------ From: Valeria Teloni (valeria.teloni@biology.au.dk). Apologies to those of you who will receive cross-posts. ------ Symposium on Sperm Whales and Acoustics Arranged in conjunction with Valeria Teloni’s Ph. D. defense, 19-20th of October 2006, Aarhus University (Denmark) By Valeria Teloni, Peter T Madsen, Aarhus University (DK), And Magnus Wahlberg, Fjord & Bælt (DK) BACKGROUND The sperm whale carries one of the most spectacular adaptations in the animal kingdom. It has by far the largest sound production organ of any animal, which can produce the most intense sound in nature. Sperm whales are using sounds for finding prey but also for complex acoustic communication among strongly cohesive social units. The social behaviour is very different between the more solitary males at higher latitudes and the highly social groups of females and juvenile found in warmer waters. Very recent research has drastically changed our view on both sperm whale foraging ecology and their social behaviour. Valeria Teloni’s Ph. D. defense (Aarhus University, 19th of October) on sperm whale bioacoustics forms an ideal opportunity for bringing together sperm whale researchers to exchange experiences and ideas obtained in various parts of the world using a range of observational techniques. We therefore arranged a one day workshop (Aarhus University, 20th of October) including lectures by some of today’s most prominent sperm whale researchers. PROGRAM Thursday, 19th of October 2006 at 1300, Aarhus University PhD defense: “Bioacoustic study of clicks from diving sperm whales” Candidate: Valeria Teloni (Aarhus University, DK) Supervisors: Bertel Møhl and Roy Weber (Aarhus University, DK) External examiners: Hal Whitehead (Dalhousie University, CA) and Peter McGregor (Centre for Applied Zoology, UK) Friday, 20th of October 2006 at 900, Aarhus University “Symposium on Sperm Whales and Acoustics” Program: 0900-0915 Introduction 0915-1000 Plenary Talk: Hal Whitehead, “The sperm whale: cultures of the open ocean” 1015-1100 Plenary Talk: Peter McGregor, “Animal communication networks” 1100-1130 Coffee break 1130-1200 Bertel Møhl (Aarhus University, DK), “Sperm whale hyper-directionality” 1200-1230 Magnus Wahlberg (Fjord&Bælt, DK), “Bottlenose whale biosonar” 1230-1330 Lunch break 1330-1400 Valeria Teloni, “Foraging behavior of sperm whales” 1415-1445 Peter Madsen (Aarhus University, DK), “Sperm whale sound production” 1500-1530 Jonathan Gordon (St. Andrews University, UK), “Sperm whales in the Golf of Mexico” 1545-1615 Luke Rendell (St. Andrews University, UK), “Dialects in a small population: coda diversity in Mediterranean sperm whales” 1615-1645 Coffee break 1645-1730 Ph. D. and M. Sc. students (Aarhus University, DK) working with bioacoustics will present their studies. 1730-1800 Plenary discussion Interested in coming? Please contact valeria.teloni@biology.au.dk NO LATER THAN 15th of October. The admission is open and free of charge.