Greetings MARMAM! Join us on *Thursday, October 20th at 1 PM EDT (10 AM PDT / 5 PM GMT)* for the next SMM Seminar Editors' Select Series: Behavior related vocalizations of the Florida manatee (*Trichechus manatus latirostris*) with Dr. Beth Brady of the Florida Atlantic University and Mote Marine Laboratory.
Free to attend. Registration required. Presented online on Zoom. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WnhO3mH4R8q3Y_euN-VTmQ Space on Zoom is limited to the first 500 attendees. The talk will also be streamed live on the SMM Facebook page. *The SMM Seminar Editors' Select Series highlights the latest and most exciting marine mammal science published in the Marine Mammal Science Journal. This is your chance to engage with marine mammal scientists, learn and ask questions from anywhere in the world. All are welcome.* *About this talk:* Florida manatees produce a variety of vocalizations, but their function is unclear. The goal of this study was to investigate if manatee vocalizations could be correlated with behavior. Multiple underwater microphones were used to record manatee vocalizations in four different environments and behaviors. Vocalizations recorded from resting, playing, stressed and feeding wild animals were statistically tested to determine whether vocalizations produced varied with behavior and calf presence. We also measured the length, amount of noise, and changes in pitch (frequency modulation) from vocalizations to investigate if they differed between behaviors. Results suggest manatees vocalize using few call types and vary the structure of the call based on behavior. One call type was correlated with calf presence. Noisier calls were more frequently observed during play. The most common call manatees produced are called squeaks. Squeaks were longer in length and higher in frequency modulation when animals were stressed. This research provides a foundation for comparative studies on vocal behavior for the Florida manatee as well as studies on related species. *About the presenter:*Beth was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania and first found her interest in marine life on a family vacation. Although she initially went to school to be a registered nurse, after a few years of nursing, she realized her true passion was marine biology. She returned to school and got her undergraduate degree at Kutztown University, Pennsylvania. After graduation, she volunteered with multiple marine mammal and wildlife organizations and found her love of manatees through an extended internship at Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC). After the internship, she completed her Master’s at Nova Southeastern University where she first became involved in studying underwater sound (acoustics) and manatee vocalizations. She completed her doctorate at Florida Atlantic University in 2020. She is currently a post doctoral research fellow at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL. Dr. Brady’s primary research investigates vocal communication in manatee species. In addition, she is studying manatee behavior, ecotourism impacts, and recently started flying drones to assess the body condition of Florida manatees. All the best, *Ayca Eleman, Ph.D. Candidate* *Theresa-Anne Tatom-Naecker, Ph.D. Candidate* *Eric Angel Ramos, Ph.D.* *Student Members-at-Large* Society for Marine Mammalogy
_______________________________________________ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
