September 2013 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

New paper on blue whale chemical profiles
by Trumble, Stephen J. 19 Sep '13

19 Sep '13

Please be alerted to the following publication in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (early online edition) Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles Stephen J. Trumble, Eleanor M. Robinson, Michelle Berman-Kowalewski, Charles W. Potter, and Sascha Usenko Abstract: Lifetime contaminant and hormonal profiles have been reconstructed for an individual male blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus, Linnaeus 1758) using the earplug as a natural aging matrix that is also capable of archiving and preserving lipophilic compounds. These unprecedented lifetime profiles (i.e., birth to death) were reconstructed with a 6-mo resolution for a wide range of analytes including cortisol (stress hormone), testosterone (developmental hormone), organic contaminants (e.g., pesticides and flame retardants), and mercury. Cortisol lifetime profiles revealed a doubling of cortisol levels over baseline. Testosterone profiles suggest this male blue whale reached sexual maturity at approximately 10 y of age, which corresponds well with and improves on previous estimates. Early periods of the reconstructed contaminant profiles for pesticides (such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes and chlordanes), polychlorinated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers demonstrate significant maternal transfer occurred at 0-12 mo. The total lifetime organic contaminant burden measured between the earplug (sum of contaminants in laminae layers) and blubber samples from the same organism were similar. Total mercury profiles revealed reduced maternal transfer and two distinct pulse events compared with organic contaminants. The use of a whale earplug to reconstruct lifetime chemical profiles will allow for a more comprehensive examination of stress, development, and contaminant exposure, as well as improve the assessment of contaminant use/emission, environmental noise, ship traffic, and climate change on these important marine sentinels. [Doc - Apr 16, 2012 14-09.jpg]

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Position: ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GEOGRAPHY & ENVIRONMENT, San Francisco State University.
by Ellen M Hines 19 Sep '13

19 Sep '13

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF GEOGRAPHY & ENVIRONMENT, San Francisco State University. The Department of Geography & Environment at San Francisco State University is conducting a search for a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Geography & Environment, with a specialty in Environmental Science & Management. A Ph.D. in Geography or closely related discipline is required. Evidence of commitment to excellence in research; post-doctoral or equivalent research experience desirable. Evidence of commitment to high-quality teaching. The applicant will be expected to carry out an active, externally-funded research program involving both undergraduate and master's students, in environmental science, management or modeling. To apply, upload a current CV, a statement of proposed research and student mentorship, and a statement of teaching philosophy, experience and interests as a single PDF document following the instructions at http://academicjobsonline.org<http://academicjobsonline.org/>. Follow instructions at the site to arrange for three letters of reference to be submitted separately. All materials should be received by November 1, 2013, for full consideration. Women, members of all minority groups, veterans and disabled individuals are encouraged to apply. San Francisco State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. Ellen Hines, PhD Professor of Geography Marine & Coastal Conservation and Spatial Planning Lab Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies San Francisco State University 3152 Paradise Drive Tiburon, CA 94920 USA 1 415 338 3512 Fax: 1 415 338 6243 ehines(a)sfsu.edu<mailto:ehines@sfsu.edu> gis.sfsu.edu/coastal

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curious pilot whale behaviour
by George Stoyle 19 Sep '13

19 Sep '13

A pod of pilot whales exhibited some strange behaviour whilst in shallow water on the Shetland Islands, UK the other day. A description of the encounter, along with photos and video can be accessed by going to http://www.earthinfocus.com/blog/detail.php?id=13. We'd be interested to hear from anyone else who has seen this kind of behaviour and has an idea of why they do it. Many thanks, George Stoyle Earth In Focus

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Belize Course Announcement 7-20 January 2014
by Katheryn Patterson 19 Sep '13

19 Sep '13

***COURSE ADVERTISEMENT*** George Mason University's Belize Ridges to Reefs study abroad course, now in its 4th season, is set to run 7-20 January 2014. The Belize Ridges to Reef Program offers students a once-in-a-lifetime experience where students will have the opportunity to live on one of Belize’s most pristine offshore cayes, Half Moone Caye; have access to an archaeological cave system; explore the Sibun river; and form lasting friendships with the people they meet on their adventure. Students will explore special places where only few travelers go, such as the Actun Tunichil Muknal, a sacred Mayan sacrificial site, and the infamous Blue Hole that Jacques-Yves Cousteau made famous in 1972. This course will focus heavily upon tropical marine and rainforest ecosystems. We will have the opportunity to sea kayak, snorkel, hike, go caving and more! There will also be a heavy cultural component embedded within the course as we will also learn about, interact with, and participate in cultural events of the Maya, Garifuna, and Creole peoples. Students will earn three undergraduate-level upper division elective college in biology (BIOL), environmental science (EVPP), or interdisciplinary studies (NCLC). Three credits of graduate level biology (BIOL) and environmental science (EVPP) coursework are also available. Course credits in other departments can be earned as well, but it is up to the student to seek necessary approval from his/her department. The program fee ($4,530) includes tuition and program expenses. International airfare and personal expenses are not included in the program fee and are the responsibility of the participant.For more information, please go to the course website or contact the course instructor directly (Katheryn Patterson, kpatter3(a)gmu.edu) http://globaled.gmu.edu/programs/facultyled/winterstudy/belize.html The course is already over halfway full so if you don't want to be left out, don't forget to fill out your application today! Best, Katheryn Katheryn W. Patterson Environmental Science and Policy Dept. George Mason University Fairfax, VA

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Reported Incidences of Parasitic Infections in Marine Mammals from 1892 to 1978
by Paul Royster 18 Sep '13

18 Sep '13

Publication announcement: Reported Incidences of Parasitic Infections in Marine Mammals from 1892 to 1978 by John R. Felix 150 pp, 8.5x11"; e-book FREE, hardcover $40.00 Searching the older scientific literature for parasite infection prevalence and geographical distribution has been a sometimes necessary but laborious challenge. This new comprehensive bibliography is a convenient resource that consolidates information about the parasite groups Acanthocephala, Acarina, Anoplura, Cestoda, Nematoda, and Trematoda, and the marine mammal hosts of orders Pinnipedia, Cetacea, and Carnivora, including accepted (or suspected) taxonomic synonyms and geographical information about the host and/or parasite. It provides a valuable reference for stranding response personnel, aquatic animal veterinarians, marine biologists, and professional parasitologists. John R. Felix is a lecturer in the Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences at Northeastern University, with degrees in fisheries biology and public administration from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst), San Diego State University, and Harvard University. Published by Zea Books, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries. Online e-book (pdf) available free at http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/zeabook/20/ Hardcover print edition $40 from Lulu.com at http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/unllib Paul Royster Scholarly Communications, UNL Libraries 306 Love Library University of Nebraska-Lincoln 402 472-3628 proyster(a)unl.edu<mailto:proyster@unl.edu> http://digitalcommons.unl.edu<http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/>

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IMCC3 Save-the-Date (14-18 August 2014)
by Chris Parsons 18 Sep '13

18 Sep '13

3rd International Marine Conservation Congress Making Marine Science Matter Save the date for IMCC3! The Congress will be held 14-18 August 2014 at the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, UK. Join us in Scotland for meaningful symposia, influential focus groups, networking, inspiring speakers, and fun! The overall theme of the congress is Making Marine Science Matter. For marine conservation to be effective, marine conservation science must matter to stakeholders, policy makers, and practitioners. To accomplish this, the congress will be organized around specific topics of interest for marine conservation in general, as well as the local area. * Food security and the oceans (sustainable fisheries and aquaculture) * Marine renewable and non-renewable energy * Climate, ocean acidification, and the changing oceans * Advancing marine conservation through international treaties * Effective conservation planning (including EBM and MPAs, cumulative impacts) * Communicating marine conservation (marine conservation awareness and outreach, social media) * Participation in marine conservation science (e.g. citizen and indigenous science) * Marine tourism * Estuary restoration Symposia and focus groups will produce tangible and actionable outputs to advance marine conservation, such as white papers, policy statements, peer-reviewed presentations, and websites. To be a part of IMCC3, clear you calendar for 14-18 August 2014! Share the attached IMCC3 Save-the-Date with your friends, colleagues, organizations and listservs! We can't wait to see you in Scotland! SCB-Marine Section Board of Directors & IMCC3 Local Organizing Committee www.facebook.com/scbmarine www.twitter.com/scbmarine NB For the marine mammal community there are already several proposals for special marine mammal oriented sessions for this meeting !

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North Pacific right whale publication
by Mark Baumgartner 18 Sep '13

18 Sep '13

Colleagues, The following paper was recently published in Marine Ecology Progress Series. The article is available with free access from the MEPS website (http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v490/p267-284/) or by request to me. Kind regards, Mark Baumgartner Baumgartner, M.F., N.S.J. Lysiak, H.C. Esch, A.N. Zerbini, C.L. Berchok, and P.J. Clapham. 2013. Associations between North Pacific right whales and their zooplanktonic prey in the southeastern Bering Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 490:267-284. Abstract: Due to the seriously endangered status of North Pacific right whales Eubalaena japonica, an improved understanding of the environmental factors that influence the species’ distribution and occurrence is needed to better assess the effects of climate change and industrial activities on the population. Associations among right whales, zooplankton, and the physical environment were examined in the southeastern Bering Sea during the summers of 2008 and 2009. Sampling with nets, an optical plankton counter, and a video plankton recorder in proximity to whales as well as along cross-isobath surveys indicated that the copepod Calanus marshallae is the primary prey of right whales in this region. Acoustic detections of right whales from sonobuoys deployed during the cross-isobath surveys were strongly associated with C. marshallae abundance, and peak abundance estimates of C. marshallae in 2.5 m depth strata near a tagged right whale ranged as high as 10^6 copepods m^-3. The smaller Pseudocalanus spp. was higher in abundance than C. marshallae in proximity to right whales, but significantly lower in biomass. High concentrations of C. marshallae occurred in both the surface and bottom layers of the highly stratified water column, but there was no evidence of diel vertical migration. Instead, occurrence of C. marshallae in the bottom layer was associated with elevated near-bottom light attenuance and chlorophyll fluorescence, suggesting C. marshallae may aggregate at depth while feeding on resuspended phytodetritus. Despite the occasional presence of strong horizontal gradients in hydrographic properties, no association was found between C. marshallae and either fronts or phytoplankton distribution. Mark Baumgartner Associate Scientist Biology Department Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution MS #33, Redfield 256 Woods Hole, MA 02543 mbaumgartner(a)whoi.edu www.whoi.edu/sites/mbaumgartner (508)289-2678 phone (508)457-2134 fax

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Special session on bioacoustics - IEEE ATSIP'14 Conference
by Olivier ADAM 16 Sep '13

16 Sep '13

Special session on Bioacoustics - ATSIP'14 last CFP IEEE - International conference on Advanced Technologies for Signal and Image Processing ATSIP 17-19 march 2014 Sousse, Tunisia http://sabiod.org/ATSIP4B Journal Issue: Selected papers from each topic will be considered for publication (pending) at high level journals in signal topics This Bioacoustic Special Session includes: * Bioacoustic Big Data * Bioacoustic classification / indexing * Biosonar marine mammals / chiroptera * Structuration of animal sound (insect / bird / mammals...) * Submarine biocoustics * Passive acoustic tracking * Biodiversity by bioacoustics, ... Recordings / topics of interest are available from the NIPS for Bioacoustics workshop http://sabiod.org/nips4b and from ICML for Bioacoustics workshop (Atlanta 2013). Session Chairmen: Hervé Glotin, univ Toulon, IUF Olivier Adam, univ. Paris VI Deadlines: * Submission of Regular Papers: October 5th, 2013 * Notification of Paper Acceptance: December 5th, 2013 * Revised Paper Upload Deadline: January 5th, 2014 * Authors Registration Deadline: January 15th, 2014 Paper Submission: Authors are invited to submit full-length papers of no more than six pages at www.atms-research-group.com/fr/atsip/papersubmission

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Request for megafauna entanglement records in thick cables, moorings etc.
by Steven Benjamins 16 Sep '13

16 Sep '13

Dear colleagues, Marine renewable energy sources (offshore wind, but increasingly tide and wave energy) are becoming increasingly attractive to exploit in many parts of the world, particularly in the light of increasingly stringent carbon reduction targets. There is, however, also a strong interest in determining potential environmental risks of these new technologies. As part of a consortium with the University of Exeter, the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is currently undertaking a government-commissioned review of the potential for marine megafauna entanglement risk from renewable marine energy developments. This includes assessing the risks of marine mammals, basking sharks and marine turtles suffering injury or death due to entanglement within moorings, interconnector cables etc. These cables are typically considerably thicker (>5 cm) and stiffer than ropes and lines associated with the fishing industry, and at first glance would appear to offer fewer obvious means of entanglement. On behalf of my co-authors, I would hereby wish to ask the MARMAM community if anyone has come across any evidence (incl. anecdotal/grey literature) of marine mammals (or other megafauna) becoming entangled in thick cables, chains or moorings such as those associated with the offshore oil & gas sector, the aquaculture industry, or any other non-fisheries-related sources (eg. pontoons, floating marinas or navigational buoys). Any such records would help inform our assessment of the risks associated with this emerging and highly diverse sector, at least in terms of potential entanglement risks. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly via email (at Steven.Benjamins(a)sams.ac.uk) if you wish to share any such records with us, or if you have further questions. Once our review has been formally completed, a summary of our results will be provided on MARMAM. Many thanks in advance for your assistance. Yours truly, Steven Benjamins _____________________________________________________________________________________ Dr. Steven Benjamins Post Doctoral Research Associate SAMS (Scottish Association for Marine Science) Oban Argyll Scotland UK PA37 1QA Tel: +44(0)1631-559449 (office) Tel: +44(0)1631-559000 (switchboard) Fax: +44(0)1631-559001 E-mail address: Steven.Benjamins(a)sams.ac.uk http://www.sams.ac.uk

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Mediterranean monk seal Facebook page
by Mercedes Muñoz Cañas 16 Sep '13

16 Sep '13

NEW FACEBOOK PAGE ABOUT THE MEDITERRANENA MONK SEAL (MONACHUS MONACHUS)!! https://www.facebook.com/focamonjeCaboBlanco [1] Hello everyone! We just started a new Facebook page about the Mediterranean monk seal, and about the project that CBD-Habitat foundation develops at Cabo Blanco peninsula to save the last existing colony of one of the most endangered animals of the world. Join us and give it a like!! Pictures, videos and facts about the species are waiting for you! -- Mercedes Muñoz Cañas Proyecto de Conservación de la foca monje del Mediterráneo Fundación CBD-Habitat 91 415 60 52 C/Gustavo Fernández Balbuena 2 entreplanta 1A 28002 Madrid ______________________________________________________________________ El contenido de este correo electrónico es confidencial y va dirigido exclusivamente a la persona que figura como destinatario. Si usted no lo es y lo ha recibido por error o tiene conocimiento del mismo por cualquier motivo, le rogamos que nos lo comunique por este medio y proceda a destruirlo o borrarlo. Está totalmente prohibida cualquier divulgación, distribución o reproducción de esta comunicación. El emisor no garantiza la integridad, rapidez o seguridad del presente correo, ni se responsabiliza de posibles perjuicios derivados de la captura, incorporaciones de virus o cualesquiera otras manipulaciones efectuadas por terceros. En cumplimiento del artículo 5 de la Ley 15/1999, por el que se regula el derecho de información en la recogida de los datos, se le informa de los siguientes extremos:Los datos de carácter personal que sean recabados de Ud. son incorporados a un fichero, cuyo responsable es FUNDACIÓN CBD-HABITAT PARA LA CONSERVACIÓN DE LA BIODIVERSIDAD Y SU HABITAT. La recogida de datos tiene como finalidad informarle de nuestros servicios. En todo caso, tiene Ud. derecho a ejercitar los derechos de acceso, rectificación, cancelación y oposición, determinados por la Ley Orgánica 15/1999, de 13 de diciembre. A efectos de ejercitar los derechos mencionados, puede Ud. dirigirse por escrito al Responsable del Fichero, en la siguiente dirección: C/Gustavo Fernandez Balbuena, nº 2 entree. 1ª OF. A- 28002 MADRID Links: ------ [1] https://www.facebook.com/focamonjeCaboBlanco

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