May 2007 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

re-posting: workshop announcement for upcoming SMM conference
by Stephanie Ploen 31 May '07

31 May '07

Please re-post the following announcement- some of the info was left out! Thanks, Stephanie ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- Dear marmamers, Please excuse any double postings. The following workshop will be held prior to the upcoming SMM conference in Cape Town, South Africa (29 Nov- 3 Dec 2007). Participants and additional interested parties are asked to submit abstracts (no more than 200 words) outlining their proposed contribution to Stephanie Plön (see contact details below) Workshop title: Conservation Medicine of Marine Mammals Date: 28 November 2007 Workshop outline: Conservation medicine is an increasingly interdisciplinary field that studies the relationship between human and animal health, and environmental conditions. In particular the environmental causes of health problems are complex,global, and poorly understood. Outbreaks in the last few years such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and the recent bird-flu pandemic illustrate the need to document and understand these diseases for the benefit of both humans and animals. Researchers are learning more about these pandemics in the terrestrial environment, but due to the migratory nature of many marine species, such events are difficult to understand in the marine environment. As a result there is still little documentation on diseases of wild marine mammals and potential overlap with those from other marine animals. However, such disease events in marine systems appear on the increase in recent years, possibly as a result of rising sea temperatures. This workshop aims at information exchange between researchers, gathering existing knowledge on diseases in marine mammals, and identifying the areas where future research efforts need to concentrate. We will have a morning of invited paper presentations, but will allow for an open discussion forum in the afternoon. Workshop Fee: $30 USD The deadline for abstract submissions is: 20 June For any further queries and to submit abstracts please contact: Stephanie Plön Port Elizabeth Museum & Oceanarium/ Bayworld Humewood P. O. Box 13147 Port Elizabeth 6013 SOUTH AFRICA Tel: +27-41-5840650 Fax: +27-41-5840661 E-mail: stephanie(a)bayworld.co.za

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Request for copy
by Tint Tun 30 May '07

30 May '07

Dear MARMAMmers, May I request your kind help, please? I can not find the following paper within my reach in Myanmar. I shall be very much obliged if you can share me a soft copy (in JPG, I think) of the following paper. Tin Thein, U. (1977). The Burmese freshwater dolphin. Mammalia, 41(2): 233-234.-36. Tint Tun Marine Biologist MYANMAR Emails: tinttun(a)gmail.com; tinttun(a)yahoo.com

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17th SMM Biennial - Abstract deadline extension and Workshop information
by Michelle du Toit 30 May '07

30 May '07

Dear all, Conference Update: 17th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Cape Town, 29 Nov - 3 Dec 2007 Abstract submission deadline has been extended from 31 May to 10 June 2007. The abstract submission form is accessible after creating a user profile at: http://www.smmconference2007.org/register_new_form.php. Please do not create more than one user profile, and do not attempt to submit more than one abstract from your user profile. The list of workshops that will be held prior to the conference, and contact details of workshop chairs, can be found at http://www.smmconference2007.org/workshop_info.php. Any questions can be forwarded to sciprog(a)marinemammalogy.org _________________________________________________ Michelle du Toit Assistant - Scientific Programme Committee 17th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals Mammal Research Institute Department of Zoology and Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria, 0002 South Africa Tel: +27-12-4204573 Fax: +27-12-4202534 mdutoit(a)zoology.up.ac.za This message and attachments are subject to a disclaimer. Please refer to http://www.it.up.ac.za/documentation/governance/disclaimer/ for full details. / Hierdie boodskap en aanhangsels is aan 'n vrywaringsklousule onderhewig. Volledige besonderhede is by http://www.it.up.ac.za/documentation/governance/disclaimer/ beskikbaar.

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Marine Mammal Conservationist position
by a.karamanlidis＠mom 30 May '07

30 May '07

Dear All Sorry for crossposting; the following message might be of interest to you. Alexandros Karamanlidis Biologist - Field Researcher MOm, HELLENIC SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF THE MONK SEAL 18 Solomou Str. GR-10682 Athens Greece. Tel.:+30.210.5222888, Fax: +30.210.5222450, web-site: www.mom.gr RREVISION OF MEDITERRANEAN MONK SEAL CONSERVATION STRATEGY MOm, the Hellenic Society for the Study and Protection of the Monk seal, a Greek non-governmental environmental organisation, is seeking to contract, through a competitive tender, an independent Conservation Specialist to evaluate and revise the National Strategy for the Conservation of the Mediterranean Monk Seal in Greece. With a worldwide population of fewer than 600 individuals, the Mediterranean monk seal Monachus monachus is considered by IUCN to be critically endangered. During the last decades numerous conservation activities have concentrated in Greece, since it hosts approximately half of the species' population. The Conservation Specialist's tasks will be: O to evaluate the existing Strategy, originally drafted in 1996, in terms of its effectiveness to address the species' threats O to revise the Strategy, so as to address all current conservation requirements of the species and its habitat, identify priorities and suggest cost effective future actions covering the period up until 2015. The project's duration is 9 months. MOm will provide to the selected conservation specialist all background documentation and information required, and will assist in setting up working meetings with key stakeholders, experts, and the relevant national and European Commission authorities. The revised Strategy will be widely distributed to scientists, conservationists, stakeholders, and policy makers internationally. Upon its adoption by the National authorities it will constitute a seminal policy tool guiding all activities conducted for the conservation of the species. Applicants should have extended experience in similar projects and significant knowledge of the conservation requirements of critically endangered species. For a detailed description and the terms of reference of the project, applicants should contact Dr. Spyros Kotomatas, MOm's Scientific Coordinator at the address below. Applications should be forwarded with the indication (IC07-NCS) to info(a)mom.gr no later than the 15th of September 2007. -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter for private users. It has removed 1259 spam emails to date. Paying users do not have this message in their emails. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len

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workshop announcement & call for papers
by Christine Banks 29 May '07

29 May '07

Date: 28 November 2007 Workshop title: Conservation Medicine of Marine Mammals Workshop outline: Conservation <http://www.wildlifetrust.org/conservation_medicine/index.shtml> medicine is an increasingly interdisciplinary field that studies the relationship between <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human> human and <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal> animal <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health> health, and <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment> environmental conditions. In particular the environmental causes of health problems are complex, global, and poorly understood. Outbreaks in the last few years such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and the recent bird-flu pandemic illustrate the need to document and understand these diseases for the benefit of both humans and animals. Researchers are learning more about these pandemics in the terrestrial environment, but due to the migratory nature of many marine species, such events are difficult to understand in the marine environment. As a result there is still little documentation on diseases of wild marine mammals and potential overlap with those from other marine animals. However, such disease events in marine systems appear on the increase in recent years, possibly as a result of rising sea temperatures. This workshop aims at information exchange between researchers, gathering existing knowledge on diseases in marine mammals, and identifying the areas where future research efforts need to concentrate. Workshop format: Morning of invited presentations and afternoon of discussion Fee: $30 USD CALL FOR PAPERS: Participants and additional interested parties are asked to submit abstracts (no more than 200 words) outlining their proposed contribution to Stephanie Plön (see contact details below) DEADLINE: 20 June Contact details: Stephanie Plön Port Elizabeth Museum & Oceanarium/ Bayworld Humewood P. O. Box 13147 Port Elizabeth 6013 SOUTH AFRICA Tel: +27-41-5840650 Fax: +27-41-5840661 E-mail: stephanie(a)bayworld.co.za

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Alaska Grant
by Sandra Rosenberg 29 May '07

29 May '07

Here's another grant I came across. Please note that I have no involvement with the grant or the funder. The website is http://akcf.org/_pages/grants_amp_awards/types_of_grants/watchable_wildlife. php Sandy Rosenberg sandy.rosenberg(a)sbcglobal.net Watchable Wildlife Conservation Trust Grants Close-up of gray wolf walking through snow by AlaskaStock.comThe Watchable Wildlife Conservation Trust is a donor-advised fund developed in cooperation with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The purpose of the Trust is to fund those projects that emphasize non-consumptive use of wildlife, expand wildlife conservation efforts, and broaden public support for conserving Alaska's wildlife resources. Grantmaking Focus Areas of Interest * Interpretation (e.g., signage, viewing guides, media programming) * Education (e.g., curriculum development or publication development and distribution) * Facilities construction * Applied ecosystem research * Projects involving a state wildlife sanctuary Favored Strategies * Encouraging broader awareness and understanding of environmental laws and regulations * Promoting citizen participation in wildlife viewing * Supporting the social and/or economic values of non-consumptive wildlife use * Creating and distributing replicable educational materials * Developing viewing opportunities * Acquiring critical wildlife habitats * Encouraging cooperation between organizations/agencies * Leveraging other project funds Ineligible Requests * Projects outside the state of Alaska * General operating support * Litigation or lobbying * Endowments * Scholarships Who May Apply As a 501(c)(3) public foundation, ACF accepts requests for funding from incorporated, tax-exempt organizations, non-incorporated organizations, and individuals. To qualify for consideration, prospective grantees must demonstrate that their project, in addition to meeting Trust requirements, is congruent with ACF's larger overall mission: to protect Alaska's intact ecosystems and promote sustainable livelihoods for all Alaskan communities and peoples. For projects working with a state wildlife sanctuary, contact the sanctuary manager prior to submitting a proposal to the Watchable Wildlife Conservation Trust. All other applicants should contact ACF staff. When to Apply The Watchable Wildlife Conservation Trust makes grants once per calendar year. The next deadline is October 1, 2007. Prospective grantees should contact ACF to determine if the project fits within the grantmaking program and when to submit their proposal. The Trust generally funds projects in the $1,000 to $4,000 range. How to Apply ACF requests the use of recycled paper. Proposals should include the following: * A cover page that includes the organization name, project title, contact names, phone and fax number, e-mail address, and the amount requested. * A one-paragraph project abstract. * A proposal narrative, no more than five pages in length, that includes a brief organizational history, project background, plan of action, timeline, products or outcomes, method of evaluation, and any additional sources of support. * A proposal budget (including budget narrative) and organizational operating budget for the current year (do not include in-kind contributions as a cash item). * IRS tax determination letter if a tax-exempt organization or Social Security number if an individual. * Financial statements and the most recent audit, if available. * A list of the organization's current Board of Directors, including occupation of each Board member, city and state of residence, and current service on other boards. * A list of organization staff. * A letter of approval from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (for sanctuary-based projects only). AKDF&G can be reached at 907-261-2100. Please send one unbound, single-sided original to: Alaska Conservation Foundation Attn: Grantmaking Committee 441 West Fifth Avenue, Suite 402 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Phone: 907-276-1917 Proposals received via fax or e-mail will not be accepted.

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FW: JOB - Marine Science Program Coordinator
by Wallace, Richard 28 May '07

28 May '07

FYI. Cheers, Rich Wallace Chair, Environmental Studies Ursinus College -----Original Message----- Program Coordinator Five College Coastal & Marine Sciences Program The Five College Coastal & Marine Sciences Program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum, including field research and internship components. The coordinator organizes and manages all aspects of the program under the supervision of the program's faculty director. Duties include advising students, developing and managing the annual budget, communicating with scientists at various marine labs regarding research opportunities for students, producing a bi-monthly newsletter and maintaining the program website and databases. Qualifications: BA degree; ability to work independently; commitment to promoting the program to students, especially its marine-related field research component; ability to communicate orally and in writing with faculty, staff, students, and research professionals; proficiency in Microsoft office; ability to hire, train and supervise student workers. Knowledge of marine and environmental science strongly preferred. Previous administrative experience or advanced degree desirable. This is a part-time, 20-hour per week hourly position for 39 weeks annually. It is based at Smith College. Benefits are pro-rated. Hourly wage: $20.26 - $23.08, depending on experience. Review of applications begins July 2, 2007. Submit letter of application, resume, and contact information for three professional references to: FCC&MS Program Coordinator Search Five Colleges, Incorporated 97 Spring Street Amherst, MA 01002 Five Colleges, Inc. and its member institutions are Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employers. Ashley Baldridge, Coordinator Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program 211 Burton Hall, Clark Science Center, Smith College Northampton, MA 01063 phone: 413-585-3799 fax: 413-585-3786 email: marinesci(a)smith.edu web: www.fivecolleges.edu/sites/marine

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MMS report available - sperm whale study
by Dagmar Fertl 25 May '07

25 May '07

The following is recently released by the Minerals Management Service and might be of interest to listserve subscribers. Palka, D. and M. Johnson, eds. 2007. Cooperative research to study dive patterns of sperm whales in the Atlantic Ocean. OCS Study MMS 2007-033. New Orleans, Louisiana: Gulf of Mexico Region, Minerals Management Service. It can be downloaded (3 mb) for free at: http://www.gomr.mms.gov/PI/PDFImages/ESPIS/4/4247.pdf Executive Summary: The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is required to produce stock assessments for all marine mammal stocks within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is evaluating potential environmental impacts of offshore oil and gas activities on marine mammals. Both agencies have a need for similar information on sperm whales and this is the basis for the cooperative research outlined here. This study, conducted in July 2003, has started a baseline of line transect, photo-identification, oceanographic and genetic data for the Atlantic sperm whale. Compared with the Delta region in the Gulf of Mexico, parts of the Atlantic Ocean may serve as a control population of sperm whales with little exposure to sounds of oil and gas related activities. A total of 12 sperm whales were tagged during the four-week, July 2003 cruise yielding a substantial data set spanning both deep foraging and socializing from 9 of the 12 tagged animals. These tag recordings represent the first acquisition of sound and movement data from sperm whales in the North Atlantic. Visual and acoustic surveys were performed whenever weather permitted throughout the cruise and visual focal follows were made when tags were deployed. Complimentary data products included physical oceanographic measurements and skin and fecal samples from tagged and neighboring whales. The tag data set from the cruise has been examined using techniques developed on the Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) program to parameterize foraging and social behaviors. The data set has also been integrated into a combined data set covering the Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic and Mediterranean seas to enable comparative analyses. We found that the North Atlantic whales follow a foraging and socializing cycle similar to the Gulf of Mexico whales but dive significantly deeper to forage. Foraging largely occurs at 500-1,100 m but a small amount of food may be taken in water as shallow as 300 m. A wide range of codas was produced but even fairly closely located groups appeared to prefer distinct codas. An unusually high rate of breaching, possibly associated with tag attachment, limited the longevity of the tag attachment. The maximum attachment duration of six hours in this Atlantic Ocean study compares unfavorably with 16 hours in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean. The unknown reason for why there were few long attachments may reduce the number of future successful tagging events from whales in the Atlantic. Breaching, possibly associated with tag attachment, has been observed in other areas, and those breaching rates varied from year to year. So, perhaps this first year in the Atlantic is just on the high side of the inter-annual variability. Further work is needed to address this. In addition, there are areas in the Atlantic, such as off Virginia, where there are, at times, a substantial amount of low frequency impulsive sounds from underwater explosions in Navy test ranges. Such times and areas should not be considered as a future controlled exposure study area. Acoustic data could potentially be used in two ways to improve the sperm whale abundance estimates. One way is to utilize both visual and passive acoustic detections to estimate the abundance. A new project to advance development of such methods was recently funded. The visual and acoustic data collected during the Search Mode in this cruise will be used as a test case. Another way acoustic data could be used to improve visual line-transect abundance estimates is to use the dive time pattern data collected on the acoustic tag (DTAG) in surfacing-based line-transect analysis methods. If we assume the tagged animals are representative of the dive patterns of the Atlantic population, then there is a 27% (CV=0.46) chance that a single sperm whale is at the surface to be able to be detected by a visual sighting team. A simple implementation of using these dive data is to estimate total abundance of sperm whales as a function of (i) the abundance using standard visual line-transect methods, assuming this is an abundance estimate of surface animals and (ii) the percentage of time whales are at the surface using the tag data. Using this over-simplified method the dive time corrected total abundance of sperm whales would then be 14,922 (CV=0.60), which is about 3.5 times greater than the standard visual abundance estimate. However, this abundance estimate is biased upwards due to the facts that the standard abundance estimate is based on detection of groups of whales, where groups are usually greater than one, while the probability of a whale being at the surface using the tag data is based on singleton whales, and individual sperm whales do not dive totally independent of the other animals in its group. Thus, surface-based, not group-based, line-transect analysis methods are required to properly account for the confounding facts. These methods are explained in this report and are under development, thus results are not currently available. Another objective of this and the SWSS cruises is to address the question "Do sperm whales have preferred habitats that can be defined physiologically and/or with oceanographically?" One way to address this is to model the distribution and abundance of the sperm whales with respect to physical and biological parameters, such as water depth, bottom slope, sea-surface temperature, salinity at the surface, mixed layer depth, surface color (primary productivity), and distribution and abundance of other trophic levels (such as that obtained from bongo samples). Such a model can also include nuisance variables, such as Beaufort sea state, which affects the sightability of the whales, but probably does not affect the actual distribution of the whales. To start this process, five-day composites from the middle of the cruise of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a (chl-a) using satellite pictures were produced and the sightings were overlaid. Interestingly, sperm whales appear to be present in more diverse combinations of SST and chl-a than many of the other cetacean species detected during this cruise. This could imply that sperm whales are not cueing in on these two parameters, like some other species do. Or, sperm whales are generalists and so can utilize a variety of habitats or perhaps sperm whales are not cueing in ocean surface factors but are cueing on ocean bottom factors. More data are needed to address this. Because this cruise concentrated on putting tags on sperm whales and not investigating many type of potential habitats, this cruise surveyed a limited number of types of potential habitats. However, the NEFSC conducted a large scale line transect abundance survey in 1998 and is currently conducting one during the summer of 2004. The plan is to merge the line transect data of the 1998, 2003, and 2004 surveys to investigate habitat preferences of sperm whales in the Atlantic. Stepwise selection of Generalized Additive Models (GAM) will be used to define a model that uses physical and biological parameters to describe the sperm whale habitat. To start this modeling exercise, the 1998 data were used to model the distribution and abundance of sperm whales in five nautical mile sections of the track line. The stepwise GAM determined depth and an interaction between two groups of plankton species (groups 2 and 3) were the best predictors for sperm whale distribution and abundance, where depth was the most influential factor. Sperm whales were inversely related to Plankton group 3, which are species generally associated with warm core rings. Sperm whales were positively related to Plankton group 2, which are species most often associated with cooler waters, such as those on the outside edge of a ring or in between warm core rings. Thus, these GAM results can be interpreted as Atlantic sperm whales are most commonly found in waters approximately 2000 meters deep, when those waters are cool, like those found on the outside or in between warm core rings. ****************** Dagmar Fertl Geo-Marine, Inc. 2201 Avenue K, Suite A2 Plano, Texas 75074 USA 972-423-5480 FAX 972-422-2736 dfertl(a)geo-marine.com http://www.geo-marine.com

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SMM Grants-in-Aid deadline extended
by Amanda Bradford 25 May '07

25 May '07

Greetings MARMAM - The SMM offers a funding opportunity to facilitate marine mammal research in developing countries. Preference is given to nationals and early career researchers working in these countries. Note that this opportunity is to support research and does not relate at all to the upcoming conference. The deadline for submitting a proposal has been EXTENDED to 30 June 2007 (the previous deadline was 31 May). For more details see: <http://www.marinemammalogy.org/giar07.htm>. Please direct any inquiries about these grants to Helene Marsh at <helene.marsh(a)jcu.edu.au>. Thanks, amanda bradford (SMM Student Member-at-Large)

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California sea lion demography and behavior study - postdoctoral position
by Julie Young 24 May '07

24 May '07

Postdoctoral Position available at Arizona State University Pinniped behavior and demography Postdoc will work with PI and graduate students on an NSF-funded project to 1) integrate theories from behavioral ecology with quantitative techniques in demography to examine the effects of reproductive behavior on extinction risk for California sea lions in the Gulf of California, and 2) contribute to an empirical research program to test hypotheses regarding the degree to which the demography of sea lions depends on reproductive behavior. Requires PhD in ecology and excellent demographic modeling skills. Experience with molecular approaches in conservation and field skills are also preferred. Send CV, statement of research interests, and contact information for 3 references to leah.gerber(a)asu.edu. Closing date: 10/1/2007, or until a successful candidate is identified. Arizona State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

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