[MARMAM] Canadian Wildlife Federation Chair in Large Whale Conservation (Assistant Professor) at Dalhousie University

[Hal Whitehead]

The Canadian Wildlife Federation will fund a Chair in Large Whale Conservation 
(Assistant Professor; tenure track) at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.

We are seeking candidates who will conduct research on the quantification of 
the impacts of environmental variability, including climate change, on the 
populations and distribution of large whale species, using a variety of 
approaches (sea-going, empirical and modelling) to foster a mechanistic 
understanding of distributional patterns, demographic variation and foraging 
ecology. Preference will be given to candidates who use and develop modern 
tools and analytical approaches to quantify and predict whale movement, 
distribution, and oceanographic habitat associations, such as remote sensing 
and acoustic detection technologies. At-sea experience with physical and 
biological oceanographic studies and experience with evidence-based advice to 
influence conservation policy are assets.

Ideally, the candidate will have a PhD in biological oceanography or related 
discipline focused on large whales, postdoctoral experience, a strong 
publication record, a history of successful funding applications and mentoring 
experience.

A demonstrated ability to collaborate with national and international academic, 
governmental, non-governmental and industrial agencies and a strong record of 
public outreach are desirable.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and 
permanent residents will be given priority. Dalhousie University is committed 
to fostering a collegial culture grounded in diversity and inclusiveness. The 
university encourages applications from Indigenous persons, persons with a 
disability, racially visible persons, women, persons of a minority sexual 
orientation and/or gender identity, and all candidates who would contribute to 
the diversity of our community. For more information, please visit 
https://www.dal.ca/hiringfordiversity.

Candidates can direct enquiries to whale.chairsea...@dal.ca.

Review of applications will begin September 8, 2020 and continue until the 
position is filled.

See: https://dal.peopleadmin.ca/postings/3196

Posted by Hal Whitehead, but direct enquiries to whale.chairsea...@dal.ca
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[MARMAM] Unpaid positions in marine mammal science: a response

[WIMMS]

Dear MARMAM community -

We are glad that a long overdue discussion has been initiated about the
prevalence and effect of unpaid positions in marine mammal science.
Clearly, this is a complex and challenging issue that will require input
from people from a variety of backgrounds and career stages to adequately
address the broader impacts of our field’s reliance on unpaid positions.

We support the letter

to the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM), drafted by Dr. Eiren Jacobson,
Chloe Malinka, and Dr. Margaret Siple and now signed by almost 700
individuals, that seeks to end unpaid positions as the status quo in our
field. By supporting this letter, we recognize that unpaid positions are
only one factor of many that need consideration in order to improve
diversity, equity, and inclusion in our field. We also recognize that many
of us have been able to advance our careers in marine mammal science as a
result of unpaid positions.

We conducted a survey on gender-specific experiences in marine mammal
science and are actively working to analyze and publish the survey results.
Of the 670 respondents (n=586 female), 549 (82%) indicated participating in
at least one unpaid work experience opportunity (e.g., an internship or
temporary position with a university, non-profit, government agency, or
independent scientist). We will explore in our publication some important
nuances of this participation and specific ways in which respondents
highlighted unpaid work as a barrier to success in marine mammal science,
but this percentage speaks to the high prevalence of unpaid work in our
field.

The aim of changing this as the status quo point of entry into our field is
not to disparage or discount individuals who have benefitted from these
opportunities, but rather to acknowledge, as Dr. Eric Archer eloquently
stated in his response on this thread
, “The voices
that we won't hear in this debate are those that didn't have those
opportunities.” We cannot deny that expecting most people to work for free
limits access to our field to those of a certain economic status, which in
the U.S. and many other countries is inextricably tied to race. Even if we
increase much-needed efforts to engage diverse young potential scientists,
we cannot expect to retain them if the only path forward relies on unpaid
work.

We also fully acknowledge that change from the status quo will not happen
instantaneously, and that the role of funding is not trivial. How change
occurs will be very different at a large institution in the U.S. compared
to a small non-profit in a low-income nation. Thus, we will need to come
together as a community to find creative and innovative ways in which we
can collectively increase the accessibility of internships and other work
experience positions and thereby increase diversity, equity, and inclusion
in marine mammal science.

Jacobsen et al. have taken an important step in giving our community an
opportunity to engage more broadly with each other, at a pivotal time, on
the impact of unpaid positions and, in turn, on other barriers to diversity
in our field. If not for this letter to the SMM, it is unlikely that these
conversations would be ongoing at this scale at this time. The women who
drafted this conversation starter are notably early-career researchers,
which makes their willingness to lead this effort especially courageous. We
would like to thank them, the letter cosignatories, and all those willing
to contribute constructively to this most important discussion.

Sincerely,

The WIMMS Initiative Organizers

Dr. Erin Ashe

Dr. Amanda Bradford

Dr. María Constanza Marchesi

Cara Gallagher

Natalie Mastick

Dr. Frances Robertson

Dr. Mridula Srinivasan

Dr. Karen Stockin

-- 
Women in Marine Mammal Science (WIMMS)
Email: womeninmm...@gmail.com
Website: https://wimms.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/womeninmmsci/
Twitter: @womeninmmsci
Hashtag: #womeninmmsci
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Re: [MARMAM] Unpaid positions in marine mammal science

[Eric Archer - NOAA Federal]

Scripps Institution of Oceanography (where Paul Dayton has been based and
done his groundbreaking work in the field) was established in 1903. It
became part of the University of California, San Diego in 1912. I, an
African American, entered the Marine Biology program in 1990 and defended
my Ph.D. in 1996. Since that time, I have stayed in the San Diego area,
working at the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center which is located on
the SIO campus. About five years ago, I became an adjunct professor at SIO.

About a decade ago, I became curious about the history of diversity at SIO
and started asking around. As best as I can tell, I was the first African
American Marine Biology PhD at SIO. Since then, I've been trying to pay
attention and have been aware of only two others since that time, with
similar numbers in the sister Biological Oceanography program. Let's be
generous and say that I've missed a couple. That's still only two handfuls
at most. For the record, I'm also unaware of another Black faculty member
in MB at SIO. Ever. Here  is the
current list of SIO faculty.

How then do we reconcile the magnitude of minority interns and the good for
diversity in the field in Paul's description with the striking lack of
diversity at the top of the field? We need to pay attention to outcomes at
every level. It is clear that the pipeline is broken in several places.
This issue of unpaid internships is only one of them.

I want to clearly state that I have the utmost respect for all of the
points of view that have been expressed during this discussion as well as
their authors. Paul Dayton and Phil Clapham have been role models to me and
both have been influential in my career. I knew Eiren Jacobsen as a student
at SIO and admired her skills. I think everybody in this debate is
well-intentioned and truly wants to help improve the situation. In order to
do that, we have to keep talking openly and respectfully listening to each
other.

Kind Regards,
Eric Archer

On Thu, Jul 16, 2020 at 5:01 AM Paul Dayton  wrote:

> Dear Lists people!
>
> I would like to join Phil Clapham with a counter argument to the recent
> posting about unpaid positions in marine mammal science, but also all
> conservation!  I am not sure how to write to the Marmam list, but am
> pasting my letter and attaching it.  Please let me know if this is
> acceptable.  And I suspect most of you are unpaid volunteers as well, and I
> hope you  know that your work is appreciated if unsung.
>
> Best regards and I wish you success avoiding this damned virus!  I have
> been stuck in this ancient house for 4 months going on 12 months I fear.
>
> Paul Dayton
>
> Unpaid positions in marine mammal science
>
>
>
> Dear Friends,
>
>
>
> I saw Phil Clapham’s note and learned that Eiren Jacobson was still
> pushing this issue. I write to offer another objection to this position and
> to urge the co-signers to reevaluate their support.  Phil offered the fact
> that much marine mammal work is done by relatively impoverished but highly
> idealistic organizations that would be severely impacted by the loss of
> volunteers. He also addressed the need to get people involved with marine
> mammals.  Here I hope to broaden his message about the use of volunteers to
> actually increase diversity in the field, and I hope to persuade you to
> consider this in the broader context of helping lower income and non-white
> people move into the field, rather than being excluded as Eiren erroneously
> argues. I urge those of you who signed the letter to reconsider your
> signatures to what I feel strongly is a misguided appeal to your sense of
> fair treatment of other people.
>
>  In my case I am sure that over my 40+ year career I was responsible for
> well over 100 volunteers and I strongly reject the argument that they were
> exploited or that impoverished or minority people were unfairly excluded.
> Very much to the contrary, in fact.  I believe that I received well over
> 15 requests a year over my 40 years of professorship and there were always
> volunteers in our lab, usually very well mentored by graduate students but
> always with me in the background supervising the situation. And as Phil
> mentioned, we started early as many of them started working for us when
> they were in high school.  They were never exploited, rather they were
> mentored and brought into marine ecology. Most of the interns in my lab
> were involved in general ecological research rather than marine mammals,
> but I was co-advisor or committee member to many marine mammal graduate
> students and most of them either came into the field via internships or
> used interns that came to me that I directed to the students. Many of these
> students have had successful careers in the marine mammal community, and
> they were damned good mentors. Some may see this letter and offer their own
> thoughts.
>
>  Let me address the issue of diversity and class barriers.  Eiren’

Re: [MARMAM] Unpaid positions in marine mammal science

[Wallace, Richard]

This has been an enormously helpful dialogue, and my thanks to everyone who has 
contributed, and especially to Eiren for initiating.

I am in the camp that believes that unpaid internships are more hurtful than 
helpful, in the ways that Eiren and her colleagues’ letter explains. I have 
spent the past 19 years teaching at a small liberal arts college where I am the 
only “marine mammal person” on the faculty. My marine mammals course and 
research projects attract every interested biology, marine science, and 
environmental studies student who graces our campus, and as a result I have 
taught many first generation and lower-income students over the years (which 
comprise a significant percentage of our student body—we are not a typical 
private college in that respect; most of our students work multiple jobs during 
college in order to afford to be here. They are tired and stressed and working 
their butts off to achieve their academic goals.). These students turn to me to 
help them initiate their careers in marine science and conservation. Though it 
is just my individual experience, I can say unequivocally that most of my 
students are excluded from the career-boosting benefits of unpaid internships, 
and many of them end up in other fields out of college as a result of the 
failure of the marine mammal science and conservation community to provide 
means of support to help these students get started. It’s the same calculus as 
choosing a grad school on the basis of the amount of aid you are awarded. For 
my students, it’s not a decision: you simply have to follow the money. And that 
is much more true now, with the often crippling amounts of student debt that so 
many carry, than it was in my day, or when Paul was teaching most of his 
students at Scripps.

Finally, I’ll note that as I worked my way through grad school, I got my start 
in the marine mammal field thanks to a paid internship at the Marine Mammal 
Commission 30 years ago this summer—the stipend for which my mentor and then 
MMC executive director John Twiss felt was his moral duty to provide. (Remember 
that most federal internships in the U.S. are exempt from the Fair Labor 
Standards Act, as are internships at nonprofit organizations.) For me, had John 
not offered that stipend, I would not have been able to take the internship—a 
summer that led directly to John offering me a job out of grad school, which 
led directly to my doctoral dissertation, which led to a career in which I have 
now taught many hundreds of students the joys of marine mammal science, policy, 
and conservation.

I know this is all just anecdotal personal experience, but I can’t overstate 
the importance that this issue has played in my life as a student and teacher, 
so I wanted to share.

Thanks for listening and I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Rich

--


Richard L. Wallace, Ph.D.
Pronouns: He/Him/His
Professor of Environmental Studies and Marine Science
Director, Food Studies Program
Co-Director, Whittaker Environmental Research Station
Ursinus College
Collegeville, PA
https://www.ursinus.edu/live/profiles/103-richard-wallace

and

Educator-in-Residence
Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative
Jackson, WY
http://nrccooperative.org
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

[A picture containing drawing  Description automatically 
generated]


From: MARMAM  on behalf of Eric Archer - NOAA 
Federal 
Date: Monday, July 20, 2020 at 7:15 AM
To: "marmam@lists.uvic.ca" 
Subject: Re: [MARMAM] Unpaid positions in marine mammal science

Scripps Institution of Oceanography (where Paul Dayton has been based and done 
his groundbreaking work in the field) was established in 1903. It became part 
of the University of California, San Diego in 1912. I, an African American, 
entered the Marine Biology program in 1990 and defended my Ph.D. in 1996. Since 
that time, I have stayed in the San Diego area, working at the NOAA Southwest 
Fisheries Science Center which is located on the SIO campus. About five years 
ago, I became an adjunct professor at SIO.

About a decade ago, I became curious about the history of diversity at SIO and 
started asking around. As best as I can tell, I was the first African American 
Marine Biology PhD at SIO. Since then, I've been trying to pay attention and 
have been aware of only two others since that time, with similar numbers in the 
sister Biological Oceanography program. Let's be generous and say that I've 
missed a couple. That's still only two handfuls at most. For the record, I'm 
also unaware of another Black faculty member in MB at SIO. Ever. 
Here is the current list of SIO 
faculty.

How then do we reconcile the magnitude of minority interns and the good for 
diversity in the field in Paul's description with the striking lack of 
diversity at the top of the field? We need to pay attention to outcomes a

[MARMAM] DOSITS Underwater Acoustics Webinar: NMFS Regulatory Approach to Underwater Sound

[Holly Morin]

***apologies for cross-postings***

The next webinar in the 2020 *Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS)
* Webinar Series will take place this *Thursday,
July 23, 2020, at 12pm ET*. Jolie Harrison Division Chief, Permits and
Conservation Division, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of
Protected Resources, will provide an overview of *NMFS' regulatory approach
to underwater noise impacts on protected species, including marine mammals
and fishes, and their habitat*. This FREE, 60-minute webinar will include a
summary of key regulatory processes through which NOAA addresses noise
impacts, mitigation and monitoring efforts, and efficiencies in
regulatory compliance. An extended period of facilitated discussion will
also be included.

*Interested individuals must register for the webinar in order to
participate*. To register for the 2020 DOSITS Webinar Series, please visit:
https://dosits.org/decision-makers/webinar-series/2020-webinar-series/

*Please note:*

   1. *If you have already registered for the 2020 DOSITS Webinar series,
   you do not need to register again for this webinar.  *
   2. All webinars in the Underwater Acoustics: 2020 DOSITS Webinar Series
   for the International Regulatory Community will be *hosted using Zoom*.
   Webinar testing and troubleshooting tips can be found here
   .
   Although Zoom is the preferred mode of connection, if participants are
   unable to use this platform, a YouTube link will be provided. A connection
   link for Zoom and YouTube will only be shared with registered
participants (*webinar
   correspondence will come from webi...@dosits.net- please check spam/junk
   mail folders if necessar*y).
   3. A full webinar outline with associated DOSITS links is available to
   download from the 2020 DOSITS Webinar webpage
   .
   *Webinar participants are encouraged to review this outline and
   associated background content prior to the live webinar even*
   4. All webinars will be recorded and archived on the DOSITS website
(Decision
   Makers Webinars ).

Participation in this week's webinar can be applied to the *Certificate of
Professional Development* offered in conjunction with the 2020 DOSITS
Webinar Series. Interested individuals MUST participate in all four of the
webinars in the 2020 Underwater Acoustics Webinar Series (live, in person,
or via video archive). *In addition to webinar participation interested
individuals MUST complete a brief survey specific to each webinar.* The
link will be sent to registrants after the webinar has completed, or after
they view the video archive.

For all 2020 Webinar Series details, please visit:
https://dosits.org/decision-makers/webinar-series/2020-webinar-series/.

For a full list of all DOSITS Webinars, please visit:
https://dosits.org/decision-makers/webinar-series/
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[MARMAM] Follow up to letter to the SMM re. unpaid work

[Eiren Jacobson]

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you for your support of our petition asking the Society for Marine 
Mammalogy to take a leadership role in eliminating the reliance on unpaid labor 
in our field.  You can find the finalized petition here: https://bit.ly/2OG9Mad 
and a cover letter here: https://bit.ly/2WBVEDl

As we discuss in the cover letter, eliminating the reliance on unpaid labor in 
marine mammal science will require sustained community involvement and 
willingness to change.  We encourage you to lobby within your individual 
organizations and to funding bodies to reconsider policies related to unpaid 
workers.  If any of you are interested in organizing further actions related to 
this issue, please feel free to reach out to us.

Sincerely,

Dr Eiren Jacobson, University of St Andrews
Ms Chloe Malinka, Aarhus University
Dr Margaret Siple, University of California, Santa Barbara

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