceptional candidates, a higher starting salary may be considered.) Employment Type: Full-time, permanent role Location: Flexible location with UK (national travel required) Closing Date: 10th July 2020 The role Specialist roles underpin Natural England's position as a science-based organisation. The roles are highly varied, both building the evidence base and applying it to make a real difference to the natural environment. This is a great opportunity to shape decisions and future reforms across Natural England's sustainable development agenda with particular focus on marine mammals. Your varied and vital key tasks will include: - interpreting evidence and providing expert, practical advice to case officers and senior staff to mitigate environmental impacts and seek environmental enhancement - providing clear and timely evidence-based advice concerning the protection and monitoring of domestic and European protected sites in relation to development pressures. - assessing the impacts of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects upon the natural environment. - advising to ensure that regulatory reform and efficiency initiatives are informed and led by science. - providing discretionary chargeable advice for developers and licence applicants. - developing guidelines or standing advice to help assess impacts or guide developers or licence applicants. Our Chief Scientist Directorate is a great place to work; you'll find some of the country's leading environmental scientists here. Requirements We're looking for someone with an excellent understanding of marine mammals, their ecology and associated survey techniques. As a specialist, you will be keen to apply this to strategic solutions and practical advice to sectors such as oil and gas, renewable energy, nuclear and fisheries. With an excellent understanding of the relevant evidence base, you know how marine pollution and climate change could be affecting marine animals. You also have a good understanding of broader English marine ecology and ecosystems, have the know-how required to inform the management of Marine Protected Areas, and understand wider policies and roles within the marine environment. Working for Natural England Here at Natural England we are committed to creating an inclusive culture and environment building meaningful and supportive relationships between individuals, groups and organisations, where everyone feels valued and respected and see Natural England as a great place to work. We are as passionate about our people as we are about nature and want our people to thrive. Your professional and personal wellbeing is important to us and working here means you will have access to a wide range of benefits that enhance life inside and outside of work. Alongside our flexible working patterns, we offer generous annual leave, a contributory pension, staff recognition and salary sacrifice schemes, plus access to offers from well-known retailers and life-style service providers. We provide learning and professional development through apprenticeships, self-directed learning or through learning providers. We encourage membership in relevant bodies as an aid to your personal development. Why not access our coaching network to further support your career development? If you want to work somewhere where you'll be able to balance the requirements of your role with your responsibilities and interests outside of work, then these opportunities could be for you. For more information about Natural England and all of our current vacancies including this one, please visit our website here: https://naturalenglandcareers.org.uk/ Information in this message may be confidential and may be legally privileged. If you have received this message by mistake, please notify the sender immediately, delete it and do not copy it to anyone else. We have checked this email and its attachments for viruses. But you should still check any attachment before opening it. We may have to make this message and any reply to it public if asked to under the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act or for litigation. Email messages and attachments sent to or from any Environment Agency address may also be accessed by someone other than the sender or recipient, for business purposes. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From lw at osc.co.uk Tue Jun 30 08:47:48 2020 From: lw at osc.co.uk (Dr. Laura Williamson) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2020 15:47:48 +0000 Subject: [MARMAM] New paper: Binning-based inter-click interval data from free-ranging harbour porpoises Message-ID: On behalf of my colleagues, I am please to announce publication of the following paper: Ruffert, M., Todd, V.L.G., and Todd, I.B. (2020): Presentation of binning-based inter-click interval data from passive acoustic monitoring of free-ranging harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). The International Journal of Acoustics and Vibration 25, 209-218. ABSTRACT: C-PODs are used for Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) at an offshore open sea location in the German North Sea. Diel patterns of echolocation click trains are extracted from minimum inter-click interval (minICI) data by binning. The aim of this study is to reassess and refine minICI ranges of click train data with particular consideration to the binning widths. Emphasis is also placed on choosing an appropriate visualisation of these binned data. Key ecological results include presence of higher train rates during the day with intermediate minICI values defined by the range 6-28 ms and a higher train rate with short minICI values 1.25-2.00 ms at night. This indicates an increase in porpoise feeding behaviour, or change of style, at night. Click trains with long minICI values > 35 ms occur at an equal rate throughout both diel phases, suggesting a more routine behaviour, such as navigation. Results could be revealed only by judicious choice of binning widths, e.g. previously overlooked patterns within historical echolocation data. The classification methodology can be used to analyse echolocation trains from a variety of species and can be applied to any PAM data with the relevant click parameters. The manuscript can be downloaded free from: https://iiav.org/ijav/content/volumes/25_2020_36521584896523/vol_2/1583_fullpaper_1785791593513022.pdf Best wishes, Laura -- Dr. Laura Williamson Senior Analyst Ocean Science Consulting Limited (OSC) Spott Road, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1RR, Scotland, UK M: +44 (0)7528 545 167 T: +44 (0)1368 865 722 W: www.osc.co.uk . MMO or PAM requirement? We wrote the book. Now available on Amazon: www.marinemammalobserverhandbook.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: