Carnivores 2006 Logo - Copyright Steve Oliver

Here are the various marine mammal sessions (revised slightly as of Oct. 5) sprinkled throughout Defenders of Wildlife's 6th Biennial Carnivore Conference, Habitats, Challenges, and Possibilities, to be held November 12-November 15 at the Hilton Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. The conference will feature three full days of sessions on terrestrial and marine carnivore issues, plus a poster session, field trip, silent auction, banquet and ambassador wolf sessions. For more information, please visit:   http://www.carnivoreconference.org/.  You can view a tentative, detailed schedule at this site for other session topics.

On this year's Conference Science Advisory Committee is a team of 15 scientists, including 5 marine scientists:
 Monday, November 13

Climate Change and Carnivores I 10:00 am-1:30 pm
1. Conservation in the Face of Climate Change, Lara Hansen
2. Effects of Climate Change on Ice-Breeding Harp and Hooded Seals, David Lavigne
3. Impacts of Diminishing Snow Cover on Ringed Seals, Brendan Kelly
4. Long-Term Trends in Polar Bear Ecology in Relation To Climatic Change, Nick Lunn
5. Global Warming, the Arctic Region and Preserving Endangered/Threatened Species- Another Case of Pre-Hurricane Katrina Thinking? Michael Belanger

Climate Change and Carnivores II 1:30 pm -3:30 pm
1. Climate-Ocean Effects on the Marine and Terrestrial Habitats of the Hawaiian Monk Seal, Jason Baker
2. The Implications of Global Warming on a Snow Dependent Species – A Case For the Wolverine, Jeffrey Copeland
3. Whitebark Pine, Grizzly Bears, and Climate Change, Katherine Kendall
DISCUSSION

Human Interactions With Marine Mammals 10:00 am-1:30 pm
1. Human Interactions With Marine Mammals in the Wild: An Overview of the Policies, Guidelines and Regulations Developed in the U.S. To Address Activities of Concern, Trevor Spradlin
2. Feeding and Harassment of Wild Bottlenose Dolphins in the Southeast Region: Overview of Activities of Concern and Mitigation Efforts, Stacey Carlson
3. Evidence of Recreational Fishing Interactions in Stranded Indian River Lagoon Bottlenose Dolphins: 1997-2005, Wendy Durden
4. Impacts of Human Activities on  a Long-Term Resident Community of Bottlenose Dolphins on  Florida's West Coast, Randall Wells
5. Recent Phocid and Canid Interactions in the Cape Cod Area of Massachusetts, Betty Lentell

Human Interactions With Marine Mammals II 1:30 pm-3:30 pm
1. Large Carnivores and Tourism: a Symbiotic Or Parasitic Relationship?, John Dobson
2. The Impacts on  Human/Bear Conflicts: Why We Need To Learn To Coexist, Minette Johnson
DISCUSSION
Tuesday, November 14 
Bottlenose Dolphin Foraging Ecology I 8-10:30 am
1. Assessing the Effects of Fishing on Bottlenose Dolphins With Qualitative Models, Donald Baltz
2. Bottlenose Dolphin Vocalizations Suppress Calling Rates and Elevate Stress Hormones in a Prey Species, the Gulf Toadfish, Opsanus beta, Douglas Nowacek
3. How To Catch a Fish? Foraging Tactic Fidelity of Bottlenose Dolphins in Florida Bay, Florida, Leigh Torres
4. Role of Ecological Disturbance in the Foraging Ecology of Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins, Damon Gannon
5. Stomach Content Analysis of Bottlenose Dolphins Stranded in South Carolina, Michelle Pate
6. Variation in Feeding Habits Among Bottlenose Dolphins From Two Southeastern U.S. Estuaries As Determined By Stable Isotope Analysis, Melissa Recks

Bottlenose Dolphin Foraging Ecology II 10:30-1:30 pm
1. Bottlenose Dolphin Population Differentiation and Trophic Studies Using Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulfur Stable Isotopes and Stomach Content Analyses, Nélio Barros
2. Molecular Scatology As a Tool For Investigating Cetacean Diet: Development, Assessment and Application of DNA-Based Diet Investigation Methods For Bottlenose Dolphins, Glenn Dunshea
DISCUSSION

Sea Otters 3:30 pm-5:30 pm
1. Patterns of Body Size, Growth and Condition Among Sea Otter Populations: What Can It Tell Us About Population Status? Daniel Monson
2. Persistence of Spilled Oil in Nearshore Sediments and Pathways of Exposure To Foraging Sea Otters, James Bodkin
3. Recovery, Foraging Patterns, and Prey Selection of Washington's Sea Otter Population, Harriet Allen
4. Nutrient Composition of the Diet Consumed By Threatened Southern Sea Otters, Alice Green
5. No Place Like Home: a Comparison of Habitat Use Strategies Between Southern Sea Otter Populations of Varying Density, Gena Bentall
6. Movement Patterns of Female Southern Sea Otters Vary With Reproductive Status, Christine Alfano
7. Sea Otters Translocated To San Nicolas Island: Individual Fates, Population Growth, and Projected Persistence of a Small Population, Lilian Carswell

Posters

Health Assesment of California Sea Lions Utilizing Fluctuating Asymmetry, Amber Bifolck
Evidence of Human Interaction in Pinnipeds  Stranded in New York State, Rebecca Scott

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Jim Curland, Marine Program Associate
Defenders of Wildlife
P.O. Box 959
Moss Landing, CA. 95039
831-726-9010 (phone)
831-726-9020 (fax)

Defenders  of Wildlife, founded in 1947, is dedicated to the  protection of all native  wild  animals and plants in their natural  communities. We focus our programs  on what scientists consider two of  the most serious environmental  threats to the planet: the accelerating rate of extinction of  species and the associated loss of  biological diversity, and habitat  alteration and destruction. Long  known for our leadership on  endangered species issues, Defenders  of Wildlife also advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation  that will help keep species from  becoming endangered. Our  programs  encourage protection of entire  ecosystems and interconnected  habitats while protecting predators  that serve as indicator species for ecosystem health.

Defenders of Wildlife is pleased to announce
Carnivores 2006:
Habitats, Challenges and Opportunities
A Conference on Carnivore Biology & Conservation                        Find out more at:
November 12-15, 2006 ~ St. Petersburg, Florida                                http://www.carnivoreconference.org/
 
http://www.defenders.org
http://www.kidsplanet.org

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/seaotters.html  (Defenders' Main Sea Otter Page)
http://www.kidsplanet.org/espanol/espint.html            (Defenders' Sea Otter Teaching Unit)
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/marine.html     (Defenders' Marine Program Page)
http://www.defenders.org/california/marine.html        (Defenders' California Marine Program)