Category Archives: Funding and Awards

EBS Award Application Deadline Extended – Apply by March 28, 2025 (Midnight UTC)

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The application deadline for the Emily B. Shane (EBS) Award has been extended to March 28, 2025, at midnight (00:00 UTC).

The EBS Award supports conservation-oriented, non-invasive field research on free-ranging odontocetes and sirenians. The award honors Emily B. Shane (1924–1995), a dedicated conservationist and amateur naturalist.

Funding is awarded to projects with clear conservation priorities for an odontocete or sirenian species, population, or critical habitat. Special consideration is given to research that positively impacts local human communities through increased public awareness, capacity building, or education.

A total of $10,000 USD (~15,000 AUD, 7,800 GBP, 72,000 RMB) is available. In 2024–25, two awards of $10,000 USD each will be granted, including one specifically for research, education, or outreach projects focusing on small-scale fisheries mitigation.

Applications will only be accepted HERE.

For inquiries, please contact awardschair@marinemammalscience.org.

 
Lindsay Porter
Awards & Scholarships Committee Chair
awardschair@marinemammalscience.org

Matus Hodul – recipient of the 2024 F. G. Wood Award

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The Wood Award is given in honour of F. G. Wood, one of the founders of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. The Award is presented to the first author of the best student paper submitted to Marine Mammal Science, every biennium. The winner is invited to present their work as a Plenary Talk at the Society of Marine Mammalogy’s Biennial Conference. All costs associated with attending the conference are provided by the society. This year’s winner is Matus Hodul from the University of Ottawa, Canada, where he is conducting his Ph.D. on the use of satellites to observe whales and other marine megafauna. His thesis focuses on the use of very-high-resolution satellite images to detect and monitor North Atlantic right whales, and distinguish this endangered species from other whales in the imagery.

Matus received his undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, and his M.Sc. at the University of Ottawa studying the use of satellite imaging to measure water depth in arctic waterways.

Matus’ award winning paper focuses on the North Atlantic right whale which is critically endangered, with only 336 individuals remaining. Currently, efforts to protect and monitor these whales use visual and acoustic detection methods from both vessel and aerial platforms. Matus’ and his co-authors demonstrated that satellite imagery can also confirm the presence of North Atlantic right whales. High resolution satellite imagery was used to detect 25 right whales in Cape Cod Bay, using the whales’ callosities to unambiguously identify this species. While the images weren’t detailed enough to identify individual whales by these features, one whale with distinct markings was identified. The authors conclude that in addition to visual and acoustic monitoring, satellite imaging can be a valuable tool for tracking Nort Atlantic right whales, especially in areas not covered by traditional methods.

Congratulations Matus!

Full reference paper:

Hodul, M., Knudby, A., McKenna, B., James, A., Mayo, C., Brown, M., Durette‐Morin, D. and Bird, S., 2023. Individual North Atlantic right whales identified from space. Marine Mammal Science, 39(1), pp.220-231.

Conservation Grant Program 2024

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The SMM Conservation Grant Program will be accepting proposals for new grants in July 2024.

The SMM has established a conservation endowment to help fund grants to catalyze real conservation efforts for the world’s most endangered marine mammal species.

How to enter:
Eligibility and application details are available at marinemammalscience.org: call-for-smm-conservation-fund-proposals

For more details or to donate to this fund, contact the Conservation Fund Coordinator at conservationfund@marinemammalscience.org.
For information on previous awards, see
marinemammalscience.org: /smm-conservation-fund-awardees

Application deadline: 31 July 2024.
Awardees will be announced at the biennial conference.

Winner Announced for the Louis M Herman Research Scholarship 2024

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Congratulations to Emma Chereskin for winning the Louis M Herman Research Scholarship 2024 for her proposal;

“Vocal communication and the cooperative mind: Exploring vocally mediated collaboration during a polyadic cooperative act in wild bottlenose dolphins”

Louis M. Herman, Ph.D. and Emeritus Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA, will always be remembered for his innovative, creative, and scientifically rigorous approach to the study of the marine mammals he so loved, and for the future generations of marine mammal researchers he and his work continue to inspire. The Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship supports research projects that contribute to our understanding of either cetacean cognition and sensory perception (laboratory or field studies), or humpback whale behavioural ecology or communication.

The 2023-24 call for proposals inspired 15 proposals from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, Hong Kong SAR, Madagascar, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, and the United States of America. The quality of submissions was extremely high and competitive, making the review panel’s task challenging.

Thank you to the Chair and members of the LMHRS review panel for their hard work!

 

 

Application Deadline for the Louis M Herman Research Scholarship

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Louis M. Herman, Ph.D. and Emeritus Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, will always be remembered for his innovative, creative, and scientifically rigorous approach to the study of the marine mammals he so loved, and for the future generations of marine mammal researchers he and his work continue to inspire. The Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship supports research projects that contribute to our understanding of either cetacean cognition and sensory perception (laboratory or field studies), or humpback whale behavioural ecology or communication. Work with other marine mammals that especially enhances our understanding of their cognitive abilities will also be considered. Eligible candidates include graduate students and those students who have completed their Masters or PhD within the past three years and are members of the Society of Marine Mammalogy. Full details of application submission materials and criteria can be found on the Society for Marine Mammalogy webpage.

Submission deadline is Monday, 5 February 2024 (10pm, Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time GMT-10 hours) 

Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship: Open for Proposals

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Louis M. Herman, Ph.D. and Emeritus Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, USA, was a pioneer and trailblazer in research on dolphin sensory perception and cognition, and humpback whale behavioural ecology. Dr. Herman’s family, colleagues, and friends established the Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship in 2017 to honor his legacy by promoting the type of research that was the focus of his ground-breaking studies. The Scholarship is given every two years and is open for application today (November 27 2023). The 2024 award will be for USD $6,000. Eligibility criteria and the application process is available here  

 

Please direct any enquiries to the Awards and Scholarship Sub-Committee (awardschair@marinemammalscience.org)

Small Grants in Aid of Research 2023 Program Postponed

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Dear Colleagues,

The Society has incurred significant financial losses due to COVID, the delayed biennial conference and additional costs. Therefore, we cannot launch the 2023 Small Grants-in-Aid of Research (SGIAR) program until financial issues are addressed.

We understand the importance of this program to our early career colleagues worldwide, and we are working very hard to make sure the program continues.

Sincerely,
Laura May-Collado
Chair of the Committee of Scientific Advisors
and
Simon Goldsworthy
President of the Society

2022-2023 Small Grants in Aid of Research Program Now Accepting Applications

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The Society for Marine Mammalogy would like to inform eligible members (see below) that this year’s Small Grants in Aid of Research application window is now open. Applications will be accepted during the entire month of June. The Committee of Scientific Advisors will review applications and make recommendations on funding with decisions announced in early September 2022. The awards are up to US $2,000. Up to 25% of the budget may be used as stipend. All three of the following eligibility requirements must be met:

1. Be a member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.

2. Be a national of any country not on this Excluded Country List: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.

Preference is given to early career researchers such as students and researchers with less than 5 years post-doctoral experience.

3. Be conducting research in a country not on the above Excluded Country List.

The Small Grant web page provides full information, links to past successful applications, a list of recipients from prior years and their completed project reports, and a link to the application itself. Please be mindful of the word limits in the various sections of the application.

Last year 18 of 42 applicants from 12 counties received funding.

For technical questions regarding the online application, please email the Society webmaster at admin@marinemammalscience.org

For all other questions about the grants, please contact:

Laura J. May-Collado
Chair
Committee of Scientific Advisors
Society for Marine Mammalogy
science@marinemammalscience.org

2022 Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship Winners

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In 2022, the Louis M. Herman Research Scholarship received 17 proposals from Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong SAR, Madagascar, Mexico, Nicaragua, Scotland and the United States of America. The quality of submissions was extremely high, so much so that the Awards Committee is delighted to announce that this year there are two successful applicants; “Eavesdropping on Whales – Does Humpback Whale Song Convey Genetic Quality?” submitted by Franca Eichenberger of the University of St. Andrews, Scotland and “Exploring vocal development in humpback whales” submitted by Julia Zeh of Syracuse University, the United States of America

Click here to read the winning abstracts and find out more about Franca and Julia’s winning proposals. Congratulations to both our winners and we wish you success as your projects progress.
Thank you,
Lindsay Porter
Chair, Awards and Scholarships Committee
Society for Marine Mammalogy

 

Find out more about Louis M. Herman’s work and his legacy at the Dolphin Institute:
https://www.facebook.com/TheDolphinInstitute/
https://www.instagram.com/thedolphininstitute/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCodRoeOsT70S-AS5RV17NAA

Dr. Randy Wells Receives the SMM Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award

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(This news item is written in collaboration with Sondra Katzen, Chicago Zoological Society)

The Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) announced the 2021/2022 that Dr. Randall Wells, vice president of marine mammal conservation and director of CZS’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, received the Kenneth S. Norris Lifetime Achievement Award. The announcement was made earlier this month during a virtual members’ meeting.

“A Norris Award winner’s career has significantly altered the course of marine mammal science— through their science and deeds they have made our field substantially better and more complete than if they had never turned their energy towards marine mammals,” said Charles Littnan, president of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. “Dr. Wells far exceeds this bar. His contributions to our understanding of dolphin biology, ecology and behavior and his commitment to providing opportunity and his knowledge to young researchers is unparalleled. He has inspired generations of researchers and his influence will be felt for generations to come.”

The award, which is named after the SMM’s founding president, acknowledges individuals for their exemplary lifetime contributions to science and society through research, teaching, and service in marine mammalogy. It is awarded every two years and is the highest honor bestowed on members of the our SMM community.

“I am truly honored by this award, and humbled by the list of folks who have received it before me,” said Wells. “As someone who was a Norris doctoral student; who worked with him for 12 years, including a stint as his dolphin lab manager at Santa Cruz; and who had the opportunity to see his incredibly insightful mind at work time and time again, unraveling dolphin mysteries, this award has particular meaning to me. I have to credit most of the achievements of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program over the past 50-plus years to the efforts of a superb team of staff, students, and volunteers, as well as the support of the Chicago Zoological Society.”

In addition to being the current director of the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Dr. Wells co-founded the program in 1970, making it the world’s longest-running study of a wild dolphin population. Over the years, he and his team have made many contributions to knowledge of bottlenose dolphin behavior, social structure, life history, health, ecology, communication, and the effects of human activities on these complex marine mammals. The team also helps rescue entangled or injured dolphins, and has trained more than 400 researchers and students from more than 30 countries in dolphin research and conservation techniques that are now being applied to protect species around the globe.

Highly respected in his field, Dr. Wells also has assisted in studies, rescue efforts, and consultations for other marine life, including the highly endangered vaquita in the Gulf of California; spinner dolphins in Hawaii; Guiana dolphins in Brazil; blue, gray, bowhead, and humpback whales; manatees in Florida and Belize, Mekong River dolphins in Cambodia, and franciscana dolphins off the coasts of Argentina and Brazil, to name a few.

He has been author or co-author of several books, more than 290 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and more than 100 technical reports. Additionally, he has been a presenter or co-author of more than 700 presentations at professional meetings as well as invited public and university lectures.

Dr. Wells also has held leadership roles in several organizations—president for the Society for Marine Mammalogy during 2010-2012 and past-chair of the NOAA/USFWS Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events—and serves on the Committee of Scientific Advisors on Marine Mammals for the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, on the NOAA/USFWS Atlantic Scientific Review Group, on IUCN’s Cetacean Specialist Group, and on the Steering Group for the national Animal Telemetry Network.

As a Norris Award winner, Randy will be providing a plenary talk on a topic of his choosing, and I am certain it something not to be missed.  There will also be a more formal award ceremony at that time so that we can honor Randy and his achievements appropriately.  So congratulations once again to Randy and thank you for your tireless work and continued contributions to our field.