April 2017 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Marine Mammals Summer Course - Temp. Faculty Position - Kutztown University of PA
by MarineMammalSearch 22 Apr '17

22 Apr '17

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania enrolls approximately 9,000 students in graduate and undergraduate programs. The University is located in the borough of Kutztown in a charming rural setting, and is within 20 minutes driving time of the diverse metropolitan areas Allentown/Bethlehem and Reading, and within 60 minutes of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The University is very interested in hiring employees who have had extensive experience with diverse populations. The Department of Biology at Kutztown University invites applications for a part-time, temporary faculty position to teach a Marine Mammals course for science majors from July 23- August 11, 2017 at the Chincoteague Bay Field Station (CBFS) in Wallops Island, Virginia. In accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement, performance review and evaluation of faculty is based on effective teaching and fulfillment of professional responsibilities; continuing scholarly growth; and service. Required: A Masters degree in Marine Biology or related discipline. Preferred: Doctoral degree. One year of college-level teaching experience is also required; additional teaching experience and/or experience teaching biology is desirable. This position is taught at CBFS five days per week for three weeks, with off-site field trips possible. Successful interview and demonstration of relevant ability required. Salary competitive. In addition to faculty pay, housing and meals are provided to visiting faculty members by CBFS. A letter of application, vita, statement of teaching philosophy and unofficial transcripts should be submitted by the applicant directly as a single PDF file via email to: MarineMammalSearch(a)kutztown.edu<mailto:MarineMammalSearch@kutztown.edu>. In addition, applicants should arrange for three current letters of reference to be submitted to the email address above. Official copies of graduate and undergraduate transcripts are also required and should be sent to: Chair - Marine Mammal Search Committee, Department of Biology, Kutztown University, 15200 Kutztown Road, Kutztown, PA 19530. Applications submitted on behalf of applicants by placement agencies will not be considered. Review of completed applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and actively solicits applications from women and minority candidates. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania is a member of the State System of Higher Education. All applicants for employment are subject to a criminal background check.

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New Publication: Sonar inter-ping noise field during cetacean behavioral response studies in southern California
by Shane Guan - NOAA Federal 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce our recent paper on sonar inter-ping noise field during cetacean behavioral response study in southern California: Shane Guan, Brandon L. Southall, Joseph F. Vignola, John A. Judge, D. Turo (2017). *Sonar inter-ping noise field characterization during cetacean behavioral response studies off Southern California*. *Acoustical Physics*. 63(2), 204-205. doi: 10.1134/S106377101702004X *Abstract:* The potential negative effects of sound, particularly active sonar, on marine mammals has received considerable attention in the past decade. Numerous behavioral response studies are ongoing around the world to examine such direct exposures. However, detailed aspects of the acoustic field (beyond simply exposure level) in the vicinity of sonar operations both during real operations and experimental exposures have not been regularly measured. For instance, while exposures are typically repeated and intermittent, there is likely a gradual decay of the intense sonar ping due to reverberation that has not been well described. However, it is expected that the sound field between successive sonar pings would exceed natural ambient noise within the sonar frequency band if there were no sonar activity. Such elevated sound field between the pings may provide cues to nearby marine mammals on source distances, thus influencing potential behavioral response. Therefore, a good understanding of the noise field in these contexts is important to address marine mammal behavioral response to MFAS exposure. Here we investigate characteristics of the sound field during a behavioral response study off California using drifting acoustic recording buoys. Acoustic data were collected before, during, and after playbacks of simulated mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS). An incremental computational method was developed to quantify the inter-ping sound field during MFAS transmissions. Additionally, comparisons were made between inter-ping sound field and natural background in three distinctive frequency bands: low-frequency (<3 kHz), MFA-frequency (3–4.5 kHz), and high-frequency (>4.5 kHz) bands. Results indicate significantly elevated sound pressure levels (SPLs) in the inter-ping interval of the MFA-frequency band compared to natural background levels before and after playbacks. No difference was observed between inter-ping SPLs and natural background levels in the low- and high-frequency bands. In addition, the duration of elevated inter-ping sound field depends on the MFAS source distance. At a distance of 900–1300 m from the source, inter-ping sound field at the exposure frequency is observed to remain 5 dB above natural background levels for approximately 15s, or 65%, of the entire inter-ping interval. However, at a distance of 2000 m, the 5 dB elevation of the inter-ping SPLs lasted for just 7s, or 30% of the inter-ping interval. The prolonged elevation of sound field beyond the brief sonar ping at such large distances is most likely due to volume reverberation of the marine environment, although multipath propagation may also contribute to this. The paper is available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S106377101702004X, or by emailing me at shane.guan(a)noaa.gov. Best regards, Shane Guan -- Shane Guan, Ph.D. National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resources 1315 East-West Highway, Suite 13826 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Tel: 301-427-8401 <http://www.ioos.gov/>

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Melbourne Beach Marine Mammal Internship
by Bill G 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

Interns will assist with manatee rescues, carcass salvages, and research in east central Florida. The Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s (FWRI) Marine Mammal Research subsection is looking for an intern to assist with manatee salvage, rescue, and research at the Melbourne Beach field lab (which includes Brevard, Indian River, Volusia, Orange, Osceola, Lake, Seminole Counties). Normally, there is one intern per season: Spring (Jan-April), Summer (May-Aug), and Fall (Sept-Dec). Start and end dates can be worked out with the intern supervisor. Interns will assist with field necropsies as needed and conduct photo identification, radio tracking and temperature monitoring as time permits. Interns will also complete mortality and rescue reports, perform equipment maintenance and assist with other office work as needed. The intern is required to complete a project and present a 10-15 minute seminar on the work accomplished during their internship. *Qualifications* Required: - a junior or senior college student or recent graduate (special cases are considered but applicants must be 18 years or older); - comfortable driving large trucks and speaking to the public; - computer literate, in possession of a valid driver's license, able to lift 50 pounds and able to swim. Desired: - Previous experience with digital SLR cameras, telephoto lenses, and filters; - Previous animal handling experience.; - Ability to trailer and operate watercrafts up to 22' in length and experience with radio telemetry tracking gear Applicants should be aware this internship will require them to be wet, dirty and outdoors in all weather conditions. This position is unpaid and housing is not provided. Interns must provide their own transportation to and from the field station. *Application Process* If you are interested in applying for an internship with the FWRI, please provide the following information: - A cover letter describing area(s) of interest and the dates, days and hours of availability. - A résumé describing training and experience. - Names and contact information for at least three references. - An unofficial copy of your academic transcript. Please send these items as e-mail attachments to: Interns(a)MyFWC.com If electronic submission is not possible, hard copies can be mailed to: Internship Coordinator Fish and Wildlife Research Institute 100 Eighth Avenue SE St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5020

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Internship with Cascadia Research Collective
by Sabre Mahaffy 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington is looking for interns for summer and fall of 2017, and winter and spring of 2018 Cascadia Research Collective is a 501(c)3 non-profit research and education organization founded in 1979. Most of our research is focused on whale and dolphin populations along the west coast of North America and in Hawaiʻi. For more information about Cascadia and our research please visit www.cascadiaresearch.org<http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/> We are seeking interns to help with our U.S. west coast and Hawaiʻi research projects. Both internships are office-based positions in Olympia, Washington. We are currently filling positions for: Summer 2017 (July-September) Fall 2017 (September-December) Winter 2018 (January-March) Spring 2018 (April-June) International applicants will also be considered, but it is the responsibility of the applicant to acquire necessary visas and documentation. Internship Details: Cascadia gives priority to those seeking internships for college/university credit as well as to those who can commit full time (40 hours a week). We prefer upper-level undergraduate students with some science background or those seeking to go to or who are already in graduate school in a marine science field. These positions are unpaid and at this time we are not able to provide housing. The internships are generally three months in length, although exceptions can be made depending on the academic calendar of the college or university and the schedule of the applicant. Project Descriptions: Interns with Cascadia primarily assist with photo-identification catalogs. In this capacity, interns will be expected to spend a large portion of their time comparing photographs to our existing catalogs, and may additionally be involved in digital image processing, data entry, and tasks related to historical catalog maintenance. However, depending upon the season there may also be some opportunities to assist staff in field data collection along the west coast and in addition, interns will assist staff in stranding response in Washington state. This includes participation in beach surveys, data and specimen collection, data entry, and assisting in necropsies of both pinnipeds and cetaceans. Responses may involve hiking into remote areas and carrying heavy loads. US west coast photo-ID studies focus on baleen whales, including humpback, blue, and gray whales off the US West Coast and the inside waters of Washington state. Hawaiʻi photo-ID studies focus on a variety of species of odontocetes, including rough-toothed dolphins, false killer whales, beaked whales and bottlenose dolphins. For more information on the Hawaiʻi projects please visit http://cascadiaresearch.org/projects/hawaii Photo identification requires a high degree of focus and attention to detail, and interns can expect to spend the majority of their time comparing photographs. Successful applicants should have the following skills: - strong communication skills - focus and attention to detail - willingness to spend long hours in front of a computer - ability to work independently If you are interested in interning with Cascadia, please visit our website and send a CV (including references and their contact information), two letters of recommendation, and a letter of interest that describes why you are applying for the position and how the experience will help you be successful in meeting long-term goals. For a US west coast project internship please send the information to: Kiirsten Flynn: kflynn(a)cascadiaresearch.org<mailto:kflynn@cascadiaresearch.org> For a Hawaiʻi project internship please send the information to: Sabre Mahaffy: mahaffys(a)cascadiaresearch.org<mailto:mahaffys@cascadiaresearch.org> If you would like to be considered for either, please indicate that in your letter and send to both.

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West Iceland Orca ID Catalogue Released
by Orca Guardians 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

Dear MARMAM community, We are pleased to announce the publication of our identification catalogue: *Killer Whales of West Iceland. Photo-Identification Catalogue of North Atlantic Killer Whales Recorded along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and in Breiðafjörður 2014 – 2017. Compiled by Marie-Thérèse Mrusczok.* The catalogue is accessible under the following link: http://orcaguardians.org/orca-id-catalogue/ The catalogue was published by Orca Guardians Iceland, an independent conservation nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of orcas in Iceland and their habitat through non-invasive research and education. Find more information at: www.orcaguardians.org and www.facebook.com/orcaguardians In this publication, the first of two consecutive catalogue parts on the occurrence of killer whales photographed in the coastal waters of West Iceland from January 2014 to April 2017 is presented. An overall aim of our year-round identification work both from land and sea is to record as many individual killer whales as possible moving through the area, with as few knowledge gaps as possible, extending fieldwork over the longest achievable period of time. This will help identify potential critical habitat / important feeding grounds of the Icelandic orca population and provide crucial knowledge for conservation measures. Furthermore, collecting data (and an average of 40,000 photographs) in the same area throughout the year gives unique insights into migration patterns, social structure, and feeding habits of repeatedly documented individuals. The catalogue is thus used as a tool to aid in conservation work, for the long-term monitoring of the population, and as a reference document for ongoing and future research. Best wishes Marie Mrusczok President - Orca Guardians Iceland Website: www.orcaguardians.org E-Mail: info(a)orcaguardians.org

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New Publication : Brucella ceti Infection in a Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) with Associated Pathology
by Nicholas Davison 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Dear colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of the following article online and ahead of print in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases: Nicholas J. Davison, Lorraine L. Perrett, Claire Dawson, Mark P. Dagleish, Gary Haskins, Jakub Muchowski, and Adrian M. Whatmore 2017. Brucella ceti Infection in a Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) with Associated Pathology. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7589/2016-08-200 Abstract: There are three major lineages of marine mammal strains of Brucella spp.: Brucella ceti ST23, found predominantly in porpoises; B. ceti ST26, in pelagic delphinids and ziphiids; and Brucella pinnipedialis ST24/25, predominantly in seals. The isolation of Brucella spp. in mysticetes has been described only in common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Norway and Scotland. We report a third case of Brucella infection and isolation in a minke whale associated with a large abscess. In contrast to the two previous reports that involved isolates of B. pinnipedialis ST24 or the porpoise-associated B. ceti complex ST23, this case was associated with the dolphin-associated B. ceti ST26. Thus, minke whales can be infected naturally with members of all the distinct major lineages of Brucella associated with marine mammals. This report is unique in that the B. ceti ST26 did not originate from a pelagic delphinid or a beaked whale. The publication is available for member of JWD at http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/abs/10.7589/2016-08-200 Or PDF by email at this address nick.davison(a)sruc.ac.uk<mailto:nick.davison@sruc.ac.uk> Kind Regards Nick Davison Nick Davison Stranding Coordinator Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme SRUC Veterinary Services Drummondhill Inverness Scotland IV2 4JZ +00 44 (0)1463 246043 +00 44 (0)7979245893 www.strandings.org<http://www.strandings.org/> SRUC: Leading the way in Agricultural and Rural Research, Education and Consultancy. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to. This e-mail message is confidential to the intended recipient at the email address to which it has been addressed. If the message has been received by you in error, it may not be disclosed to or used by anyone other than the intended addressee, nor may it be copied in any way. If it is not intended for you please inform us, immediately, then delete it from your system. If the content is not about the business of the organisation then the message is not from us nor is it sanctioned by us. Anything in this e-mail or its attachments which does not relate to SRUC's or SAC Commercial Limited's official business is neither given nor endorsed by SRUC or SAC Commercial Limited. SRUC A Charitable company limited by guarantee, Scottish Charity Number: SC003712. Registered in Scotland, Company Number: SC103046 - Registered Office: Peter Wilson Building, King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG SAC Commercial Limited, an SRUC company Registered in Scotland, Company Number: SC148684 - Registered Office: Peter Wilson Building, King’s Buildings, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG

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Job Opening for MMO/PAM operator
by Barkaszi, Mary Jo 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Job opening for experienced MMO/PAM Operator. Must have at least 2 years offshore experience including work from semisubs and on VSPs. Must be willing and able to work in Israel. Must be available for rapid deployment from May to July 2017. Job provides excellent compensation commiserate for a professional MMO/PAM operator including full day rates for all travel and standby, per diem policy, and all expenses covered. Rates and job information will be provided upon submission of the following: 1) Resume 2) Copy of passport with a full list of countries traveled 3) All training and medical certificates. Submit to: Teresa Bohuszewicz tbohuszewicz(a)marineventures.com<mailto:tbohuszewicz@marineventures.com>

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Whalefish CPD course
by Els Vermeulen 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Dear colleagues With Whalefish, we are running another Professional Development course at FSC Millport (Scotland) from the 11th to the 13th of August this year. This course is titled 'Marine Research Techniques & Conservation' <https://www.whalefish.org/whalefish-course> and aimed at marine science students, recent graduates and environmental professionals to provide an introduction to marine megafauna research techniques, career options and marine conservation issues. It is an IMarEST accredited course, and will be taught by our team of experienced field biologists actively working in research, industry and conservation. Discount prices are available for students, and include 2 nights of accommodation full pension. For more information and bookings, please contact niru(a)whalefish.org or look at our website www.whalefish.org Kind regards, Els ------------------------------- Els Vermeulen, PhD Co-founding Director - Whalefish www.whalefish.org +27 (0)60 9714301 Connect - Share - Inspire

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Call for Abstracts IBAC2017 - Symposium: "Does size matter? Allometric principles in animal acoustic signals"
by Livio Favaro 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

Dear list members, (apologies for cross-posting) we are pleased to announce and invite you to participate in the following symposium, to be held as part of the XXVI International Bioacoustics Council Meeting (Haridwar, India, 8-13 October 2017): “Does size matter? Allometric principles in animal acoustic signals” Organizers: Dr. Livio Favaro, Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Italy (livio.favaro(a)unito.it) Dr. Maxime Garcia, ENESLab/NEURO-PSI, CNRS UMR 9197, Université de Lyon/Saint-Etienne (maxime.garcia(a)ymail.com) Dr. Andrea Ravignani, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics; Sealcentre Pieterburen, AI-Lab, VrijeUniversiteit Brussel (andrea.ravignani(a)gmail.com) To express your interest in participating and submitting an abstract, please send an e-mail with the title of your contribution to the organizers before April, 26th. Symposium description: Animal vocalisations can encode a variety of information, including physical features of the signaler. In particular, acoustic allometry investigates how vocal features scale with body dimensions of an animal. Intuitively, larger animals may have larger vocal organs, hence sounding bigger, within or across species. The study of acoustic allometry is a crucial step to verify this assumption and identify outliers to this expectation. Ultimately, it allows to better understand sound production and evolutionary history of specific vocalisations or acoustic features. Over the last decades, the study of allometry has flourished. However, although the relationship between body size and acoustic features of vocalisations has been documented in many mammals, it deserves further investigations across other taxa. A purpose of our symposium is to connect and summarise findings of allometry across multiple dimensions and perspectives. First, we will focus on comparison across species, with contributions potentially focusing on any animal, as long as this relates to allometry. Second, we will examine the link between producing and perceiving sounds that contain acoustic allometric features, both within and between species. Third, we hope to attract research work documenting an absence of acoustic allometry to ask which socio-ecological and evolutionary factors may lead a species to deviate from a widespread allometric pattern. Fourth, inspired by Tinbergen’s approach, we aim to present contributions dealing with allometry from a functional, mechanistic, developmental and phylogenetic perspective. Indeed, allometric mechanisms are different depending on the taxa considered (e.g. while some birds show tracheal elongation, some mammals have laryngeal or vocal tract hypertrophy). Moreover, the evolutionary bases for acoustic allometric rules are diverse (e.g. sexual selection, agonistic interaction, species-specific recognition) and interconnected with other questions such as encoding of species, population or individual identity information in vocalisations. Fifth, we will explore new approaches and directions to allometry, such as its connection to vocal learning, size exaggeration, and human non-linguistic vocalisations. Finally, we will focus on potentially promising applications of this research strand, including livestock and conservation, with the objective to make use of estimating the size of an individual towards minimized disturbance. For more info on the conference, abstract submission and deadline, please visit: www.ibac2017india.com We look forward to seeing you in Haridwar. Best wishes, Livio Favaro -- Livio Favaro, PhD Università degli Studi di Torino Dip. Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi Laboratorio di Zoologia e Biologia Marina Via Accademia Albertina, 13 - 10123 Torino Tel. +39.011.6704538 / 78 Fax +39.011.6704508 e-mail livio.favaro(a)unito.it

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New Pulication: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveying marine fauna: assessing detection probability (Amanda Hodgson)
by Amanda Hodgson 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

Dear Colleagues My co-authors and I are very excited to announce the publication of our paper in Ecological Applications: Hodgson, A., D. Peel, and N. Kelly. 2017. Unmanned aerial vehicles for surveying marine fauna: assessing detection probability. Ecological Applications. DOI: 10.1002/eap.1519 This paper provides the results of our trial aerial surveys of humpback whales using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and considers how you can account for detection probability when adopting this new technology. This is an Open Access article and can be downloaded here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.1519/abstract Abstract: Aerial surveys are conducted for various fauna to assess abundance, distribution, and habitat use over large spatial scales. They are traditionally conducted using light-aircraft with observers recording sightings in real time. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer an alternative with many potential advantages, including eliminating human-risk. To be effective, this emerging platform needs to provide detection rates of animals comparable to traditional methods. UAVs can also acquire new types of information, and this new data requires a re-evaluation of traditional analyses used in aerial surveys; including estimating the probability of detecting animals. We conducted 17 replicate UAV surveys of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) while simultaneously obtaining a 'census' of the population from land-based observations, to assess UAV detection probability. The ScanEagle UAV, carrying a digital SLR camera, continuously captured images (with 75% overlap) along transects covering the visual range of land-based observers. We also used ScanEagle to conduct focal follows of whale pods (n = 12, mean duration = 40 min), to assess a new method of estimating availability. A comparison of the whale detections from the UAV to the land-based census provided an estimated UAV detection probability of 0.33 (CV = 0.25) (incorporating both availability and perception biases), which was not affected by environmental covariates (Beaufort sea state, glare and cloud cover). According to our focal follows, the mean availability was 0.63 (CV = 0.37), with pods including mother/calf pairs having a higher availability (0.86, CV = 0.20) than those without (0.59, CV = 0.38). The follows also revealed (and provided a potential correction for) a downward bias in group size estimates from the UAV surveys, which resulted from asynchronous diving within whale pods, and a relatively short observation window of 9 s. We have shown that UAVs are an effective alternative to traditional methods, providing a detection probability that is within the range of previous studies for our target species. We also describe a method of assessing availability bias that represents: spatial and temporal characteristics of a survey, from the same perspective as the survey platform; is benign; and provides additional data on animal behavior. Cheers Amanda Dr Amanda Hodgson | Research Fellow Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit | School of Veterinary and Life Sciences Murdoch University, South St, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia | 08 9360 7215 | 041 888 6797 | a.hodgson(a)murdoch.edu.au www.mucru.org | www.facebook.com/MUCRU

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