WORKSHOP ON THE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT OF SOLITARY, SOCIABLE ODONTOCETES December 10, 2005 Conveners: Dr. Toni Frohoff, Courtney S. Vail, and Dr. Mike Bossley Presenters: Scientists, managers, and government personnel from approximately a dozen countries who have worked with solitary, sociable cetaceans Pre-registration deadline: November 21, 2005 The Workshop on the Research and Management of Solitary, Sociable Odontocetes will be held on Saturday, December 10th, as part of the 16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in San Diego, California (see http://www.marinemammalogy.org for conference details). It will be convened from 09:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Manchester Grand Hyatt (the Conference site). Although the pre-registration deadline is November 21, 2005, on-site registration will commence at 08:00AM, prior to the workshop if space is available. Coffee and light refreshments will be served. Participants will not be provided lunch, but a variety of foraging options will be available within the hotel during the lunch break. Please join us for what may be the first workshop specifically designed to discuss and identify critical research and management needs as well as provide a forum for increasing our knowledge of the unique opportunities and challenges that solitary, sociable odontocetes present and how we can best respond to them. This workshop will provide an invaluable opportunity for researchers and managers from around the world to present new case studies and information, share video footage, evaluate various methods, and discuss current problems and possible solutions. We will address the growing phenomenon of solitary, sociable odontocetes, their interactions with humans, and the often-conflicting management challenges that arise in providing for the needs of the animals and an increasing number of people eager to interact with them. Observations of solitary odontocetes who regularly engage in sociable interactions with boaters and swimmers appear to be increasing in many areas around the world. In the past, these animals have typically been small delphinids and, most commonly, bottlenose dolphins. However, there has been a notable growth in the occurrence of other solitary sociable odontocetes; specifically, orcas and beluga whales. Although these animals provide unique opportunities for research, their interactions with humans typically warrant immediate, intensive and innovative methods of management to minimize hazards to humans and the animals. The goal of this workshop is to provide a cohesive update and understanding to augment the relatively few studies of these animals that have been published and the even smaller amount of information that is available about their management. On the day of the workshop, registered attendees will receive a preliminary report that will include the agenda for the workshop, a literature review of published literature on the research and management of solitary sociable cetaceans, summaries of workshop presentations and other relevant information. A limited number of copies of this report will be available following the workshop to those who were not able to attend. Following the workshop, proceedings from the workshop will include a summary of meeting results and recommendations that will also be compiled and posted for distribution. Please do not request reports at this time as we will post information on how they can be ordered and/or viewed via website after the workshop (www.wdcs.org). Workshop Registration forms and additional details can be found at www.wdcs.org/solitaries If you have specific questions or comments about the workshop, feel free to contact Courtney Vail (courtney@wdcs.org). We thank the Society for Marine Mammalogy for assistance with this workshop and for the opportunity to convene it. See you at the conference and at the workshop! ______________________________________________________________________ This email has been scanned by the MessageLabs Email Security System. For more information please visit http://www.messagelabs.com/email ______________________________________________________________________