February 2007 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

seeking research assistants-Australian Snubfin and humpback dolphin project
by Guido Parra 21 Feb '07

21 Feb '07

SEEKING RESEARCH ASSISTANTS PROJECT: Enhancing the ecological and genetic basis for the conservation and management of Australian snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. I am seeking a skilled research assistant for the 2007 field season to assist me in collecting behavioural and genetic data on Australian Snubfin and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins off the northeast coast of Queensland, Australia. The field seasons for 2007 will last 4 months starting in May and ending in August. Our fieldwork will be based in the city of Townsville, northeast Queensland. Because of the training required, applicants must be willing to commit to the project for a minimum of 4 weeks. Applicants willing to participate for the whole 4 months will be given preference. BACK GROUND: Knowledge about the ecology and anthropogenic threats to Australia's coastal dolphins is scant, particularly for rare tropical species such as the snubfin (Orcaella heinsohni) and the Indo-Pacific humpback (Sousa chinensis) dolphins. Recent research carried out by GJP in Cleveland Bay, northeast Queensland, indicates that Australian snubfin and humpback dolphins occur in small, localised populations close to coastal and estuarine environments. This information suggests that populations of both species are vulnerable to anthropogenic mortality and potentially rapid population declines. This study aims to improve the basis for the conservation and management of snubfin and humpback dolphins by: 1) developing spatial models of habitat suitability, 2) identifying areas of potential conflict with anthropogenic activities, and 3) assessing the level of genetic structure among populations of snubfin and humpback dolphins in Queensland waters. FIELD WORK: All observations and data collection will be conducted from a 5.6m aluminium boat equipped with a 100HP. Assistants should be prepared to work long hours (06:00 to 16:00 hours depending on weather conditions) and be expected to participate in the following duties: photo-identification, video, behavioural, and biopsy data collection, fin-matching, and database maintenance. Aboard the research boat assistants will be required to assist in boat piloting and handling, and participate in all regular duties related to the maintenance of the boat and research equipment. Field work is demanding but you will have a great opportunity to observe two of Australia's rarest coastal dolphins and also gain hands-on experience in relation to survey techniques, photo-identification, behavioural observations, and genetic sampling of marine mammals. Such experience will prove valuable to anyone hoping to pursue a career in wildlife ecology, animal behaviour, and conservation biology. APPLICANTS SHOULD: 1. Have a background in biology, marine science, animal behaviour or a related field 2. Previous field experience with photo-identification and boat handling skills would be advantageous but not a prerequisite. 3. Be enthusiastic, hard-working, team oriented, have a positive attitude and a genuine interest in marine mammal ecology and behaviour. 4. Be adaptable, flexible and patient as fieldwork is highly weather dependent. This means: 1) sometimes we will be stuck onshore for long periods of time, 2) sometimes we will have long consecutive fieldwork days, and 3) fieldwork during weekends may be required. 5. Be prepared to rise early in the morning and work long hours in a small boat. 6. Be able to commit for a minimum of 4 weeks (though applicants willing to commit for the whole 4 months will be preferred) Unfortunately I am unable to provide salary or housing and research assistants will be responsible for travel to Townsville and their own living expenses. Food and living space will be provided during fieldtrips outside of the Townsville area. If you are interested, please provide a short CV with references and a letter explaining your interest in the project and career goals to Guido J. Parra (g.parra(a)uq.edu.au) by Monday, the 19th of March. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Guido J. Parra, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow School of Veterinary Science University of Queensland St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia Ph: (07) 3365-3066 Mob: 0437630843 Fax: (07) 3365-1255 Email: g.parra(a)uq.edu.au Webpage: http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/index.html?page=47564 <http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/index.html?page=47564&pid=47559> &pid=47559 Behavioural Ecology Research Group: http://www.uq.edu.au/berg ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Dolphin deadline' left out of Young's MMPA bill
by Bell, Joel T CIV NAVFAC Lant 21 Feb '07

21 Feb '07

Doesn't 1,900 marine mammals a year seem like a significant underestimate of bycatch? Andy Read and co-authors estimated 6215 +/- 448 annually in the US from 1990-1999. Environment & Energy Daily February 16, 2007 OCEANS: 'Dolphin deadline' left out of Young's MMPA bill Allison Winter House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Don Young (R-Alaska) took the cover off a bill yesterday that would reauthorize the Marine Mammal Protection Act minus a "dolphin deadline" provision that environmentalists claim is vital to protecting marine life. Young's bill, H.R. 1007, would remove a federal restriction in the current bill meant to reduce commercial fishers' accidental catch. "The Marine Mammal Protection Act has been very successful in protecting and recovering marine mammals. However, it has been very onerous on commercial fishermen," Young said in a statement, adding that his legislation would "bring balance" to the act. The underlying act prohibits the killing of whales, dolphins and other marine mammals and has been a vital tool for environmentalists' legal efforts to protect whales from sonar and marine mammals from fishing interactions. The "dolphin deadline" requires fisheries managers to reduce the bycatch of marine mammals to "insignificant levels approaching a zero mortality and serious injury rate." Environmentalists say it vital to protect dolphins and whales from commercial fishing operations, which accidentally kill approximately 1,900 marine mammals a year, according to Oceana's assessment of government numbers Young said his proposal would continue many protections for the species. It would still require commercial fishers to report all accidental kills of marine mammals and require federal officials to develop plans to reduce mortality and injury in fisheries. Efforts by House Republicans last year to move MMPA reauthorization without the dolphin deadline fell flat. Oceana and other environmental groups launched a campaign against the proposal, and the House Resources Committee restored the dolphin deadline before bringing the bill to the floor. That measure <http://www.eenews.net/features/bills/109/House/170706153250.pdf> unanimously passed the House under suspension of the rules, but the Senate never took it up.

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WDCS Scotland Internships
by Hannah Bird 21 Feb '07

21 Feb '07

WDCS (the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society) is looking for five enthusiastic seasonal interns from mid-March until September 2007. We are looking for volunteers to work 5 days a week including weekends and be committed for 6 months to make this placement valuable to you, and so that you can make a worth while contribution to our work. Accommodation and food is provided onsite in an area of outstanding natural beauty where the river Spey meets the sea. One of the main aspects of volunteering at the Wildlife Centre is the variety of work. WDCS runs a shop, exhibition, research, interpretation and educational programmes. You will be involved in our long running research programe of land and boat based research with Aberdeen University. This contributes to the management and conservation of the unique residential population of Bottlenose Dolphins in the Moray Firth. You will be expected to cover all aspects of the work and will be provided with naturalist and other specialist ongoing training throughout the season. Closing date for applications is Monday 26th February 2007. Applying for the above Volunteer Positions Application procedure: Please contact: Ms Bridget Davies-Robertson, WDCS, Brookfield House, 38 St. Paul Street, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 1LJ, United Kingdom; or email it to volunteering(a)wdcs.org <mailto:volunteering@wdcs.org> For more information or any questions please call our volunteering hotline on volunteering hotline 01249 449551. Hannah Bird Centre Manager WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society WDCS Wildlife Centre Spey Bay Moray IV32 7PJ T: +44 (0) 1343 820339 F: +44 (0) 1343 829065 http://www.wdcs.org <http://www.wdcs.org/> WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment. This e-mail's contents are confidential to the intended recipient(s) at the e-mail address to which it has been sent. It may not be disclosed, copied to, circulated or used by anyone other than the intended addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient or have received this transmission in error please telephone the originator immediately or ring +44 (0)1249 449500. Any opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WDCS unless otherwise stated.

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John Heyning
by Jim Dines 20 Feb '07

20 Feb '07

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of John Heyning. John died Saturday, 17 September 2007 after a prolonged battle with ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's Disease). John spent his entire professional career at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, where he most recently served as Deputy Director of Research & Collections and Curator of Marine Mammals. In addition to his expertise in the evolution and natural history of whales and dolphins, John was a passionate advocate for systematic collections. He was president of the Natural Science Collections Alliance in 2002-2003. Well respected by his colleagues, John was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2003. A memorial tribute celebrating the life of John Heyning will be held at 3:00 PM Saturday, 24 February 2007 at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles. In lieu of flowers, the Heyning family requests that donations in memory of John may be made to following organizations: John E. Heyning Research Expedition Fund c/o Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County ATTN: Tom Jacobson 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 ALS Association 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 150 Calabasas Hills, CA 93101 Marlene and Nico Heyning Education Fund c/o Capital Research and Management, ATTN: Paul G. Haaga, Jr., 333 S. Hope Street Los Angeles, CA 90071 *Please make checks payable to American Funds Service Company - Marlene and Nico Heyning Education Fund. Jim Dines Mammalogy Collections Manager Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County 900 Exposition Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90007 213-763-3400 tel 213-746-2999 fax jdines(a)nhm.org

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Request info about large groups of coastal dolphins
by Laura Aichinger Dias 20 Feb '07

20 Feb '07

Dear Marmam subscribers, I am currently studying patterns in group formation of marine tucuxi (Sotalia guianensis) in the coastal waters of Brazil, specifically the formation of large groups (aggregations) with more than 100 animals gathered in an area. I would enormously appreciate if you could provide me with information (publications, reports, personal observations) about large group formation of coastal dolphins and the underlying behaviors and environmental characteristics during these records. Thank you for your attention, Laura Laura Aichinger Dias Biology Graduate Student at Florida Atlantic University 17000 North Bay Road, Apt. 1505 Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160 USA 1(305)956-9574 lauretadias(a)yahoo.com.br --------------------------------- Never miss an email again! Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. Check it out.

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new article on blue whale sounds
by Erin Oleson 20 Feb '07

20 Feb '07

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SMM Northwest Student Chapter Meeting, Seattle, WA, April 14-15, 2007
by John Brandon 20 Feb '07

20 Feb '07

The Northwest Student Chapter of the Society of Marine Mammalogy (NWSSMM) meeting focuses on exchanging ideas and constructive feedback between fellow students from the Pacific Northwest community involved in marine mammal research. Presentations are usually 15-20 minutes long and can concentrate on a research proposal, a progress report (what data you have and what is left to be done), a rehearsal for your defense, or a summary of a summer research project. If you don't have a presentation, you are welcome to attend, learn about current research, provide feedback, and network with other student researchers in our field. So, regardless of the stage you are at now, you can contribute to and benefit from this meeting! The meeting will be held on the weekend of 14-15 April at the University of Washington, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) in Seattle, Washington. The schedule includes a full day of presentations on Saturday followed by an optional group dinner somewhere local. The full meeting announcement and registration form are available on the NWSSMM website <http://www.marinemammalogy.org/student/chapter.cfm?id=4&page=4>. Updates about the meeting will be sent primarily over the TROLL listserv, so be sure to join! <http://www.marinemammalogy.org/student/chapter.cfm?id=4&page=3>. Please contact me (jbrandon(a)u.washington.edu) if you need clarification on meeting details. If you have any questions about the NWSSMM, please get in touch with me or the other NWSSMM contact member, Katie Luxa (luxak(a)cc.wwu.edu) Best, John Brandon PhD student SAFS University of Washington Seattle, Washington jbrandon(a)u.washington.edu

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new publication on dolphin social cognition
by Adam A. Pack 19 Feb '07

19 Feb '07

Dear colleagues: We are pleased to inform you of the publication of the following article on dolphin social cognition by The Dolphin Institute. If you would like a pdf copy, please email pack(a)hawaii.edu. We hope you are having a great spring. We are currently conducting our annual surveys of North Pacific humpback whales in Maui waters. Pack, A. A., & Herman, L. M. (2006). Dolphin social cognition and joint attention: Our current understanding. Aquatic Mammals, 32, 443-460. Recent intense interest in social cognition in dolphins reflects findings that wild dolphins live in complex societies that rely on individual recognition, a protracted period of development, coalition formation, and cooperative, as well as competitive, social behaviors. Laboratory studies have revealed a host of cognitive skills that can support such complex behaviors- for example, broad imitative abilities, abilities to understand another's indicative cues, and spontaneous use of pointing to communicate with human companions. Joint attention is recognized as a key element of social cognition that extends from simply following another's gaze to using pointing or gazing cues of another to select objects or locations. Studies of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) have revealed that they understand (1) human-given direct and cross-body points; (2) human-given dynamic and static pointing and gazing cues within object-choice tasks; (2) the geometry of pointing cues; (4) the referential character of pointing and gazing cues; (5) sequences of direct and/or cross-body points that were instructions to transport one object to another; (6) how to produce pointing cues and the importance of audience attention; and (7) possibly the belief state of another that is engaged in a joint attention task. The evidence suggests that joint attention skills in dolphins are robust and to some degree symmetric cross comprehension and production. Comparative analyses indicate that in some areas of joint attention, abilities of dolphins exceed the demonstrated skills of apes. Possibly, a dolphin's capacity for joint attention may be related to the adaptive benefits of being able to attend tot the focus of another dolphin's echolocation beam in conjunction with a sophisticated social structure dependent on attention to others. Aloha, Adam A. Pack, Ph.D. The Dolphin Institute P.O. Box 700694 Kapolei, HI 96709 808-679-3690 www.dolphin-institute.org pack(a)hawaii.edu

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ACS-Puget Sound Chapter Research Grant-Request for Proposals
by Uko Gorter 19 Feb '07

19 Feb '07

======================================================================== ========== (Please do not reply to this message. Instead contact us using information below) ======================================================================== ========== ACS Puget Sound Grants for 2007 Request for Research Proposals The American Cetacean Society (ACS), the oldest whale and dolphin conservation organization (est. 1967) protects whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their habitats and ecosystems through public education, research grants, and conservation actions. ACS has supported worthwhile research projects in past years and continues to do so today. The Puget Sound Chapter of ACS (ACS/PS) was re-established in the summer of 1999 and has more than 70 members. Despite being a newer chapter, we have already awarded one grant in 2000 and two grants in 2001, one in 2002, two in 2004, and one in 2005. This year we are again offering two (2) grants. One grant ($750) will be open to research of any cetacean species within Inland waters of Washington State and British Columbia (Salish Sea), and a second grant ($500) will be limited to research of coastal marine and riverine small cetaceans in South and Southeast Asia such as the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis (chinensis and plumbea)), Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), and Ganges (Platanista gangetica gangetica) and Indus (Platanista gangetica minor) river dolphins. Eligibility For both grants: The individual conducting the research must submit the proposal, in addition to a CV. Project Managers or Principal Investigators will oversee all fieldwork. Applicants must have obtained any necessary permits or authorizations for conducting the proposed research prior to any awards being disbursed. South and Southeast Asia Coastal and River Dolphin Research Grant: The individual applying must be affiliated with an academic institution or conservation organization. The research must be conducted in rivers or coastal waters of South or Southeast Asia. The individual must be a resident of the region in which the research is being performed. Salish Sea Research Grant: This grant is available to undergraduate students currently enrolled in a college or university and graduate students currently enrolled in, or accepted to, a masters or doctorate program who meet the evaluation criteria. The research must be conducted within the Inland waters of Washington State and British Columbia (Salish Sea). Researchers of any nationality are eligible to apply. Proposals will be accepted through 20 MARCH 2007, and letters of acceptance or denial will be issued no later than 30 APRIL 2007. Grants The grant awards will be available on 15 MAY 2007. Guidelines Proposal Format The proposal should be no more than two (2) pages in length. It should indicate why the researcher believes this research will benefit the species of interest. The proposal should also include the budget item, or items, toward which the researcher intends to apply this grant money. A CV must be included with the proposal. The proposal may be sent electronically or via regular mail to the addresses shown below. Expected Deliverables There is no deadline for the completion of work; however, a brief report describing the progress/status of the research should be presented to ACS/PS no later than one (1) year after receipt of funds. This report will be featured in a future issue of our chapter newsletter, Whulj. In addition, the Salish Sea grant recipient will be invited to present a talk at our chapter meetings. Contact Information For submission of proposals or request for information, please contact: ACS Puget Sound Chapter 2007 Research Grants P.O. Box 17136 Seattle, WA 98127 USA E-mail: acspsgrant(a)acspugetsound.org

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DFO LAUNCHES DRAFT ACTION PLAN TO RECOVER BLUE, FIN, SEI AND RIGH T WHALES IN PACIFIC CANADIAN WATERS
by SARA＠pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca 19 Feb '07

19 Feb '07

> Fisheries and Oceans Canada is seeking public input on a draft Action > Plan,released Friday, February 16th, 2007, which is designed to implement > recovery goals and objectives for blue, fin, sei and right whales in > Pacific Canadian Waters. Comments on the draft Action Plan can be made > online ( > http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pages/consultations/largewhales/default_ > e.htm > <http://www-comm.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/pages/consultations/largewhales/default > _e.htm> ) until Saturday, March 31st, 2007. For more information on these > species, or aqautic species at risk, please visit > http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/home_e.asp > <http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/home_e.asp> . > > > You have received this message as part of DFO Pacific Region's Marine > Mammal Distribution List. Please email marinemammal(a)pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca if > you would like to be removed from this list, or this message has come to > you in error. > Thank you! > Courtney Druce > Species At Risk Officer / Officier des espéces en danger > Fisheries and Oceans Canada / Pêches et Ocêans Canada > 200-401 Burrard St / 200-401 rue Burrard > Vancouver BC, V6C 3S4 / Vancouver (C.-B) V6C 3S4 > T: (604) 666-2792 / F: (604) 666-3341 > DruceC(a)pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca > > >

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