June 2020 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

New paper: Factors influencing dolphin depredation in coastal fisheries of the northern Aegean Sea: Implications on defining mitigation measures
by Niki Pardalou 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

Dear MARMAM community, We are delighted to announce the publication of our paper in Marine Mammal Science Pardalou A, Tsikliras AC (2020) Factors influencing dolphin depredation in coastal fisheries of the northern Aegean Sea: Implications on defining mitigation measures. Mar Mam Sci: 1-24. doi:10.1111/mms.12702 Abstract Dolphin interactions with coastal fisheries are of major concern, reportedly leading to gear damage, which increases the cost of coastal fishing globally and in the Mediterranean Sea. The aim of this study was to determine the effect that gear, target species, mesh size, depth, soaking duration, fishing area, and season have on net depredation frequency and to offer insights on possible mitigation solutions. From November 2013 to February 2016 we monitored 107 active coastal fishers in 22 ports of the northern Aegean Sea coastline, identified the main target species of the fishery and recorded the damages on gill nets and trammel nets caused by dolphins, mainly the common bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*). Quasi-binomial generalized linear models were used to determine the relationship between the examined factors and depredation frequency. The analysis revealed that the gears mostly depredated were gill nets and trammel nets with small mesh sizes, mainly targeting surmullet (*Mullus surmuletus*), red mullet (*Mullus barbatus*), common sole (*Solea solea*), European hake (*Merluccius merluccius*), and the caramote prawn (*Melicertus kerathurus*). The probability of depredation was also significantly dependent on the fishing area. The full paper may become available upon request at apardalou[(a)]bio[.]auth[.]gr Androniki Pardalou PhD Student in Fisheries Biology Laboratory of Ichthyology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Orchid https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0566-0337 ---------------------------------------------------------------- Androniki Pardalou PhD Student in Fisheries Biology Laboratory of Ichthyology, School of Biology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki UP Box 134, University Campus 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece Tel. : +30 2310 998268 Fax : +30 2310 998279 Skype : pardalou Email : apardalou(a)bio.auth.gr Webpage : http://fishlab.bio.auth.gr ---------------------------------------------------------------

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marine mammal necropsy workshop
by Thierry Jauniaux 15 Jun '20

15 Jun '20

Please find attached details of the 14th annual necropsy workshop This year innovation will be the organization of the workshop in 2 sessions - July 10: on-line webinar with telenecropsy (telemedicine applied for dissection and necropsy) - October 13-15: face-to-face postmortem practice (Pathology dept, ULiege) More details: https://www.fmv.uliege.be/cms/c_5775495/fr/14th-marine-mammal-necropsy-work… <https://www.fmv.uliege.be/cms/c_5775495/fr/14th-marine-mammal-necropsy-work…> Information: t.jauniaux(a)uliege.be <mailto:t.jauniaux@uliege.be> Registration: a.wlasowski(a)uliege.be <mailto:a.wlasowski@uliege.be> Deadline: June 22 Best regards Thierry

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NEW PAPER: Stress coping styles in grey seals and reproductive outcomes – Open Access
by TWISS, SEAN D. 12 Jun '20

12 Jun '20

Dear Marmamers, My co-authors and I would like to draw your attention to a new paper that has just been published in Scientific Reports examining the links between stress coping styles (linked to ‘personalities’) in grey seals and reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes. The paper is Open Access and can be found at; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-66597-3 Full details and abstract: Reactive stress-coping styles show more variable reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes Sean D. Twiss, Courtney R. Shuert, Naomi Brannan, Amanda M. Bishop & Patrick. P. Pomeroy Sci Rep 10, 9550 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66597-3 Abstract Stress-coping styles dictate how individuals react to stimuli and can be measured by the integrative physiological parameter of resting heart-rate variability (HRV); low resting HRV indicating proactive coping styles, while high resting HRV typifies reactive individuals. Over 5 successive breeding seasons we measured resting HRV of 57 lactating grey seals. Mothers showed consistent individual differences in resting HRV across years. We asked whether proactive and reactive mothers differed in their patterns of maternal expenditure and short-term fitness outcomes within seasons, using maternal daily mass loss rate to indicate expenditure, and pup daily mass gain to indicate within season fitness outcomes. We found no difference in average rates of maternal daily mass loss or pup daily mass gain between proactive and reactive mothers. However, reactive mothers deviated more from the sample mean for maternal daily mass and pup daily mass gain than proactive mothers. Thus, while proactive mothers exhibit average expenditure strategies with average outcomes, expenditure varies much more among reactive mothers with more variable outcomes. Overall, however, mean fitness was equal across coping styles, providing a mechanism for maintaining coping style diversity within populations. Variability in reactive mothers’ expenditures and success is likely a product of their attempts to match phenotype to prevailing environmental conditions, achieved with varying degrees of success. Best wishes to all, Sean _________________________________ Dr. Sean Twiss, Associate Professor in Animal Behaviour and Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biosciences, South Road, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK. E-mail: s.d.twiss(a)durham.ac.uk Web-site: https://www.dur.ac.uk/biosciences/about/schoolstaff/academicstaff/?id=1132 Blog: http://sealbehaviour.wordpress.com/ Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre: www.dur.ac.uk/beer-centre<https://owa.dur.ac.uk/owa/redir.aspx?C=AjvknJfcq0-zlL0498uhGGKmvrw4G9MIOkl7…> Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1350 (office) Tel: +44 (0)191 334 1247 (lab) Fax: +44 (0)191 334 1201 _________________________________

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ONLINE COURSE â€“ Introduction to R for ecologists and evolutionary biologists (IRFB04) This course will be delivered live
by Oliver Hooker 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

ONLINE COURSE â€“ Introduction to R for ecologists and evolutionary biologists (IRFB04) This course will be delivered live 23 June 2020 - 24 June 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-r-for-ecologists-and-ev… Course overview: The 2 day course will consist of a series of modules designed to build required R skills and statistical understanding to develop yourself or move on to more advanced courses. The skills learnt are very suited to handling and analysing many types of data frequently encountered in the field of marine mammals. At its conclusion, participants will have acquired basic skills in coding with R, and will be able to perform and interpret simple analyses, and critically evaluate similar analyses from the scientific literature and technical reports. All example datasets used for practicalâ€™s will have an ecological and evolutionary theme Any questions please email oliverhooker(a)prstatistics.com Upcoming courses ONLINE COURSE â€“ Introduction to R for ecologists and evolutionary biologists (IRFB04) This course will be delivered live 23 June 2020 - 24 June 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-r-for-ecologists-and-ev… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Reproducible Data Science using RMarkdown, Git, R packages, Docker, Make & Drake, and other tools (RDRP01) This course will be delivered live 29 June 2020 - 3 July 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/reproducible-data-science-and-r-package… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Applied Bayesian modelling for ecologists and epidemiologists (ABME06) This course will be delivwered live 20 July 2020 - 24 July 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/applied-bayesian-modelling-for-ecologis… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Introduction to generalised linear models using R and Rstudio (IGLM01) This course will be delivered live 23 July 2020 - 24 July 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-generalised-linear-mode… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Species Distribution Modeling using R (SDMR02) This course will be delivered live 27 July 2020 - 30 July 2020 https://www.prstatistic s.com/course/species-distribution-modeling-using-r-sdmr02/ ONLINE COURSE â€“ Introduction to mixed models using R and Rstudio (IMMR02) This course will be delivered live 6 August 2020 - 7 August 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-mixed-models-using-r-an… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Data visualization using GG plot 2 (R and Rstudio) (DVGG01) This course will be delivered live 20 August 2020 - 21 August 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-data-visualization-usin… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Data wrangling using R and Rstudio (DWRS01) This course will be delivered live 3 September 2020 - 4 September 2020 https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-data-wrangling-using-r-and… ONLINE COURSE â€“ Fundamentals of populations genetics using R (FOPG01) This course will be delivered live 14 September 2020 - 18 September 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/fundamentals-of-populations-genetics-us… Advanced Ecological Niche Modelling Using R (ANMR01) 12 October 2020 - 16 October 2020 https://www.prstatistics.com/course/advanced-ecological-niche-modelling-usi… -- Oliver Hooker PhD. PR statistics 2020 publications; Parallelism in eco-morphology and gene expression despite variable evolutionary and genomic backgrounds in a Holarctic fish. PLOS GENETICS (2020). IN PRESS www.PRstatistics.com facebook.com/PRstatistics/ twitter.com/PRstatistics 53 Morrison Street Glasgow G5 8LB +44 (0) 7966500340 +44 (0) 7966500340

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PhD position in Dolphin Evolutionary Ecology, Museum and Institute of Zoology, Poland
by Andre E. Moura 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

Dear Marmam subscribers, A fully-funded PhD position is available in a project integrating functional genomics and 3D skull shape modelling of bottlenose dolphins globally. The project is led by Dr Andre E. Moura at the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, whose research group is focused on cetacean ecology and evolution. The research group is based at the Research Station of the Museum and Institute of Zoology (MIZ), Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk – Górki Wschodnie. The successful candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student in the Bioplanet Doctoral School of the Polish Academy of Sciences, with starting date of October 1st 2020 (application to the Doctoral School is required, and attendance of the required oral entry exam). A tax-free stipend is available for the 4 years of the PhD and is not extendible. The stipend is sufficient to cover life expenses of a single person and ensures a good standard of life in Poland. The School does not charge tuition fees, and includes mandatory and optional classes for PhD students, which are run in English. Travelling from Gdańsk to Warsaw will be required to attend the classes. The project involves collaboration with international institutions, including the Smithsonian Museum (Washington, USA) and the National Museum for Nature and Science (Tokyo, Japan), and will likely require travelling to museums worldwide for data collection (funding is provided). This includes a 3 month stay in Japan for data collection and learning of 3D modelling techniques (will require funding application to relevant scheme). We are mindful that travelling might be disturbed under the current Covid19 situation, and any decisions regarding travelling for this project will take the situation into account as it develops. How to Apply: A list of the required qualifications/skills can be found at the end of this email. To apply an email message with the subject “Application for PhD position in dolphin evolutionary ecology” should be sent to avmoura(a)miiz.waw.pl no later than 03/07/2020, and including the following documents: 1. Copy of the master's or bachelor's certificate if the master's degree is still ongoing. 2. Curriculum vitae including the publication list, with the following statement provided at the end and signed: “I give my consent to the processing of personal data provided in my application documents by the Museum and Institute of Zoology PAS for the purpose of the recruitment process, pursuant to the Personal Data Protection Act of 10 May 2018 (Journal of Laws 2018, item 1000) and in agreement with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation; L 119 from 04.05.2016)”. Applications that do not include this statement won't be considered. 3. Motivation letter (maximum one page) 4. If available, a copy of one research paper to be evaluated in the recruitment process. If this is not available, a copy of undergraduate or Master thesis is acceptable. 5. Contact details of two persons who can be contacted for references. The interviews of shortlisted candidates will take place in early July, and will be held by teleconference (Skype, Zoom, etc.). Interviews in person at the Research Station in Gdańsk – Górki Wschodnie are possible, but only if it is logistically feasible and safe to do so. Informal inquiries can also be addressed to Andre Moura. Requirements Candidates can have a background in biology, zoology, bioinformatics, or related fields. The candidate must have a master's degree completed at the time of registration at the doctoral school. Authorship in peer-review publications as a first author is highly valued. The following essential criteria must be met: 1. Masters degree in biology or other relevant fields 2. Self-motivated character 3. Willingness to learn new methodologies 4. Highly organised and capable of independent work 5. Willingness to travel during the PhD studies 6. Ability to communicate with a multi-disciplinary team; In addition, the following criteria will be favoured: 7. First authorship in peer-review publications 8. Experience with morphological analyses 9. Experience with genetic analyses 10. Knowledge of cetacean biology 11. Experience working in an international team. Research environment The research at the MIZ is focused on a broad range of themes in animal biology, including systematics, biogeography, evolutionary biology, ecology and population genetics. Andre Moura’s research group is part of the Laboratory of the Molecular and Biometric Techniques led by Prof. Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, grouping researchers focused on population genetics, phylogeography and evolutionary genomics of a broad range of animal taxa. MIZ laboratories contain modern equipment for genomic analyses, including Pacific Biosciences RSII long-read sequencer and Illumina MiSeq System. The state-of-the-art ancient DNA laboratory carries out work on mammalian palaeogenetics. The Museum’s zoological collection is among the largest and most valuable in Europe.

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Expedition 2020 Gulf of Guinea
by edmaktub 10 Jun '20

10 Jun '20

Dear Marmamers, I would like to draw your attention to the following: EDMAKTUB Expedition Gulf of Guinea 2020. Do you want to be part of the team? We look for collaboration with other local or international groups The EDMAKTUB association announces its next Gulf of Guinea Expedition 2020 within the SACET Project (South Atlantic Cetacean Project). Departing from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the expedition will travel the west coast of Africa until reaching the Gulf of Guinea. The project consists in obtaining maximum data on cetaceans both during the journey and in the gulf area. At the same time, all possible information will be obtained on all species of marine animals, oceanographic conditions and the presence of waste and/or plastics. The project aims to collaborate with both local and international organizations by offering the possibility of sharing information, collecting data or samples and participating in campaigns. The countries in the Gulf of Guinea where work is likely to be carried out are Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, without excluding other possibilities and also depending on the situation of each country during the expedition, in respect to both the Covid19 pandemic and the collaborations available that will allow us to carry out research in them. The scheduled dates are from July to December 2020. More information on the webpage http://www.edmaktub.org/en/sacet-project-gulf-guinea/ We invite any, especially local, entities from any of the countries in this area and also internationally, that may be interested in collaborating and/or participating and in obtaining data and / or collecting samples. At the same time, up to four people who want to participate in the expedition are required, prioritizing, if possible, the ability to depart from the Canary Islands or to join the team at one of the possible destinations. We are looking for anyone who has a profile in marine sciences, specific knowledge of cetaceans is not necessary. Knowledge of photography and video documention and social networks would be an important asset. It is important to have a minimal level of nautical experience as a lot of time will be spent on board. We are also opening up the possibility to those who do not have so much time and want to participate in periods of at least 10 days- contact us to organize this option that will be provided from August 20 to December 15. As it is not a funded project, those who form part of the team will have to finance their own travel expenses to and from the point of departure, and although it will not be a paid activity, they will not have any expenses while on board. People who want to participate for short periods will have to make a financial contribution. If you have questions and are interested in joining us, write to us at info(a)edmaktub.org If you know someone interested please share! -- ———————------------------- Eduard Degollada Bastos DVM PhD President Associació EDMAKTUB www.edmaktub.org Fb edmaktub Youtube edmaktub Email edmaktub(a)edmaktub.org Ph +34630038829

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New paper: Searching for humpback whales in a historical whaling hotspot of the Coral Sea
by Claire GARRIGUE 09 Jun '20

09 Jun '20

Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce that the following paper have been published in Endangered Species Research: Garrigue, Derville, Bonneville, Baker, Cheeseman, Millet, Paton, Steel 2020. Searching for humpback whales in a historical whaling hotspot of the Coral Sea, South Pacific. Endangered Species Research, 42:67-82 doi.org/10.3354/esr01038 Please find abstract below Searching for humpback whales in the Coral sea two centuries post whaling *Abstract: Humpback whales/Megaptera novaeangliae/were severely depleted by commercial whaling. Understanding key factors in their recovery is a crucial step for their conservation worldwide. In Oceania, the Chesterfield-Bellona archipelago was a primary whaling site in the 19^th century, yet has been left almost unaffected by anthropogenic activities since. We present the results of the first multidisciplinary dedicated surveys in the archipelago assessing humpback whale populations 2 centuries post-whaling. We encountered 57 groups during 24 survey days (2016-2017), among which 35 whales were identified using photographs of natural markings (photo-ID), 38 using genotyping and 22 using both. Humpback whales were sparsely distributed (0.041 whales km^-1 ): most sightings concentrated in shallow inner-reef waters and neighbouring offshore shallow banks. The recently created marine protected area covers most of the areas of high predicted habitat suitability and high residence time from satellite-tracked whales. Surprisingly for a breeding area, sex ratios skewed towards females (1:2.4), and 45% of females were with calf. Connectivity was established with the New Caledonia breeding area to the east (mtDNA/F/_ST = 0.001, p > 0.05, 12 photo-ID and 10 genotype matches) and with the Australian Great Barrier Reef breeding area to the west (mtDNA/F/_ST = 0.006, p > 0.05). Movement of satellite-tracked whales and photo-ID matches also suggest connections with the east Australian migratory corridor. This study confirms that humpback whales still inhabit the Chesterfield-Bellona archipelago 2 centuries post whaling, and that this pristine area potentially plays a role in facilitating migratory interchange among breeding grounds of the western South Pacific.*

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Fwd: RARE MARINE MAMMAL BOOKS AVAILABLE
by Thomas Jefferson 09 Jun '20

09 Jun '20

RARE MARINE MAMMAL BOOKS AVAILABLE ¡VIVAVaquita! is a non-profit organizationdedicated to working to help save the vaquita from extinction. All funds raised are actively used forresearch and conservation work on the vaquita (Phocoena sinus), the world’smost endangered marine mammal species. The globalpopulation of this species now numbers less than 15 individuals and is nearingextinction. Visit our website at www.vivavaquita.org for more details. ¡VIVAVaquita! has hundreds of marine mammal books, reprints, monographs, and journalsthat are available for a donation to the organization. Below is a sample of some of the rarer items we have (pricelisted is suggested donation, shipping is extra), but there are many, many moreand suggested donation amounts range from US$1-150. For a list of additional books available (andphotos), please contact us. For more info, or to order books, please contactTom Jefferson at sclymene(a)aol.com. HC = hardcover, PB = paperback/soft wrappers. Bessesen, B. 2018. Vaquita: Science, Politics, and Crime inthe Sea of Cortez. Island Press. NEW. HC. $15. Delyamure, S. L. 1968. Helminthofauna of Marine Mammals(Ecology and Phylogeny). Israel Program for Scientific Translations. PB. $10. FAO. 1978. Mammals in the seas: Volume I. Report of the FAOAdvisory Committee on Marine Resources Research. FAO of the United Nations. HC. $9. FAO. 1979. Mammals in the seas: Volume II. Pinniped speciessummaries and report on sirenians. FAOof the United Nations. HC. $9. Fay, F. H. 1982. Ecology and biology of the Pacific walrus,Odobenus rosmarus divergens Illiger. North American Fauna 74:279 pp. PB. $15. Gaskin, D. E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins, and Seals, WithSpecial Reference to the New Zealand Region. Heineman Educational Books. Dust jacket damaged, but book in goodcondition. HC. $9. Gaskin, D. E. 1982. The Ecology of Whales and Dolphins.Heinemann, London. PB. $7. Goode, G. B. 1887. The Fisheries and Fishery Industries ofthe United States. Section III – Fisheries of North America (including marinemammal sections). Government PrintingOffice. HC. $35. Hawley, F. 1958. Whales and Whaling in Japan (offprint ofpp. 51-102, excerpts on original rare paper). Kyoto. HC. 51pp. $35. Howell, A. B. 1927. Contribution to the anatomy of theChinese finless porpoise, Neemeris phocaenoides. Proceedings of the UnitedStates National Museum 70:1-43. PB. $3. Jefferson, T. A., S. Leatherwood and M. A. Webber. 1993.Marine Mammals of the World: FAO Species Identification Guide. United NationEnvironment Programme and Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN. PB. $25. Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. 2015.Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification.Academic Press/Elsevier. NEW. HC. $52. Kaiser, H. E. 1974. Morphology of the Sirenia. A Macroscopicand X-ray Atlas of the Osteology of Recent Species. S. Karger, Basel. NEW. HC(in plastic wrap). HC. $28. Kleinenberg, S. E., A. V. Yablokov, B. M. Belkovich and M.N. Tarasevich. 1964. Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas): Investigation of theSpecies. Israel Program for Scientific Translations. HC. $22. Klinowska, M. 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises, and Whales of theWorld: The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. HC. $10. Lilljeborg, W. 1867. On two subfossil whales discovered inSweden. Nova Acta Regiae Soc. Sci. Upsalla. [3] 6(2):1-48. PB. $9. Miller, G. S. and R. Kellogg. 1955. List of North Americanrecent mammals. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 205:954 pp. HC. $10. Mitchell, E. 1965. History of research at Shark Tooth Hill.Kern County Historical Society. HC. $8. Mitchell, E. (ed). 1975. Review of biology and fisheries forsmaller cetaceans. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 32(7):879-1242. Special issue of journal ondolphins, porpoises, and small whales. PB. $9. Mitchell, E. D. 1975. Porpoise, dolphin and small whalefisheries of the world. IUCN Monograph 3:129 pp. PB. $7. Moore, J. C. 1968. Relationships among the living genera ofbeaked whales with classifications, diagnoses and keys. Fieldiana Zoology53:209-298. PB. $7. Perrin, W. F. 1975. Variation and taxonomy of spotted andspinner porpoise (genus Stenella) in the eastern tropical Pacific and Hawaii.Bulletin of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography 21:206 pp. PB. $14. Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world: systematicsand distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4:231 pp. NEW. $7. Ridgway, S. H. 1972. Mammals of the Sea: Biology andMedicine. Pages 812 pp. Charles C. Thomas. HC, mint condition. $120. Ridgway, S. H. and R. Harrison (eds). 1994. Handbook ofMarine Mammals, Vol. 5: The First Book of Dolphins. 416 pp. Academic Press. NEW, HC. $110. Risting, S. 1928. Whales and whale foetuses. Rapports etProces-Verbaux des Reunions 50:122 pp. PB. $9. Ronald, K. and A. W. Mansfield (eds). 1975. Biology of theSeal: Proceedings of a Symposium Held in Guelph 14-17 August 1972. 557 pp.Rapports et Proces-Verbaux de Reunions. PB. $8. Scheffer, V. B. and J. W. Slipp. 1948. The whales anddolphins of Washington State, with a key to the cetaceans of the west coast ofNorth America. American Midland Naturalist 39:257-337. PB. $8. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute. Vols.24-26 hardbound in buckram, plus separate issues of vols. 26, 29, 30, 32, and33. $28 for hardbound set, or $10/looseissue. Sergeant, D. E. 1962. The biology of the pilot or potheadwhale Globicephala melaena (Traill) in Newfoundland waters. Bulletin of theFisheries Research Board of Canada 132:84 pp. PB. $10. True, F. W. 1904. Whalebone Whales of the Western NorthAtlantic Compared with Those Occurring in European Waters with SomeObservations on the Species of the North Pacific. Smithsonian Contributions toKnowledge. First edition, pages in finecondition, but removed from binding. $38. True, F. W. 1910. An account of the beaked whales of thefamily Ziphiidae in the collection of the United States National Museum, withremarks on some species in other American museums. Bulletin of the UnitedStates National Museum 73:42 pp. + plates. PB. $35. Wursig, B., T. A. Jefferson and D. J. Schmidly. 2000. TheMarine Mammals of the Gulf of Mexico. Texas A&M University Press. NEW. HC. $6. Zhou, K. and Zhang Xingduan. 1991. Baiji: The Yangtze RiverDolphin and Other Endangered Animals of China. Stonewall Press. NEW. HC. $4.

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New publication: An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales
by Irvine, Ladd 09 Jun '20

09 Jun '20

Hello Marmam, On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce the publication of our open access paper An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error in the journal Animal Biotelemetry. Irvine, L.M., Winsor, M.H., Follett, T.M. Mate, B.R., Palacios, D.M. An at-sea assessment of Argos location accuracy for three species of large whales, and the effect of deep-diving behavior on location error. Anim Biotelemetry 8, 20 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-020-00207-x Abstract Background: Argos satellite telemetry is used globally to track terrestrial and aquatic megafauna, yet the accuracy of this system has been described empirically only for a limited number of species. We used Argos-linked archival tags with Fastloc GPS deployed on free-ranging sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), blue (Balaenoptera musculus), and fin (B. physalus) whales to derive empirical estimates of Argos location errors for these species, examine possible behavior-related differences, and test the effect of incorporating species-specific error parameters on performance of a commonly used movement model. Results: Argos location errors for blue and fin whale tags were similar and were combined (n = 1712 locations) for comparison against sperm whale tags (n = 1206 locations). Location error magnitudes for tags attached to sperm whales were significantly larger than blue/fin whale tags for almost all Argos location classes (LC), ranging from 964 m versus 647 m for LC 3, respectively, to 10,569 m versus 5589 m for LC B, respectively. However, these differences were not seen while tags floated at the surface after release. Sperm whale tags were significantly colder than ambient temperature when surfacing from a dive, compared to blue/fin whale tags (16.9 °C versus 1.3 °C, respectively) leading to larger changes in tag temperature during post-dive intervals. The increased rate of tag temperature change while at the surface was correlated to increased error magnitude for sperm whales but not blue/fin whales. Movement model performance was not significantly improved by incorporating species-specific error parameters. Conclusions: Location accuracy estimates for blue/fin whales were within the range estimated for other marine megafauna, but were higher for sperm whales. Thermal inertia from deep, long-duration dives likely caused transmission frequency drift and greater Argos location error in sperm whales, as tags warmed at the surface during post-dive intervals. Thus, tracks of deep-diving species may be less accurate than for other species. However, differences in calculated error magnitude between species were less than typical scales of movement and had limited effect on movement model performance. Therefore, broad-scale interpretation of Argos tracking data will likely be unaffected, although fine-scale interpretation should be made with more caution for deep-diving species inhabiting warm regions. A pdf copy is available at https://rdcu.be/b4H5n Please contact me with any questions at ladd.irvine(a)oregonstate.edu<mailto:ladd.irvine@oregonstate.edu> Cheers, Ladd -- Ladd M. Irvine, M.S. Sr. Faculty Research Assistant Marine Mammal Institute and Dept. of Fisheries & Wildlife Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center 2030 SE Marine Science Drive Newport, OR 97365, USA MMI Profile<https://mmi.oregonstate.edu/people/ladd-irvine> | ResearchGate<https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ladd_Irvine>

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Applications are now open for the 2020 summer course "Applying Innovative Technologies in Marine Science”.
by Lars Bejder 08 Jun '20

08 Jun '20

Applications are now open for the 2020 summer course "Applying Innovative Technologies in Marine Science”. Location: Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa), USA Would you like to participate in an all expenses-paid class on new technologies and marine science at Coconut Island? The Marine Mammal Research Program (www.mmrphawaii.org) at the University of Hawaii will be accepting four or five participants to this year's Schmidt Summer Program in marine Science. Dates: August 31st to September 25th, 2020 Format: 4-week intensive, on-site summer program Cost: All costs are covered (course fees, accommodation, subsistence food, and reasonable travel costs) Nationalities: all can apply The goal of this course is to introduce participants to innovative technologies and their uses in the field of marine science. The course will be open to incoming graduate students, graduate students, postdocs, and other early-career researchers. The course will leverage the exceptional research capacities, facilities, and location of HIMB and Moku o Lo’e (Coconut Island) to advance scientific and career goals of participants who otherwise may not have this unique opportunity. The course will include lectures, hands-on field work, a lab component, and data analysis for projects developed during the program. The course will provide an introduction to the fundamentals of conducting robust science, including open and reproducible science, science communication beyond academia to diverse stakeholder groups, and more. Included in the course will be a statistical programming module and guest lectures by scientists, conservation practitioners, and managers using cutting-edge technology. Participants will gain hands-on exposure to a range of technologies and tools relevant to the instructors’ and guest instructors’ research portfolios (e.g., unoccupied aerial systems, above-water and underwater photogrammetry, remote sensing imagery, 3D laser scanning and printing, and more). Broadening participants’ exposure to new and emerging technologies will provide them a foundation upon which to incorporate these technologies into their scientific and career goals. To apply, see details on the following link: https://www.mmrphawaii.org/post/2020-himb-schmidt-summer-program-in-marine-… Important note: Please understand that the dates above are a placeholder, and that the course may be delayed further or cancelled altogether in 2020 depending on progress towards reopening institutions and travel. Also, note that acceptance may be contingent upon rules for travel from participants’ countries. We reserve the right to cancel the program or individual participation should our COVID-19 restrictions not align with the restrictions of the nations of participants Kind regards, Lars

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