May 2016 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Admin, research, & consultant vacancies at Ocean Science Consulting: request from the OSC recruitment team
by Victoria Todd 03 May '16

03 May '16

Dear MARMAM members, Ocean Science Consulting Ltd (OSC) is an international research and technology-focused marine science company involved principally in supplying marine mammal detection and risk mitigation services. OSC reinvests more than 80% of profits into R&D, which is orientated primarily towards high-level research on harbour porpoise interactions with offshore installations, and improving marine mammal and environmental monitoring standards worldwide, and has resulted in peer-reviewed publications and a non-profit book entitled the Marine Mammal Observer and Passive Acoustic Monitoring Handbook: https://www.pelagicpublishing.com/the-marine-mammal-observer-and-passive-ac… OSC is looking to expand its small dynamic team with three new vacancies: * Personal Assistant (PA) to Directors/General Administrator * Graduate Research Assistant * Trainee Consultant For full job descriptions and how to apply, please visit our website www.osc.co.uk/careers/vacancies Applications and any supporting documents should be emailed to recruitment(a)osc.co.uk Kind regards, OSC Recruitment Team

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Scientific data manager position at the Marine Mammal Laboratory
by Peter Boveng - NOAA Federal 02 May '16

02 May '16

The Polar Ecosystems Program at the Marine Mammal Laboratory of NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center is recruiting for a full-time permanent scientific data manager: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/421276600/ The position will require designing and managing database systems for ecological data on marine mammals, particularly aerial photographic survey data and satellite telemetry data on movements and behavior of seals. Desired skills include designing enterprise databases, e.g., Oracle or Postgres, and programming in R, Python, etc., to automate various aspects of data flow. The position is open to U.S. citizens and nationals. It will be filled under the "Operations Research Analyst" job series, and located in Seattle, WA. The deadline for applications is 16 May 2016. The Polar Ecosystems Program conducts research and monitoring on pinnipeds in arctic and sub-arctic ecosystems. The research projects focus primarily on abundance, trends, distribution, and foraging behavior of harbor, bearded, ringed, spotted, and ribbon seals in Alaska. The primary objectives of the program are to support management and assessment of population status under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and to gain a better understanding of the factors responsible for the dynamics of populations and their roles in the ecosystem. Please forward this announcement to whomever you think may have an interest in this opportunity. -- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter Boveng Polar Ecosystems Program Leader Marine Mammal Laboratory NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, WA 98115 USA tel: +1.206.526.4244 peter.boveng(a)noaa.gov http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/nmml/polar

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Call for Fall Internship Applications - Clearwater Marine Aquarium (Clearwater, FL)
by Cassie Seebart 02 May '16

02 May '16

Clearwater Marine Aquarium conducts rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts for sick or injured marine life. If rescued animals are deemed un-releasable due to their physical limitations or need for continuous care, Clearwater Marine Aquarium can provide permanent care for these animals. Clearwater Marine Aquarium offers intensive, hands on internships for individuals interested in particular aspects of the marine animal care field. The *Stranding Team Internship *provides interns with a unique opportunity to gain hands on experience in the response of live and dead dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and North American river otters. Intern responsibilities include, but are not limited to, assisting with the monitoring, rescue, transport, data collection, rehabilitation, release, and necropsy of stranded aquatic animals. Interns will also be given ample opportunities to further their skill sets relating to writing and public speaking. This will be achieved through duties such as writing weekly newsletters and presenting daily guest narrations. The Stranding Team seeks enthusiastic, dedicated, and hardworking individuals who are interested in promoting wildlife conservation through stranding efforts. The *Marine Mammal Training Internship* is designed to give individuals an inside look into what it takes to care for marine animals, with emphasis on common bottlenose dolphins, <http://www.seewinter.com/animals-exhibits/meet-animals/dolphins>North American river otters and African great white pelican. During your internship, you will learn how to prepare diets, clean to USDA standards, maintain exhibits, provide enrichment/mental stimulation and give public presentations to educate our visitors as well as promote environmental conservation. Through a classroom lecture series, you will also learn how trainers use principles such as positive reinforcement, operant conditioning and shaping to train. Candidates should be able to perform physically demanding duties and ideally be enrolled in a four-year college program in psychology, biology, marine biology or another related field. Hands-on animal experience, such as volunteering at an animal shelter or completing other marine mammal internships at another facility is required. SCUBA, First Aid and CPR certification is also a plus. The *Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Internship* offers a hands-on learning experience caring for rehabilitating sea turtles as well as permanent residents at Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Interns will be exposed to all aspects of the field including stranding, triage, food prep, exhibit maintenance, operating under USDA and FWC standards, animal restraint, basic target training, enrichment, daily husbandry and, occasionally, more extensive surgical procedures. Interns are able to practice many duties necessary for future animal care careers. After completing this internship, previous interns have used their experiences to gain employment in vet clinics or animal rehabilitation jobs, gained admission to veterinary school, or pursued educational and conservational outreach. The Sea Turtle department has an additional *Sea Turtle Nesting Internship*, in the summer only, during which nesting interns will assist in patrol of about 25 miles of beach. Interns will conduct all aspects of sea turtle nesting including nest marking, night patrol, hatchling release, inventory, caging, data input, and much more. Clearwater Marine Aquarium offers 3 internship time frames annually. *The Fall Internship runs from August through January. The application deadline for this internship is June 1st.* To learn more about Clearwater Marine Aquarium’s animal care internships and how to apply, please visit www.seewinter.com/internships. *Cassie Seebart* Senior Sea Turtle and Aquatic Biologist Clearwater Marine Aquarium 249 Windward Passage Clearwater, Florida 33767

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Become an Eco-Volunteer in Blue World Institute, Croatia
by tihana vučur 02 May '16

02 May '16

Become an Eco-Volunteer in Blue World Institute, Croatia The Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation is a Non-Governmental Organisation from Veli Lošinj, Croatia, set up with the intention to carry out scientific research and conservation projects and promote environmental awareness in the Lošinj-Cres archipelago, Croatia and Adriatic region as a whole. The major scientific research interest of Blue World Institute is the study of bottlenose dolphins (*Tursiops truncatus*) in the Adriatic Sea, implemented through the Adriatic Dolphin Project. Initiated in 1987 it is now the longest continuous study of a population of bottlenose dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea. The aim is research on population ecology, genetics, acoustics and habitats of bottlenose dolphins and other Cetacean species of the Adriatic. Within the Adriatic Dolphin Project, Blue World Institute conducts an Eco-volunteering program for highly motivated individuals who come to join the research and help in data collecting and analysis throughout the season. During the course period, Eco-volunteers are being educated in cetacean biology, marine conservation and scientific research techniques by the resident researchers. Received funds from this program are important for further research and conservation in this region. If you are interested in joining our team check the Blue World Institute web site: http://www.blue-world.org/en/get-involved/volunteer/Volunteer_at_ADP_Losinj/ or send an e-mail on tihana.vucur(a)blue-world.org Best regards, Tihana Vučur Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation Kastel 24 Veli Lošinj Croatia *tihana.vucur(a)blue-world.org <tihana.vucur(a)blue-world.org>* www.blue-world.org

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URGENT need for Volunteers at Seal Rescue Ireland for MAY
by Seal Rescue Ireland 01 May '16

01 May '16

Seal Rescue Ireland has an immediate need for animal care and education volunteers to help out for the month of May (starting ASAP and staying until June 2nd). Part time or full time volunteers excepted. Seal Rescue is a busy facility that is the only facility in Ireland that rescues and rehabilitates seals and heavily depends on volunteers to keep the facility running. Because of the facilities' financial situation, we are unable to provide housing or travel expenses to the facility yet we do have volunteer housing options available at a discount of 85 Euros a week which includes food. The volunteer house is located a quick 3 minute walk to the facility. : ) If you are willing to come help, please send a email with "MAY VOLUNTEER" in the subject line, along with your resume and letter of interest (which includes when you can start) to sealrescueireland(a)gmail.com . Thank you for considering coming to help!

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New publication on potential energy gain by humpback whales outside of the Antarctic
by Ms Kylie Owen 01 May '16

01 May '16

Dear All, My coauthors and I are pleased to announce the publication of our recent paper titled "Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)" published in Polar Biology. Owen K, Kavanagh AS, Warren JD, Noad MJ, Donnelly D, Goldizen AW, Dunlop RA (2016) Potential energy gain by whales outside of the Antarctic: prey preferences and consumption rates of migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Polar Biology DOI 10.1007/s00300-016-1951-9 Abstract: The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) makes annual migrations from Antarctic feeding grounds to tropical breeding grounds. The extent to which it feeds during migration is unknown, but thought to be very low. Whether an animal feeds during migration is likely dependent on prey availability and on the ease with which it can capture the available prey. This study used digital tags (DTAGs) and concurrent prey sampling to measure how changes in the depth and type of prey influenced the lunge feeding rates and the amount of energy consumed by migrating humpback whales. Whales targeting krill lunged at significantly higher rates than whales targeting fish; however, the depth of the prey did not influence lunge rate. The observed lunge rates when feeding on krill, to the best of our knowledge, are higher than any previously reported rates of whales feeding. Estimates of the energetic content of the prey ingested revealed that whales may consume between 1.2 and 3.4 times their daily energy requirements per day while feeding on krill during migration, but less when feeding on fish. This suggests that whales may begin to restock energy supplies prior to reaching the Antarctic. Determining how often this high rate of energy intake occurs along the migratory route will assist with understanding the contribution of migratory energy intake to annual energy budgets. It is available online here: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00300-016-1951-9 Kind Regards Kylie Owen Phone: +61 407 325 293 Email: kylie.owen(a)uqconnect.edu.au

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a paper on skull morphology: Habitat shapes skull profile of small cetaceans
by Pavel Gol'din 01 May '16

01 May '16

Dear colleagues, I am pleased to announce the following upcoming paper in Zoomorphology: Gol'din, P., and Vishnyakova, K. 2016. Habitat shapes skull profile of small cetaceans: evidence from geographical variation in Black Sea harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena relicta). Zoomorphology. doi: 10.1007/s00435-016-0311-1 Morphological differentiation in skull shape in small toothed whales is sometimes explained as driven by differences in ontogeny or adaptation to a benthic or pelagic habitat. To test these hypotheses, the comparison was made, using two-dimensional geometric morphometry, between neighbouring populations of harbour porpoises from the north-eastern Black Sea and the adjoining Sea of Azov, from the same genetically isolated subspecies, both known for their extreme paedomorphosis in body and skull development but differing in seasonal habitats (very shallow waters vs open sea). There were major differences between populations in the following traits: in Azov animals, rostrum was slightly shorter and more deflected downwards; premaxillary eminences shifted backward and facial region proportionally longer; more concave facial fossa and higher vertex; lower, downward-facing foramen magnum. Meanwhile, each of the populations followed its own ontogenetic trajectory. Therefore, differences in skull shape between populations were primarily directed by habitat. Shape differences were less discriminating than size; they might involve both echolocation and feeding mechanisms and could be associated with suction feeding. These adaptations were characterized by mixed allometric patterns including both paedomorphosis and peramorphosis in their ontogeny. Shallow habitat was found to be critical in forming specific adaptations even for animals migrating between different habitat types. The paper can be accessed at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00435-016-0311-1 The authors can be reached by e-mail: pavelgoldin412(a)gmail.com Regards, Pavel Gol'din Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine

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Reminder - Focus group on integrating marine mammal behavioral monitoring techniques into the process for the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs)
by MMPATF IMMA 01 May '16

01 May '16

*Integrating marine mammal behavioral monitoring techniques into the* *process for the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas* St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador (YYT), Canada, Sunday July 29, 2016. Held in association with the 4th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC), July 30 - August 4, 2016 This IMMA focus group aims to address the following question: How can we better integrate marine mammal behavioral data, observed through direct observation or remote monitoring techniques, into the process for identifying IMMAs? Information on marine mammal behavior is a necessary component of the evidence available for enhancing their protection by informing the development of marine management and spatial planning practices. It is essential that such data and methodologies, such as photo-identification and satellite tracking, are considered in a systematic way during the application of selection criteria to identify Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs). IMMAs are a new strategic classification for enhancing future marine planning and conservation measures for these species as developed by the IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (IUCN-MMPATF). Moreover, behavioral data must be considered in a manner that complements and enhances existing approaches based on ecological studies, distribution and abundance, genetic analyses, and expert opinion. The goal of this IMMA focus group is to advance this work by examining how data and information on marine mammal behavioral information can be effectively collated and communicated to experts during the process of identifying IMMAs. Results of this workshop will also contribute towards the creation of an IMMA Toolkit, which will become the primary scientific guidance for the identification of IMMAs, and will be presented formally at the 4th International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas (ICMMPA4) in Mexico, November 13 - 17, 2016. Please register your interest to participate by emailing the IUCN-MMPATF organisers at immacoordinator(a)gmail.com before the IMCC early registration deadline of May 8. For further information about the main IMCC event please see the congress mini-site at http://conbio.org/mini-sites/imcc-2016 As space for participants will be limited please include your reasons for wanting to attend as well as your professional background in relation to the IMMA initiative, spatial planning, or behavioral monitoring of marine mammals. Unfortunately the IUCN-MMPATF is unable to provide funding for participant registration fees or expenses for attending the focus group or main conference. For further information about the IMMA initiative please visit the IUCN-MMPATF home and facebook pages at www.icmmpa.org/iucn-task-force and www.tinyurl.com/gqbsngl Dr Michael J. Tetley - IMMA Coordinator IUCN Joint SSC-WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force (IUCN-MMPATF)

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