Whales in a Changing World
American Cetacean Society's 11th International Conference
November 13-16, 2008
Monterey Bay, CA
**With a Gray Whale and Climate Change Symposium following on Monday, November 17**

·        Early Bird Deadline has been extended to October 31st! There's still time to register and save!

·        We've also just added special One-Day and Half-Day rates!

·          Last call for Photo Contest Entries! Deadline is October 31st (See details below)

Tell your friends, co-workers, fellow students and anyone who has a passion for whales!

We're pleased to announce that the 11th International ACS Conference will be held November 13-17, 2008, in Monterey Bay, California.

 

American Cetacean Society conferences have a long tradition of presenting the latest findings and news about whales and other marine life. We also work to promote discussion and thought about the role and conservation of whales in an ever-changing world, and leave attendees motivated to work together for the good of the whales.

American Cetacean Society conferences are open to everyone -so come, be informed and inspired, and immerse yourself in the world of "Whales in a Changing World".

For more information, and to register online, visit  the ACS website at <www.acsonline.org>.

Conference Venue
Embassy Suites - Special rate of just $169/night for a suite!

Please note that all reservations made at the Embassy Suites help keep our costs, and therefore, YOUR registration costs, down! Please make your overnight accommodations at the Embassy Suites - be sure to mention ACS to get the great rate of just $169 night! You must make your reservation before the October 31st deadline.


The Program
Whales in a Changing World will look at how whales, dolphins, and porpoises are currently adapting to rapid environmental changes and altered ecosystems.

 

Human uses of the ocean have irrevocably changed the ecosystem where whales have thrived, including the overfishing of whales and many other marine species. As roads become more crowded, we look to the ocean for increased levels of transport of both people and goods. As energy gets more scarce, we look to the ocean as a source of power (from such things as wind energy and the potentially disastrous return to offshore oil drilling); and to build shipping terminals that had previously been associated with ports of call (e.g. offshore LNG terminals).  Further, the changes that we have brought to the global climate will also likely affect oceans and their ecosystem, potentially in serious ways.


Join us as we take a look at the Whales in a Changing World from a wide range of views:

Orcas in a Changing World

Orcas off Monterey by Nancy Black of Monterey Bay Whale Watch

SPLASH: Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance, and Status of Humpbacks

Program overview & results from photo ID by John Calambokidis

Assessing health and human impacts by David Mattila of Hawaiian Islands Humpback

Whale National Marine Sanctuary

geneSPLASH, the influence of maternal fidelity on migratory destinations in North Pacific

humpback whales by Scott Baker of Oregon State University

Whaling in a Changing World

The U.S. effort to stop whaling by D.J. Schubert of “Whales Need Us”/PEW

Whaling in the 21st Century...the Writing is on the Wall...and it’s in Japanese....and It's

Not Good by Jonathon Stern of San Francisco State University and ACS

National Conservation Chair

Whale Conservation in a Changing World

Witness to Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Chinese River Dolphin by Sam Turvey

of the London Zoo

Western Pacific Gray Whales by Dave Weller of NOAA/NMFS

What Went Wrong for the Right Whales? by Sharon Young of the Humane Society of the

United States

Whales in a Changing World

Marine Mammals and Climate Change by Sue Moore of Alaska Fisheries Science

Center

Cetaceans and Climate Change: What can they tell us about the marine environment? by Steven

Swartz  of NOAA

Polar Bears and climate change  by Bob Wilson of  Polar Bears Alive

                       With Ian Stirling (Canada) & Steve Amstrup (USGS) via teleconference

  The environment and the current political climate by Kieran Suckling of the Center for

            Biological Diversity

 

We’re also holding 2 very special morning sessions:

The history of studying whales by Graham Burnett of Princeton University, and

Fat and Wet: Being A Brief And Most Peculiar History Of Marine Mammal Science by

            Phil Clapham, National Marine Mammal Lab, Seattle

 

 

Join us for an evening with Ken Balcomb, celebrating a lifetime of studying cetaceans at Saturday evening's Banquet at the Monterey Beach Resort.

 

 

Gray Whales and Climate Change: Sentinels of the North Pacific/Arctic Ecosystems

 

You are invited to a workshop on gray whales and their apparent responses to changes in their environment on Monday 17 November 2008.

 

The workshop will bring together a group of marine scientists with broad research interests to review and discuss gray whale population dynamics and behavior change in the context of environmental changes that are being observed throughout the gray whales’ North Pacific and Arctic range.  Specific topics will include observed changes in physical, chemical, and biological oceanography of the North Pacific and Arctic and the time scales of those changes, and the history and current status of the gray whale population including shifts in distribution, phenology, population dynamics, and behavior throughout their range.  All of this information will be discussed in the context of how well gray whales serve as indicators of environmental change, and how they serve as “sentinels of the North Pacific/Arctic ecosystems”. This workshop will contribute to the development of a qualitative framework for integrating gray whales and other marine mammals into ecosystem and climate change studies.

 

This workshop will follow the Biennial Conference of the American Cetacean Society’s Biennial Conference in Monterey, California 15-16 November 2008.  The gray whale workshop will be from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Monday 17 November 2008 at the same venue as the American Cetacean Society Biennial, and is sponsored by the Pacific Life Foundation. 


Fantastic Field Trips
Join fellow whale lovers aboard the “Sea Wolf II” for a natural history trip in world-famous Monterey Bay.

Blue whales often linger into November and humpback whales are still a good possibility. The first gray whales can be expected on their southward migration. Many species of dolphins are regular in the bay, including Pacific white-sided, Northern right whale, long-beaked and short-beaked common, Risso’s and bottlenose as well as harbor porpoise. We did have killer whales on the conference field trip in 2000, and they are spotted regularly in Monterey Bay. Many other species are possible.


Enter the Photo Contest
We invite amateur photographers to participate in the "Whales in a Changing World" photo contest. The winning entries will be displayed during the conference Monterey Bay, CA, on November 13 - 16, 2008.

Entries must be received by October 31, 2008. For entry form and guidelines, please visit www.acsonline.org


We look forward to seeing you there.


 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diane Alps

ACS Conference Co-Chair

and Event Coordinator

dianealps@acsonline.org

(310) 500-8485

 

Sign up now!
The ACS Conference is Nov. 13-17 in Monterey Bay.

More details are available at www.acsonline.org