April 2014 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Survey: Management of ship strike mitigation measures
by Clement 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

Dear Marmamers, If you have been involved in the development and/or the management of ship strike mitigation measures such as ship speed reduction, area to be avoided (ATBA) or traffic separation scheme (TSS) shift/implementation, I would be grateful if you could take a few minutes of your time to fill out this short questionnaire by *May 4th* : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1DTfnOxOXamcwUVBSL9hkzHJbIQBg5EC1t37KUw63ba… My goal is to understand how the compliance with measures to mitigate ship-whale collisions is managed worldwide. I will be pleased to share my results with those interested when the work is completed. Feel totally free to contact me by email (clementsot(a)gmail.com) for any further detail. Thank you in advance! Clément -- Clément Chion <http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Clement_Chion/>, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow ISFORT <http://isfort.uqo.ca/nos_etudiants/clement-chion> Université du Québec en Outaouais

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Important Confirmation and Details for NWSSMM Conference May 3-4
by katrinan＠uvic.ca 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

This is a message to all those who registered for the 18th annual meeting of the Northwest Student Chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy in Bellingham, WA to be held May 3-4, 2014. Registration for this event is now closed, and we have sent out confirmation details to all registrants for whom we have contact information. If you have registered for the meeting and have not yet received a confirmation email, we may not have your current email address. If you have not already done so, please reply to Kat Nikolich (nikolik(a)students.wwu.edu) to confirm that you still plan to attend. Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have. Looking forward to seeing you very soon! Kat Nikolich M.Sc. Candidate WWU Marine Mammal Lab

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Workshop Announcement: Building capacity in conducting cetacean abundance surveys in South East Asia through a training workshop and actual surveys
by Leela Rajamani 23 Apr '14

23 Apr '14

Dear Fellow Marmamers, WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT : Building capacity in conducting cetacean abundance surveys in South East Asia through a training workshop and actual surveys Date : 4-11 August 2014 Venue: Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia Six scholarships to attend this workshop will be given to ASEAN country members who show a commitment to continue marine mammal research in their own respective countries. The workshop will include classroom lectures, field training and surveys and data analysis. Topics studied will include interview surveys and monitoring programmess, cetacean identification, line transect methods and photo-identification. Principal trainers are Louella Dolar, Leela Rajamani and Bill Perrin. Interested applicants are advised to send a covering letter, CV and the contact details of two references before May 10th, 2013 via email to Dr. Leela Rajamani leelarajamani(a)gmail.com. The scholarship includes a return airfare from the current country of residence, local travel , food and accommodation at CEMACS. This workshop can accommodate upto 12 participants. Non-scholarship participants will need to pay a registration fee of RM 500 (approx. US166), accomodation and food (at reasonable prices) available at CEMACS. CEMACS is a field station located at Northwest Penang, Malaysia close to the small town of Teluk Bahang in Penang National Park. Access to the field station is via the university boat or a 30 minute jungle trek along the beach. Best Regards, Leela Leela Rajamani (Ph.D.) Senior Lecturer, Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. Tel no: 60-4-8852750 (CEMACS) 60-4 6535922 (Main Campus) Fax No: 60-4-8852751 Email leelarajamani(a)gmail.com leelarajamani(a)usm.my

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Bottlenose Dolphin Thoracic CT
by Marina Ivančić, DVM, DACVR 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Dear MARMAM colleagues, We are pleased to announce a marine mammal diagnostic imaging publication detailing thoracic CT in live bottlenose dolphins: *Ivančić, M., Solano, M. and Smith, C. R. (2014), Computed Tomography and Cross-Sectional Anatomy of the Thorax of the Live Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Anat Rec, 297: 901–915. doi: 10.1002/ar.22900* Pulmonary disease is one of the leading causes of cetacean morbidity and mortality in the wild and in managed collections. The purpose of this study was to present the computed tomographic (CT) appearance of the thorax of the live bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*) out-of-water and to describe the technical and logistical parameters involved in CT image acquisition in this species. Six thoracic CT evaluations of four conscious adult bottlenose dolphins were performed between April 2007 and May 2012. Animals were trained to slide out of the water onto foam pads and were transported in covered trucks to a human CT facility. Under light sedation, animals were secured in sternal recumbency for acquisition of CT data. Non-contrast helical images were obtained during an end-inspiratory breath hold. Diagnostic, high quality images were obtained in all cases. Respiratory motion was largely insignificant due to the species' apneustic respiratory pattern. CT findings characteristic of this species include the presence of a bronchus trachealis, absence of lung lobation, cranial cervical extension of the lung, lack of conspicuity of intrathoracic lymph nodes, and presence of retia mirabilia. Dorsoventral narrowing of the heart relative to the thorax was seen in all animals and is suspected to be an artifact of gravity loading. Diagnostic thoracic computed tomography of live cetaceans is feasible and likely to prove clinically valuable. A detailed series of cross-sectional reference images is provided. Anat Rec, 297:901–915, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.22900/abstract Best regards, Marina Ivančić, DVM, DACVR Veterinary Radiologist National Marine Mammal Foundation Navy Marine Mammal Program marina.ivancic(a)nmmf.org

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Research volunteer opportunities in Berau, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
by danielle.kreb1＠gmail.com 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

BERAU MARINE VERTEBRATES MONITORING PROJECT The Berau marine vertebrates program aims to protect a high diversity of marine vertebrates including cetaceans, turtles, whale sharks and manta rays in the Marine Park of Derawan Islands, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Besides raising awareness, engaging local communities in sustainable handycraft and ecotourism activities, part of the conservation program includes a long-term monitoring program of marine vertebrates in the area. Since 2003 until now opportunistic surveys are being conducted in Berau by the local NGO Yayasan Konservasi RASI or the Conservation Foundation for Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia under guidance of Dr. Danielle Kreb and Ir. Budiono. However, more regular ongoing monitoring is being anticipated by involving both trained local fishermen and through a foreign volunteer/ Indonesian student monitoring program. We are looking for motivated volunteers/ students that are willing to engage in the program through an initial six-day monitoring survey in the beautiful landscape of the Berau archipelago while being mostly based on the island of Maratua (day 1-6) but also three nights on Derawan Island (Day 7-9). If the volunteer monitoring will prove effective then in the future more surveys will be planned in this manner. Dates: 10-20 June 2014 (spaces available for 3-4 volunteers) Day by day schedule, qualifications for volunteers and costs involved can be downloaded from a flyer posted on our website at: http://www.ykrasi.org/coastal.html We are looking forward to your partcipation! Sampai jumpa, Danielle & Budiono Contact: Danielle Kreb (Ph.D) Member of IUCN/SSC/Cetacean Specialist Group Scientific Program Advisor, RASI Conservation Foundation Komplek Pandan Pandan Harum Indah C52 Samarinda 75124, Kalimantan Timur Indonesia Phone: office+ 62.541.744874; Mobile: + 62.81346489515 E-mail: yk.rasi(a)gmail.com Web: http://www.ykrasi.org

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Reminder: Marine Mammal Science is now online only!
by Alana Phillips 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

 A friendly reminder from the Society for Marine Mammalogy: Marine Mammal Science is now online only! Are you wondering why you have not received a copy of Marine Mammal Science in the mail recently?   Two years ago, the majority of SMM members voted during the annual April ballot in favor of switching to an electronic-only journal and eliminating the printed version. There was an announcement of this on the Society’s website for several months, but it is possible you missed it if you do not periodically check the site and/or did not attend the annual member’s meeting at the biennial conference. It took some time to plan for the transition, and now it has become a reality.   At present, SMM members will not automatically receive e-mail notices when a new issue of the journal is out, although we are looking into whether we might get this changed. Regardless, Marine Mammal Science will continue to be published quarterly (January, April, July and October), and if you sign up for e-mail alerts (http://tinyurl.com/smm-email-alerts) Wiley will automatically e-mail you when a new issue is released.   If you used the online version of the journal in the past, you will already know that you must go to Marine Mammal Science through the Society’s website while logged in as a member (http://www.marinemammalscience.org/members) This will give you full access to the journal as part of your Society of Marine Mammalogy membership benefits. If you try to log in to Marine Mammal Science directly through wileyonline.com, you will not succeed in obtaining access to articles by using your SMM member ID and password. Of course, many of you can also gain access to the journal through an institutional membership if your institution has paid to have access. Marine Mammal Science remains the same high-quality journal as before. The journal will continue to operate as it has, maintaining the high standards it has had for papers being accepted. Having more pages available to publish does not diminish the need to keep Marine Mammal Science as a high quality journal. Indeed, we still cannot possibly publish all papers submitted, so we must also select papers to consider based on their relative importance and likely degree of interest to the readership of the journal. Benefits to having an entirely electronic journal: 1) We now publish a greater number of pages without a change in membership fees (now 1600 pages per year, up from 1000) 2) Allows colored figures in papers without charge to authors (previously it cost $600 per printed color figure) 3) Eliminates charges for mailing copies of issues to members 4) Eliminates issues getting lost in the mail (as was a common occurrence in the past) 5) Contributes to conservation by saving trees and eliminating the carbon cost of shipping print copies all over the world   If you have not already done so, we invite you to read our first two electronic-only journal issues published January and April 2014.   If you have questions about this change or about Marine Mammal Science in general, please e-mail Daryl Boness, Editor-in-Chief of Marine Mammal Science, at mmsci(a)megalink.net. Best regards, Alana V. Phillips ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Membership Chair, Society for Marine Mammalogy http://www.marinemammalscience.org

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Short note on genital papilloma in manatees and two new papillomaviruses
by Dr. Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Hola, We are happy to announce the publication of a short note on genital papilloma in manatees. Shin-je G, Joh J, Mignucci-Giannoni AA, Rivera-Guzmán AL, Falcón-Matos L, Alsina-Guerrero MM, Rodríguez-Villanueva M, Jenson AB, Bossart GD. 2014. Genital Papillomatosis Associated with Two Novel Mucosotropic Papillomaviruses from a Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Aquatic Mammals 40(2). PDF copies available upon request. Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, PhD Catedrático & Director—Centro de Conservación de Manatíes de Puerto Rico Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico 500 Carr. John Will Harris, Bayamón, Puerto Rico 00957 PO Box 361715 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 TEL (787)279-1912 x2070 • CEL (787)399-1900 EMAIL mignucci(a)manatipr.org • amignucci(a)bayamon.inter.edu WEB www.manatipr.org • www.bayamon.inter.edu FACEBOOK facebook.com/ccmapr • TWITTER twitter.com/manatipr

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SOMEMMA meeting May 12-15, Querétaro City, Mexico
by Sally Mizroch - NOAA Federal 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Dear colleagues,. This is a short reminder that the Mexican Society for Marine Mammals (SOMEMMA) is holding their *XXXIV International Meeting for the Study of Marine Mammals *next month in Querétaro City, May 12 - 15. The meeting´s theme this year is "*Multidisciplinarity as a strategy to solve marine mammal conservation conundrums*". The keynote speakers are Frances Gulland, Mariano Sironi, Laura Martinez-Levasseur and Ileana Espejel. For the first time, the organizers have arranged for simultaneous Spanish-English translation, so even if your Spanish is rusty (or non-existent), please attend. Travel logistics are surprisingly easy and Querétaro is a beautiful city. You can fly directly to the Querétaro Airport from Houston, Dallas, Monterrey, Tijuana or Cancun. Or fly to México City and take land transportation between the Mexico City aiport and the city of Querétaro (about 3 hours). Or fly to Aguascalientes (2.5 hours away) from Dallas, Los Angeles, Houston, or Tijuana For more information, please follow this link: http://kacevedow.wix.com/somemma34reunion Best regards, Sally Mizroch North American representative to the SOMEMMA board. -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- Sally A. Mizroch Alaska Fisheries Science Center National Marine Mammal Laboratory 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Bldg 4 Seattle, WA 98115, USA voice: (206) 526-4030 fax: (206) 526-6615 e-mail: Sally.Mizroch(a)noaa.gov The contents of this message are mine personally and do not necessarilyreflect any position of NOAA.

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New Paper: Mobbing-like behavior by pilot whales towards killer whales: a response to resource competition or perceived predation risk?
by Joan Giménez Verdugo 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

We are pleased to announce the publication of the paper: R. De Stephanis, J. Giménez, R. Esteban, P. Gauffier, S. García-Tiscar, M-H. S. Sinding and P. Verborgh (2014) Mobbing-like behavior by pilot whales towards killer whales: a response to resource competition or perceived predation risk? Acta Ethologica DOI 10.1007/s10211-014-0189-1 Abstract: Interspecific interactions can be based on positive or negative outcome. Within antagonist interactions, predation refers to a predator attacking and feeding on a prey while competition is an interaction where individuals compete for a common resource. Worldwide distributions of long-finned pilot whales and killer whales rarely overlap, and they are not known to feed on the same preys. However, in this study, we described the interactions between long-finned pilot whales and killer whales in the Strait of Gibraltar. The former was seen pursuing away the latter in all observations. The main hypotheses for the cause of these interactions are predation or competition. To test both hypotheses, movement patterns and isotopic niches of both species were investigated in the Strait of Gibraltar through satellite tagging and stable isotopes, respectively. Satellite tracks showed no overlap between one tagged pilot whale and one tagged killer whaler’s distributions during 21 days. Similarly, Euclidian distances between centroids of Bayesian standard ellipse areas of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes were significantly different from zero, showing different isotopic niches for each species. This shows that no competition for the resources should exist between both species in the Strait of Gibraltar and that they do not feed on each other, suggesting that the interactions would not be related to predation. A possible historical presence of marine mammal-eating killer whales in the area, today disappeared, could explain the antipredator defense mobbing-like behavior of pilot whales observed in the Strait. A PDF copy can be downloaded from: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10211-014-0189-1/fulltext.html Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question regarding our work. Best regards, Joan Gimenez -- *Joan Giménez Verdugo* PhD Student *Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC) * *Department of Conservation Biology* Avenida Americo Vespucio s/n 41092 Sevilla www.ebd.csic.es Mail: joan.gimenez(a)csic.es Phone: +34619176849

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New paper on harbour seal genetics, PVA and MUs
by Morten Tange Olsen 22 Apr '14

22 Apr '14

Dear MARMAMers We are pleased to announce the publication of our paper using genetic data and population viability analyses to identify harbour seal populations and management units http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.12644/abstract Identification of populations and management units is an essential step in the study of natural systems. Still, there is limited consensus regarding how to define populations and management units, and whether genetic methods allow for inference at the relevant spatial and temporal scale. Here, we present a novel approach, integrating genetic, life history and demographic data to identify populations and management units in southern Scandinavian harbour seals. First, 15 microsatellite markers and model- and distance-based genetic clustering methods were used to determine the population genetic structure in harbour seals. Second, we used harbour seal demographic and life history data to conduct population viability analyses (PVAs) in the vortex simulation model in order to determine whether the inferred genetic units could be classified as management units according to Lowe and Allendorf's (Molecular Ecology, 19, 2010, 3038) ‘population viability criterion’ for demographic independence. The genetic analyses revealed fine-scale population structuring in southern Scandinavian harbour seals and pointed to the existence of several genetic units. The PVAs indicated that the census population size of each of these genetic units was sufficiently large for long-term population viability, and hence that the units could be classified as demographically independent management units. Our study suggests that population genetic inference can offer the same degree of temporal and spatial resolution as ‘nongenetic’ methods and that the combined use of genetic data and PVAs constitutes a promising approach for delineating populations and management units. If you are interested, but cannot access the paper, please send an email to mortentolsen[a]gmail.com Best wishes, Morten

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