[MARMAM] Registration now open: introductory distance sampling workshop February 2025
Interactive introductory distance sampling training The University of St Andrews has been training ecologists and statisticians in design and analysis of distance sampling studies for decades. Distance sampling methods are widely used in population assessment of many different taxonomic groups, particularly cetaceans and pinnipids. Perhaps you've wanted to attend a previous workshop, but schedules conflicted with your field work. We are offering the training workshop in 10 2.5-hour blocks in February 2025. You will be invited to interact in short lectures on distance sampling principles. Exercises analysing data sets in R will reinforce those principles and the lecturer will be available to assist during the practical session via screen sharing. The session will conclude with a summary of the exercise and question/answer session for both lecture and exercise. You can participate in polls during the workshop to assess your comprehension of topics discussed. In addition to questions at any time during the lectures and practicals, an optional additional half hour will be set aside each session for discussion of topics arising. Simultaneous translation of lectures and discussions will be available in closed captions courtesy of Zoom. If English is not your first language, translation will be available into (most) languages. Contact instructor for more details. The workshop will be delivered using Zoom web conferencing software along with R-Studio "in the cloud".☁️ You will need (free) accounts for both pieces of software. I encourage you to experiment with Zoom (at https://zoom.us) and https://posit.cloud before the workshop begins. There will be an internet connection testing and general orientation session approximately 02-07 February 2025. Important details - Workshop dates and time: 17-28 February 2025; 1400-1630 British Standard Time. - For the time of day in your time zone, consult https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Introductory+distance+sampling+training+workshop&iso=20250217T14&p1=3853&ah=2&am=30 - Registration deadline: 28 January 2025 - Enrolment limit: 14 - Cost: 225 British pounds - What is included: Lectures, exercises, code, data all available online Widening participation scholarship One place will have the registration fee waived, for participants from under-represented groups. Details of eligibility and application process at https://distancesampling.org/training/scholarships.html. Deadline for scholarship application for the February 2025 introductory workshop is 29 November 2024. What they are saying I would like to say I really liked RStudio Cloud and it is working just fine and I am really enjoying using it as a student. I'm looking forward to using it as an instructor too. I really liked the first half of the course. I love distance sampling and I am enjoying every second of the course! The only thing I can say about this particular workshop is it deserves more time. -- Kaan Özgencil, PhD student, Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara Further details https://distancesampling.org/training/announcements/intro-feb-2025.html At the webpage above, you will find a link to the St Andrews online shop where payment is made. After you registration, I will contact you with additional details regarding workshop electronic materials, etc. Feel free to contact me with questions. Please share this announcement with interested colleagues. Information regarding all distance sampling workshops can be found at https://distancesampling.org/training/training.html Eric Rexstad Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling University of St Andrews Registered Charity in Scotland SC013532 ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] 2025 Soundwatch Program Internship at The Whale Museum
The Whale Museum's Soundwatch Boater Education Program 2025 Summer Internship Openings Applications due Dec 2nd, 2024 The Soundwatch Boater Education Program is seeking interns for the 2025 summer field season (May - September). Soundwatch is a research, education and monitoring program operated by The Whale Museum (TWM), a nonprofit organization located in Friday Harbor, Washington. The Soundwatch program mission is to reduce vessel disturbance to marine wildlife, particularly the endangered Southern Resident killer whales, in the Salish Sea region of Washington state, USA and British Columbia, Canada. Soundwatch is looking for two interns to help conduct vessel patrols, educate boaters on regional/federal Be Whale Wise guidelines and regulations, and record data while monitoring vessel activity around whales. Data from this critical program characterizes vessel activity trends around endangered killer whales and other marine wildlife. This data is used to inform and update marine mammal management strategies including state, federal, and international vessel regulations. To learn more, please visit our website and read Soundwatch’s most recent Contract Report and publications. Internship is located in Friday Harbor, Washington. Interns are responsible for securing their own housing and their own mode of transportation. This position includes a stipend to offset housing costs. Once accepted, TWM staff will be able to assist interns in locating suitable housing options. INTERN RESPONSIBILITIES: • Perform a variety of tasks related to data recording and photography in the field aboard small research vessels. • Perform a variety of tasks related to data entry and photo filing in a research office setting. • Participation and staffing of public outreach and education events throughout the field season. APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS: • Commit to at least 12 weeks between May and September. • Ability to work approximately 35-40 hours per week, Mon-Sun. • At least 18 years of age, able to lift 40 lbs., able to swim, and not easily susceptible to seasickness. This position requires extensive boating aboard small vessels and is not suitable for those prone to seasickness. • Ability to spend long hours on the water aboard a small vessel, sometimes in demanding seasonal conditions. Field days occur four to five times a week and may exceed eight hours per day. • Exhibit strong communication skills, professionalism, and diplomacy. • Familiar with Microsoft Office Suite (particularly Excel) and Google Workspace. • US passport, enhanced driver's license (EDL) or enhanced identification card (EID) is required. Documents must be valid through December 2025. • Up-to-date CPR/First Aid certification. • Preference will be given to undergraduates or recent graduates in the marine or wildlife sciences. • Knowledge of the area and Southern Resident killer whales is preferred but not required. • A state boater license or equivalent safe boating card is preferred but not required. • Wildlife photography experience is a plus but not required. HOW TO APPLY FOR INTERNSHIP POSITION: Please provide the following: 1. Letter of interest including your start/end date and passport/ID status 2. Your resume/CV 3. Contact information for three references. Submit application materials via email as one PDF if possible. Please include in your subject line: Soundwatch Internship Application (Last Name). PLEASE SEND APPLICATION MATERIALS TO: Alanna Frayne Soundwatch Boater Education Program Director ala...@whalemuseum.org Active review of applications will begin immediately and continue until 02 Dec 2024, or until positions are filled. Final selections made before 01 Feb 2025. Please feel free to contact with any questions. Alanna Frayne (she/her) Soundwatch Program Director The Whale Museum 62 First St N | Friday Harbor, WA 98250 Please be advised that my response may be delayed during the field season (May-September). ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New publication: Seasonal distribution of cetaceans in the European Atlantic and Mediterranean waters
Dear colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to share our new publication: Virgili, A., Araújo, H., Diaz, A. A., Doremus, G., Garcıa-Baron, I., Eira, C., ... & Ridoux, V. (2024). Seasonal distribution of cetaceans in the European Atlantic and Mediterranean waters. Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, 1319791. The article is available here (open access): https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1319791/full. Abstract: As apex predators, cetaceans play an essential ecological role in marine ecosystems. Fluctuations in the abundance of these top predators linked to human activities can have detrimental consequences for the entire ecosystem. Cetaceans face numerous anthropogenic threats that can have both short and long-term effects. To ensure their conservation, it is necessary to identify changes in seasonal distributions at small and large scales. We aimed to model the seasonal distribution of the most abundant cetacean species in the European Atlantic waters and the Mediterranean Sea by assembling datasets collected over 16 years of surveys using a standardised line-transect protocol. Data were homogenised, detection functions fitted and effective strip widths estimated. We extracted environmental variables integrated over the water column, which we transformed using a principal component analysis (PCA). The dimensions of the PCA were then integrated as explanatory variables in a generalised additive model, taking seasonal and spatial effects into account to predict the seasonal cetacean distribution. We were able to highlight changes in the spatial distribution and/or density of cetaceans throughout the year at a large scale, considering environmental extrapolation areas to predict where environmental variables were sampled during the surveys. For minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and fin (B. physalus) whales, densities varied over the seasons but not the distribution, suggesting a seasonal migration outside the survey areas. For common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), densities varied little but distributions did over the seasons. Finally, pilot whales (Globicephala spp), Risso’s (Grampus griseus) and striped (Stenella coeruleoalba) dolphins showed little seasonal variation in their distribution. Using monthly dynamic environmental variables at depth and PCA dimensions in habitat models, we produced maps of the seasonal distribution of cetaceans in the Mediterranean Sea and the European Atlantic waters to help fill gaps in our knowledge of cetacean distribution. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at auriane@sharetheocean.earth. Best wishes, Auriane -- Dr Auriane VIRGILI Ingénieure de recherche / Research engineer Share the Ocean consortium, 14 place de l'Eglise, 56870 Larmor-Baden, France E-mail : auriane@sharetheocean.earth ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] New publication - Aerial Photo-identification of Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus)
Dear MARMAM community, We are happy to announce the recent publication describing the use of aerial photo-identification on sperm whales. O'Callaghan, S.A., Al Abbar, F., Costa, H., Prieto, R., Gammell, M. and O'Brien, J. (2024). Aerial Photo-identification of Sperm Whales (*Physeter macrocephalus*). *Aquatic Mammals* 50(6), 479-494. https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.50.6.2024.479 Abstract Photo-identification is a staple tool used in cetacean conservation studies since the 1970s to monitor individuals on a regional and ocean basin-wide scale to infer critical information about habitat use, suitability, and shifts. This technique has been extensively used on sperm whales globally since it was developed in 1982, initially using the tail fluke from deep diving whales and the dorsal fin when appropriate. From the mid 2010s onwards, the emergence of domestically available unoccupied aerial systems (drones) has reshaped how whale research can be conducted. Herein, we describe the suit-ability of aerial images to determine the identity of individual sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) using all available identifiable markings along their dorsal side to complement the use of fluke notches and dorsal fin scars photo-graphed from the surface of the sea from boat-based platforms for photo-identification and to maximize opportunities to identify and monitor sperm whales. Drone data were gathered while flying over sperm whales in Andenes, Norway; Shetland, Scotland; Dursey Island, Ireland; and Faial and São Miguel Islands, Azores, Portugal, between 2017 and 2024, which enabled the entire dorsal surface of sperm whales to be captured and assessed. Aerial photographs and videos were used to differentiate between 336 individual sperm whales using physical character-istics. We identified the main features of sperm whales through aerial drone images, as well as their prevalence in Atlantic high latitude foraging grounds and lower latitude nursery grounds. We discuss the advantages of using aerial drone photographs to identify sperm whales in addition to traditional boat-based photo-identification. This study is open access and designed to identify features useful for sperm whale photo-identification from an overhead perspective to aid other studies focusing on this iconic species. If you have any questions about it or would just like to get in touch, feel free to do so using seanocallaghan...@gmail.com Kind regards, Seán ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
