Dear Colleagues, The SAMSS/AMMC website is up and running - don't forget for this year's meeting you need to go through the full application process and costs for the SAMSS. The AMMC will be run as special sessions within the main meeting. http://samss2014.co.za/ Early registration ends soon! One of the reasons for running the AMMC is to take advantage of everyone already being in the same place to run some additional relevant workshops and meetings. I'm happy to announce that Prof Phillip Hammond of the Sea Mammal Research Institute will be coming to the Cape to run a workshop immediately following the AMMC/SAMSS meeting in July this year. *Dates*: 19-23 July 2014 (Immediately after SAMSS / AMMC) *Presenter*: Prof Phil Hammond, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK *Venue*: TBD (possibly Cape Town but somewhere near the SAMSS venue) *Cost*: TBD, but in the region of R2000. Discounts hopefully available for students We're looking into some funding options will will hopefully allow us to bring the costs down. ONLY *18 PLACES *AVAILABLE - PLEASE EMAIL THIS ADDRESS TO BOOK A SPACE. Workshop outline: *Estimating marine mammal abundance and life history parameters* Philip Hammond, Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews, UK This workshop will introduce participants to the methods used to estimate the abundance and life history parameters (primarily survival rates) of marine mammals, especially cetaceans. Methodology will be presented in a statistical framework but the focus will be on practical application of the methods and analysis of the data, and on understanding and dealing with potential biases that arise from applying the methodology in practice. Participants will spend much of the time doing practical exercises and will learn to use the analytical software DISTANCE for line transect sampling analysis and software MARK for mark-recapture analysis. The use of abundance estimates in trend analysis and population viability analysis will also be introduced. On successful completion of the workshop, participants will be able to design, execute and analyse data from line transect and capture-recapture studies and understand how results can be used to inform conservation and management. Workshop outline: *Mark-recapture and photo-identification* · Introduction to mark-recapture techniques, including assumptions of the methods · Data collection: sampling design, photo-identification, turning photos into data · Data analysis: using capture histories to estimate abundance (using closed and open population models); estimating survival rates · *Practical*: two-sample abundance estimation in Excel · Introduction to MARK: data entry, data analysis, interpretation of results · *Practical*: using MARK to estimate abundance and survival rates · Using RMark to run MARK *Line transect sampling and sightings surveys* · Introduction to line transect sampling, including assumptions and survey design · *Practical*: survey design using DISTANCE · Data collection: running a survey · *Practical*: line transect sampling data collection and data entry using DISTANCE · Data analysis: selecting a detection function; abundance estimation; variance estimation · Using DISTANCE to analyze data: interpretation of results · *Practical*: analytical work using DISTANCE · Accounting for animals missed on the transect line · Introduction to density surface modelling of abundance *Population status, trends and population viability analysis (PVA)* · Power analysis, trend analysis, PVA using software VORTEX · *Practical*: trend analysis and population viability analysis *Dr Philip Hammond *moved from the Sea Mammal Research Unit in Cambridge to the University of St Andrews in 1996, becoming full Professor in 2005. His research focuses primarily on population dynamics and ecology, in particular the applied aspects of how seals and cetaceans interact with mankind. He is particularly interested in (a) studies of the habitat usage, foraging ecology and diet of marine mammals; (b) the estimation of abundance, survival and reproductive rates, and the modelling of marine mammal populations; and (c) studies of the management of whaling, cetacean bycatch in fisheries, seal-fishery interactions, and the conservation of vulnerable species. He has supervised more than 30 PhD students and published more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He teaches courses on quantitative methods in biology, ecology, biology of marine organisms, conservation research methods, marine mammal biology and marine mammal conservation. Over the last few years, he has taught practical workshops to students, early career researchers and professional practitioners on estimating abundance and population parameters, and on spatial modelling of habitat usage and abundance, in Spain, Australia, Hong Kong and Thailand. -- __________________________________ African Marine Mammal Colloquium Mammal Research Institute Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria 0002 South Africa http://www.up.ac.za/zoology/MRI/ _________________________________ *Please** consider the environment before printing this e-mail.*