April 2011 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Marine Mammal Books/Reprints Available
by Sclymene＠aol.com 29 Apr '11

29 Apr '11

Dear Colleagues, Some of you knew Jake Houck, who was a professor at Humboldt State University. Jake passed away last summer and I offered to help his daughter get his extensive collection of marine mammal books into the hands of people who could use them. Many of these are older, rare items. We are making the books and reprints available to colleagues at reasonable prices. All money raised will go to ¡VivaVaquita!, a non-profit organization to assist research and conservation efforts for the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), the World’s most endangered marine mammal species. Payments must be made in US dollars. Contact me <sclymene(a)aol.com> for complete list of books/monographs/reprints available. Some highlights: Brown, S. G. (1954). "Dispersal in blue and fin whales." Discovery Reports 26: 355-384. $40. Brown, S. G. (1962). "The movements of fin and blue whales within the Antarctic zone." Discovery Reports 33: 1-54. $45 (loose) Goode, G. B., Ed. (1884). The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the United States, Section 1. Natural History of Useful Aquatic Animals, Government Printing Office, 895 pp. $95 (hardcover) Hershkovitz, P. (1966). "Catalog of living whales." Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: 259 pp. $25 Kellogg, R. (1966). "Fossil marine mammals from the Miocene Calvert Formation of Maryland and Virginia, Volume 2, pt. 3. New species of extinct Miocene Sirenia, pt. 4. A new Odontocete from the Calvert Miocene of Maryland". Bulletin of the U. S. National Museum Bulletin 247: 65-101. $34 Kenyon, K. W. (1969). "The sea otter in the eastern Pacific Ocean." North American Fauna 68: 352 pp. $24. Kernan, J. D. (1918). "The skull of Ziphius cavirostris." Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 38: 349-394. $28 Misc. Authors. Collection of original reprints of 411 papers on marine mammals, mostly from the 1960s-2000s, but some from the early 1900s. If interested, you may request a listing of the authors included. $120 Mitchell, E., Ed. (1975). Review of biology and fisheries for smaller cetaceans. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 32 (Special Issue), 351 pp. $30 Murie, J. (1874). "Researches upon the anatomy of the Pinnipedia.-(Part III.) Descriptive anatomy of the sea-lion (Otaria jubata)." Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 8(9): 501-582. $37 Winn, H. E. and B. L. Olla, Eds. (1979). Behavior of Marine Animals, Volume 3: Cetaceans. New York, Plenum Press. $65 (hardcover) Best wishes, Tom ********************************************************************* Thomas A. Jefferson, Ph.D. Clymene Enterprises / Cetos Research Organization 5495 Camino Playa Malaga San Diego, CA 92124 Tel. (858) 278-4240 Email: sclymene(a)aol.com Web: http://www.cetosresearch.org/about/associates.htm Marine Mammals of the World site: http://www. elsevier.com/wps/find/bookdescription.cws_home/713331/description#descripti… *********************************************************************

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The Relationship among Oceanography, Prey Fields, and Beaked Whale Foraging Habitat in the Tongue of the Ocean in PLoS One
by Elliott Hazen 28 Apr '11

28 Apr '11

Dear MARMAM members, Our paper titled "The Relationship among Oceanography, Prey Fields, and Beaked Whale Foraging Habitat in the Tongue of the Ocean" has just been published in PLoS One. A link to the paper and abstract are included below if it's of interest to you: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0019269 Abstract Beaked whales, specifically Blainville's (Mesoplodon densirostris) and Cuvier's (Ziphius cavirostris), are known to feed in the Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas. These whales can be reliably detected and often localized within the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) acoustic sensor system. The AUTEC range is a regularly spaced bottom mounted hydrophone array covering .350 nm2 providing a valuable network to record anthropogenic noise and marine mammal vocalizations. Assessments of the potential risks of noise exposure to beaked whales have historically occurred in the absence of information about the physical and biological environments in which these animals are distributed. In the fall of 2008, we used a downward looking 38 kHz SIMRAD EK60 echosounder to measure prey scattering layers concurrent with fine scale turbulence measurements from an autonomous turbulence profiler. Using an 8 km, 4-leaf clover sampling pattern, we completed a total of 7.5 repeat surveys with concurrently measured physical and biological oceanographic parameters, so as to examine the spatiotemporal scales and relationships among turbulence levels, biological scattering layers, and beaked whale foraging activity. We found a strong correlation among increased prey density and ocean vertical structure relative to increased click densities. Understanding the habitats of these whales and their utilization patterns will improve future models of beaked whale habitat as well as allowing more comprehensive assessments of exposure risk to anthropogenic sound. Sincerely, Elliott

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Live Chat on Thursday at 3 PM EST: Is It Ethical to Study Dolphins in Captivity?
by Marino, Lori 27 Apr '11

27 Apr '11

Live Chat on Thursday at 3 PM EST: Is It Ethical to Study Dolphins in Captivity? The more researchers learn about the intelligence and sentience of the animals they study, the more they're forced to confront the ethics of keeping these animals in captivity. This has proven especially true with chimpanzees, elephants, and now dolphins. Some researchers argue that dolphins are too smart to be kept in captivity. Others argue that ending captive research will prevent us from learning anything new about the minds of these animals. Where does one draw the line between ethics and knowledge, and is it possible to have both? Join us for a spirited live chat at 3 p.m. EDT on Thursday, 28 April, with dolphin experts Lori Marino and Richard Connor. You can leave your questions on the page in advance or log in at 3 to ask them live! Go this link : http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/04/live-chat-the-ethics-of-anima… Thanks! Lori Marino, PhD Senior Lecturer, Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, Room 488 36 Eagle Row Emory University Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (404) 727-7582 ________________________________ This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments).

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Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) training course in Southern California
by Julie Oswald 26 Apr '11

26 Apr '11

Bio-Waves, Inc., a small marine bio-acoustic research company located in southern California, is developing a Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) training course. This course will combine theoretical instruction with hands-on demonstration to give participants a working knowledge of towed array hardware, software, data collection and data management. In order to best tailor this course to the needs of the community, we have prepared a brief (9 question) survey and would be most grateful for responses from those interested. To access the survey, please go to https://eyhsandiego.wufoo.com/forms/pam-training-course-questionnaire/ We plan to offer our first PAM training course during early fall 2011. If you have any questions or would like more information, please don't hesitate to contact Liz Ferguson (eferguson(a)bio-waves.net) or Julie Oswald ( julie.oswald(a)bio-waves.net) Thank you for your time. Julie Oswald, PhD Bio-Waves, Inc. 517 Cornish Drive, Encinitas, CA 92024 julie.oswald(a)bio-waves.net www.bio-waves.net -- "If you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore" -Apsley Cherry-Garrard

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Temporary Field Assistant required for May-June 2011 cetacean research project in French and British Waters of the Channel
by Anna Cucknell 26 Apr '11

26 Apr '11

Temporary Field Assistant required for May-June 2011 cetacean research project in French and British Waters of the Channel. Marine Conservation Research's (MCR) research team is seeking an experienced and enthusiastic individual to join the team as temporary field work assistant during a project in the English Channel during May-June 2011. Working in close collaboration with other research groups, the project will take place during mid-May until end of June 2011 and is primarily focused on conducting a passive acoustic survey for harbour porpoises, although other cetaceans will be documented/recorded too. The project will be conducted from IFAW's dedicated sailing research vessel, Song of the Whale. SOTW is a 22 m long, purpose-built sailing research vessel with accommodation for 10. Experience in boat-based field work on cetaceans, particularly acoustic research is required as is familiarity with the use of computers. The team onboard will be made up of MCR staff, visiting scientists and volunteers/student interns. Reasonable travel expenses and board and lodging onboard the boat will be provided and a small weekly allowance may also be available. For more information about MCR and Song of the Whale please see our website: <http://www.marineconservationresearch.co.uk/> www.marineconservationresearch.co.uk/ Please email a letter of interest and CV, outlining your previous experience and why you think you should be considered for the post to <mailto:info@mcr-team.co.uk> info(a)mcr-team.co.uk by the 5th May 2011.

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Research assistant in the Strait of Gibraltar
by CIRCE Philippe Verborgh 25 Apr '11

25 Apr '11

Dear Marmamers, The research group CIRCE (http://www.circe.info) offers the possibility to take part in a field course on cetacean research techniques as a research assistant in the Strait of Gibraltar. CIRCE has been studying the seven species of cetaceans inhabiting the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar since 1998 and has already gained a lot of knowledge on these populations. The Strait of Gibraltar is an amazing place to study cetaceans since 4 species (long-finned pilot whales, bottlenose, common and striped dolphins) are resident and use a small area all year round at about 30 min from shore. In Spring-Summer killer and sperm whales also join the area for foraging purposes while fin whales are migrating through the Strait. We are offering you the opportunity to spend 12 days (or more) with our team of experts in the field and at the research station to learn all about the cetaceans of the Strait of Gibraltar. Activities will include but are not limited to: • General presentations on the cetaceans inhabiting the Strait of Gibraltar • Presentation of the different methodologies to study these species (photo-ID, biopsy sampling, diet using stable isotopes, population genetics…) • Presentation of the latest results from our research and their contribution to the conservation of the species of the Strait • Presentation of all the ongoing research projects • Boat-based surveys and data collection at sea whenever the weather conditions are suitable No previous knowledge about cetacean and/or marine science is required as we will adapt the presentations and missions according to the level of knowledge of the participants. However a good mood and enthusiasm is welcome. Lectures will be available in English, French or Spanish. You will find all the information about dates, what is included in the price etc. on our website (available also in French and Spanish): http://www.circe.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid… Scientific publications can also be found on our website (available also in French and Spanish): http://www.circe.biz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=84&Itemid… Don’t miss this unique opportunity to meet researchers in the field and to enjoy the amazing wildlife of the Strait of Gibraltar! For more information you can contact us at: philippeATcirce.biz Philippe VERBORGH CIRCE (Conservation, Information and Research on Cetaceans) C/ Cabeza de Manzaneda, 3 11390 Pelayo-Algeciras Cádiz Spain www.circe.biz philippe(a)circe.biz +34 676745876

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CRRU Summer Field Courses in Scotland
by Dr Kevin Robinson 24 Apr '11

24 Apr '11

The new field dates for the Cetacean Research & Rescue Units 2011 Whales and dolphins of the Moray Firth project in Scotland have recently been launched (see http://www.crru.org.uk/join_the_team.asp) For 2011, the dates for our 11 day field programme (arriving on a Monday and departing on a Thursday) will be: 1. Team I: 30 May - 09 Jun 2. Team II: 13 Jun - 23 Jun 3. Team III: 27 Jun - 07 Jul 4. Team IV: 11 Jul - 21 Jul 5. Team V: 25 Jul - 04 Aug 6. Team VI: 08 Aug - 18 Aug 7. Team VII: 22 Aug - 01 Sep 8. Team VIII: 05 Sep - 15 Sep 9. Team IX: 19 Sep - 29 Sep The field teams are very much run in the form of a training / educational programme, with formal lectures, seminars and presentations by the research team, practical training in field methodologies and data collection and analysis, and direct participation in the research, education and rescue work of this dynamic and outgoing conservation charity (for publication list, see http://www.crru.org.uk/publications.asp) The cost for an 11 day internship in 2010 is 795 GBP, and this will cover you for full board (all your accommodation and food costs), your full equipment needs and ALL associated field costs during your stay with us in the heritage fishing village of Gardenstown in Banff. You'll simply need to arrange your own travel itinerary to us in Banffshire, northeast Scotland (nearest airport Dyce, Aberdeen, approx. 1½ hours from the field base by coach) plus any personal spending money. For further details please visit the CRRU project page at www.crru.org.uk/join_the_team.asp, or email us directly at info(a)crru.org.uk for further information and a pdf copy of the project briefing and booking/application form. We look forward to hearing from you On behalf of the CRRU team Dr. Kevin Robinson kev.robinson(a)crru.org.uk Cetacean Research & Rescue Unit | Whale and Dolphin Research | Environmental Education | Wildlife Rescue | Marine Conservation | Consultancy | Web: <http://www.crru.org.uk/> www.crru.org.uk PO Box 11307, Banff AB45 3WB, Scotland ( +44 (0)1261 851696 | 13 M1 Koh Tao, Suratthani 84360, Thailand ( +66 (0)872 634593 | Recognised Scottish Charity No. SC 035473 P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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Second Call for Heroes in Marine Mammal Science Video Project
by SMM Video Night 24 Apr '11

24 Apr '11

Hello Everyone. Just a reminder for anyone that might want to participant in "Heroes in Marine Mammal Science Video Project", please send us a letter of interest by April 29. The details of the program are below. We already have participants from across the globe working on a variety of issues but we hope you will participate too. Please let us know if you have any questions. For those of you who already expressed interest we will be getting in contact with you shortly after April 29th. Charles and Ari. ________________________________________________________ The team organizing the 19th Biennial Conference on Marine Mammalogy is busy working hard to bring about another great conference later this year. We are planning on maintaining the tradition of hosting a video night so that those researching and working with marine mammals can showcase their work or wild experiences they have captured on video. However, we are trying to come up with ways to reinvent and reinvigorate video night. We also want to find a way that we can use video night to garner more attention for the incredible research and conservation efforts that are occurring in the field of marine mammal science. With those goals in mind we have conceived the “Heroes in Marine Mammal Science Video Project”. What is the project? We are hoping to collect short video “diaries” of marine mammal research and conservation projects that are occurring around the world. We want the stories to be told in the researchers own words and through their own eyes. We are working on getting up to 10 GoPro Hero Cams donated to this project. These small, compact, waterproof high-definition cameras can be attached to helmets, bikes, boats, poles, almost anything. Society members will use the cameras record the work they are doing and interview themselves answering a series of scripted questions that give insight into the researchers and their mission. If you already have archived footage you can still participate. We would just need you to provide the footage and conduct your own self-interview. We are hoping that this small “documentary” will be of interest for the various media events that occur around the conference and will help gain international attention for the work being done within the Society. How can you participate? If you are interested in possibly participating in the project please email us at smmconferencevideo AT gmail.com (please insert <at> in place of the AT). Provide us with the following: - Your name - The species you work with - Your research or conservation topic - Geographic Area - Whether or not you will provide new or archival footage - If new footage, when your field season will be for which you will need the camera (please be as precise as possible). We will be contacting participants shortly with greater details. Please submit your request to participate by April 29, 2011. We want to emphasize, that if you are sent a video camera you must be timely in conducting the work and passing the camera on. A single camera will be used for multiple projects so we would like the cameras to be sent to the next researcher within 2 weeks. How and when can you submit footage? We will be setting up an ftp site or other mechanism to assist video delivery. We will update participants as soon as everything is finalized. Lastly, even if you do not wish to participate in this project, we hope you will share any recommendations on how video night can be improved. Recommendations can be sent to the same email address: smmconferencevideo AT gmail.com Thank you and looking forward to seeing you all in Tampa. REMEMBER TO SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST TO PARTICIPATE BY APRIL 29, 2011. P.S. Information for submitting videos for the traditional portion of video night will be posted later this summer.

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New paper Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in the Mediterranean Sea
by scheinin 24 Apr '11

24 Apr '11

Dear list members Apologies for cross-posting , the paper below has just become available online on Marine Biodiversity Records: Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in the Mediterranean Sea: anomalous event or early sign of climate-driven distribution change? Aviad P. Scheinin1, Dan Kerem1, Colin D. Macleod2, Manel Gazo3,4, Carla A. Chicote3 and Manuel Castellote5 1Israel Marine Mammal Research and Assistance Center (IMMRAC), The Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies and Department for Maritime Civilizations, The University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel, 2IBES, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK, 3SUBMON-Conservation, study and awareness of the marine environment, Rabassa, 49-51. 08024 Barcelona, Spain, 4Department of Animal Biology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain, 5National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115 USA Abstract: On 8 May 2010, a gray whale was sighted off the Israeli Mediterranean shore and twenty-two days later, the same individual was sighted in Spanish Mediterranean waters. Since gray whales were last recorded in the North Atlantic in the 1700s, these sightings prompted much speculation about this whale's population origin. Here, we consider three hypotheses for the origin of this individual: (1) it represents a vagrant individual from the larger extant population of gray whales found in the eastern North Pacific; (2) it represents a vagrant individual from the smaller extant population found in the western North Pacific; or (3) it represents an individual from the previously thought extinct North Atlantic population. We believe that the first is the most likely, based on current population sizes, on known summer distributions, on the extent of cetacean monitoring in the North Atlantic and on the results of a performed route analysis. While it is difficult to draw conclusions from such singular events, the occurrence of this individual in the Mediterranean coincides with a shrinking of Arctic Sea ice due to climate change and suggests that climate change may allow gray whales to re-colonize the North Atlantic as ice and temperature barriers to mixing between northern North Atlantic and North Pacific biomes are reduced. Such mixing, if it were to become widespread, would have implications for many aspects of the marine conservation and ecology of these two regions. Keywords: global warming, climate change, migration, vagrancy, sea ice, ecosystem sentinels The article can be downloaded from Marine Biodiversity Records (Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom): http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FMBD%2FMBD4%2FS17552672110 00042a.pdf <http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FMBD%2FMBD4%2FS1755267211 000042a.pdf&code=9671dc798e740d6ea239898b8d35813a> &code=9671dc798e740d6ea239898b8d35813a Otherwise please contact me for a copy: scheinin(a)013.net.il. For those of you missing the ECS video night in Cadiz here is the Gray whale short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9IY58s9uGg Happy Passover Aviad __________________________________________________________________ Aviad Scheinin, Ph.D <mailto:scheinin@research.haifa.ac.il> scheinin(a)013.net.il <http://immrac.org/> http://immrac.org/ Chairman, IMMRAC - Israel Marine Mammal Research & Assistance center ECS (European Cetacean Society) council member Home address: Tirat Shalom, P.B. 1356, Nes-Ziona 74052, Israel Tel 972-8-9406584 Mobile 052-3571193 __________________________________________________________________

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Summer dolphin research courses in Slovenia
by Tilen Genov 23 Apr '11

23 Apr '11

Summer Dolphin Research Courses in Slovenia Morigenos – marine mammal research and conservation society is organizing Summer Dolphin Research Camps in July, August and September 2011, where you can assist in the research programme of the Slovenian Dolphin Project. *Morigenos - marine mammal research and conservation society* is a scientific NGO that aims to combine scientific research, monitoring, education, public awareness, capacity building and management, to achieve effective conservation of the marine environment and biodiversity. More information on Morigenos can be found at www.morigenos.org. The list of scientific publications by Morigenos can be seen here: Publications<http://www.morigenos.org/index.php?path=Publications> Slovenian Dolphin Project is a long-term research, monitoring and conservation programme, focusing on bottlenose dolphins (*Tursiops truncatus *) in Slovenian and adjacent waters in the northern Adriatic Sea since 2002. Research activities focus on dolphin distribution, abundance, social structure, habitat use, feeding habits, fishery interactions and tourism impact. Summer Dolphin Research Camps offer interested people to join Morigenos team for 10 days and participate in research activities. This includes boat surveys, land watches, theodolite tracking, photo-identification, behavioural observations, lectures and training. Food and accommodation are provided at Morigenos research base. Anyone above the age of 16 can participate, regardless of nationality or field of expertise. No previous experience is required. Apart from research activities, the participants share everyday duties and chores with the team members. Detailed information on Summer Dolphin Research Camps can be found here: Research camps <http://www.morigenos.org/index.php?path=Raziskovalni_tabori_delfini> Applications There is no selection. Applications are treated on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Please send an e-mail to morigenos(a)morigenos.org for registration, preferred dates and possible questions. ****************************** Tilen Genov Morigenos - marine mammal research and conservation society Jarska cesta 36/a SI-1000 Ljubljana Slovenia morigenos(a)morigenos.org www.morigenos.org http://www.facebook.com/Morigenos

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