[MARMAM] New publication: From Monitoring to Final Disposition: Collaborative Response to the First Live Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) Stranding in Alabama, USA

2022-11-22 Thread Mackenzie Russell
Hello all,

We are pleased to share our recently published article titled "From
Monitoring to Final Disposition: Collaborative Response to the First Live
Sperm Whale (*Physeter macrocephalus*) Stranding in Alabama, USA", which is
now published in the journal Aquatic Mammals.

Bloodgood, J.C.G., M.L. Russell, C. D. Clark, E.E. Hieb, D. P. Mooe, T.R.
Madgrigal, S. Carmichael, and R. H. Carmichael. From Monitoring to Final
Disposition: Collaborative Response to the First Live Sperm Whale (Physeter
macrocephalus) Stranding in Alabama, USA. Aquatic Mammals, 48(6), 485-494,
DOI 10.1578/AM.48.6.2022.485.

Summary: This paper details the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network's
response, from initial report to final disposition, for the first
documented live sperm whale stranding in Alabama. The animal stranded out
of habitat inside Mobile Bay. We highlight the challenges and successful
aspects of the response, including multi-day live-animal monitoring,
in-water sedation and euthanasia, transport, field necropsy, personnel
safety, and the importance of interagency collaboration throughout the
process. For the sedation and euthanasia phase of response, we provide
detailed doses and times of drug delivery, animal response, and time to
death. Our findings will benefit other stranding networks by informing best
practices for coordinating large whale stranding response, particularly in
areas where these strandings are rare and resources may be limited.

It is available open access here:  https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.48.6.2022.485

Many thanks,
Mackenzie Russell

Mackenzie Russell, MS
Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Stranding Coordinator
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
mruss...@disl.org
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Fifty Shades of Gray: The First Leucistic Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Sighting off the Cedar Keys, Florida, Gulf of Mexico

2022-11-22 Thread Mackenzie Russell
Hello all,

On behalf of Dr. Stefanie Gazda and myself, we are happy to share our
recent publication with you titled "Fifty Shades of Gray: The First
Leucistic Bottlenose Dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*) Sighting off the Cedar
Keys, Florida, Gulf of Mexico" published in Aquatic Mammals.

Gazda, S. K., and M. L. Russell. 2022. Fifty Shades of Gray: The First
Leucistic Bottlenose Dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus)* Sighting off the Cedar
Keys, Florida, Gulf of Mexico. Aquatic Mammals; 48(6), 661-665, DOI
10.1578/AM.48.6.2022.661

Summary: This is the first sighting by dedicated marine mammal researchers
of a hypopigmented, suspected leucistic bottlenose dolphin in the
north-eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The adult female dolphin nursing a
normally colored calf makes the sighting even more unusual. The use of news
articles that are over 50 years old aided in the creation of this paper and
represents a potentially useful dataset of information in public records
regarding rare sightings such as leucistic marine mammals in
never-before-reported locations like the north-eastern GOM.

This paper is available OPEN ACCESS here:
https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.48.6.2022.661

Many thanks,
Mackenzie Russell

Mackenzie Russell, MS
Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Stranding Coordinator
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
mruss...@disl.org
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[MARMAM] New publication: Seasonal gain in body condition of foraging humpback whales along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

2022-11-22 Thread Bierlich, Kevin C
Hello MARMAMers,

On behalf of my co-authors, I am excited to announce our publication in 
Frontiers in Marine Science titled "Seasonal gain in body condition of foraging 
humpback whales along the Western Antarctic Peninsula".



Bierlich, K.C., Hewitt, J.,  Schick R.S., Pallin, L., Dale, J., Friedlaender, 
A.S., Christiansen, F., Sprogis K.R., Dawn, A.H., Bird, C.N., Larsen, G., 
Nichols, R., Shero, M., Goldbogen, J.A., Read, A., Johnston, D.W. (2022). 
Seasonal gain in body condition of foraging humpback whales along the Western 
Antarctic Peninsula. Frontiers in Marine Science. 9, 1–16. 
doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.1036860


Abstract:  Most baleen whales are capital breeders that use stored energy 
acquired on foraging grounds to finance the costs of migration and reproduction 
on breeding grounds. Body condition reflects past foraging success and can act 
as a proxy for individual fitness. Hence, monitoring the seasonal gain in body 
condition of baleen whales while on the foraging grounds can inform how marine 
mammals support the costs of migration, growth, and reproduction, as well as 
the nutritional health of the overall population. Here, we use photogrammetry 
from drone-based imagery to examine how the body condition of humpback whales 
(Megaptera novaeangliae) changed over the foraging season (November to June) 
along the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) from 2017 to 2019. This population 
(IWC stock G) is recovering from past whaling and is growing rapidly, providing 
an opportunity to study how whales store energy in a prey-rich environment. We 
used a body area index (BAI) to estimate changes in body condition and applied 
a Bayesian approach to incorporate measurement uncertainty associated with 
different drone types used for data collection. We used biopsy samples to 
determine sex and pregnancy status, and a length-based maturity classification 
to assign reproductive classes (n = 228; calves = 31, juveniles = 82, lactating 
females = 31, mature males = 12, mature unknown sex = 56, non-pregnant females 
= 12, pregnant females = 3, pregnant & lactating females = 1). Average BAI 
increased linearly over the feeding season for each reproductive class. 
Lactating females had lower BAI compared to other mature whales late in the 
season, reflecting the high energetic costs of nursing a calf. Mature males and 
non-pregnant females had the highest BAI values. Calves and juvenile whales 
exhibited an increase in BAI but not structural size (body length) over the 
feeding season. The body length of lactating mothers was positively correlated 
with the body length of their calves, but no relationship was observed between 
the BAI of mothers and their calves. Our study establishes a baseline for 
seasonal changes in the body condition for this humpback whale population, 
which can help monitor future impacts of disturbance and climate change.

Here is a link to access the paper 
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1036860/full


Cheers,
KC


KC (Kevin) Bierlich, PhD, MEM
Postdoctoral Scholar
Geospatial Ecology of Marine Megafauna 
(GEMM) Lab
Marine Mammal Institute | Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife, & Conservation Sciences
Oregon State University
Pronouns: he, him, his
kcbierlich.com
kevin.bierl...@oregonstate.edu

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[MARMAM] New thesis: Variation and sensitivity of residency and site fidelity estimates for dolphin capture-recapture data

2022-11-22 Thread Eduardo Morteo
Dear MARMAM community,

On behalf of my former student, MSc Israel Huesca-Dominguez, I am pleased
to announce the publication of his thesis "Variation and sensitivity of
residency and site fidelity estimates for dolphin capture-recapture data”,
which was successfully defended last September.

The resulting scientific manuscripts of the chapters of his thesis will
soon be available; thus we will let you know the electronic links for
proper citation.

In the meantime, please follow the link to have full access to his
(translated) thesis (in English):

(PDF) Variation and sensitivity of residency and site fidelity estimates
for dolphin capture-recapture data

researchgate.net



Cita (SP): Huesca-Domínguez I. 2022. Variación y sensibilidad de
estimaciones de residencia y fidelidad al sitio para datos de
captura-recaptura en delfines. Tesis de Maestría en Biología Integrativa.
Cum laude. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Universidad Veracruzana.
Xalapa Veracruz. 100 pp. 27 de septiembre de 2022.

Citation (EN): Huesca-Domínguez I. 2022. Variation and sensitivity of
residency and site fidelity estimates for dolphin capture-recapture data.
Thesis. Cum laude. Master in Integrative Biology. Instituto de
Investigaciones Biológicas Universidad Veracruzana. Xalapa Veracruz. 100
pp. September 27th, 2022

You may find the abstract below.

Abstract: Residency and site fidelity are important parameters in the
population ecology of many species as they indicate temporal and spatial
use of individuals. Cetaceans with well-defined patterns of residency and
site fidelity may be more vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances and the
study of these parameters makes it possible to assess such impacts. However
due to interspecific differences and logistical restrictions for the study
of cetaceans there is no consensus on the definitions and ways to evaluate
these parameters. This project investigated the factors that influence
measurements of residency and site fidelity in dolphins through a
retrospective ~20 year (1990-2019) literature review. Simulations of
capture-recapture histories based on real scenarios of wild populations of
dolphins were used to evaluate residency metrics by varying the parameters
in a JollySeber model. We found 30 indicators of residency where 20 were
based on capture-recapture data and 8 contained categories. These main
differences were associated with patterns of temporal use and the
thresholds for classifying individuals. Simulations showed sensitivity to
different survival estimates in addition to those of already known
catchability. Indicators of site fidelity were more consistent with each
other and the best performing indicators of residency combined monthly
seasonal and annual data. These findings show the need for paradigm shifts
to create comprehensive standardized and generalized definitions of
residency which can be compared across different populations of marine
mammals around the world.

Kind regards,

Dr. Eduardo Morteo
Director

Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas
Universidad Veracruzana

Calle Dr. Castelazo Ayala S/N, Col. Industrial Ánimas
CP 91190, Xalapa, Veracruz, México.

Ph/Tel: +52 (228) 841 89 00
E-mail: emor...@uv.mx

http://www.uv.mx/personal/emorteo/

http://uv-mx.academia.edu/EMorteo
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eduardo_Morteo/?ev=hdr_xprf

http://scholar.google.com.mx/citations?user=fDUl-IIJ
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[MARMAM] Marine vertebrate monitoring with eDNA, China Scholarship Council PhD Offered at University of Exeter, UK

2022-11-22 Thread Thompson, Kirsten
Dear Marmammers,


Molecular monitoring of marine vertebrates across changing oceans with eDNA

China Scholarship Council PhD studentships for 2023 Entry based at the 
University of Exeter, United Kingdom.

Application deadline: midday UK time 4th January 2023.

For more details on how to apply: 
http://www.exeter.ac.uk/pg-research/csc-scholarships/facultyofhealthandlifesciences/

The project is listed under Ocean Sciences.

This PhD studentship is open to Chinese nationals only. We are seeking a highly 
motivated PhD candidate for an exciting collaboration between the University of 
Exeter (Dr Adam Monier and Dr Kirsten Thompson) and Greenpeace Research 
Laboratories (Exeter; Dr Kirsten Thompson and others). Join a dynamic group of 
bioscientists, geneticists and cetacean biologists at Exeter Streatham Campus 
in the southwest of the United Kingdom. The successful candidate will be based 
at the Living Systems Institute, Exeter, and will have access to existing data 
from temperate and tropical oceans and the potential opportunity to work in the 
field. We would encourage those with an aptitude and interest in 
bioinformatics, phylogenetics, oceanography and marine conservation to apply. 
Experience in molecular laboratory and field work are desirable but not 
essential.

For informal inquiries contact: Adam Monier, 
a.mon...@exeter.ac.uk and Kirsten Thompson, 
k.f.thomp...@exeter.ac.uk Send us your CV, we 
would love to hear from you if you think you might be interested in this 
research.

Kind regards,

Kirsten Thompson



Dr Kirsten Thompson
Pronouns:
 she/her
Lecturer in Ecology
University of Exeter
Mob: +44 (0)7841695569
Staff profile: 
Biosciences
Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Rd, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4PS
I work Monday to Wednesday, but check my emails regularly for any urgent 
business.

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This email and any attachment may contain information that is confidential, 
privileged, or subject to copyright, and which may be exempt from disclosure 
under applicable legislation. It is intended for the addressee only. If you 
received this message in error, please let me know and delete the email and any 
attachments immediately. The University will not accept responsibility for the 
accuracy/completeness of this email and its attachments.

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[MARMAM] New article on a novel method to study steroids from grey seal pup plasma

2022-11-22 Thread Vaida Surviliene
Dear colleagues,

I am pleased to inform you that a new article regarding a development of a
novel method to study multiple steroid hormones from grey seal pup plasma
was published recently.

Lea Sait, S.T., Survilienė, V., Jüssi, M., Gonzalez, S. V, Ciesielski,
T.M., Jenssen, B.M., Asimakopoulos, A.G., 2022. Determination of steroid
hormones in grey seal (*Halichoerus grypus*) blood plasma using convergence
chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Talanta 124109.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2022.124109

The link to the open access article can be found here:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039914022009055?via%3Dihub

Abstract

A hybrid solid phase extraction (HybridSPE) protocol tailored to
ultra-performance convergence chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
(UPC2-MS/MS) was developed for the determination of 19 steroid hormones in
grey seal (*Halichoerus grypus*) blood plasma. In this study, the protocol
demonstrated acceptable absolute recoveries ranging from 33 to 90%. The
chromatographic separation was carried out using a gradient elution program
with a total run time of 5 min. The method repeatability ranged from 1.9%
to 24% for most target analytes and the method limits of quantification
(mLOQs) ranged from 0.03 to 1.67 ng/mL. A total of 9 plasma samples were
analysed to demonstrate the applicability of the developed method in blood
plasma from a wildlife species. A total of 13 steroid hormones were
quantified in grey seal pup plasma. The most prevalent steroids: cortisol,
cortisone, corticosterone, 11-deoxycortisol, progesterone and
17α-hydroxyprogesterone were detected at concentrations in the range of
9.09–40.1, 7.10–24.2, 0.742–10.7, 1.06–5.72, 0.38–4.38 and ___
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Home ranges and diving behavior of endangered New Zealand sea lions along the Catlins coast of South Island, New Zealand

2022-11-22 Thread Nathan Reed
Hello all,
My co-authors and I are pleased to share our recent publication titled "Home 
ranges and diving behavior of endangered New Zealand sea lions along the 
Catlins coast of
South Island, New Zealand" published in Marine Mammal Science.

Reed, N., Childerhouse, S., Robertson, B. C., & Davis, R. W. (2022). Home 
ranges and diving behavior of endangered New Zealand sea lions along the 
Catlins coast of South Island, New Zealand.
Marine Mammal Science, 1–24. https://doi.org/10./mms.12989

Abstract: New Zealand sea lions (NZSL, Phocarctos hookeri) were extirpated from 
mainland New Zealand during pre-European subsistence hunting. They began 
reoccupying South Island in
1994, and the newest breeding colony arose in 2006 along the Catlins Coast on 
southeastern South Island and currently consists of <10 individuals. The goal 
of this study was to use
animal-borne satellite telemeters and miniature data recorders (MDRs) to 
determine home ranges, three-dimensional movements, and foraging strategy of 
female NZSL along the Catlins
Coast during the austral winter of 2019. Total home ranges were small (97 km2) 
and primarily restricted to nearshore areas. Dives were shallow (8.9 m), short 
in duration (1.4 min),
and had a mean swimming speed of 1.5 m s-1. We identified three dive types 
based primarily on total dive duration, mean maximum depth, total distance 
swam, and path linearity. The
estimated at-sea metabolic rate varied among dive types because of differences 
in flipper stroke frequency and swim speed. Female NZSL along the Catlins Coast 
have smaller home ranges and make shorter foraging trips compared with females 
in the Auckland Islands, and suitable habitat for breeding and prey 
availability along the southeast coast are encouraging for future population 
growth.

The article is available at: 
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10./mms.12989

Cheers,
Nathan

Nathan Reed, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biology
North Greenville University
http://ngu.edu/
Ph: (864) 977-2086
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Human influence on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) strandings in the northern Gulf of Mexico

2022-11-22 Thread Mackenzie Russell
Hello all,

On behalf of my fellow coauthors and myself, we are excited to share a new
publication titled "Human influence on bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops
truncatus*) strandings in the northern Gulf of Mexico" published in
Frontiers in Environmental Science.

Carmichael RH, Hodanbosi MR, Russell ML and Wingers NL (2022), Human
influence on bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*) strandings in the
northern Gulf of Mexico. Front. Environ. Sci. 10:951329. doi:
10.3389/fenvs.2022.951329

Abstract: Human activity affects marine mammal stranding rates in two major
ways; through human interaction (HI) that may lead to mortality and through
search and response efforts that enable carcass detection. To better
quantify the combined effects of these interacting human influences, we
analyzed strandings for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the
northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM), an area of high cetacean strandings. To
identify hotspots of human influence, we first determined the number of
total and HI-related bottlenose dolphin strandings normalized to shoreline
length in each nGOM U.S. state, which represent major response areas. To
estimate the effects of response effort on stranding numbers (for HI and
non-HI strandings), we used the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (DWHOS) as an
established benchmark to compare periods of lower (pre-spill) and higher
(post-spill) response effort. Strandings in Alabama waters were used as a
case study to detail spatial and temporal variation due to human influences
during the 39-year period of retrospective study. We found an increase in
strandings from Louisiana through Alabama following the DWHOS. Non-oil
related HI strandings increased in total number in AL, and they increased
as a proportion of total strandings in Alabama (16%) and the Florida
panhandle (12%). The increase in HI related strandings in Alabama was
driven by mortality of many types, but particularly fishery interactions
and cases of apparent intentional harm. The Alabama case study clearly
detected lower stranding numbers during periods of low or intermittent
response coverage. Our findings are consistent with an overall increase in
stranding numbers due to a combination of increased stranding occurrence
and response effort following the DWHOS. Importantly, we provide evidence
that HI-related standings increased independently from the DWHOS, with
ongoing increases in at least one hotspot (Alabama). These findings provide
a first step to parsing out different effects of human influences on
stranding data for a common coastal cetacean. Our approach establishes
baselines for future damage and recovery assessments, identifies areas
where resources can be focused for management and education, and highlights
the power of response and monitoring agencies to positively influence
stranding datasets.

This article is available OPEN ACCESS here:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951329/full

Many thanks,
Mackenzie Russell

Mackenzie Russell, MS
Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network
Stranding Coordinator
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
mruss...@disl.org
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