Workshop Announcement: "Ecological Modeling For Marine Mammalogists" October 11, 2009 Québec City, Canada Québec City Convention Center, Room 2000A Registration Fee: $30 US (register here) "Ecological Modeling for Marine Mammalogists" is a one-day workshop that will be held prior to the 18th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Québec City, Canada. The workshop follows on the very successful 2005 workshop "Application of GIS and Spatial-Temporal Modeling for Marine Mammal Science and Management," and will represent the fifth Biennial workshop devoted to modeling. There is tremendous interest in applying statistical modeling techniques to the quantitative assessment of marine mammal distribution and habitat use, and our workshop seeks to explore both traditional and the latest methodologies. Our goal is to bring together practitioners that can share their experience with various approaches to ecological modeling by addressing topics ranging from collecting data, selecting the appropriate model, evaluating the model's results, and applying those results in a management scenario. The workshop format will consist of formal presentations followed by extended discussions during which particular methodologies can be fully explored by all participants. In addition to an overview of modeling techniques, we will have sessions focused on the analysis of movement data (primarily from satellite tracking data) and on the analysis of presence-only occurrence data (primarily from passive acoustic monitoring applications, but also from non-standardized sighting data such as whale watching and historic whaling records). In 2005, we introduced the Project Forum wherein students and less experienced researchers presented their projects and discussed the statistical challenges they are facing with an expert panel. We will bring this useful forum back in 2009 as a poster session to encourage increased interaction among the workshop participants. CALL FOR PROJECT FORUM POSTERS We are accepting abstracts (max 300 words) for posters outlining research that addresses applications of statistical tools and modeling approaches for marine mammals. We are particularly interested in poster presentations by students seeking input and discussion on statistical methodology. These posters will be used in a session, as described above, where other researchers, including the workshop organizers, can supply feedback or advice. We also welcome posters that discuss innovative tool and/or model development. Please send abstracts by Sept. 14 to Ellen Hines at ehines@sfsu.edu Workshop organizing committee: Mark Baumgartner Ed Gregr Ellen Hines Kristin Kaschner Kristin Laidre Daniel Palacios Kathy Vigness Raposa