February 2006 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Northwest Student Chapter Meeting - SMM
by Katie Luxa 22 Feb '06

22 Feb '06

Marine Mammal aficionados in the Pacific Northwest (AK, WA, OR, and BC): The annual spring meeting of the Northwest Student Chapter of the Society of Marine Mammalogy (NWSSMM) is quickly approaching. Were pleased to announce that this years meeting will take place for the first time in Bellingham, WA! We would like to invite all graduate (and undergraduate) students in the Pacific Northwest, who are entangled in the study of marine mammals, to attend and hopefully make a presentation about your research at the upcoming NWSSMM meeting, hosted this year by Western Washington University on April 8th and 9th, 2006. Dont forget to bring your advisors as well! Registration forms and abstracts for oral presentations are due by March 15th to Adria Banks (email below). Students at every stage in the research process are encouraged to present!! The purpose of the meeting is to gather students in a casual, relaxed atmosphere to share research ideas, tribulations, and triumphs. It is an opportunity to meet others across the region, collaborate, and generally have a good time in a supportive, unpretentious setting. The meeting registration form, details, and developments will be posted from here on out on the NWSSMM list serve, called Troll. If you havent already done so, please sign up on Troll by sending an email to troll-request(a)zoology.ubc.ca with subscribe in the subject. Sign up sooneven if youre not sure that you can attend in April, being on Troll will keep you in the loop. If you have any questions or would like any clarification about the upcoming meeting, please do not hesitate to contact Katie Luxa (luxak(a)cc.wwu.edu) or Adria (banksa2(a)cc.wwu.edu) If you have any questions about the NWSSMM, please get in touch with the chapter contact member Amanda Bradford (alb992(a)u.washington.edu) We look forward to seeing you in Bellingham soon! Sincerely, Adria Banks Katie Luxa MSc candidate MSc candidate Department of Biology Department of Biology Western Washington University Western Washington University Bellingham, Washington Bellingham, Washington banksa2(a)cc.wwu.edu luxak(a)cc.wwu.edu

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Report of second workshop on Right Whale Acoustics: Practical Applications in Conservation
by Gillespie, Douglas 22 Feb '06

22 Feb '06

The report of the Second Workshop on Right Whale Acoustics: Practical Applications in Conservation, is now available at www.ifaw.org/us/rightwhales (29page pdf document; 1.5 MBytes download). Executive Summary Since the first workshop on Right Whale Acoustics: Practical Applications in Conservation, held at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on 8-9 March 2001, a great deal of progress has been made in the field of passive acoustic monitoring for right whales. Although passive acoustic monitoring has successfully been used to find and study right whales on a number of projects, there is an urgent need to incorporate these new technologies into effective management measures to prevent the continuing deaths of North Atlantic right whales along the United States east coast. Right whales are killed by collisions with ships and due to entanglement in fishing gear. US Government agencies, working closely with scientific and other stakeholder groups are developing measures that it is hoped will reduce the number of deaths. The primary methods by which they aim to do this are: i) identifying high risk areas where concentrations of right whales are present (or likely to be present) and reducing the likelihood of interactions by re-routing ships and restricting the use of, or requiring modifications to, fishing gear in order to reduce entanglement risk; ii) in situations where re-routing vessels is not possible then speed restrictions may be imposed to reduce the chance of serious injury. Implementation of these measures requires the best possible data on right whale locations both over the long term (i.e. seasonal distribution) and also up to date real time information. The main technologies available in 2001 for long term monitoring used bottom mounted autonomous recording units (ARU's). Not only could the data from these devices not be accessed until they were retrieved, but analysis usually required a human operator to manually go through the data looking for right whale calls; a task that could take many months to complete. Since 2001, a great deal of progress has been made both in software algorithms to automatically detect right whale sounds and also in hardware solutions for data collection and transport. Today, technologies are available which can automatically collect, analyze and transmit to shore, detections of right whale vocalizations from remote locations in near real-time using advanced signal processing techniques and satellite communications technology. The workshop agreed that now that the basic technology for automatic detection of right whales has been developed, a number of possibilities arise. These include incorporating systems into the type of data buoy commonly operated by the National Data Buoy Center and possibly also on those operated by the US Coastguard. Approaches to these organizations to discuss possibilities would now be timely. One priority question that was identified is whether the 30nm radius around port entrances in the proposed rules for shipping in the mid-Atlantic is sufficient. Data from a line of ARUs deployed perpendicular to the shore in the South East US in 2005 could address this question. The workshop recommended that analysis of these data should be given high priority. The information reviewed at the 2001 workshop showed a reasonable understanding of the type of sounds that right whales produce and how often they vocalize in Northeast US waters. In addition, a number of studies have been underway that will provide further data in the near future on the frequency of call types in particular geographic locations and the behavioral context in which calls are produced. At least two studies that will help to assess the number of whales present from the received vocalizations are also ongoing. Understanding the behavioral context in which calls are made may help to predict the likelihood of persistent aggregations forming. Recent studies using multiple receivers with synchronized clocks have shown that it is possible to track right whales rather than just measure presence/absence in a general area. However, location errors are generally several hundreds of meters, which would not be adequate for the routing of individual ships around individual whales. Accuracy may be improved if detailed sound speed profile information is available. In summary, passive acoustic systems now have the potential to be a powerful tool in providing data for effective risk reduction measures. This workshop report attempts to provide an overview of what can, and in some cases what can't, be achieved with passive acoustic monitoring for right whales. It is our hope that this information will help to guide the implementation of effective management to reduce anthropogenic mortality in this species. Douglas Gillepsie dgillespie(a)ifaw.org Song of the Whale Research Team International Fund for Animal Welfare. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW -- www.ifaw.org) works to improve the welfare of wild and domestic animals throughout the world by reducing commercial exploitation of animals, protecting wildlife habitats, and assisting animals in distress. IFAW seeks to motivate the public to prevent cruelty to animals and to promote animal welfare and conservation policies that advance the well-being of both animals and people. This transmission is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain information that is proprietary, confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or use of the information contained herein (including any reliance thereon) is STRICTLY PROHIBITED. If you received this transmission in error, please immediately contact the sender and destroy the material in its entirety, whether in electronic or hard copy format. Thank you.

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New publications week 6
by Jan Herrmann 20 Feb '06

20 Feb '06

Dear all, here are some new publications of week 06 / 2006, which haven't been announced on MARMAM earlier AFAIK. By clicking the following link you are guided to a website, where the following references are linked to their according journal homepages. There you can find abstracts and contact information: http://www.mmbib.com/news.html Please do not contact MARMAM, the MARMAM editors or me for reprints. Thank you. Kindest Regards, Jan Herrmann CETACEA Beedholm, K., L.A. Miller, and M.-A. Blanchet (2006): Auditory brainstem response in a harbor porpoise show lack of automatic gain control for simulated echoes. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119(3): EL41-EL46. Brown, J.C., A. Hodgins-Davis, and P.J.O. Miller (2006): Classification of vocalizations of killer whales using dynamic time warping. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 119(3): EL34-EL40. Garrick, R.A. et al. (2005): Cytochrome P4501A is induced in endothelial cell lines from the kidney and lung of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. Aquatic Toxicology 76(3-4): 295-305. Sweeny, M.M. et al. (2005): Spondylitic changes in long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) stranded on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, between 1982 and 2000. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41(4): 717-727. PINNIPEDIA Burek, K.A. et al. (2005): Poxvirus infection of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 41(4): 745-752. Casaux, R., A. Baroni, and A. Ramón (2006): The diet of the Weddell Seal Leptonychotes weddellii at the Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology 29(4): 257-262. Kuhn, C.E. et al. (2006): Diving physiology and winter foraging behavior of a juvenile leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). Polar Biology 29(4): 303-307. Lake, S., H. Burton, and S. Wotherspoon (2006): Movements of adult female Weddell seals during the winter months. Polar Biology 29(4): 270-279. OTHERS / GENERAL Miller, N.J. et al. (2006): The surface activity of pulmonary surfactant from diving mammals. Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology 150(2-3): 220-232. Muir, D.C.G. et al. (2006): Brominated flame retardants in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Alaska, the Canadian Arctic, East Greenland, and Svalbard. Environmental Science & Technology 40(2): 449-455. Newman, L.A. and P.R. Robinson (2005): Cone visual pigments of aquatic mammals. Visual Neuroscience 22(6): 873-879. -- --> jan.herrmann -at - cetacea.de

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CARDIGAN BAY MARINE WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS
by CBMWC 20 Feb '06

20 Feb '06

CARDIGAN BAY MARINE WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERS Opportunities for Volunteering in association with the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, New Quay, West Wales 2005 For more information please visit our website <http://www.cbmwc.org/> www.cbmwc.org. Our 2005 Bottlenose dolphin photo-identification catalogue can be found on our website, (http://www.cbmwc.org/current_res/photo-idcatalogue.htm) We are recruiting willing volunteers to assist with our ongoing research and education programmes concerning the marine wildlife of Cardigan Bay, primarily the bottlenose dolphins (photo-identification), harbour porpoise and Atlantic grey seals. Volunteers are needed from mid March until mid October 2005. Undergraduate and postgraduate student research projects can be supported with boat time and office space. Please contact us to discuss feasible projects email: info(a)cbmwc.org. We support non-invasive and non-disruptive research. About the Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre (Est.1996): The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre, based in New Quay, West Wales is a non-profit organisation run by a group dedicated to working for and in the interest of Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre. The group is part of and affiliated to the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. Our headquarters are located in the heart of New Quay in a heritage building overlooking the beautiful beach and harbour. This facility is a valuable and important marine wildlife and conservation asset, which is used for interpretation, education and research and furthermore acts as a focal point of interest and reference for visitors to the area. The Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre is dedicated to promoting public awareness of the marine species, habitats and conservation of the marine wildlife in Cardigan Bay through research and education. It is also dedicated to forming links and working with established marine conservation and research groups to set up specific projects and new initiatives both within and outside the local area. The primary purpose of our ongoing research supported by Environment Wales and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, is to monitor the marine mammal populations found within Cardigan Bay's Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and beyond. We endeavour to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of the local marine wildlife and habitats, to encourage respect and conservation of these important entities and to ensure the long term well-being of these animals and the local marine environment. Our intention is to establish an enduring and stimulating education programme for all. We also aim to provide interpretational materials on the species and habitats in Cardigan Bay and to conduct public awareness initiatives. This is a fantastic opportunity for volunteers to make a positive contribution to marine wildlife research, to gain knowledge and experience of the species and habitats in Cardigan Bay and of public awareness and education programmes. Shorter Term Posts Research & Education Assistant Sightings Officer Longer Term Posts (5-6 Months) Bottlenose dolphin Photo-id catalogue Officer Education Officer We are also looking for volunteers with website building experience for a new project, volunteers with accountancy experience, fundraising experience and any other experience that may be of benefit to the CBMWC. For more information on the work you will be involved in please email: volunteer(a)cbmwc.org Volunteer positions are available from mid March until October 2006, commitment for a minimum of 2 weeks is required. Priority will be given to volunteers available for longer periods. Accommodation can be arranged for committed volunteers (approx 45 - 50GBP per week). Volunteers are responsible for their own food, travel and accommodation costs. Local volunteers are always welcome to join us. For further information about the work we do please visit - <http://www.cbmwc.org/> www.cbmwc.org To apply: Please contact us by email at volunteer(a)cbmwc.org and include a copy of your CV detailing your background and relevant experience together with a covering letter indicating when and how long you are available to volunteer. Or alternatively post your application to: Cardigan Bay Marine Wildlife Centre Patent Slip Building Glanmor Terrace New Quay Ceredigion SA45 9PS West Wales (UK) Tel: +44 (0) 1545 560032/ (0) 7796135490 www.cbmwc.org <http://www.cbmwc.org/>

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American Society of Mammalogists annual meeting notice
by Daniel K. Odell 20 Feb '06

20 Feb '06

The 86th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists will be held 17-21 June, 2006 at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. In addition to contributed oral and poster presentations covering all aspects of mammalian biology, this year's program will feature two symposia. "Large-scale marine ecosystem change and the conservation of marine mammals" will be convened by Drs. Tom O'Shea and Dan Odell. Speakers include Peter Tyack, Sue Moore, Scott Kraus and Andy Read. Details can be found on the ASM Conference web page. "The Northern flying squirrel: a biological portrait of a forest specialist in post-European North America" will be convened by Dr. Winston Smith. Special addresses will be offered by the recipients of the Joseph Grinnell (Mark Hafner) and C. Hart Merriam (Kay Holekamp) awards, as well as by student honorees. Our capstone speaker will be announced at a later date. Also included are the usual ASM socials, ideal for professional interaction. Non-members who are interested in attending the meetings and/or presenting papers should request materials from the Chairpersons of the Local Program Committee, Virginia Hayssen (Vhayssen(a)science.smith.edu) and Betsy Dumont (bdumont(a)bio.umass.edu) For additional information, please visit the meeting website at <http://asm06.org/>. For more information about the ASM, please visit our website at http://www.mammalsociety.org. Submitted by Daniel K. Odell dodell(a)hswri.org

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Ship strikes in the Mediterranean Sea
by Pierre Gallego 20 Feb '06

20 Feb '06

Dear colleagues, Last year, the IWC Conservation Committee created a Ship Strikes Working Group during its 57th Meeting in Ulsan, South Korea. It was decided to prepare a report on ship strikes around the world. I am collecting information from the Mediterranean Sea for this purpose, and would be very grateful to people having any (published or unpublished) accounts of ship strikes involving large and small cetaceans in the Mediterranean if they could forward them to me. Every contribution will be properly referenced or acknowledged in the report. When available, information should contain species involved, type of ship involved, location, date, and if the involved animal died. In case a necropsy was carried out, information on lesions associated with the ship strike would be very helpful too. The resulting publication will be made available to any interested people, and will be accessible on the web. Please send your information to: pierregallego(a)yahoo.com Thank you very much in advance for your contribution. Best regards, Pierre Gallego, DVM IWC Scientific Advisor and Alternate Commissioner Ministry of Environment, Luxembourg --------------------------------- What are the most popular cars? Find out at Yahoo! Autos

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I Course about interaction between bottlenose dolphins & marine fin fish farms
by Bruno Diaz 18 Feb '06

18 Feb '06

I COURSE ABOUT INTERACTION BETWEEN BOTTLENOSE DOLPHINS AND MARINE FIN FISH FARMS This research course, organized by BDRI (Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute), offers an opportunity for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to obtain field and laboratory training in methodology and analysis for the study of interactions between bottlenose dolphins with a marine fin fish farm under the mentorship of BDRI's researchers. PLACE: GOLFO ARANCI (north-eastern Sardinia- Italy) where the construction of a fin fish farm has been linked to increased bottlenose dolphin abundance and habitat use, and dolphin behavioural changes were recorded as a result of high fish density around the farming area. Students gain hands-on experience during the boat surveys studying the bottlenose dolphins and fish farm activities. LANGUAGES: English, Spanish or Italian. Bottlenose dolphins are appropriate and useful study animals in this case because of their world-wide distribution, the information gained in our courses can be applied to management of fin fish farms world wide. Although dolphins benefit from feeding around the floating fish farm cages, there are also some costs involved. Bottlenose dolphins are captured in nets occasionally. Bottlenose dolphin attacks on farmed fish could present a problem to the industry in terms of financial loss. DATES: 6 - 11 March; 24 - 29 April; 08 - 13 May; 06 - 11 November PRICE: 400 Euro (Special price for Students 370 Euro). The course fee will cover you for full board (all your accommodation and food costs in the base), seminars fee, and ALL associated field costs during your stay with us. You'll simply need to arrange your own travel itinerary to us in Golfo Aranci (see How to reach the BDRI in our website). If you are interested in the course, or for further information, please visit our website or feel free to contact us: http://www.geocities.com/B_D_R_I Email: B_D_R_I(a)yahoo.com --------------------------------- Brings words and photos together (easily) with PhotoMail - it's free and works with Yahoo! Mail.

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SEAMAMMS Abstract Submission Extension
by Edward Keith 17 Feb '06

17 Feb '06

Hello, The 14th annual Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium will be held 24-26 March 2006 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The organizers have decided to extend the abstract submission period until 24 February 2006, and the early registration deadline until 10 March 2006. SEAMAMMS provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to present their research results to their colleagues in an informal, small meeting format. Awards will be given for the best student oral and poster presentations. Please see the website at http://www.nova.edu/ocean/seamamms06 for more information, or you can contact Edward O. Keith, Oceanographic Center, 8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania Beach, FL 33004; Phone: 954-262-8322: Fax: 954-262-3931: edwardok(a)nova.edu

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Bottlenose Dolphin Photo-identification Internships - Summer 2006
by R.H. Defran 17 Feb '06

17 Feb '06

From: "Dr. R.H. Defran" <rdefran(a)sunstroke.sdsu.edu> The Marine Mammal and Protected Resources (MMPR) Program in Charleston, South Carolina is recruiting to fill one, and possibly two Dolphin Photo-identification Internship positions for the Summer of 2006. The MMPR is organized within NOAA's National Ocean Service and is located at the Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research (CCEHBR) laboratory in Charleston, SC. The intern position involves a commitment of 20 hours per week extending over a 15 week period from Tuesday, May 8, 2006 to Friday, August 18, 2006. The intern will participate in the field and laboratory activities of the Charleston Dolphin Abundance and Distribution Project (CDAD). Two useful sources of information about the CDAD project are: 1) Zolman, E. 2002. Residence patterns of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Stono River estuary, Charleston County, South Carolina. Marine Mammal Science 18:879-892; and 2) The Charleston Dolphin Abundance and Distribution (CDAD) Project: Standard Operating Protocols (SOP) for Field and Photographic Analysis Procedures (download this pdf file at web site listed below). The CDAD project carries out boat-based photo-identification surveys in the coastal and inland waterways of the Charleston SC area. This research is designed to provide an understanding of the population characteristics of Charleston dolphins as part of a comprehensive health assessment of Charleston area Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. The internship offers an excellent opportunity for qualified and motivated individuals to obtain field and laboratory training in photo-identification methodology and analysis under the mentorship of experienced dolphin researchers. There is no compensation for this internship position and the successful applicant will be responsible for their living and transportation expenses during the time of the internship. The interns must have a personal vehicle to allow them to travel to and from the laboratory and to some of the local field sites in the Charleston area. Ideal internship applicants will be advanced undergraduates or a recent graduate of a scientifically oriented university program in the behavioral or biological sciences. A typical applicant should have a strong interest in the scientific study of cetacean behavioral ecology, have potential interests in future graduate study in marine mammal science, and is an individual who seeks extensive and intensive exposure to the field work, data analysis techniques, and the research literature in this field. Preference will be given to the selection of an intern with well developed computer skills and boat-based field experience. The internship application will consist of a letter of interest, transcripts of university coursework and two letters of recommendation from professors or research supervisors who are familiar with your scholarship, research skills and work habits. Interested applicants should correspond with Dr. Defran by email before preparing and submitting application materials. We anticipate filling this internship position by April 3, 2006. Interested applicants should correspond by email to: Dr. R.H. Defran Email: rdefran(a)sunstroke.sdsu.edu Defran Home Page: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/psychology/psy211/defran/CDAD/Director.html CDAD SOP pdf download: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/psychology/psy211/defran/CDAD/CDAD_Internshi p_SOP.pdf

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Internship Announcement
by Jessica Sharman 16 Feb '06

16 Feb '06

Allied Whale is a marine mammal research lab affiliated with College of the Atlantic, in Bar Harbor, Maine. Allied Whale conducts population and foraging ecology of fin whales and humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine using photo ID, genetic, and stable isotope sampling, responds to marine mammal strandings on the Maine Coast, and operates the Bar Harbor Whale Museum. Allied Whale is dedicated to education through research, and relies upon student and volunteer help for photo ID catalogue curation, marine mammal stranding response, museum operation, and summer field work done either from the mainland or our offshore marine research station, using a small fleet of research vessels, and aboard local whale watch boats. For the 2006 field season Allied Whale seeks 2 interns to be involved in data collection and analysis, and various other research and marine mammal rescue operations. Many days are spent working in the office matching/cataloguing the photographs collected from the current and previous seasons, data entry, data transcription, and maintaining the equipment. There will also be time on the water working either from rigid hull inflatables or from a 26' cuddy-cabin vessel. Research activities are varied, but may include photographing and biopsying fin whales and humpback whales, conducting biological surveys, behavioral observation from shore-based, and whale-watch platforms. Boats are mainly taken from the mainland, but there may also be time spent on Mount Desert Rock, a 3.5 acre island that serves as an offshore research station. There will be some opportunity to work on other projects, if interested, though the main focus of internships will be on data collection and analysis. Other ongoing projects include: * Response to/relocation of stranded marine mammals along the Maine coast, working with our Stranding Coordinator to perform health assessments, obtaining NOAA level A data, and capture and relocation of marine mammals as needed. * Assist in the operation of the Bar Harbor Whale Museum. Includes exhibit curation and interpretation, and public outreach. * Collection of opportunistic photo ID, location, and behavior data of fin whales and humpback whales using shipboard surveys aboard local whale watch boats, in conjunction with the whale watch interns. Interns are needed from late-May/early-June to late-August. An intern fee covering housing and a deposit must be paid in full by May 1. All positions are unpaid. Room and board is provided during stays at MDR. Applicant Requirements: - Strong interest in marine/environmental sciences desirable - Previous experience with fin and/or humpback photo-ID helpful - Knowledge of Gulf of Maine cetaceans and pinnipeds helpful - Ability to work and live under adverse conditions both on and off the water - Ability to work well with others while in close quarters for extended periods of time - Willingness to work on datasets, administrative tasks, and other office tasks when not in the field - Data management skills recommended - Background in photography a plus - Strong work ethic and enthusiasm - Experience working in Excel and Adobe Photoshop a plus Applicants should email a CV, three references, and cover letter outlining your interest in this position by March 12th to alliedwhale(a)coa.edu with subject - internship 2006 or mail it to: Internship Coordinator Allied Whale 105 Eden Street Bar Harbor ME 04609 (207)288-5644

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