Mark Your Calendar for the. . .

Florida Marine Mammal Health Conference III

April 22 - 25, 2008

The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience

Marineland, Florida - AND - St. Augustine Beach, Florida

http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/marinemammal
<http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/marinemammal>

You are invited to interact in an interdisciplinary setting to summarize
and review state-of-the-art science, healthcare, and management
activities, and to formulate goals and strategies for improvements in
marine mammal health. Attendees will have ample opportunities to share
information regarding issues that affect marine mammals during topical
discussion periods, poster sessions and networking functions.

Conference Objective

The purpose of this conference is to address issues bearing on the
health and well being of the four principal species of wild marine
mammals found in Florida waters: manatees, bottlenose dolphins, pygmy
sperm whales and Northern right whales, as well as captive marine
mammals at theme parks, aquariums, and zoos. This conference will
provide a forum for people working on issues affecting these and other
marine mammal species, and provide an opportunity to review their
current health status, discuss future directions of investigation, and
determine actions likely to produce benefits to their health and
survival.

The last FMMHC was held in April 2005, and was attended by more than 200
people and we invite you to join us in 2008 as we investigate ways to
reduce state and federal resources spent on marine mammal health issues
by developing better preventative practices.

Who Will Attend?

The conference is designed to bring together scientists, veterinarians,
wildlife managers, policy makers, planners and partners actively
involved in and/or affected by all aspects of marine mammal health and
welfare.

Participants will include...

* Veterinarians, Veterinary Students and Technicians

* Marine Biologists

* Aquarists & Aquarium Keepers

* Zoo Managers, Zoo Veterinarians and Zoologists

* Animal Curators and Conservation Biologists

* Academic Faculty, Researchers and Graduate Students

* Wildlife Managers

* Policy makers and Government Agency Representatives

* Boating Management Specialists

* Population Managers and Species Survival Managers

* Marine Mammal Stranding Volunteers and Coordinators

* Marine Industry Consultants

Call for Abstracts

The program will consist of invited speakers, as well as oral and poster
presentations selected from abstract submissions. You are invited to
submit abstracts on all topics relevant to marine mammal health and we
encourage you to share your results and experiences. All abstracts, both
oral and poster, will be published in the conference book of abstracts.
As with oral presentations, posters provide a valuable opportunity for
scientific interaction and discussion of issues affecting marine mammal
health. Abstracts are due no later than January 10, 2008 and must be
submitted electronically via the online submission form posted on the
conference web site. Detailed abstract submission instructions are
provided on the conference website under the Call for Abstracts section.
Be sure to carefully follow the instructions to ensure your abstract
submission is received and properly recorded. For more information about
abstract submission - visit the web site today at:
www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/marinemammal

Programmatic Topics

We invite abstract submissions on all topics affecting marine mammal
health, including but not limited to:

* Virology

* Pathology

* Parasitology

* Histology

* Toxicology

* Genetics

* Emerging Diseases

* Environmental Hazards

* Veterinary Medicine

* Care and Management

* Marine Mammal Transport

* Marine Mammal Stranding

* Biotoxins

* Right Whales

* Power Plants and Manatees

CEUs for Veterinarians

If you are a licensed veterinarian or if you maintain a professional
license issued by a society, an association, an occupational licensing
board or a department of professional regulation within your state, you
may be eligible to earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for your
participation in this conference. Be sure to contact the appropriate
authority who manages your professional certification to verify this
conference program meets your state's licensing requirements, and to
confirm what documentation is required to earn CEUs.

Veterinary doctor's credit hours will be based on one hour credit for
each "contact" hour (no less than 50 minutes) of attendance. The
preliminary agenda for this conference entails 9.5 contact hours.

Sponsorship Opportunities & Recognition

A Special Thank You to the Following Organizations who have graciously
joined us as sponsors:

* Florida Bay and Adjacent Marine Systems Science Program

* Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission

* Florida Sea Grant

* Marineland

* University of Florida/College of Veterinary Medicine

* The Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience

Click here for information on how to become one of the diverse
institutions supporting this endeavor.
http://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/marinemammal/Sponsor.pdf

Conference Location

The FMMHC will be held at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) located at
the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience located in Marineland, FL,
just south of St. Augustine. The eight-acre campus is situated on a
narrow barrier island, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the
Intracoastal Waterway, both of which are just a few hundred feet away.
For more information on the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience,
visit their web site at: www.whitney.ufl.edu/
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4F83BDF22765D0DD9B000000067236000071E377C8F0C8404F83BDF22765D0DD9B000002
B3BFC20000/www.whitney.ufl.edu/>

Hotel Accommodations

Participants of the 2008 FMMHC will stay at the beautiful oceanfront
Holiday Inn in St. Augustine Beach, Florida. Despite the fact it is
winter and peak season in Florida, the Holiday Inn is offering us a very
special reduced rate for standard guest rooms of $121.00 a night with 1
- 4 persons per room plus tax. Detailed hotel reservation instructions
are posted on the conference web site. Be sure to book your guest room
reservation as soon as possible to assure a room in the host hotel.

Request for Your Assistance with Publicity - Please Help Spread the Word

We would appreciate your help with getting the word out about FMMHC III
to others involved in issues affecting marine mammal health. If you
would be so kind, please take a moment to forward this email to your
friends, colleagues and co-workers who may be interested in attending.
And if at all possible, we would appreciate it if you could also add us
to the Calendar of Events Section of your organization's web site, and
provide us with any newsletter posting opportunities you might have.

We look forward to receiving your abstract submission and hope you and
your colleagues will join us at the conference!

On behalf of the Conference Organizer, Dr. Roger Reep, and the entire
planning committee,

Sincerely,