Carnivores 2006 Logo - Copyright Steve Oliver Here are the various marine mammal sessions (revised slightly as of Oct. 5) sprinkled throughout Defenders of Wildlife's 6th Biennial Carnivore Conference, Habitats, Challenges, and Possibilities, to be held November 12-November 15 at the Hilton Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida. The conference will feature three full days of sessions on terrestrial and marine carnivore issues, plus a poster session, field trip, silent auction, banquet and ambassador wolf sessions. For more information, please visit: http://www.carnivoreconference.org/. You can view a tentative, detailed schedule at this site for other session topics. On this year's Conference Science Advisory Committee is a team of 15 scientists, including 5 marine scientists: * From Mote Marine Lab: Dr. John Reynolds, Dr. Randy Wells, Dr. Nélio B. Barros, Dr. Damon Gannon * From the Center for Ocean Health, U.C. Santa Cruz/Long Marine Lab: Dr. Jim Estes Monday, November 13 Climate Change and Carnivores I 10:00 am-1:30 pm 1. Conservation in the Face of Climate Change, Lara Hansen 2. Effects of Climate Change on Ice-Breeding Harp and Hooded Seals, David Lavigne 3. Impacts of Diminishing Snow Cover on Ringed Seals, Brendan Kelly 4. Long-Term Trends in Polar Bear Ecology in Relation To Climatic Change, Nick Lunn 5. Global Warming, the Arctic Region and Preserving Endangered/Threatened Species- Another Case of Pre-Hurricane Katrina Thinking? Michael Belanger Climate Change and Carnivores II 1:30 pm -3:30 pm 1. Climate-Ocean Effects on the Marine and Terrestrial Habitats of the Hawaiian Monk Seal, Jason Baker 2. The Implications of Global Warming on a Snow Dependent Species - A Case For the Wolverine, Jeffrey Copeland 3. Whitebark Pine, Grizzly Bears, and Climate Change, Katherine Kendall DISCUSSION Human Interactions With Marine Mammals 10:00 am-1:30 pm 1. Human Interactions With Marine Mammals in the Wild: An Overview of the Policies, Guidelines and Regulations Developed in the U.S. To Address Activities of Concern, Trevor Spradlin 2. Feeding and Harassment of Wild Bottlenose Dolphins in the Southeast Region: Overview of Activities of Concern and Mitigation Efforts, Stacey Carlson 3. Evidence of Recreational Fishing Interactions in Stranded Indian River Lagoon Bottlenose Dolphins: 1997-2005, Wendy Durden 4. Impacts of Human Activities on a Long-Term Resident Community of Bottlenose Dolphins on Florida's West Coast, Randall Wells 5. Recent Phocid and Canid Interactions in the Cape Cod Area of Massachusetts, Betty Lentell Human Interactions With Marine Mammals II 1:30 pm-3:30 pm 1. Large Carnivores and Tourism: a Symbiotic Or Parasitic Relationship?, John Dobson 2. The Impacts on Human/Bear Conflicts: Why We Need To Learn To Coexist, Minette Johnson DISCUSSION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday, November 14 Bottlenose Dolphin Foraging Ecology I 8-10:30 am 1. Assessing the Effects of Fishing on Bottlenose Dolphins With Qualitative Models, Donald Baltz 2. Bottlenose Dolphin Vocalizations Suppress Calling Rates and Elevate Stress Hormones in a Prey Species, the Gulf Toadfish, Opsanus beta, Douglas Nowacek 3. How To Catch a Fish? Foraging Tactic Fidelity of Bottlenose Dolphins in Florida Bay, Florida, Leigh Torres 4. Role of Ecological Disturbance in the Foraging Ecology of Coastal Bottlenose Dolphins, Damon Gannon 5. Stomach Content Analysis of Bottlenose Dolphins Stranded in South Carolina, Michelle Pate 6. Variation in Feeding Habits Among Bottlenose Dolphins From Two Southeastern U.S. Estuaries As Determined By Stable Isotope Analysis, Melissa Recks Bottlenose Dolphin Foraging Ecology II 10:30-1:30 pm 1. Bottlenose Dolphin Population Differentiation and Trophic Studies Using Carbon, Nitrogen, Sulfur Stable Isotopes and Stomach Content Analyses, Nélio Barros 2. Molecular Scatology As a Tool For Investigating Cetacean Diet: Development, Assessment and Application of DNA-Based Diet Investigation Methods For Bottlenose Dolphins, Glenn Dunshea DISCUSSION Sea Otters 3:30 pm-5:30 pm 1. Patterns of Body Size, Growth and Condition Among Sea Otter Populations: What Can It Tell Us About Population Status? Daniel Monson 2. Persistence of Spilled Oil in Nearshore Sediments and Pathways of Exposure To Foraging Sea Otters, James Bodkin 3. Recovery, Foraging Patterns, and Prey Selection of Washington's Sea Otter Population, Harriet Allen 4. Nutrient Composition of the Diet Consumed By Threatened Southern Sea Otters, Alice Green 5. No Place Like Home: a Comparison of Habitat Use Strategies Between Southern Sea Otter Populations of Varying Density, Gena Bentall 6. Movement Patterns of Female Southern Sea Otters Vary With Reproductive Status, Christine Alfano 7. Sea Otters Translocated To San Nicolas Island: Individual Fates, Population Growth, and Projected Persistence of a Small Population, Lilian Carswell Posters Health Assesment of California Sea Lions Utilizing Fluctuating Asymmetry, Amber Bifolck Evidence of Human Interaction in Pinnipeds Stranded in New York State, Rebecca Scott - Jim Curland, Marine Program Associate Defenders of Wildlife P.O. Box 959 Moss Landing, CA. 95039 831-726-9010 (phone) 831-726-9020 (fax) ? Defenders of Wildlife, founded in 1947, is dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities. We focus our programs on what scientists consider two of the most serious environmental threats to the planet: the accelerating rate of extinction of species and the associated loss of biological diversity, and habitat alteration and destruction. Long known for our leadership on endangered species issues, Defenders of Wildlife also advocates new approaches to wildlife conservation that will help keep species from becoming endangered. Our programs encourage protection of entire ecosystems and interconnected habitats while protecting predators that serve as indicator species for ecosystem health. Defenders of Wildlife is pleased to announce Carnivores 2006: Habitats, Challenges and Opportunities A Conference on Carnivore Biology & Conservation Find out more at: November 12-15, 2006 ~ St. Petersburg, Florida http://www.carnivoreconference.org/ http://www.defenders.org http://www.kidsplanet.org http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/seaotters.html (Defenders' Main Sea Otter Page) http://www.kidsplanet.org/espanol/espint.html (Defenders' Sea Otter Teaching Unit) http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/marine.html (Defenders' Marine Program Page) http://www.defenders.org/california/marine.html (Defenders' California Marine Program)