September 2016 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Fwd: [Pacificseabirds] Transmitter found - Lopez Island, WA
by Martin Renner 28 Sep '16

28 Sep '16

Hi All, I pass this along from Julia Parrish/Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team (COASST)/University of Washington. If you recognize the transmitter below as yours, please reply to Julia directly: jparrish(a)uw.edu <mailto:jparrish@uw.edu>. Thanks! Transmitter was found on the beach by a COASST volunteer at approx. 48.43, -122.50 (Lopez Island, Puget Sound, Washington, USA) on 8/29/16. Martin Renner Homer, AK

1 0

Vacant position as seal researcher
by Haug Tore 28 Sep '16

28 Sep '16

FYI - there is a vacant position as seal researcher at the Institute of Marine Research in Tromsø, Norway. If you are interested and ready to take this challenge - please check this link: https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/129276/vacant-position-as-sc… Regards from Dr Tore Haug Forskningsgruppeleder Sjøpattedyr / Head of Research Group Marine Mammals Havforskningsinstituttet / Institute of Marine Research PO Box 6404, N-9294 Tromsø, Norway Mob + 47 952 84296 E-mail toreha(a)imr.no<mailto:toreha@imr.no> Internet www.imr.no<http://www.imr.no> post(a)imr.no<mailto:post@imr.no>

1 0

'STATS COURSE - Advancing in statistical modelling using R'
by Oliver Hooker 27 Sep '16

27 Sep '16

"Advancing in Statistical Modelling using R" Delivered by Dr. Luc Bussiere and Dr. Tom Houslay http://prstatistics.com/course/advancing-in-statistical-modelling-using-r-a… This course will run from 5th – 9th December 2016 at Juniper Hall Field Station, Dorking, Surrey, just south of London, England. This is an introduction to model selection and simplification, mixed effects models, generalised linear models and non-linear models. The course is aimed at biologists (and therefore those studying marine mammals) with a basic to moderate knowledge in R. The course content is designed to bridge the gap between basic R coding and more advanced statistical modelling. This five day course will consist of series of modules, each lasting roughly half a day and comprised of lectures and practicals designed to either build required skills for future modules or to perform a family of analyses that is frequently needed in research or encountered in the biological literature. Course content is as follows Day 1 Course introduction • Techniques for data manipulation, aggregation, and visualisation; introduction to linear regression. Packages: {tidyr}, {dplyr}, {ggplot2} Day 2 Linear models • Diagnostics, collinearity, scaling, plotting fitted values); fitting and interpreting interaction terms; model selection and simplification; general linear models and ANCOVA. • Packages: {stats}, {car} Day 3 Generalized linear models • Logistic and Poisson regression; predicting using model objects and visualizing model fits. • Packages: {broom}, {visreg}, {ggplot2} Day 4 Mixed effects models • Theory and practice of mixed effect models; visualising fixed and random effects. • Packages: {lme4}, {broom}, {ggplot2}, {sjPlot} Day 5 Fitting nonlinear functions • Polynomial & Mechanistic models; brief introduction to more advanced topics & combining methods (e.g., generalised linear mixed effects, nonlinear mixed effects, and zero-inflated and zero-altered models). • Packages: {nlsTools}. • Afternoon to discuss own data if time permits Please email any inquiries to oliverhooker(a)prstatistics.com or visit our website www.prstatistics.com Please feel free to distribute this material anywhere you feel is suitable Upcoming courses - email for details oliverhooker(a)prstatistics.com 1. INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON FOR BIOLOGISTS (October) 2. LANDSCAPE (POPULATION) GENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R (October) 3. APPLIED BAYESIAN MODELLING FOR ECOLOGISTS AND EPIDEMIOLOGISTS (October) 4. PHYLOGENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R (October/November) 5. SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL DATA USING R (November) 6. MODEL BASED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL DATA USING R (January) 7. STABLE ISOTOPE MIXING MODELS USING SIAR, SIBER AND MIXSIAR USING R (Feb/ 8. NETWORK ANAYLSIS FOR ECOLOGISTS USING R (March) 9. INTRODUCTION TO GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS USING R (June) Dates still to be confirmed - email for details oliverhooker(a)prstatistics.com • INTRODUCTION TO R AND STATISTICS FOR BIOLOGISTS • BIOINFORMATICS FOR GENETICISTS AND BIOLOGISTS • GENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R • INTRODUCTION TO BIOINFORMATICS USING LINUX • INTRODUCTION TO BAYESIAN HIERARCHICAL MODELLING Oliver Hooker PhD. PR statistics 3/1 128 Brunswick Street Glasgow G1 1TF +44 (0) 7966500340 www.prstatistics.com www.prstatistics.com/organiser/oliver-hooker/Oliver Hooker -- Oliver Hooker PhD. PR statistics 3/1 128 Brunswick Street Glasgow G1 1TF +44 (0) 7966500340 www.prstatistics.com www.prstatistics.com/organiser/oliver-hooker/

1 0

Remote PAM Publication
by Phil Johnston 27 Sep '16

27 Sep '16

Hello all, Publication on remote passive acoustic monitoring (RPAM): Johnston, P. & Wyatt, R. (2015). Remote passive acoustic monitoring (RPAM): Listening for whales and dolphins from the safety of land. Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences Vol. 44(12), December 2015, pp.1946-1950 Abstract Remote Passive Acoustic Monitoring (RPAM) is a new technology that enables the acoustic monitoring of marine mammals - from an onshore location. Acoustic data is transferred, in real time, via satellite link from an at-sea Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) system. From anywhere in the world, an RPAM operator can detect, listen to and track vocalising whales and dolphins - potentially reducing the number of operators at sea. Regulatory requirements for effective noise mitigation have increased - particularly for the protection of whales and dolphins. It has become standard practice for several industry sectors to have Marine Mammal Observers (MMOs) and PAM. Personnel dedicated to monitoring, visually and acoustically, to ensure that animals are not in the close vicinity of an active sound source. These requirements necessitate more environmental specialists going offshore, increasing safety risks and costs. From Seiche's RPAM offices in Devon, UK and Houston, USA, seven full-scale Remote PAM projects have now been completed. In total, over 12,000 hours of acoustic monitoring have been conducted from projects off Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, the US Gulf of Mexico, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago. At the latest count, 943 real time acoustic detections of marine mammals have now been recorded - from the safety of onshore offices - many miles from their actual location in the ocean. Available online at: http://nopr.niscair.res.in/bitstream/123456789/34947/1/IJMS%2044(12)%201946… Many thanks, Phil Johnston p.johnston(a)seiche.com<mailto:p.johnston@seiche.com> www.seiche.com<http://www.seiche.com>

1 0

NEW PAPER: Under Pressure: Cetaceans and Fisheries Co-occurrence off Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire
by info＠sevenseasmarine.nl 24 Sep '16

24 Sep '16

Dear Colleagues, I am pleased to announce the following paper recently published in Frontiers in Marine Science (Special Issue: People-Marine mammal interactions) Under Pressure: Cetaceans and Fisheries Co-occurrence off the Coasts of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire (Gulf of Guinea) De Boer MN, Saulino JT, Van Waerebeek K and Aarts G (2016) Under Pressure: Cetaceans and Fisheries Co-occurrence off the Coasts of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire (Gulf of Guinea). Front. Mar. Sci. 3:178. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00178 Abstract Within the Gulf of Guinea high levels of fisheries-related cetacean mortality (bycatch and direct-capture) has been documented. For locally rare species such removals could potentially lead to significant population level effects. However, information on the cetacean abundance and distribution is scarce. Similarly, it remains largely unreported where fishing fleets operate offshore. A cetacean survey took place during geophysical surveys (2013–2014) along the coasts of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. This provided a unique opportunity to study both offshore cetacean and fishing communities. Due to large group-sizes, melon-headed whales were the most abundant (0.34 animals km−1) followed by Fraser’s dolphins and short-finned pilot whales. Range state records were confirmed for melon-headed whale and Fraser’s dolphin in Ivoirian waters and ten further species represented first at-sea sightings. The artisanal fishing canoe was most abundant (92% of all vessels) and recorded up to 99.5 km from the Ghanaian coast. Asian trawlers operated over shelf areas and tuna purse-seine vessels in deep oceanic and slope waters. Fraser’s dolphins, melon-headed whales, pantropical spotted dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, and pilot whales were recorded in areas with the highest fishing densities. Melon-headed whales, pilot whales, and rough-toothed dolphins were observed in vicinity of trawlers; bottlenose dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, and pilot whales in vicinity of canoes. Some notable differences were found in the species composition between the present surveys and port-based surveys of landed cetaceans (bycatch/direct-captures). These may be explained by (1) feeding strategies (nocturnal vs. diurnal; surface vs. deep water); (2) different attractions to vessels/fishing gear; (3) variable body sizes; and (4) difficulty to positively identify species. Despite these differences, both cetaceans and fishing vessels predominantly occurred in shelf and slope waters (< 1000m depth contour), making fishery-related mortality likely. The poor knowledge on population trends of cetaceans in this unique upwelling region, together with a high demand for cetacean products for human consumption (as “marine bushmeat”) may lead to a potential decline of some species that may go unnoticed. These new insights can provide a foundation for the urgently required risk assessments of cetacean mortality in fisheries within the northern Gulf of Guinea. The paper can be downloaded from Frontiers in Marine Science:<http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2016.00178/full> A pdf including the supplements can also be downloaded from my Research Page. <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marijke_De_Boer/publications> Kind Regards, Marijke de Boer, Ph.D <Marijke.deboer(a)wur.nl> Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, Netherlands

1 0

Job posting
by Todd McConchie 23 Sep '16

23 Sep '16

Dear colleagues, Please see the below position description. Background: Tierra Data Inc., is seeking experienced marine mammal observers (MMOs) to conduct monitoring of in-water construction activities at a site in Santa Barbara, California. While monitoring, MMOs will collect and record data related to marine species. The MMOs will estimate the number of individuals, age, sex, distance and bearing to the individuals/groups. Construction activities are scheduled for 6-8 weeks starting in late October, 2016 and are expected to occur for 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Observers would work in shifts during the 24-hour timeframe. Observers must meet the following requirements: * Must be a U.S. citizen; * Must have previous marine mammal monitoring experience; * Be proficient in identification of marine mammal species in southern California; * Have specific knowledge of marine mammal behavior, physiology, and life-history; * Possess excellent inter-personal skills, and demonstrate responsibility, maturity, and self-motivation; * Experience in systematic observations and making clear, concise notes/records; and *Be available to work at all times of the day or night. Work will be both shore- and vessel-based and may involve long hours in inclement weather. Observers will be expected to perform data collection and data entry tasks in the field. Observer pay rates will be dependent on experience and those with availability for the duration of the monitoring effort are preferred. Also, observers who are based in the Santa Barbara area are preferred. The preferred candidate would be positive, outgoing, and have good people skills. If interested, please send a current CV to Todd McConchie at: *todd at tierradata.com <http://tierradata.com/>* Thank-you.

1 0

New Publication: Testing tag attachments to increase the attachment duration of archival tags on baleen whales
by Angela Szesciorka 23 Sep '16

23 Sep '16

Dear Colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the following publication made available today in the Open Access journal, Animal Biotelemetry: Szesciorka AR, Calambokidis J, Harvey JT. 2016. Testing tag attachments to increase the attachment duration of archival tags on baleen whales. Animal Biotelemetry 4(1):1-12. doi: 10.1186/s40317-016-0110-y. http://animalbiotelemetry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40317-016-011… Abstract As biologging technology has advanced to study whale behavior, various tag attachment methods have been developed. Suction cup attachments were developed for short-term (<24 h) studies using high-resolution archival tags, and implantable or dart attachments were developed for long-term (months) studies using coarse-resolution satellite tags. The purpose of this study was to test various tag attachment configurations to increase the deployment duration of archival tags while minimizing potential physical impacts to the whale. >From 2013 to 2015, 31 humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) and 20 blue whales (*Balaenoptera musculus*) were tagged, allowing us to test 10 tag attachment configurations, grouped as suction cup, suction cup with dart, two-dart configurations with petals, four-dart configurations, and four-dart configurations with petals. Durations resulting from four-dart configurations with petals were greater than suction cup tags for humpback whales (P = 0.04). Durations resulting from four-dart configurations with petals were greater than all other tag attachment types for blue whales (P < 0.04). There was no difference in reaction to tagging by tag attachment type for humpback (P = 0.19) or blue whales (P = 0.24). Tags attached with titanium darts were recovered with 2 darts (5 %) lost and 31 petals (14 %) broken, whereas tags attached with stainless steel darts were recovered with 1 dart (3 %) lost and 2 petals (1 %) broken. Re-sights of three tagged animals up to 34 days after tags detached showed no sign of tearing or swelling at the tag site. Tag attachments using four darts with petals remained on whales the longest with no increase in reaction to tagging by either species. Heat-treated stainless steel darts resulted in equivalent tag attachment durations as titanium darts but with reduced petal breakage. Attachments with four darts, despite creating additional points of entry for potential bacterial transfer, did not produce signs of tearing or swelling on animals re-sighted up to 34 days after tagging. Attaching archival tags with four stainless steel darts with petals on baleen whales will allow for the collection of weeks of fine-scale data, allowing researchers to answer questions about foraging, daily activity, and diel trends. Feel free to contact me with any inquiries: angela @ szesciorka.com (without the spaces) Cheers, Angela Szesciorka, M.Sc. Dr. Nancy Foster Scholar, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration fosterscholars.noaa.gov Ph.D. Student, Scripps Institution of Oceanography scripps.ucsd.edu/labs/sirovic Research Biologist, Cascadia Research www.cascadiaresearch.org

1 0

New Publication - Use of aquatic mammals as bushmeat
by A. Mel Cosentino 23 Sep '16

23 Sep '16

Dear Marmamers I am excited to announce the publication of our new paper in Frontiers in Marine Science. Cosentino, M and Fisher, S (2016) The utilization of Aquatic Bushmeat from Small Cetaceans and Manatees in South America and West Africa. *Front. Mar. Sci*.3:163. *Abstract* Aquatic bushmeat can be defined as the products derived from wild aquatic megafauna (e.g., marine mammals) that are used for human consumption and non-food purposes, including traditional medicine. It is obtained through illegal or unregulated hunts as well as from stranded (dead or alive) and bycaught animals. In most South American and West African countries aquatic mammals are or have been taken for bushmeat, including 33 small cetaceans and all three manatee species. Of these, two cetacean species are listed in the IUCN red list as “near threatened,” and one as “vulnerable,” as are all manatee species. Additionally, 22 cetacean species are listed as “data deficient,” hence some of these species may also be at risk. No reports (recent or otherwise) were found for some countries, caution is needed in concluding that aquatic bushmeat is not utilized in these nations. Moreover, although aquatic bushmeat is mostly obtained opportunistically and was likely originally taken only for local consumption, directed catches occur in most countries and may have reached unsustainable levels in some areas. For example, in Peru and Nigeria, thousands of small cetaceans are illegally hunted annually. Reliable, recent data and a better overall understanding of the drivers of aquatic bushmeat will be essential in the development of effective mitigation measures. The paper is Open Access and available for download at: http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2016.00163/full# Kind regards. Mel -- *Mel Cosentino* *PhD Student - **Bioacoustics * *University of Strathclyde* *Dept Electronic and Electrical Engineering* "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" - E. Burke GNU Terry Pratchett

1 0

Individual movements between local coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern and eastern Black Sea
by Elena Gladilina 23 Sep '16

23 Sep '16

Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce an upcoming paper in the Journal of Marine Biology Association, UK: Individual movements between local coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern and eastern Black Sea. Abstract: The Black Sea subspecies of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus) is threatened and has a small range. Its population structure is little known: it possibly includes a few local coastal populations. We assessed connectivity between coastal groupings in six localities along 800 km of the coastline based on records of photo-identified animals between 2004 and 2014. Abundance of these groupings, as estimated, ranged between 76 and 174 individually distinctive dolphins. In total, there were 350 identified individuals, of which 91 (26%) were resighted within the same areas. However, only three cases of individual movements between local coastal populations were recorded at the distances between 135 and 325 km. Therefore, despite the absence of physical barriers, the coastal Black Sea population is fragmented into numerous resident or locally migrating groupings with site fidelity. These local populations are loosely connected to each other with rare movements between them. This fragmentation can be a factor contributing to short-term fluctuations in abundance of Black Sea bottlenose dolphins and their decline in some localities, despite the potentially high population growth rate. The full citation is Gladilina, E., Shpak, O., Serbin, V., Kryukova, A., Glazov, D. and Gol’din, P. (2016) ‘Individual movements between local coastal populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the northern and eastern Black Sea’, *Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom*, , pp. 1–7. doi: 10.1017/S0025315416001296. Feel free to request a copy from me at el.gladilina(a)gmail.com Best regards, Elena Gladilina PhD Candidate

1 0

New Publication: Revalidation of Tursiops gephyreus
by Jana Wickert 22 Sep '16

22 Sep '16

Dear colleagues, We are happy to share our recent publication in Journal of Mammalogy: Revalidation of *Tursiops gephyreus* Lahille, 1908 (Cetartiodactyla: Delphinidae) from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Janaina Carrion Wickert; Sophie Maillard von Eye; Larissa Rosa Oliveira; Ignacio Benites Moreno. *Journal of Mammalogy* 2016. Doi: 10.1093/jmammal/gyw139. ABSTRACT: Historically, the taxonomic status of the bottlenose dolphins, *Tursiops*, has been confusing. Over 20 nominal species have been described in, or transferred to, the genus, but most them have been synonymized under *T. truncatus*, the type species of the genus. Here, we review the taxonomic status of *Tursiops gephyreus* Lahille, 1908, from the southwestern Atlantic Ocean (SWA), a taxon long considered as either synonym or subspecies of *T. truncatus. *We examined a total of 280 bottlenose dolphin skulls, including the lectotype of *T. gephyreus*. We examined all specimens for morphological (14 characters) and morphometric (29 measurements) differences. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to test differences between groups. Based on qualitative and quantitative analyses of skulls as well as the vertebrae number of *Tursiops *specimens from SWA, we recognized 2 distinct morphological forms of bottlenose dolphins in the region, consistent with treatment of 2 species under the “diagnosable version of the Phylogenetic Species Concept.” Six qualitative characters are reliable for the identification of both species in the SWA, but the shape of the nasal process of the right premaxilla alone is sufficient to separate the species. Furthermore, the total number of vertebrae is higher in *T. truncatus* (62–64) than in *T. gephyreus* (57–59). Based on these results, we propose the revalidation of *T. gephyreus*. Since *T. gephyreus *was recognized as inhabiting the estuaries and the surf zone alongside the Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina coasts, the conservation efforts must take into account that this region presents similar threats to the species. Feel free to contact me for any inquiries or to request the PDF at: j <helopavanato(a)gmail.com>cwickert(a)gmail.com Best regards, Janaína -- MSc. Janaína Wickert Laboratório de Sistemática e Ecologia de Aves e Mamíferos Marinhos Dep. de Zoologia - UFRGS - Instituto de Biociências. Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Bloco IV - Prédio 43435 - Sala 206. Porto Alegre - RS - Brasil. CEP:91.501-970. Telefone: 55-51-3308.7706 & Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos do Rio Grande do Sul - GEMARS www.gemars.org.br

1 0