Apologies for cross posting **UK MARINE MAMMAL JOB ANNOUNCEMENT - CARDIGAN BAY MONITORING OFFICER** Under the EU Habitats & Species Directive, three Special Areas of Conservation have been established in the UK with bottlenose dolphins principally in mind. Two of these occur in Cardigan Bay, West Wales - "Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SAC" in the north of the Bay and "Cardigan Bay SAC" in the south. To assist with the conservation management of the bottlenose dolphin population in the region, monitoring of abundance, distribution, reproductive success and population structure using a combination of surveys and photo-identification studies have been started in recent years. A new post of Cardigan Bay Monitoring Officer is announced, funded by Countryside Council for Wales and under the management of the Sea Watch Foundation. The main tasks of the post holder will be: To record, document, statistically analyse, and report indicators of the condition of bottlenose dolphins in both the Cardigan Bay and Pen Llyn a'r Sarnau SACs; To collect images and refer to those from established catalogues, at sites within and outside the key study areas, using photographic ID techniques, to evaluate dolphin movements, abundance estimates and distribution; To monitor the number of bottlenose dolphins using the sites, and to assess the supporting habitat and estimate population structure (age and sex where possible); To gather evidence of any anthropogenic activities within the sites, while monitoring bottlenose dolphins. A combination of vessel surveys, aerial surveys, acoustics, and photo-ID will be used to achieve the above aims, concentrating particularly on the two SACs but extending more widely in Cardigan Bay and Welsh waters where appropriate. Although the target species is bottlenose dolphin, data on other cetacean species (and notably the harbour porpoise) will be collected from the region. Besides fieldwork, the post holder will need to devote a significant portion of time to analysing data and assisting in writing up the results for publication. We are looking for a postgraduate biologist with at least three years field-based research experience of cetaceans, preferably including bottlenose dolphins. He or she should have an ability to interact well with people of varied backgrounds, be able to train, motivate and oversee volunteers assisting in monitoring, and be capable of working in often arduous field conditions relatively independently (ideally with boat handling certification). It is essential that the candidate should have analytical skills and a good grounding in statistics. Preference will be given to candidates with a good working knowledge of DISTANCE and CAPTURE software, as well as of spatial analysis. The post is for a period of two years with possible extension beyond that. It will be based at Sea Watch's office in New Quay, Ceredigion, West Wales. Salary is c. £20,000 per annum, starting in January 2006. Further details of the work of Sea Watch Foundation can be found on its web site <www.seawatchfoundation.org.uk>, and of this post from Dr Peter G.H. Evans at <peter.evans@zoo.ox.ac.uk> . Those interested should send a letter of application, a copy of your CV, and the e-mail contact details of two referees to Dr Evans by 30th November 2005. -- Dr Peter G.H. Evans Sea Watch Foundation 11 Jersey Road Oxford 0X4 4RT, UK Tel: 44-(0)1865-717276 mobile: 0776-556-6102 E-mail: <peter.evans@zoo.ox.ac.uk>