July 2021 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

Guadalupe fur seal status review
by Christina Fahy - NOAA Federal 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

Dear MARMAM-- On behalf of my co-authors, I am pleased to announce that NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has reassessed the status of Guadalupe fur seals after 30+ years. We are so grateful for all of the research conducted by our U.S. and Mexican counterparts over many years and for contributing to this report. You can find the report at: https://media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2021-07/guadalupe-fur-seal-status-review-2… McCue, L.M., Fahy, C.C., Greenman, J., and K. Wilkinson. 2021. Status Review of the Guadalupe Fur Seal (Arctocephalus townsendi). 95 pp. National Marine Fisheries Service, Protected Resources Division, West Coast Region, 501 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, California, 90802. Thank you- Christina Fahy Fishery Biologist National Marine Fisheries Service Long Beach, CA Guadalupe fur seals (*Arctocephalus philippii townsendi*) once had a population size of as many as 200,000 animals before they were hunted to near extinction for their fur in the 19th century, although pre-exploitation population estimates vary greatly. This species was thought to be extinct until a Guadalupe fur seal was sighted on San Nicolas Island, California in 1949, and an expedition to Guadalupe Island, Mexico (their primary rookery) in 1954 confirmed the survival of the species. Since the 1950s, the species has recovered from an estimated population of 200-500 animals to a minimum estimate of 31,019 animals in 2013, with an estimated annual population growth rate of 5.9% from 1984-2013. The Guadalupe fur seal was listed as threatened in 1985 under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The status of this species was reviewed more than 30 years later, with NOAA Fisheries publishing their report in 2021. After a thorough review of the best available scientific and commercial information and an assessment of threats to the species, NOAA Fisheries determined whether the identified threats were likely to cause Guadalupe fur seals to become or remain in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. Guadalupe fur seals have only one main rookery (Guadalupe Island, Mexico), and major threats that impact these seals directly and/or indirectly through their primary prey (squid) include warm water events, storms/hurricanes, sea level rise, ocean acidification, disease, and oil spills. Here, we provide an update on the status of the Guadalupe fur seal under the ESA and NOAA Fisheries’ next steps, including conservation and management recommendations for recovery of this protected species.

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New publication: Unusual Behaviour of Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Mothers and Calves
by Nicoli Eiras 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

Dear MARMAM subscribers, I am pleased to write this email to let you know about my last publication "Unusual Behaviour of Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Mothers and Calves" in the most recent issue (Volume 47, issue 4, 2021) of Aquatic Mammals Journal. It is a short note describing unusual behaviours displayed by humpback whales mothers and calves on the Brazilian breeding ground, involving separation between mothers and calves and also a first description, as far as we know, of a postmortem attentive behaviour in which the calf was the attender towards an adult whale. For those who are interested in the article, it is possible to find it online through the link: Nicoli Eiras, Samira Costa-Silva, Thais H. M. Melo, Luciana Ver?ssimo, and Milton C. C. Marcondes. (2021). Unusual Behaviour of Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) Mothers and Calves. Aquatic Mammals, 47(4), 330-336. https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F… <https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F…> Otherwise, feel free to contact me requesting a copy through the e-mail: nicoli.eiras(a)gmail.com. Best regards, Nicoli Eiras - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Graduada em Ciências Biológicas - UNESP - Campus Assis (http://http://www.assis.unesp.br/)

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Cascadia Research is seeking volunteers for fall 2021, winter and spring 2022
by Sabre Mahaffy 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

Cascadia Research Collective in Olympia, Washington is now accepting interns and volunteers for U.S. west coast and Hawaiʻi research for fall 2021 and winter and spring 2022! Cascadia Research Collective (CRC) 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. CRC is currently filling positions for: Fall 2021 (September-December); deadline to apply is July 31, 2021 Winter 2022 (January-March); deadline to apply is November 15, 2021 Spring 2022 (April-June); deadline to apply is February 15, 2022 Volunteer positions are unpaid, office-based positions in Olympia, WA and housing is not provided. International applicants will also be considered, but it is the responsibility of the applicant to acquire necessary visas and documentation. Volunteer Position Details: CRC gives priority to juniors or seniors with a science background who are seeking academic credit as well as those enrolled in (or planning to attend) graduate school in a marine science-related field. A full time commitment (40 hours per week) is preferred. Volunteer positions are generally three months in length, although exceptions can be made depending on the academic calendar of the college or university. Much of CRC’s work involves photo identification, using natural markings unique to each individual to catalog and track individuals over time. This allows us to study association patterns and movements over extended periods of time, revealing information on population structure and social organization. Volunteers will spend a large portion of their time comparing new photographs to those in our existing catalogs, and may additionally be involved in digital image processing and data entry. Additionally, volunteers may have opportunities to participate in Washington state stranding response, which may include beach surveys, data and specimen collection, data entry, and assisting in necropsies of pinnipeds & cetaceans. US West Coast Research: Volunteers will assist staff on our long-term photo-ID studies of baleen whales, including humpback, blue, and gray whales off the US West Coast and the inside waters of Washington state. For more information, see www.cascadiaresearch.org<http://www.cascadiaresearch.org> Hawaiʻi Research: Volunteers will assist staff on our long-term photo-ID studies of a variety of species of odontocetes (e.g., rough-toothed dolphins, false killer whales, beaked whales) found in Hawaiian waters. For more information, see www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii.htm<http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawaii.htm> For a full description of the volunteer opportunities available, please visit: www.cascadiaresearch.org/interns.htm<http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/interns.htm> Photo identification requires a high degree of focus and attention to detail, and volunteers 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 volunteering with Cascadia, please visit our website and send a CV, two professional letters of recommendation, and a letter stating your interest, what you would like gain to from this experience, relevant background experience, the time period you are interested in, the number of hours you can work, and if you would be seeking credit from your college or university. For a US west coast project volunteer position please send the information to: Kiirsten Flynn: kflynn(a)cascadiaresearch.org<mailto:kflynn@cascadiaresearch.org> For Hawaiʻi project volunteer position 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. ----------------------------------------- Sabre Mahaffy, M.Sc. Research Biologist Cascadia Research Collective 218 1/2 W. 4th Ave. Olympia, WA 98501 www.cascadiaresearch.org

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Flukebook.org: Release v.2021-06-30
by Jason Holmberg 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

We are pleased to announce the Wildbook software release v.2021-06-30, which is reflected in the Flukebook.org platform for cetacean photo ID. Wildbook DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5093667 Wildbook Image Analysis (WBIA): 10.5281/zenodo.4784646 For an overview of Flukebook's multi-species, multi-modal machine learning for photo ID, please see: https://docs.wildme.org/docs/researchers/ia_pipeline Community support for Wildbook is provided at: https://community.wildme.org *Release Notes for June 2021* *Flukebook Release Notes* - IndoCet custom import form has been updated. - WB-1696: EXIF rotation in IA results is now more consistent. - WB-1691: Hierarchical matching job tasks are now correctly associating with annotations - WB-1687: Manual annotations species are getting the needed reference IDs for MediaAssets and Annotations for the catalog to build correctly - WB-1672: Bulk imports can be deleted. - WB-1665: Users are informed of query with no match-against set when filters reduce potential match candidates to 0 - WB-1648: Single-asset uploads handle special characters. - WB-1632: Manual annotation no longer shrinks and offsets the annotation display. - WB-1593: Country database field propogates to cloned encounters. - WB-1580: Usernames can be updated by admins and the account retain access to owned encounters. - WB-1568: Sightings search by species has several fields fixed and improved. - WB-1519: IA Results are correctly filtering by project again. - WB-1505: Match results take the user to the correct annotation. - WB-1455: Manual annotation page now handles image filename paths with unsupported characters. - WB-1392: Manual annotation tool correctly displays existing annotations. - WB-775: Bulk import processes special characters. - WB-668: Required fields in manual submissions have been clarified. - Computer vision support for Indopacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) added *Wildbook-IA Release Notes (Computer Vision and Machine Learning)* The following updates were made to WBIA last month. - SAGE-293: Presented two posters at CVPR workshop “CV 4 Animals” on 1) the continual ID curation problem and 2) CurvRank V2 - SAGE-20: New CurvRank V2 and PIE V2 support for gray whales added to WBIA and deployed to Flukebook Jason Holmberg (he/him/his) Executive Director, Wild Me <https://www.wildme.org/ <https://wildme.org/>> A.I. and humans combating extinction together.

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New publication : Fin whale acoustic populations present in New Zealand waters
by Alexandra Constaratas 16 Jul '21

16 Jul '21

Dear MARMAM community, On behalf of my co-authors, I'm happy to announce that our paper "Fin whale acoustic populations present in New Zealand waters: description of song types, occurrence and seasonality using passive acoustic monitoring" has been published in PLOS ONE. Constaratas AN, McDonald MA, Goetz KT, Giorli G (2021) Fin whale acoustic populations present in New Zealand waters: Description of song types, occurrence and seasonality using passive acoustic monitoring. PLoS ONE 16(7): e0253737. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253737 Abstract: Southern fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) are known to migrate from the Antarctic to mid-latitudes during winter for breeding, but the occurrence and distribution of this species is not well known in the waters around New Zealand. The ‘doublet’ calls are one of the main calls emitted specifically by fin whales and repeated in a regular pattern, which make the acoustic detection of these calls relevant to detect the presence of fin whales. Using a signal processing algorithm to detect ‘doublet’ calls emitted by fin whales, we studied the occurrence, characteristics and seasonality of these ‘doublet’ calls in two regions around New Zealand; Cook Strait in 2016/2017 and offshore Gisborne in 2014/2015. The call detection procedure consisted of binarization of the spectrogram and a cross-correlation between the binarized spectrogram and a template of binarized ‘doublet’ calls spectrogram. A binarization threshold for the data spectrograms and a cross correlation threshold were then determined through multiple trials on a training dataset and a Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve. Fin whale ‘doublet’ calls occurred on the east side of New Zealand’s Cook Strait during austral winter, specifically in June 2017 and offshore Gisborne in June-August 2014. No ‘doublet’ calls were detected on the west side of Cook Strait. The ‘doublet’ calls’ Inter-Note Interval (INI) was similar in both datasets. However, there was a difference in alternation of the mean frequency for both HF components of ‘doublet’ calls in Cook Strait and Gisborne. As the song types were compared with those previously described in the literature, our findings suggest that some fin whales wintering in New Zealand waters may be part of a broader ‘acoustic population’ whose range extends west to southern Australia and south to Antarctica. Please feel free to contact me at <alexandra.constaratas(a)gmail.com> for questions. Best, Alexandra Current affiliation: Soundscape data analyst, Blue World Institute of Marine Research and Conservation, Veli Lošinj, Croatia alexandra.constaratas(a)blue-world.org

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New publication: Movement and activity in Antarctic fur seal pups
by Rebecca Nagel 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Dear MARMAM colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to share with you our recent publication on the movement and activity of Antarctic fur seal pups: Rebecca Nagel, Sina Mews, Timo Adam, Claire Stainfield, Cameron Fox‑Clarke, Camille Toscani, Roland Langrock, Jaume Forcada*, & Joseph I. Hoffman* (2021) Movement patterns and activity levels are shaped by the neonatal environment in Antarctic fur seal pups. Scientific Reports. 11:14323. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93253-1 <https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-93253-1> *co-senior authors Abstract: Tracking studies of juveniles are rare compared to those of adults, and consequently little is known about the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on activity during this critical life stage. We used hourly GPS data, collected from 66 Antarctic fur seal pups from birth until moulting, to investigate the explanatory power of multiple individual-based and environmental variables on activity levels. Pups were sampled from two nearby breeding colonies of contrasting density during two subsequent years, and a two-state hidden Markov model was used to identify modalities in their movement behaviour, specifically ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ states. We found that movement was typified by central place exploration, with active movement away from and subsequent return to a location of inactivity. The probability of such directed exploration was unaffected by several factors known to influence marine mammal movement including sex, body condition, and temperature. Compared to pups born at the high-density colony, pups at low-density were more active, increased their activity with age, and transitioned earlier into the tussock grass, which offers protection from predators and extreme weather. Our study illustrates the importance of extrinsic factors, such as colony of birth, to early-life activity patterns and highlights the adaptive potential of movement. The article should be open access, but if you have any trouble accessing the pdf or have any further questions, please feel free to contact me at rebecca.nagel(a)uni-bielefeld.de. With kind regards, Rebecca -- Dr. Rebecca Nagel mail: rebecca.nagel(a)uni-bielefeld.de office: +49 521 106-2192 mobile: +49 176 31688200 room: VHF-203a Bielefeld University Department of Animal Behaviour PO Box 10 01 31 33501 Bielefeld Germany

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new paper on distribution - spatial segregation
by Brasseur, Sophie 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Dear colleagues, On behalf of all the authors, we are pleased to announce our in The American Naturalist: Aarts G, Mul E, Fieberg J, Brasseur S, van Gils JA, Matthiopoulos J, Riotte-Lambert L. (2021). Individual-level memory is sufficient to create spatial segregation among neighboring colonies of central-place foragers. American Naturalist, August 2021, https://doi.org/10.1086/715014<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2…> It's a theoretical study, inspired by spatial segregation observed in tracked harbour seals, and the proposed theory may explain the spatial segregation observed in several central-place foragers, like pinnipeds. Abstract Central place foragers often segregate in space, even without signs of direct agonistic interactions. Using parsimonious individual-based simulations, we show that for species with spatial cognitive abilities, individual-level memory of resource availability can be sufficient to cause spatial segregation in the foraging ranges of colonial animals. The shapes of the foraging distributions are governed by commuting costs, the emerging distribution of depleted resources, and the fidelity of foragers to their colonies. When colony fidelity is weak and foragers can easily switch to colonies located closer to favorable foraging grounds, this leads to space partitioning with equidistant borders between neighboring colonies. In contrast, when colony fidelity is strong-for example, because larger colonies provide safety in numbers or individuals are unable to leave-it can create a regional imbalance between resource requirements and resource availability. This leads to nontrivial space-use patterns that propagate through the landscape. Interestingly, while better spatial memory creates more defined boundaries between neighboring colonies, it can lower the average intake rate of the population, suggesting a potential trade-off between an individual's attempt for increased intake and population growth rates. The full article is freely available at: https://doi.org/10.1086/715014<https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2…> Regards, Geert Aarts and Sophie Brasseur Dr. Sophie M.J.M. Brasseur Marine Mammalogist tel. +31 317 487072 home +31 6 215 677 41 sophie.brasseur(a)wur.nl<mailto:sophie.brasseur@wur.nl>

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New publication: Characterizing human interactions with bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Tampa Bay (Meredith MacQueeney)
by Meredith MacQueeney 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Dear colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce our new publication in Human Dimensions of Wildlife: “Characterizing human interactions with bottlenose dolphins (*Tursiops truncatus*) in Tampa Bay” Meredith MacQueeney, Michelle A. M. Collier, Peter Simard & Shannon Gowans https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2021.1950241 Abstract: Human interaction (HI) is known to disturb cetaceans. Regional wildlife interaction guidelines exist to mitigate harmful impacts, but the efficacy of these guidelines is understudied. HI with bottlenose dolphins was documented opportunistically in Tampa Bay from 2009 to 2018. Vessel compliance to the guidelines was low with 80% of encounters being non-compliant. HI was observed in 33% of days in the field and in 22% of dolphin sightings. Poisson regression identified vessel type as a strong key factor related to compliance, with faster more maneuverable boats more likely to be non-compliant. Additionally, HI involved recreational vessels much more frequently than tourism vessels. These results likely underestimate true HI rates because of sampling limitations. Researchers should opportunistically document HI including vessel characteristics and vessel behavior to help quantify compliance. When developing HI guidelines and their promotion, managers should carefully consider which stakeholders engage in HI to best direct resources to that audience. To request a PDF copy of the paper please contact Meredith MacQueeney ( memacque(a)eckerd.edu) Kind regards, -Meredith MacQueeney (she/her) Eckerd College 2019 Current affiliation: PhD Student, Department of Biology Georgetown University mem505(a)georgetown.edu -- *** Please know that I honor and respect boundaries around personal time, well-being, caretaking, and rest. If this email finds you at a time when you are engaging in any of the above, please protect your time and wait to respond until you are next working.***

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Dual MMO/PAMO Vacancy OSC
by Recruitment 15 Jul '21

15 Jul '21

Dual MMO/PAMO Vacancy 2 x Dual MMO/PAMO requirements Project 1: Mob ca. 20-23 July Duration ca. 4-week rotations running till September/October Type: Seismic survey Location for Mob: Germany Project 2: Mob ca. mid/late August (date TBC) Duration ca. 4-week rotations running till October Type: Seismic survey Location for Mob: Germany For both projects, the candidate needs to be comfortable with PAM installation. EU citizen or holds Seaman's book and hold necessary offshore certifications. Please email recruitment(a)osc.co.uk<mailto:recruitment@osc.co.uk> if available. Kind regards, Sophie Cox

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New paper on behavioral responses of humpback whales to biopsy sampling
by Claire GARRIGUE 14 Jul '21

14 Jul '21

Dear Colleagues, My co-author Solene Dervile and I are very pleased to be able to share that our paper "Behavioral responses of humpback whales to biopsy sampling on a breeding ground: the influence of age-class, reproductive status, social context, and repeated sampling" has been publisehd in Marine Mammal Science. 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12848 Abstract: /The short-term response of humpback whales to boat approach and remote biopsy sampling was investigated in a breeding ground according to age-class, sex, female reproductive status, social context, sampling system, habitat, and repeated sampling with more than 20 years of data. In a total of 2,248 observed behavioral responses to biopsy sampling, 58.7% showed no response, 40.7% were considered to be weak or moderate responses, and only 0.5% were considered to be strong. No significant difference was found between the response of calves (young-of-the-year) and that of adults, whereas juveniles responded significantly more strenuously. The response of adult whales was influenced by sex, female reproductive status, and social context.Mothers showed themost frequent response to the boat approach, but the weakest response to the biopsy sampling itself, whereas nonlactating females had the strongest response to biopsy sampling. Males responded less when sampledwithin a competitive group. Repeated sampling of individual adults resulted in decreasing intensity of responses across years. This comprehensive assessment has implications for management authorities, notably in approving research permits for sampling different age classes on breeding grounds. We found that publicationson marine mammal welfare are infrequent but on the rise, and that there is a need for a common language between welfare science and marine mammal research to improve the translation and reception of this cross-disciplinary field. / Please contact me or solene.derville(a)ird.fr for a full pdf paper.// -- Dr Claire Garrigue UMR ENTROPIE - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement 101 Promenade Gabriel Laroque BPA5 98848 Nouméa Cedex Nouvelle-Calédonie Phone: +687 829560 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Claire_Garrigue

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