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**
We're pleased to announce that the 11th International ACS
Conference will be held November 13-16, 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 - you don't need to
be “in the field” to participate. So come, be informed and
inspired, and immerse yourself in the world of "Whales in a Changing
World".
For more information see the event press release below and visit the ACS
website at <www.acsonline.org>.
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 and prey succession –
Paul Wade (NMML Seattle)
Orcas off Monterey – Nancy
Black (Monterey Bay)
SPLASH: Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance, and
Status of Humpbacks
Program overview & results from
photo ID – John Calambokidis (Cascadia Research, WA)
Entanglements – Dave Mattila
(NOAA, HI)
Genetic findings – Scott
Baker (OSU, OR)
Whaling in a Changing World
The politics of humpback and fin
whale scientific hunts
The U.S. effort to stop whaling
– D.J. Schubert (Whales Need US, PEW)
Efforts to stop whaling – Jon
Stern (SFSU)
Whale Conservation in a Changing World
Extinction of the Baiji: What could
we have done?
Vaquita – A species at the
latest minute?
Right Whale Conservation:
Tangled in a web of politics – Sharon Young (Boston)
Whales in a Changing World
Sea Ice and Climate Change –
Sue Moore (Seattle)
Bowhead whales and climate change
Sea ice, polar bears, and seals
The environment and the current
political climate
Climate change and politics: what
can we do?
And no ACS conference would be complete without our ever-popular Art Show and
Silent Auction!
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.
Call for Abstracts
Researchers, Educators, Conservationists, and Students are
invited to submit abstracts for poster presentations at the ACS conference, Whales
in a Changing World. The poster session is a great way to share cutting
edge research, new methods or concepts in education, and new issues in conservation
of cetaceans.
Students (undergraduate, Masters, or Ph.D.) can also enter their poster into
the student poster contest to be held during the poster session. Student
posters will be judged by a panel of attending scientists in the field and cash
prizes will be awarded.
The deadline for abstract submission is October 1st, 2008.
Prospective authors may direct questions and submit abstracts via email to Kate
Sardi at sardika@hotmail.com (please
cc all submissions to lasol@verizon.net)
or by regular mail to:
American Cetacean Society Attn:
Kate Sardi PO Box 1391 San Pedro, CA 90733-1391
Abstracts must be no longer
than 300 words and written in a clear and concise manner. Students
wishing to be entered into the student poster contest should indicate so
clearly on their submission, as well as list the school attending and degree
sought.
Please visit the ACS website (www.acsonline.org)
for details on abstract submission.
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
Submit Your Video for the Video Reception
We invite cinematographers to
submit your entries for the "Whales in a Changing World" video night.
Accepted entries will be displayed during the Friday night reception.
Entries must be received by October 15, 2008.
For entry form and guidelines, please visit 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.
We look forward to seeing you there.
************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Researchers
to Discuss Whale Conservation Issues at
International Conference in Monterey Bay, CA
American Cetacean Society to host Whales in a Changing World
The 11th Annual International American Cetacean Society (ACS) Conference will
be held on November 13-16, 2008 in Monterey Bay, California. The conference
will provide ACS members, and the general public, with the opportunity to
participate in discussions with leading experts in whale conservation biology
from around the world. The theme of the conference is Whales in a Changing
World. This is an important issue since most large whale species migrate
thousands of miles, crossing international boundaries, between their breeding
and feeding grounds.
Whales in a Changing World’s program is designed to look at how whales,
dolphins, and porpoises are currently handling and will be prepared to deal
with an environment, and an ecosystem, that is changing at a rapid rate.
Human uses of the ocean have irrevocably changed the
ecosystem that whales live in during the last century, by over-fishing both the
whales themselves and many other marine species. Now we are looking to
the ocean for increased levels of transport of both people and goods as roads
become more crowded; as energy gets scarcer we are looking 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.
The 11th International ACS Whales in a Changing World Conference will be held
at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Monterey Bay, CA November 13-16, 2008 and will
include a photography contest, silent auction, poster presentations, and a
whale watch in Monterey Bay. Abstracts are being accepted for the poster
session until October 1, 2008 and the photography contest entries are being
accepted through October 31, 2008. For more information about conference
registration contact the American Cetacean Society at (310) 548 6279 or www.acsonline.org.
The American Cetacean Society protects whales, dolphins, porpoises, and their
habitats through public education, research grants, and conservation actions.
Founded in 1967, the American Cetacean Society (ACS) is the oldest whale
conservation group in the world. ACS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
with an office in San Pedro, California and chapters in Los Angeles, Orange
County, Puget Sound (Seattle), Monterey, San Francisco, and the Channel Islands
(Santa Barbara). ACS members live throughout the United States and in more than
20 countries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diane
Alps
ACS
Conference Co-Chair
and
Event Coordinator
dianealps@acsonline.org
(310)
500-8485
Sign up now!
The ACS Conference is Nov. 13-16 in Monterey Bay.
More details are available at www.acsonline.org