August 2021 - MARMAM - devlists.uvic.ca

New paper: Broad-Scale Responses of Harbor Porpoises to Pile-Driving and Vessel Activities During Offshore Windfarm Construction
by BENHEMMA-LE GALL, AUDE (PGR) 04 Aug '21

04 Aug '21

Dear MARMAM colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to share our recent open-access publication in Frontiers in Marine Science: Benhemma-Le Gall A, Graham IM, Merchant ND and Thompson PM (2021) Broad-Scale Responses of Harbor Porpoises to Pile-Driving and Vessel Activities During Offshore Windfarm Construction. Front. Mar. Sci. 8:664724. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.664724 This paper was published as part of the Frontiers research topic "Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) Studies in the Ocean" and can be downloaded from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.664724/full Abstract: Offshore windfarm developments are expanding, requiring assessment and mitigation of impacts on protected species. Typically, assessments of impacts on marine mammals have focused on pile-driving, as intense impulsive noise elicits adverse behavioral responses. However, other construction activities such as jacket and turbine installation also change acoustic habitats through increased vessel activity. To date, the contribution of construction-related vessel activity in shaping marine mammal behavioral responses at windfarm construction sites has been overlooked and no guidelines or mitigation measures have been implemented. We compared broad-scale spatio-temporal variation in harbor porpoise occurrence and foraging activity between baseline periods and different construction phases at two Scottish offshore windfarms. Following a Before-After Control-Impact design, arrays of echolocation click detectors (CPODs) were deployed in 25 km by 25 km impact and reference blocks throughout the 2017–2019 construction. Echolocation clicks and buzzes were used to investigate porpoise occurrence and foraging activity, respectively. In parallel, we characterized broadband noise levels using calibrated noise recorders (SoundTraps and SM2Ms) and vessel activities using AIS data integrated with engineering records. Following an impact gradient design, we then quantified the magnitude of porpoise responses in relation to changes in the acoustic environment and vessel activity. Compared to baseline, an 8–17% decline in porpoise occurrence was observed in the impact block during pile-driving and other construction activities. The probability of detecting porpoises and buzzing activity was positively related to the distance from vessel and construction activities, and negatively related to levels of vessel intensity and background noise. Porpoise displacement was observed at up to 12 km from pile-driving activities and up to 4 km from construction vessels. This evidence of broad-scale behavioral responses of harbor porpoises to these different construction activities highlights the importance of assessing and managing all vessel activities at offshore windfarm sites to minimize potential impacts of anthropogenic noise. If you have any queries regarding our work, please feel free to contact me (a.benhemma-legall.17(a)abdn.ac.uk<mailto:a.benhemma-legall.17@abdn.ac.uk>). Kind regards, Aude Benhemma-Le Gall PhD candidate University of Aberdeen, Lighthouse Field Station, George Street, Cromarty, Ross-shire, IV11 8YL UK The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683. Tha Oilthigh Obar Dheathain na charthannas clàraichte ann an Alba, Àir. SC013683.

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Internship Equity Webinar co-hosted by SMM and WDC
by Eric Archer - NOAA Federal 03 Aug '21

03 Aug '21

View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/marinemammalscience/equity-webinar-1?e=04edfc13d2> You are invited to a *Webinar on Internship Equity * co-hosted by the SMM and WDC *on Thursday, August 26th 4:00 PM-6:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (8:00 PM -10:00 PM UTC)* *About the Event:* While we all rely on the ocean for half our oxygen, our climate, and our economy, not everyone has a voice in marine science and conservation, a field which has little racial diversity. Recognizing and removing the barriers preventing access to this field is critical to the health of our planet. In this webinar, two organizations will present their experiences, outlining how they evaluated the barriers to accessing opportunities in this field and how they are working to remove them. Join Regina Asmutis-Silvia, Executive Director for Whale and Dolphin Conservation in North America and Dr. Tara Cox, Professor of Marine Sciences at Savannah State University, to hear about the steps they have taken to increase access to the field. This webinar is the first of three talking about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the marine mammal conservation field, and leads up to a DEI workshop just prior to the 24th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88c2080440a38…>, to be held on December 13-17, 2021 in Palm Beach, Florida, USA. *This event is free to attend and all are welcome.* *Speakers:* Dr. Tara Cox - Professor of Marine Sciences at Savannah State University Regina Asmutis-Silvia - Executive Director at Whale and Dolphin Conservation’s North American office Additional speakers TBD *Zoom Registration:* https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9f-Dzq-ESzyO3tr3Re3-AQ <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88c2080440a38…> *Please help to inform and guide our discussion! * We would appreciate your participation in a DEI Webinar Participant Survey <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88c2080440a38…>. This anonymous survey will take approximately five minutes to complete. Results will be shared at the webinar, but please note this is an informal survey and the results will not have any statistical significance and will be shared as discussion points only. Please direct any questions about the webinar to Regina Asmutis-Silvia and Melissa Walker at jobs(a)whales.org <jobs(a)whales.org?subject=Internship%20Equity%20Webinar%20question> Thank you for being a part of the conversation. We look forward to seeing you there. Eric Archer and Tara Cox Co-Chairs, SMM Ad hoc Diversity and Inclusion Committee [image: Twitter] <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88c2080440a38…> [image: Facebook] <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88c2080440a38…> [image: Website] <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88c2080440a38…> *Copyright © 2021 Society for Marine Mammalogy, All rights reserved.* You are receiving this email because you are an active member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. If you do not wish to receive communications from SMM or wish to update your contact information, you may do so here: https://www.marinemammalscience.org/for-members/update-your-profile/ or contact us at help(a)marinemammalscience.org. Our privacy policy is available here: https://www.marinemammalscience.org/privacy-policy/ *Our mailing address is:* Society for Marine Mammalogy C/o Kathleen Moore 290 Summer Street Yarmouth Port, MA 02675 Add us to your address book <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/vcard?u=88c2080440a38f38f98…> Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/profile?u=88c2080440a38f38f…> or unsubscribe from this list <https://marinemammalscience.us8.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=88c2080440a38…> [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm…> -- *Eric Archer, Ph.D. *(he/him/his <https://www.glsen.org/activity/pronouns-guide-glsen>) Leader, Marine Mammal Genetics Program <https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/west-coast/science-data/marine-mammal-geneti…> Southwest Fisheries Science Center (NMFS/NOAA) 8901 La Jolla Shores Drive La Jolla, CA 92037 USA 858-546-7121 Adjunct Professor, Marine Biology <http://profiles.ucsd.edu/frederick.archer> Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of California, San Diego GitHub: github.com/ericarcher ---- " *The universe doesn't care what you believe. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn't ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.*" - Randall Munroe "*Lighthouses are more helpful than churches.*" - Benjamin Franklin "*...but I'll take a GPS over either one.*" - John C. "Craig" George

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Publication: Startle and heart rate responses in captive harbour porpoises
by Siri Elmegaard 03 Aug '21

03 Aug '21

Dear MARMAMers, We are happy to share our recent article in Biology Open, where we show that trained harbour porpoises exposed to sonar-like sounds initially responded with intensified bradycardia, but habituated rapidly. Exposure to 40kHz pulses consistently evoked startle jerks, but elicited no other behavioural or heart rate changes. Elmegaard, S.L., McDonald, B.I., Teilmann, J., Madsen, P. (2021) Heart rate and startle responses in diving, captive harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) exposed to transient noise and sonar. Biology Open 10(6): bio058679. ABSTRACT: Anthropogenic noise can alter marine mammal behaviour and physiology, but little is known about cetacean cardiovascular responses to exposures, despite evidence that acoustic stressors, such as naval sonars, may lead to decompression sickness. Here, we measured heart rate and movements of two trained harbour porpoises during controlled exposure to 6–9 kHz sonar-like sweeps and 40 kHz peak-frequency noise pulses, designed to evoke acoustic startle responses. The porpoises initially responded to the sonar sweep with intensified bradycardia despite unaltered behaviour/movement, but habituated rapidly to the stimuli. In contrast, 40 kHz noise pulses consistently evoked rapid muscle flinches (indicative of startles), but no behavioural or heart rate changes. We conclude that the autonomous startle response appears decoupled from, or overridden by, cardiac regulation in diving porpoises, whereas certain novel stimuli may motivate oxygen-conserving cardiovascular measures. Such responses to sound exposure may contribute to gas mismanagement for deeper-diving cetaceans. The article is open access and available online (*https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.058679 <https://doi.org/10.1242/bio.058679>* ) All the best, Siri Elmegaard PhD graduate Aarhus University Marine Bioacoustics Lab

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New publication on mud ring feeding in dolphins
by Eric Angel Ramos 02 Aug '21

02 Aug '21

Greetings Marmam! On behalf of my coauthors, I am pleased to share our newest publication on dolphin mud ring feeding is out today in Marine Mammal Science. Ramos, E. A., Santoya, L., Verde, J., Walker, Z., Castelblanco-Martinez, N., Kiszka, J. J., & Rieucau, G. (2021). Lords of the Rings: Mud ring feeding by bottlenose dolphins in a Caribbean estuary revealed from sea, air, and space. Marine Mammal Science, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12854 Bottlenose dolphins display diverse feeding behaviors. Here, we report mud ring feeding behaviors by bottlenose dolphins in an estuary shared between Belize and Mexico. We detected four mud ring feeding events in boat- and aerial-based observations. In visual searches of Very High Resolution (VHR) satellite imagery, we detected mud ring trails and mud ring feeding in Chetumal-Corozal Bay and confirmed their association with this tactic in Florida Bay. Feeding behaviors appeared similar in both regions and occurred in shallow nearshore habitats dominated by mud. Our results provide important insights into the development of foraging tactics in coastal dolphins. Read the article here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mms.12854 If you have any questions or would like a copy of the article, feel free to contact me at eric.angel.ramos(a)gmail.com. Best regards, ************************************* Eric Angel Ramos Ph.D. Candidate in Animal Behavior & Comparative PsychologyThe Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFundación Internacional para la Naturaleza y la Sustentabilidad (FINS)Student Member-At-Large for the Society for Marine MammalogyMember of the IUCN SSC Sirenian Specialist Group for Mesoamerica www.finsconservation.org E-mail: eric.angel.ramos(a)gmail.com Cell/WhatsApp: +1-347-336-5567 (USA)Skype: ericangelramosFacebook | Twitter | InstagramResearchGate | ORCiD | LinkedIn

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ArcticNet ASM 2021: Invitation to submit an abstract to “Arctic marine mammal research and monitoring”
by Luke Storrie 02 Aug '21

02 Aug '21

Dear MARMAM community, ArcticNet’s Annual Scientific Meeting is taking place virtually from 6th-10th December 2021, and the call for abstracts<https://arcticnet.swoogo.com/2021/abstracts?lang=en> is now open. I am writing to encourage anyone in the Arctic marine mammal community to submit to the session on “Arctic marine mammal research and monitoring”. This is a broad session on Arctic marine mammals and we welcome presentations from all research fields and monitoring program, with a particular interest in highlighting community-involved projects. If interested, please submit your abstracts by 29th August 2021, and feel free to contact me or the other co-chairs if you have any questions. The session information can be found here: https://arcticnet.swoogo.com/2021/sessions under the "Marine" theme, and is pasted below: Name Arctic marine mammal research and monitoring Description The Arctic is rapidly transforming as a result of climate change and other environmental and human-driven forces with implications for marine mammal populations of significance to Indigenous peoples. Increasingly, research collaborations are emerging between Arctic communities, organizations, and researchers which facilitate collective learning and produce new knowledge crucial to wildlife co-management and marine spatial planning. New approaches and technologies are advancing our knowledge of the marine environment and are offering greater insight into marine mammal biology and ecology than was previously attainable. Further, the design and application of these projects and programs sheds light on how we can enhance equitable collaborations across geographic, disciplinary, and cultural boundaries. In this session we highlight presentations that explore novel methods, approaches, and findings related to the study of Arctic marine mammals. We welcome presentations from any discipline and are particularly interested in highlighting community-involved projects. We hope to bring together diverse perspectives and individuals including Indigenous community members, Elders, managers, and researchers of all career stages to reflect on lessons learned and paths forward. ID MAR52 Co-Chairs Alexandra Mayette, Luke Storrie, Emma Sutherland, Aurélie Noël, Kimberly Ovitz Co-Chair Affiliations Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS), University of Manitoba All the best, Luke Luke Storrie PhD Student Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS), University of Manitoba storriel(a)myumanitoba.ca<mailto:storriel@myumanitoba.ca>

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Marine Mammal Training Courses - Vancouver, BC in Fall 2021
by Edgewise Environmental 02 Aug '21

02 Aug '21

Edgewise Environmental will be back in BC this fall for the practical sessions of our training courses. If you have a background in marine biology or already work within the marine industry, this is for you! Don't miss out on the chance to expand your skill-set with hands-on learning and gain valuable marine knowledge in observation, mitigation, and acoustics! Increase corporate skills in Canadian marine mammal mitigation and regulations to ensure proper protocol and understanding for all. Our training programs will provide you with the knowledge and know-how to work within the marine environmental industry throughout British Columbia and nationwide. Our Canada-Marine Mammal Observer training program focuses on mitigation processes of offshore aspects that may impact marine mammals. Our Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) Operator training program focuses on passive acoustic mitigation processes required for offshore and coastal programs in Canada. Both are comprehensive training programs - theory is delivered online with an in-person, at-sea practical! Take advantage of our upcoming courses this fall in BC and expand your comprehension of marine mammal mitigation and acoustics. Visit our website at https://www.edgewiseenvironmental.com/training/ to learn more or register. If you have questions or require more information, please email info(a)edgewiseenvironmental.com -- Edgewise Team Edgewise Environmental Ltd. St. John's, NL, Canada phone: 1 (709) 770-0492 info(a)edgewiseenvironmental.com www.edgewiseenvironmental.com [image: Facebook icon] <https://www.facebook.com/edgewiseenvironmental> [image: LinkedIn icon] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/edgewise-environmental/> [image: Twitter icon] <https://twitter.com/edgewiseNL> [image: Instagram icon] <https://www.instagram.com/edgewiseenvironmental> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: *The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited. *

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New publications of Ecomega Research Group
by Eduardo Secchi 01 Aug '21

01 Aug '21

Dear MARMAMers, We would like to share these two new publications of the Ecology and Conservation of Marine Megafauna (Ecomega) research team. Prado JHF, Kinas PG, Pennino MG, Seyboth E, Silveira FRG, Ferreira EC & Secchi ER (2021). Definition of no-fishing zones and fishing effort limits to reduce franciscana bycatch to sustainable levels in southern Brazil. Animal Conservation DOI:101111/acv.12679 Abstract: Franciscana Pontoporia blainvillei bycatch has been high for near six decades in western South Atlantic, with large regional variation. In 2012, the Brazilian Government-regulated gillnet fisheries in south and southeast Brazil by reducing fishing effort and establishing no-fishing zones. However, there is evidence that the magnitude of franciscana bycatch remains high and unsustainable. The aims of this study were to identify hotspot areas of franciscana bycatch associated with two main gillnet fisheries and to propose no-fishing zones combined with limited total allowable fishing effort (i.e. total net length per season) in order to meet management objectives in southern Brazil. A hierarchical Bayesian model using integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) was employed based on 1427 reported settings from 1999 to 2003 and 2006 to 2009. Hotspot zones were detected and are proposed as no-fishing zone during the white croaker Micropogonias furnieri and striped weakfish Cynoscion guatucupa gillnet fishing seasons. Their extents represent 6% (1466.8 km2) and 19% (4493.7 km2) of the fishing ground (23 204.1 km2) during croaker and weakfish fishing seasons respectively. The total allowable fishing effort estimated outside the no-fishing zones were estimated at 541 km (95% credible interval (CrI) [339; 940]) during croaker and 688 km (CrI [312; 2,166]) during weakfish fishing seasons, one order of magnitude lower than the current total fishing effort. The drastic reduction of total fishing effort estimated in this study is largely due to weak protection measures since the gillnet fisheries became the major conservation concern for franciscana by the end of 1970s in southern Brazil. Although the implementation of the proposed exclusion zones and limiting fishing effort will strongly impact the status quo, they were based on the best scientific evidence and on a clearly defined management goal to reduce the risk of the franciscana population’s collapse in southern Brazil. Fruet PF, Möller LM & Secchi ER (2021). Dynamics and viability of a small estuarine-resident population of Lahille’s bottlenose dolphins from southern Brazil. Front. Mar. Sci. https://doi.org/103389/fmars.2020.593474 <https://doi.org/103389/fmars.2020.593474> Abstract: Identifying threatened populations and quantifying their vulnerability is crucial for establishing priorities for conservation and providing robust information for decision-making. Lahille’s bottlenose dolphins have been long subjected to by-catch mortality in gillnet fisheries in coastal waters of southern Brazil, particularly in the Patos Lagoon estuary (PLE) and adjacent coastal waters, where dolphins from three populations (or Management Units) show overlapping home ranges. In this study we used a stage-classified matrix population model to conduct a demographic analysis of the PLE’s population with life-history data estimated through an 8 years mark-recapture study. A population viability analysis (PVA) was used to run a series of simulations where the risk was assessed under different by-catch scenarios, taking into account the effects of parameter uncertainty and stochasticity in the projections. In the absence of by-catch, we estimated that this dolphin population would growth at a rate of about 3% annually (95% CI: 1.2–5.8%). Under current by-catch rates, prognoses indicated high probabilities of viability over the next 60 years. These optimistic prognoses appear to be associated with the high survival of adult females. However, the eventual removal of very few mature females (one every year or two) would result in a prominent likelihood of decline from its current abundance at all pre-specified levels. The viability of the population would be substantially improved if the survival of juveniles/sub-adults could be increased. This may be achieved through the recently implemented dolphin protection area, which prohibits gillnet fisheries in the core area of this population. If the protection area reduces the entanglement rates of the most impacted life-stages (i.e., juvenile/sub-adult dolphins), there would be a substantial chance of the PLE’s dolphin population increasing above 20% of its current size, which is here proposed as conservation goal. If met, this goal has the potential to promote habitat quality, increase genetic diversity and connectivity with adjacent populations, enhancing the ability of bottlenose dolphins in southern Brazil to cope with environmental change and potential disease outbreaks. <> Kind regards, Eduardo ---- Eduardo R. Secchi Professor Associado Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação da Megafauna Marinha-Ecomega Instituto de Oceanografia Universidade Federal do Rio Grande-FURG (53) 3233-6749 (53) 99945-3990 www.furg.br <http://www.furg.br/> http://lattes.cnpq.br/2134644742559817 <http://lattes.cnpq.br/2134644742559817> orcid.org/0000-0001-9087-9909 <http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9087-9909> ResearcherID: D-5038-2013 https://publons.com/researcher/ABF-1191-2020/ <https://publons.com/researcher/ABF-1191-2020/>

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