August 2008 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

New publications week 25
by Jan Herrmann 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

Dear all, here are some new publications of week 25/ 2008, 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.php Please do not contact MARMAM, the MARMAM editors or me for reprints. Thank you. Thanks to all of you who sent in reprints to be included in the weekly announcements. Kindest Regards, Jan Herrmann CETACEA Camara, P.S. et al. (2008): Determination of the immunotoxic potential of heavy metals on the functional activity of bottlenose dolphin leukocytes in vitro. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 121(3-4): 189-198. Cowan, D.F. and B.E. Curry (2008): Histopathology of the Alarm Reaction in Small Odontocetes. Journal of Comparative Pathology 139(1): 24-33. Macias-Zamora, J.V. et al. (2008): Trace Metals in Sediments and Zostera marina of San Ignacio and Ojo de Liebre Lagoons in the Central Pacific Coast of Baja California, Mexico. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 55(2): 218-228. Miyazaki, M. et al. (2008): Psychromonas japonica sp. nov., Psychromonas aquimarina sp. nov., Psychromonas macrocephali sp. nov. and Psychromonas ossibalaenae sp. nov., psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from sediment adjacent to sperm whale carcasses off Kagoshima, Japan. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 58(7): 1709-1714. PINNIPEDIA Glatt, S.E., K.E. Francl, and J.L. Scheels (2008): A survey of current dental problems and treatments of zoo animals. International Zoo Yearbook 42(1): 206-213. von der Recke, R. and W. Vetter (2008): Congener pattern of hexabromobiphenyls in marine biota from different proveniences. Science of the Total Environment 393(2-3): 358-366. Yin, X. et al. (2008): Animal excrement: A potential biomonitor of heavy metal contamination in the marine environment. Science of the Total Environment 399(1-3): 179-185. OTHER MARINE MAMMALS Christiansen, P. (2008): Feeding ecology and morphology of the upper canines in bears (carnivora: Ursidae). Journal of Morphology 269(7): 896-908. -- --> jan.herrmann -at - cetacea.de

1 0

Job announcement: Arctic Science Fellowship at NRDC
by Alter, Liz 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

Dear MARMAMers, Please find posted below a job announcement for a new Arctic Science Fellowship at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Please distribute widely. Best, Liz S. Elizabeth Alter, PhD Marine Mammal Fellow, Science Center Natural Resources Defense Council 40 West 20th Street New York, NY 10011 JOB ANNOUNCEMENT Arctic Science Fellowship The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a national nonprofit conservation organization, has an opening beginning in September 2008 for a two-year, full-time, Arctic ecologist in our Washington, DC office. The Fellow will work with NRDC's Arctic Project as part of a team focusing on the impacts of global warming, oil and gas activities, and other environmental stressors on all forms of Arctic life. He/she will also collaborate with other science fellows in NRDC's Science Center. This position is modeled after the AAAS Environmental Fellowship program and is designed as an opportunity to make practical contributions to the more effective use of scientific and technical information in environmental policy decision-making. We are looking for a post graduate ecologist/environmental engineer/conservation biologist, with strong data analysis skills and a specialty in ecology, oceanography, wildlife or related field. Prior field experience in the Arctic could be very helpful, but not required. The Arctic science fellow's principle project will be to develop a protection strategy or conservation framework for America's Arctic with the guidance of NRDC's Arctic Scientific Advisory Committee. The fellow will assess and analyze scientific literature across several fields requiring quantitative and qualitative skills. The fellow also needs strong speaking and writing skills to present his/her work in a credible manner. Specific tasks will include the identification of the biological "hot spots" and how best to protect them as part of the America's Arctic protection strategy, prepare a peer reviewed paper outlining the protection strategy, write a summary report from the scientific literature on the impacts from global warming on America's Arctic for opinion-leaders and decision-makers, review and evaluate BLM and MMS EIS's and other documents regarding oil and gas activities, review documents regarding the Circumpolar Arctic and brief NRDC's President for her work on a Circumpolar Arctic panel, and work with NRDC's communications, online, membership and advocacy people to develop materials based on scientific information to inform policy makers, our members and the general public. Applicants must have a PhD or equivalent doctoral-level degree in ecology or oceanography or related field, with experience in modeling or statistics; an excellent scientific or technical background; and a strong interest in applying scientific knowledge to environmental problems. The successful applicant will also have excellent writing skills and enjoy working on an interdisciplinary team with people from different professional backgrounds. He/she should thrive under a fast-paced environment, with well-honed abilities to manage and prioritize work. The salary for this position is commensurate with experience. We offer excellent benefits and a pleasant working environment. NRDC is an equal opportunity employer, and we particularly encourage women and people of color to apply. The deadline for applications is September 15, 2008. Interested applicants should forward a letter of interest, which addresses the following: a. why the fellowship is desired, b. how the candidate is qualified, c. what issues interest the candidate, and d. how the candidate hopes the fellowship will affect his/her career goals. Applicants should also submit a resume and a writing sample. Interested applicants should email a cover letter, resume, and writing sample no later than September 15, 2008 to HR_DC(a)NRDC.org. No phone calls or faxes, please. For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org <http://www.nrdc.org/> .

1 0

cetacean symbols available
by p valdes 11 Aug '08

11 Aug '08

Dear mamrmamers I'm pleased to announce that the "GMT symbols for Whale-watchers and marine biologists" version 0.3 has been released. This package is a collection of more than 100 fine symbols of marine mammal species that can be used in a distribution map generated with Generic Mapping Tools. Currently you can choose between color and gray symbols covering almost all living baleen whales and the most common species of toothed whales from the Atlantic Ocean. Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) is an open source collection of ~60 tools for manipulating geographic and Cartesian data sets and producing illustrations ranging from simple x-y plots via contour maps to artificially illuminated surfaces and 3-D perspective views. GMT is developed and maintained by Paul Wessel and Walter H. F. Smith with help from a global set of volunteers, and is supported by the National Science Foundation. It is released under the GNU General Public License. You can take a look at the symbols currently available, read how to use it, and download this collection from the section Resources in the GMT web: http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/gmt/contrib/gmt_cetaceans.html Sincerely Pablo Valdes

1 0

Social associations and relatedness in sperm whales
by Shane Gero 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Dear Marmamers, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following article in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Shane Gero, Dan Engelhaupt, and Hal Whitehead (2008) Heterogeneous social associations within a sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus , unit reflect pairwise relatedness Abstract: A good description of a social structure in which individuals live in stable social groups must also capture individual differences in social behaviour in order to understand the selective pressures behind formation and maintenance of those groups. Depending on the evolutionary mechanism acting and the nature of the benefits incurred by individuals, we might expect different patterns of intra-group associations. Female and immature sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus, Linnaeus 1758) live in stable and partially matrilineal social units. Using photo identification and sloughed skin sampling for genetic determination of sex and relatedness, we investigated patterns of association within a social unit of sperm whales from the eastern Caribbean. Focus was given to how short-term spatio-temporal associations reflect relatedness among unit members. Contrary to previous findings, we found that the patterns of association among members of this unit were heterogeneous and that individuals had preferred associations or avoidances with specific individuals. Furthermore, these preferred associations correlate with relatedness between individuals, such that individuals associated more with their close relatives when variation in sociability of the individuals is controlled. These results are inconsistent with the simple equivalence model of homogeneous associations between members of a social unit. They indicate intra-unit social complexity, a basis for which seems to be genetic relatedness. Subscribers to Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology can download Online Early copies along with the Electronic Supplementary Material from http://www.springerlink.com/content/x258u61221257781/ Otherwise please contact me for preprints. Cheers, Shane ********************************** Shane Gero, M.Sc. NSERC Ph.D. Candidate Honorary Killam Scholar Whitehead Lab Biology Dept. Dalhousie University Halifax, NS B3H 4J1 Canada sgero(a)dal.ca http://whitelab.biology.dal.ca/sge/

1 0

pilot whale sex ratio at birth?
by Pauline Gauffier 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Dear MARMAMers, I am looking for information on pilot whale sex ratio at birth to run Population Viability Analyses. If anyone has any info beside the one described in the "IWC Special Issue on Biology of Northern Hemisphere pilot whales", or one of the following articles in pdf, I would be very pleased to get them. DESPORTES G.; ANDERSEN L. W. ; BLOCH D. 1994. Variation in fœtal and postnatal sex ratios in long-finned pilot whales, Ophelia, vol. 39, no3, pp. SERGEANT, D.E. 1962. The biology of pilot or pothead whale Globicephala melaena (Traill) in Newfoundland waters. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can., 132. 1-84. Thank you very much in advance. Regards, Pauline Gauffier+34 658 199 045 http://www.circe-asso.org _________________________________________________________________ Contrôlez les personnes autorisées à parler à vos enfants sur MSN / Windows Live Messenger ! http://www.windowslive.fr/controleparental/default.asp

1 0

New publication on gray whales
by Lei Lani Stelle 07 Aug '08

07 Aug '08

Recent article published in Marine Mammal Science: Stelle, LL; Megill, WM; Kinzel, MR. 2008. Activity budget and diving behavior of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) in feeding grounds off coastal British Columbia. Marine Mammal Science, 24(3): 462–478. Behavior and diving patterns of summer resident gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) foraging on mysids were studied in coastal bays along the north shore of Queen Charlotte Strait, British Columbia. In this region, gray whales were found to feed primarily on planktonic prey rather than on the benthos as in their primary feeding areas further north. During the summers of 1999 and 2000, whales spent most of their time actively feeding or searching for prey (77%), whereas only 15% of their time was spent traveling and 8% socializing. The majority of the dives were short; the mean dive duration was 2.24 min with approximately three respirations per surfacing and 15 s between blows. Whales dove frequently (26.7 h−1), spending only 17% of their time at the surface with an overall blow rate of 1.14 respirations per minute. Activity states were characterized by significantly different diving and respiratory parameters; feeding whales dove more frequently, with shorter intervals between respirations, thus spending less time at the surface compared to when traveling or searching. This diving pattern differs from benthic-feeding whales and likely optimizes capture of the mobile mysid swarms in shallow waters. You can download a copy from the website if you subscribe to MMS http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118534279/home Or feel free to contact me directly for a PDF of the article. leilanistelle(a)gmail.com leilani_stelle(a)redlands.edu Additional details on our research program are available at http://cerf.bc.ca/ Lei Lani Stelle, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Biology University of Redlands Redlands, CA 92373

1 0

Hydrophone use for increasing sightability
by Todd C McConchie 07 Aug '08

07 Aug '08

Hello- We are in the process of looking at hydrophones as a means of increasing our sightability in less than ideal conditions. We are not, however, necessarily looking to record. The primary species involved are the bottlenose and Atlantic spotted dolphins. To give ourselves a bit of directionalilty, and to reduce cost, we are open to using two omni-directional hydrophones hooked up to stereo headphones. We are looking for suggestions on setup, hydrophone manufacturers, and a "recording" device so that we can hear the received signal. Does anyone have any suggestions on any of these fronts? Please respond off list to tmcconch(a)gmu.edu. Thanks for your time.

1 0

Abstract: diel variation in beaked whale diving behavior
by Robin W Baird 07 Aug '08

07 Aug '08

New publication: Baird, R.W., D.L. Webster, G.S. Schorr, D.J. McSweeney and J. Barlow. 2008. Diel variation in beaked whale diving behavior. Marine Mammal Science 24:630-642. Abstract We investigate diel variation in beaked whale diving behavior using data from time-depth recorders deployed on six Blainville's (Mesoplodon densirostris) (255 h) and two Cuvier's (Ziphius cavirostris) (34 h) beaked whales. Deep foraging dives (>800 m) occurred at similar rates during the day and night for Blainville's beaked whales, and there were no significant diel differences in ascent rates, descent rates, or mean or maximum depths or durations for deep dives. Dive to mid-water depths (100-600 m) occurred significantly more often during the day (mean = 1.59/h) than at night (mean= 0.26/h). Series of progressively shallower "bounce" dives were only documented to follow the deep, long dives made during the day; at night whales spent more time in shallow (<100 m) depths. Significantly slower ascent rates than descent rates were found following deep foraging dives both during the day and night. Similar patterns were found for the Cuvier's beaked whales. Our results suggest that the so-called "bounce" dives do not serve a physiological function, although the slow ascents may. This diel variation in behavior suggests that beaked whales may spend less time in surface waters during the day to avoid near-surface, visually oriented predators such as large sharks or killer whales (Orcinus orca). Subscribers to Marine Mammal Science can download copies from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118534279/home Otherwise contact me for reprints. More information on this research can be found at www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/hawaii.htm Robin ======================================================== Robin W. Baird, Ph.D. Research Biologist Cascadia Research Collective 218 1/2 W. 4th Avenue Olympia, WA 98501 USA Phone 1-360-943-7325 Fax 1-360-943-7026 e-mail: rwbaird(a)cascadiaresearch.org www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/robin.htm

1 0

Contents - Journal of Cetacean Research and Management (Supplement to Volume 10; April 2008 issue)
by Dagmar Fertl 06 Aug '08

06 Aug '08

Dear Marmam and ECS-mailbase subscribers, Apologies to those of you who will receive duplicate emails due to cross-posting. The following is information on the latest issue (April 2008) of The Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. This posting is made as a courtesy to the International Whaling Commission (IWC )and the journal editor Dr. Greg Donovan. The IWC publishes this journal thrice yearly (Spring, Autumn, and Winter), with at least one supplement that will contain the full report of the IWC Scientific Committee. Further information on the journal itself can be found at: http://www.iwcoffice.org/publications/JCRM.htm. A guide for authors is included in the first volume of each issue and on the IWC website at: http://www.iwcoffice.org/publications/authorsguide.htm. The latest issue is the Supplement to Volume 10, which contains the Report of the Scientific Committee from its Annual Meeting held from 7-18 May 2007 in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A. It also includes: (1) the Report of the Intersessional Workshop to Review Data and Results from Special Permit Research on Minke Whales in the Antarctic held in December 2006 in Tokyo, Japan; (2) the Report of the Second Intersessional Workshop on the Western North Pacific Bryde’s Whale Implementation held in December 2006 in Yokohama, Japan; (3) the Report of the Second Intersessional Workshop to Prepare for the 2007 Bowhead Whale Implementation Review held in January 2007 in Seattle, USA; (4) the Report of the Third Intersessional Workshop to for the 2007 Bowhead Whale Implementation Review and to Consider Progress on the Greenland Research Programme held in March 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark; (5) the Report of the Planning Meeting for the 2006/07 IWC/SOWER Cruise and Future Cruises held in September 2006 in Tokyo, Japan; and (6) the Report of the POLLUTION 2000+ Phase II Workshop held in April 2007 in Barcelona, Spain. Thank you for your interest in the journal and postings such as this. With regards, Dagmar FertlZiphius EcoServiceshttp://www.ziphiusecoservices.com _________________________________________________________________ Get Windows Live and get whatever you need, wherever you are. Start here. http://www.windowslive.com/default.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_Home_082008

1 0

More on marine mammals vs fisheries interactions
by Lyne Morissette 06 Aug '08

06 Aug '08

Dear colleagues, After my message posted last week, I received many requests and comments on our 'marine mammals vs fisheries' work. In line with that, I would thus want to recommend you this earlier paper on the same topic: "The trophic role of marine mammals in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence" by Lyne Morissette Mike O. Hammill Claude Savenkoff This paper is available in Marine Mammal Science 22(1): 74-103 (January 2006). ABSTRACT The trophic role of apex predators was evaluated in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence ecosystem. An Ecopath model was developed for the 1985-1987 period prior to the collapse of commercially exploited demersal fish stocks in this area. Marine mammal trophic levels were estimated by the model at 4.1 for cetaceans, 4.4 for harp seals (Phoca groenlandica), 4.7 for hooded seals (Cystophora cristata), 4.5 for gray seals (Halichoerus grypus), and 4.3 for harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Harp seals were the third most important predator on vertebrate prey following large Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and redfish (Sebastes spp.). Different seal species preyed on different levels of the food chain. Harp seals preyed on most trophic groups, whereas larger seals, such as gray seals and hooded seals, mainly consumed higher trophic levels. The model suggested that apex predators had a negative effect on their dominant prey, the higher trophic level fish, but an indirect positive feedback on the prey of their preferred prey, mainly American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), flounders, skates, and benthic invertebrates. Our results suggest that both marine mammals and fisheries had an impact on the trophic structure. Keywords: Ecosystem model, predation, harp seal, gray seal, harbor seal, hooded seal, cetaceans, predation, Gulf of St. Lawrence, food web. PDF is also available upon request at: lyne.morissette(a)globetrotter.net. Lyne Morissette, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Fellow Arizona State University email: lyne.morissette(a)asu.edu & Fisheries Centre University of British Columbia e-mail: l.morissette(a)fisheries.ubc.ca Lenfest Ocean Program http://www.lenfestocean.org/whales_fisheries.html

1 0