March 2014 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

FW: PSO & PAM training - Stuart Florida
by Sarah Hancock 21 Mar '14

21 Mar '14

Marine Mammal Monitoring Training 17th - 21st April 2014 Stuart, Florida Hosted by: CSA Logo& Description: cid:3383135004_1047591 PSO Module Protected Species Observer Training BOEM & BSEE Compliant A 2 day interactive course aimed at people who wish to pursue a career in marine mammal observation and mitigation for the offshore seismic industry. This course has been designed to equip the delegates with a thorough background on all the aspects you will be required to know when working offshore. We have incorporated a day on board a vessel to allow you to gain experience with marine mammal identification while at sea. PAM Module Passive Acoustic Monitoring Training Comprehensive 'hands-on' PAM training for delegates with a scientific background in biology and marine sciences who have successfully completed the certified PSO Module. Day 1 . Introduction to Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles . Legislation within the Gulf of Mexico and global oceans . Introduction to Seismic Surveys . Permitting Requirements . Role of the PSO . Data Collection and Reporting Day 2 . Clues & Search Methods for Marine Mammals& Sea Turtles . Species Identification . Testing & Certification Day 3 (classroom) . Sound In Water . Marine Mammals . Anthropogenic Noise in the Sea . Effects of Anthropogenic Noise on Marine Mammals . Local Mitigation Guidelines . PAM Principles and the Role of the PAM Operator Day 4 (classroom) . PAM Hardware & Operations . PAM Software . PAMGuard Workshop Day 5 (on a vessel) . Set up and deployment of PAM systems and visual observer stations . Troubleshooting . Real-time mitigation and reporting Course Fee: $1500 for both courses Course coordinator: Sarah Hancock, Seiche Measurements Ltd Tel: +44 1647 270169 Email: sarah(a)seiche.eu.com

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Deadline reminder for the Secondary Adaptations of Tetrapods to Life in the Water 2014 meeting
by Pyenson, Nicholas 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Dear MARMAMers, On behalf of the Host Committee of the next "secondary adaptations" meeting in Washington, D.C. (June 2-4, 2014), we wish to remind everyone that the deadline for submitting abstracts is 1 April 2014. The link to the website for the Secondary Adaptations of Tetrapods to Life in the Water 2014 meeting (or "SecAd") is at: http://events2.gmu.edu/secad2014/ There you can access all of the information needed to plan your travel, register, and submit an abstract for the meeting. Please register early and book your hotel room if you are sure you are going to attend the meeting, so that we can book more hotel rooms at the meeting rate if we run out. Lastly, please forward this message to anyone who you think might also be interested in attending. We look forward to seeing you at SecAdDC in June. Best, Nick Pyenson and Mark Uhen, co-chairs of SecAdDC SecAdDC Host Committee: Daryl P. Domning, Howard University Stephen Godfrey, Calvert Marine Museum Neil P. Kelley, Smithsonian Institution Nicholas D. Pyenson, Smithsonian Institution Nathan Smith, Howard University Mark D. Uhen, George Mason University Jorge Velez-Juarbe, Florida Museum of Natural History Maya Yamato, Smithsonian Institution __________________________________________ Nicholas D. Pyenson, Ph.D. Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals Department of Paleobiology National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution NHB, MRC 121, PO Box 37012 10th & Constitution NW Washington, DC 20013-7012 USA Tel: 202-633-1366 Fax: 202-786-2832 Email: PyensonN(a)si.edu Twitter: @PyensonLab Lab blog: http://nmnh.typepad.com/pyenson_lab/ Staff page: http://paleobiology.si.edu/staff/individuals/pyenson.cfm

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WOW - Wildlife Observer Wales Courses, Pembrokeshire, 2014
by Powell Strong 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Dear marmamers. This year's WOW (Wildlife Observer Wales) courses are as listed below. More details available via the web site http://coast.pembrokeshire.ac.uk/wow/. Successful completion of course gains a nationally recognized qualification. Courses include class room and field work, including practical work on the Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion coasts, including areas currently of interest for marine renewable energy exploitation. Subsidised rates may apply. The WOW courses are a partnership between Pembrokeshire College and Seatrust http://seatrust.org.uk/default.aspx § Seabird Observing for Beginners 2 Days 7-8 May § Whale & Dolphin Observing for Beginners 2 Days 10-11 May § Seabird Monitoring 3 Days 24-26 June § Seashore Life 1 Day 20 August § Seals 3 Days 30 September - 2 October § Cetaceans 3 Days 29-31 October Powell Strong Coastal Zone & Marine Environment Research Unit Pembrokeshire College Haverfordwest, Wales SA61 1SZ 00 44 1437 753 166/ 00 44 7917752207 http://coast.pembrokeshire.ac.uk/wow/ p.strong(a)pembrokeshire.ac.uk<mailto:p.strong@pembrokeshire.ac.uk> ________________________________ Mae'r e-bost hwn ac unrhyw ffeiliau atodedig yn gyfrinachol ac at sylw'r unigolyn neu'r sefydliad a enwir uchod. Bydd unrhyw farn neu sylwadau a fynegir yn perthyn i'r awdur yn unig ac ni chynrychiolant o anghenraid farn Coleg Sir Benfro. Os ydych chi wedi derbyn yr e-bost hwn ar gam, rhowch sylw i'r gweinyddwr ar y cyfeiriad canlynol: postmaster(a)pembrokeshire.ac.uk<mailto:postmaster@pembrokeshire.ac.uk> Cysidrwch yr amgylchedd - a oes wir angen argraffu'r ebost hwn? This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Pembrokeshire College. If you have received this email in error please notify the administrator on the following address: postmaster(a)pembrokeshire.ac.uk<mailto:postmaster@pembrokeshire.ac.uk> Please consider the environment - do you really need to print this email?

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Upcoming ECS conference Scientific Program
by Thierry Jauniaux 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Apologies for cross posting The scientific (oral, short talk and poster) program and poster references will be available soon on http://liege.europeancetaceansociety.eu/content/scientific-programme See you soon Thierry Thierry Jauniaux, DMV, PhD, ECS Conference 2014 Liege 5-9 April http://liege.europeancetaceansociety.eu/conference/28th-annual-conference

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New Publication: Vocal matching of naval sonar signals by long-finned pilot whales
by Ricardo Antunes 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Dear list members, I would like to bring to your attention the following recent publication that might be of interest to some: Ana Alves, Ricardo Antunes, Anna Bird, Peter L. Tyack, Patrick J. O. Miller, Frans-Peter A. Lam, Petter H. Kvadsheim. 2014. Vocal matching of naval sonar signals by long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas). Marine Mammal Science. Abstract: "Behaviour and sound production of 5 long-finned pilot whale groups were recorded in 12 sonar experiments conducted in Norway in 2008 and 2009. The recordings revealed whale calls matching the frequency modulation patterns of transmitted sonar signals. A contour shape dissimilarity score was calculated between each sonar signal and the contours of 2556 social calls. For 2 of 12 experiments, which included upsweep and downsweep sonar signals, randomization tests indicated that the contour shapes of some calls were more similar to the sonar than expected by chance. Better understanding of acoustic signalling in this species is essential to estimate the impact of this relevant response to anthropogenic sound." For those with online access to Marine Mammal Science, the early view (DOI: 10.1111/mms.12099) can be downloaded from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12099/abstract Requests for pdfs can be sent to: rna(a)st-andrews.ac.uk Best Ricardo Antunes

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Pygmy right whale recordings?
by Namibian Dolphin Project 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Dear Marmamers, The Namibian Dolphin Project is based in Walvis Bay, Namibia. Walvis Bay is a known hot-spot for pygmy right whale (*Caperea marginata*) strandings, with several recent stranding events in the past 18 months. Please see Leeney et al. 2013 for further details of strandings in Walvis Bay, available from our website: http://www.namibiandolphinproject.com/category/research/publications/ We would like to conduct Passive Acoustic Monitoring in Walvis Bay using moored hydrophones for pygmy right whales. From our pilot study, we think we might have recorded this species. We would like to hear from researchers who have confirmed recordings of this species which we could compare our recordings to. Please contact me on nam.dolphin.project(a)gmail.com if you can help out. Any assistance on this matter would be much appreciated. Kind regards, Dr Tess Gridley, Namibian Dolphin Project. -- --------------------------------------------------- Tess Gridley PhD Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria Namibian Dolphin Project www.namibiandolphinproject.com namibiandolphinproject.blogspot.com Skype: tess.gridley Tel: +264 (0)81 692 2802 (NAM)

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Internship at Adriatic Dolphin Project - North Dalmatia
by Grgur Pleslić 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

INTERNSHIP POSITION AVAILABLE AT THE ADRIATIC DOLPHIN PROJECT - NORTH DALMATIA Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Croatia, is offering an internship position for the summer of 2014. The selected intern will participate in a boat-based study on bottlenose dolphins in the region of northern Dalmatia. This is a great opportunity to learn and practice field-work methods, including photo-identification, navigation and behaviour data collection, storage and analysis. Participation also presents an opportunity to use part of the dataset for writing a BSc or MSc thesis. The available period is from June to September 2014. Project background Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation runs Adriatic Dolphin Project (ADP) since 1999. This research project focuses on biology and ecology of the bottlenose dolphins and other cetaceans inhabiting the Adriatic Sea. In 2013 a new research project was initiated to include the region of North Dalmatia (ADP ND). The aim of this study is to gain insight into the status of local bottlenose dolphin population by investigating their abundance, homerange, association patterns, habitat use, survival rate and interactions with fisheries and aquaculture. To increase mobility, researchers, volunteers and interns are based on a 13 m wooden boat during 10-day trips. Daily area surveys in search for dolphins are conducted using a 5.2 m RIB. There is a 5-day period spent in homeport (island of Murter) between each 10-days boat trip. What you can expect: Daily procedures are strongly dependent on current weather conditions. During favourable weather (calm sea) the team is surveying the area in search for dolphins. During these surveys, intern will assist researchers in searching and collection of photo-identification, navigation and behavior data. Daily area surveys usually last between 3 and 5 hours, but can sometimes last up to 8 hours. Upon returning to the base (boat or land) intern helps out in storing and sorting the collected data, and general boat and equipment maintenance tasks. After the daily tasks are completed the whole team has time off. This internship also provides an opportunity to use part of the collected data set for writing a BSc or MSc thesis, under supervision of your respective menthor and in co-mentorship of Blue World Institute's researchers. Requirements: * Background in biology, ecology or related fields (currently studying or recently graduated) * Strong interest in cetacean research * Team spirit * Ability to work long hours in summer heat * No sea-sickness * English speaking * Readiness to live and work on a boat and share cabin with others Dates: Selected intern will receive a detailed training at the beginning of internship. Therefore, only candidates who can commit minimum of 30 days will be considered. Availability for longer period is prefered. Start date: 25th of May End date: 30th of September Costs: We are, unfortunately unable to provide financial support for participation. Therefore, selected inten will have to cover trip to and from Murter, living expenses and food during periods on land. In Murter, which is home port of the research boat, acommodation can be found from cca. 20 EUR. During the 10-day boat trips intern will have to compensate food, insurance and harbour fees costs at a fixed rate of 10 EUR per day. To apply: There is no deadline. Candidates will be selected based on their CVs and first come - first served basis. Please, send an e-mail with your CV and a short text expressing your interest to: grgur.pleslic(a)blue-world.org <mailto:grgur.pleslic@blue-world.org> . You can find more details about the project here: http://www.blue-world.org/en/science/north_dalmatia/ Grgur Pleslić Senior Researcher Blue World Institute http://www.blue-world.org <http://www.blue-world.org/>

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First Announcement - 5 day Workshop on Techniques for Estimating Marine Mammal Abundance - July 2014
by African Marine Mammal Colloquium 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Dear Colleagues, The SAMSS/AMMC website is up and running - don't forget for this year's meeting you need to go through the full application process and costs for the SAMSS. The AMMC will be run as special sessions within the main meeting. http://samss2014.co.za/ Early registration ends soon! One of the reasons for running the AMMC is to take advantage of everyone already being in the same place to run some additional relevant workshops and meetings. I'm happy to announce that Prof Phillip Hammond of the Sea Mammal Research Institute will be coming to the Cape to run a workshop immediately following the AMMC/SAMSS meeting in July this year. *Dates*: 19-23 July 2014 (Immediately after SAMSS / AMMC) *Presenter*: Prof Phil Hammond, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK *Venue*: TBD (possibly Cape Town but somewhere near the SAMSS venue) *Cost*: TBD, but in the region of R2000. Discounts hopefully available for students We're looking into some funding options will will hopefully allow us to bring the costs down. ONLY *18 PLACES *AVAILABLE - PLEASE EMAIL THIS ADDRESS TO BOOK A SPACE. Workshop outline: *Estimating marine mammal abundance and life history parameters* Philip Hammond, Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, UK This workshop will introduce participants to the methods used to estimate the abundance and life history parameters (primarily survival rates) of marine mammals, especially cetaceans. Methodology will be presented in a statistical framework but the focus will be on practical application of the methods and analysis of the data, and on understanding and dealing with potential biases that arise from applying the methodology in practice. Participants will spend much of the time doing practical exercises and will learn to use the analytical software DISTANCE for line transect sampling analysis and software MARK for mark-recapture analysis. The use of abundance estimates in trend analysis and population viability analysis will also be introduced. On successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to design, execute and analyse data from line transect and capture-recapture studies and understand how results can be used to inform conservation and management. Workshop outline: *Mark-recapture and photo-identification* · Introduction to mark-recapture techniques, including assumptions of the methods · Data collection: sampling design, photo-identification, turning photos into data · Data analysis: using capture histories to estimate abundance (using closed and open population models); estimating survival rates · *Practical*: two-sample abundance estimation in Excel · Introduction to MARK: data entry, data analysis, interpretation of results · *Practical*: using MARK to estimate abundance and survival rates · Using RMark to run MARK *Line transect sampling and sightings surveys* · Introduction to line transect sampling, including assumptions and survey design · *Practical*: survey design using DISTANCE · Data collection: running a survey · *Practical*: line transect sampling data collection and data entry using DISTANCE · Data analysis: selecting a detection function; abundance estimation; variance estimation · Using DISTANCE to analyze data: interpretation of results · *Practical*: analytical work using DISTANCE · Accounting for animals missed on the transect line · Introduction to density surface modelling of abundance *Population status, trends and population viability analysis (PVA)* · Power analysis, trend analysis, PVA using software VORTEX · *Practical*: trend analysis and population viability analysis *Dr Philip Hammond *moved from the Sea Mammal Research Unit in Cambridge to the University of St Andrews in 1996, becoming full Professor in 2005. His research focuses primarily on population dynamics and ecology, in particular the applied aspects of how seals and cetaceans interact with mankind. He is particularly interested in (a) studies of the habitat usage, foraging ecology and diet of marine mammals; (b) the estimation of abundance, survival and reproductive rates, and the modelling of marine mammal populations; and (c) studies of the management of whaling, cetacean bycatch in fisheries, seal-fishery interactions, and the conservation of vulnerable species. He has supervised more than 30 PhD students and published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He teaches courses on quantitative methods in biology, ecology, biology of marine organisms, conservation research methods, marine mammal biology and marine mammal conservation. Over the last few years, he has taught practical workshops to students, early career researchers and professional practitioners on estimating abundance and population parameters, and on spatial modelling of habitat usage and abundance, in Spain, Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand. -- __________________________________ African Marine Mammal Colloquium Mammal Research Institute Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria 0002 South Africa http://www.up.ac.za/zoology/MRI/ _________________________________ *Please** consider the environment before printing this e-mail.*

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Paper on Doppler effect in Cetaceans
by Daniel Patón Domínguez 20 Mar '14

20 Mar '14

Dear list: Many months ago I asked on information about sonometry in cetaceans for a research with my students of Environmental Sciences. The idea was to explore the amazing world of cetaceans communication inside the practical classes on Bioacoustic. Traditionally we work in applications of numerical methods in Ecology. This area was new for us but very exciting. Immediately we thought that could be a new idea to develop a comparative analysis of species. Inside the process of understanding cetacean communication the idea of exploring the possible Doppler effect was interesting. My students and me want to give thanks to the people of this list and institutions that give data for developing this activity such as: - NOAA and the web DOSITS (http://www.dosits.org/audio/marinemammals) - Macauly Library of Cornell University (http://macaulaylibrary.org/) - Acoustic laboratory of Oregon and the web Mobysound (http://www.mobysound.org) - Scripps institution and the web Voices in the Sea (http://cetus.ucsd.edu/voicesinthesea.org) Many people had contributed too like Mariana Melcon from Scripps Whale Acoustic Lab, Lorenzo Rojas Bracho from the National Institute of Ecology in Mexico, Jerome Sueur from the Museum of Natural History of Paris and Angelo Farina of Parma University. These excellent researches give useful comments and the paper had been published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2014.02.016) My students are completely crazy by this history that appear in a coffee session of brain-storming of a small group of MENSA of my University. We live to 300 km away from the sea but we are opened to any collaboration that need our knowledge on data analysis. Probably a good idea could be increase the list of species or explore the changes in Doppler shift of one specie in different behavioral activities. The list of species finally studied is: Balaenidae: Balaena mysticetus Eubalaena australis Eubalaena glacialis Eubalaena japonica Balaenoptera acutorostrata Balaenoptera borealis Balaenoptera edeni Balaenoptera musculus Balaenoptera physalus Megaptera novaeangliae Delphinidae: Cephalorhynchus commersonii Cephalorhynchus eutropia Cephalorhynchus heavisidii Cephalorhynchus hectori Delphinus capensis Delphinus delphis Feresa attenuata Globicephala macrorhynchus Globicephala melas Grampus griseus Lagenodelphis hosei Lagenorhynchus acutus Lagenorhynchus albirostris Lagenorhynchus obliquidens Lagenorhynchus obscurus Lissodelphis borealis Orcaella brevirostris Orcaella heinsohni Orcinus orca Pepenocephala electra Pseudorca crassidens Sotalia fluviatilis Sousa chinensis Stenella attenuata Stenella clymene Stenella coeruleoalba Stenella frontalis Stenella longirostris Steno bredanensis Tursiops aduncus Tursiops australis Tursiops truncatus Eschrichtiidae: Eschrichtius robustus Kogiidae: Kogia breviceps Kogia sima Lipotidae: Lipotes vexillifer Monodontidae: Delphinapterus leucas Monodon monoceros Neobalaenidae: Caperea marginata Phocoenidae: Neophocaena phocaenoides Phocoena phocoena Phocoena sinus Phocoenoides dalli Physeteridae: Physeter macrocephalus Platanistidae: Inia geoffrensis Platanista gangetica Pontoporia blainvillei Ziiphidae: Berardius bairdii Berardius arnuxii Hyperoodon ampulatus Indopacetus pacificus Mesoplodon bidens Mesoplodon carlhubbsi Mesoplodon densirostris Mesoplodon europaeus Mesoplodon ginkgodens Mesoplodon hectori Mesoplodon stejnegeri Ziphius cavirostris I hope give thanks personally to the specialists in the next Congress of the European Cetacean Society and I hope to continue learning on this amazing world of cetacean communication. Many regards to everybody, -- ******************************************************** Daniel Patón Domínguez Numerical Ecology. Ecology Unit Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences Faculty of Sciences. University of Extremadura Avda. Elvas s/n 06071 Badajoz (Spain) http://unex.academia.edu/DanielPatonDominguez https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel_Paton/ http://sites.google.com/site/numericalecologyuex/home ********************************************************

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16ª Reunión de Trabajo de Expertos en Mamíferos Acuáticos
by Camila Rosso 19 Mar '14

19 Mar '14

We are proud to invite the Marine Mammal community to the 16th RT Working Meeting of Experts on Southern Aquatic Mammals and Congress of the Latin American Specialists on Aquatic Mammals (SOLAMAC for its acronym in Spanish) to be conducted in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from the 1st to the 5th of December, 2014. This event will be associated with the Colombian Congress of Zoology, which in the 2010 version had more than 2500 attendees. The main topic of this RT is impacts of human activities on aquatic mammals. In this event we will have keynote presentations, sessions for oral presentations, videoposter presentations, and symposiums related with interest topic related with our theme. You can find information in www.solamac.org, www.omacha.org and http://www.congresocolombianozoologia.org/index.php/el-congreso/eventos-inv… . He hope see you all there! La 16ª Reunión de Trabajo de Expertos en Mamíferos Acuáticos de América del Sur/10 Congreso de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Especialistas en mamíferos Acuáticos (Solamac) se realizará en el Centro de Convenciones de Cartagena, Colombia, entre los días 1 y 5 de diciembre del año 2014. Este evento estará asociado al Congreso Colombiano de Zoología, el cual en la versión del año 2010 contó con más de 2.500 asistentes. El tema escogido para este evento es "Impactos de actividades humanas y la conservación de mamíferos acuáticos en Latino América". Se realizarán mesas con actividades que incluyen minicursos, mesas de trabajo y presentaciones magistrales relacionadas con el efecto de iniciativas productivas que afectan los mamíferos acuáticos, los métodos para detectar y medir estas perturbaciones y formas de prevenir, controlar, disminuir o compensar los impactos. Para mas información consulten las paginas: www.solamac.org, www.omacha.org and http://www.congresocolombianozoologia.org/index.php/el-congreso/eventos-inv… . ¡Próximamente contaremos con más información! Informamos que a 16ª Reunião de Trabalho de Especialistas em Mamíferos Aquáticos da América do Sul / 10º Congresso da Sociedade Latino americana de Especialistas em mamíferos Aquáticos (Solamac) será realizado no Centro de Convenções de Cartagena, Colômbia, entre os dias 1 e 5 de dezembro de 2014.O evento estará associado ao Congresso Colombiano de Zoologia, cuja última edição em 2010 teve mais de 2.500 participantes. O tema escolhido para esta edição foi: "Impactos das atividades humanas e a conservação de mamíferos aquáticos na América Latina". O tema será abordado através de diferentes atividades como: mesas redondas, minicursos e apresentações orais relacionadas com o efeito de projetos produtivos que afetam os mamíferos aquáticos, métodos para detectar e medir as perturbações e maneiras de prever, controlar, diminuir ou compensar os impactos. Para más informação visite os sites: paginas: www.solamac.org, www.omacha.org and http://www.congresocolombianozoologia.org/index.php/el-congreso/eventos-inv… . -- MARIA CAMILA ROSSO LONDOÑO Maestra en Sistemas Costeiros e Oceânicos CEM/UFPR, Brasil Bióloga Marina UJTL, Colombia Telefono: 57 1 3152241 Cel. (57) 3125731503 Bogotá - Colombia

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