Workshop announcement: Marine Mammal Research and Conservation in Africa (SMM '07 Conference, Cape Town) Over the past decades, there has been a growing interest in African marine mammals; research effort, however, seldom managed to keep up with the level of interest. With few exceptions, the majority of studies conducted in African waters were too short to establish long-term datasets; although valuable, they merely exposed the possibilities rather than explored the full research potential of the region. With the continuous expansion of the human use of coastal and offshore waters, there is a well-recognized need for better knowledge of the species and populations inhabiting the region. At this workshop, we intend to bring together researchers and students working in, and/or interested in marine mammal research in Africa; presentations are invited from across a broad spectrum of topics and species. The overriding theme of this workshop is the synergism between academic research and conservation, and the potential the African region offers in addressing broad questions in m arine mammal science and conservation. Open discussion will include issues in research logistics, communicating science to decision makers, and funding of research and conservation. We hope the workshop will stimulate further studies and promote collaboration between researchers within and outside the region. Format 1-day workshop; will include invited presentations and open discussion. Two types of spoken presentations are invited: a) Standard presentations: 15 minutes b) Speed presentations: 5 minutes There will be time for questions after each talk, and open discussion at the end of each session. If the workshop generates issues that require further attention, this will be addressed in a form of a discussion group organized as needed after the workshop. Date Tuesday, 27 November 2007 8:30 through 16:00 Venue Lecture Theatre at Iziko South African Museum, 25 Queen Victoria Street. Costs (including tea/coffee break) a) Residents of high-income countries: US$ 15 (or R 110) per person b) Residents of countries not defined as high-income: US$ 7 (or R 50) per person We classify a country as High Income according to the definitions of the World Bank Web-link: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:204214... All interested in attending the workshop, irrespective of whether or not they are giving a talk, must RSVP by 15 September 2007, so that we can provide conference conveners with an accurate count of participants. Please RSVP to the following e-mail addresses: karczmal@tamug.edu leszek@hawaii.edu with a CC to: sciprog@marinemammalogy.org Make sure you copy your e-mail to all addresses listed above. Indicate subject: Interest - African Marine Mammal Workshop. The registration fee will be collected at the door on the day of the workshop. Call for abstracts All interested in giving a talk, please e-mail title and a draft abstract to the following address: karczmal@tamug.edu leszek@hawaii.edu with a CC to: sciprog@marinemammalogy.org Make sure you copy your submission to all addresses listed above. Indicate subject: Abstract - African Marine Mammal Workshop. Abstracts should be submitted as Word.doc attachments, roughly 300 words or less; font: Arial; size 12 points. Make sure to include the e-mail address and full contact details of the corresponding author, and affiliations details of all co-authors. Please indicate which type of presentation (‘standard’ or ‘speed’) you prefer. If you are giving a poster presentation at the 17th SMM Conference, you may consider presenting your work with more detail at the workshop. If you are giving a talk at the 17th SMM Conference, you may also consider giving a talk at the workshop as long as it is sufficiently different from your SMM Conference talk. Deadline for abstract submission is 6 August, noon South African time. Decision on acceptance will be sent out on 8 August. Please note that if you are not able to provide an abstract by the date indicated above, you can indicate your interest in presenting at the workshop by providing a tentative title and a brief (3-4 sentences) description of a research topic, along with e-mail address and full contact details. This should be e-mailed to the addresses listed above. It is understood that all submitted abstracts are drafts only, and they can still be edited at a later stage. The final versions of all accepted abstracts will need to be received by 15 October. Ideally all presentations should be in PowerPoint. Specific audio-visual presentation requirements should be included both in the body of the email and as a statement underneath the abstract. Potential travel support There might be a limited travel support available for African delegates; if you would like to be considered, please submit along with your abstract a request (maximum 1-page long) describing your research, professional goals, and financial status. Workshop Chairs Leszek Karczmarski Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, South Africa and Institute of Marine Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, USA Almeida T. Guissamulo Museu de História Natural, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique Organizer Leszek Karczmarski, Ph.D. Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria c/o S.A. Museum, 25 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa Tel: +27.(0)21.481.3860 Fax: +27.(0)21.481.3993 E-mail: leszek@iziko.org.za and Institute of Marine Life Sciences, Texas A&M University 5007 Avenue U, MMRP, Galveston, TX 77551, USA Tel: +1.409.740.4718 Fax: +1.409.740.4717 E-mail: karczmal@tamug.edu