The World Cetacean Alliance (WCA) have extended the application deadline for receipt of workshop proposals for the World Whale Conference 2017.

Applications may now be made until 31^st March 2017. (Successful applicants will be informed by 14^th April 2017.)

Applications should be made online at: http://worldwhaleconference.org/programme/workshops/

Date: Sunday 25^th June 2017

Event: World Whale Conference 2017 www.worldwhaleconference.org

Venue: Protea Hotel Edward: Durban, South Africa

Workshop proposals are open to all conference delegates addressing any subject relating to cetaceans. If space becomes limited, priority will be given to workshops focused on African cetaceans or of likely interest to African participants.

It will be the responsibility of the workshop organiser to collect participant fees and pass them over to the Conference Organiser.  It will also be the responsibility of the workshop organiser to provide receipts to attendees and create a list of attendees – copy to the Conference Organiser.

Workshop fees:

Full Day: South African Rand (ZAR) 500 per attendee

Half Day: South African Rand (ZAR) 300 per attendee

(Minimum number of attendees = 10)

The fee includes use of venue, wireless HD projector, pointers/presenters, complimentary 500MB voucher per a delegate, conference stationery, 1 x flip chart with markers, refreshments on arrival/mid-morning/afternoon, bottled water, cordials, sweets and lunch (full day only).

The workshop organiser may look for sponsors to cover these costs.

Contact: admin@worldwhaleconference.org

For more information please visit our website at: www.worldwhaleconference.org

This is a reminder that registration and abstract submission for the 21st Annual Meeting of the Northwest Student Chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (NWSSMM) are due ***April 1^st 2017***.

You can register and submit your abstract at https://goo.gl/forms/deYxcNWYjEQEHiYD2https://goo.gl/forms/deYxcNWYjEQEHiYD2

Note that limited housing with student hosts will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Please indicate on your registration if you would like to be considered for accommodations.

We also would like to announce that the plenary speaker on Saturday morning will be Dr. John K.B. Ford. Having studied marine mammals since the 1970s, Dr. Ford has made his name synonymous with killer whale research in British Columbia. He has studied a wide range of topics in these animals from communication, to foraging behaviour, to the evolution of social groups. He has also undertaken research on gray whales, minke whales, fin whales, Dall’s porpoise, harbour porpoise and other marine mammals in Pacific Northwest waters. Dr. Ford is the outgoing head of the Cetacean Research Program at the Pacific Biological Station, and is a leader in conservation, research, and outreach in the field of marine mammalogy. He is sure to bring wonderful insights to the NWSSMM annual meeting.

In addition, during the day a Philosopher’s Café will be held to encourage discussion on hot topics in marine mammalogy. These discussion groups will be led by different experienced marine mammal scientists such as:

• Dr. Peter Ross (Vancouver Aquarium)
• Dr. Stephen Raverty (B.C.’s Ministry of Agriculture)
•        Ms. Rowenna Gryba (Stantec)
• Dr. Lorrie Rea (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
• and Dr.Brian Fadely (NOAA)

For more information check out our facebook event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/941465349316782/)

The 2017 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium (SEAMAMMS) will take place April 7-9, 2017 in Beaufort, NC and will be hosted by the Duke Marine Lab and the Friends of the Maritime Museum.

For meeting details, information on abstract submission please visit their webpage  https://seamamms.wordpress.com/

Abstracts are due Friday, February 17^th.  See website for additional information.

Early Registration will end on March 11^th. We encourage everyone to register early.

SEAMAMMS is a regional, student-oriented, scientific marine mammal meeting. Preference will be given to marine mammal research conducted in the mid-Atlantic and southeast US or conducted by students in the same region. Other topics will be considered as space is available.

If you have additional questions that are not addressed on the website please e-mail seamamms@gmail.com.

Additionally, the Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC is hosting a free North Carolina Whales & Whaling Symposium on April 7^th before the SEAMAMMS 2017 Ice Breaker. Learn more here.

Understand the how noise impacts marine wildlife and get to grips with the regulations aimed at protecting our natural environment. Our four-day Marine Acoustics course is perfect for anyone working as a regulator, environmental consultant, researcher, policy or environmental professional who needs to understand the regulatory environment. It will give you the knowledge you need to analyse and act on the recommendations in reports generated as a result of environmental legislation.

We are taking bookings for our March Marine Acoustics course in Exeter which is CPD recognised by @The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST). In association with the @University of Bath.

Our next course runs in Exeter 27-30^th March. To book a place now go to: http://seichetraining.com/underwater-acoustics-the-marine-environment or for more info email s.hancock@seiche.com

2017 ESA Annual Meeting:

Submit an Abstract for Portland!

Deadline: February 23 at 5:00 PM Eastern (2:00 PM Pacific)
We invite contributed abstracts (talks and posters) for ESA’s 2017 Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon.

This year’s theme is “Linking biodiversity, material cycling and ecosystem services in a changing world.”

Although abstract proposals related to the meeting’s theme are encouraged, any timely and coherent subject of broad interest to ecologists will be considered.

Abstracts must be submitted through the online form by Thursday, February 23 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time (2:00 Pacific). No late or emailed abstracts will be considered.

For more information visit: http://www.esa.org/portland/

If you have any questions, please contact the Program Chair, Christopher Swan (Chris.Swan@umbc.edu) or the Science Programs Coordinator, Jennifer Riem (jennifer@esa.org)

Our third annual student chapter conference for the California Student Chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy is rapidly approaching (March 11, 2017). The conference is open to all undergraduate, recent undergraduates, and graduate students in California interested in or conducting research on marine mammals. We want to encourage all interested students to register here, and to submit an abstract here. The abstract submission deadline is Jan 31, 2017.

Check out our website for more information about the conference, the student chapter itself, or to be added to our private listserv.

We look forward to seeing a great turnout in March!

The Oceanografic Foundation would like to invite you to join us for an on-line seminar on the use of tag technology to study animal behavior, ecology and physiology by Rory Wilson. The seminar will available on-line at the link below. We are working to provide a link so the seminar can be viewed later on for those that may not be able to join us live.

Presenter: Professor Rory Wilson, Swansea University

Title: What can smart tags tell us about animals?’
Abstract: Animal-attached smart tags are getting smarter and smarter. Things like acceleration, magnetic field intensity,  and pressure are now being sampled at crazily  high rates. This sounds cool. But what can such tags tell us about the animals that carry them. This lecture will explore some of these things and perhaps air some surprises.

Time: Friday January 20, 10:30 Central European time

Streaming Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ5qZfUqzyQ

We are recruiting participants for a workshop on analysis of data from high-resolution animal-borne tags, to be held in St Andrews, Scotland on 7-9 August 2017.  A brief description of the workshop is below, and more details are available online: http://creem2.st-andrews.ac.uk/analysis-of-data-from-high-resolution-animal-borne-tags-workshop/. The site also contains a link for potential participants to express interest in attending. Please check it out, and spread the word to others who may be interested!

Workshop: Analysis of data from high-resolution animal-borne tags

Bio-logging studies with high-resolution movement-sensors offer opportunities to observe animal behavior in unprecedented detail, but analysis of the resulting data is often complex, and there is a need for freely available, easy-to-use, flexible software tools along with appropriate training to facilitate analysis and interpretation. This 3-day workshop introduces participants to a new open-source tool kit for processing data from tags with movement sensors (such as pressure, accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope). The tool kit has Matlab, Octave, and R versions, and includes tools to read/write, calibrate, process, visualize, and carry out statistical analysis of datasets from multiple tag types. The goal of the workshop is to enable high-quality, reproducible, sophisticated analyses of tag data, while also facilitating comparison of results between studies, tag-types and computational software.

The Bioacoustics Research Program will be running a 5-day Sound Analysis Workshop featuring Raven Pro from Monday April 3^rd to Friday April 7^th, 2017 at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, USA.  The workshop is intended primarily for biologists interested in analysis, visualization, and measurement of animal sounds. The workshop covers basic principles of spectrographic analysis and measurement of animal sounds, as well as specific tools and techniques in Raven Pro.

The maximum class size is 12, and there are currently 6 places available. The standard fee is $1,400, but there is a discounted rate of $1,050 for registered students (Bachelors, Masters or Ph.D.). The fee covers tuition, lunches, and a complimentary 1-yr license for Raven.  More details can be found on the BRP homepage (Education & Outreach tab).

Please contact Liz Rowland, edr6@cornell.edu if you’re interested or have questions.

For details, see BRP homepage

Behaviour 2017 is a joint meeting of the 35th International Ethological Conference
(IEC) and the 2017 Summer Meeting of the Association for the Study of
Animal Behaviour (ASAB), that will bring together researchers and students
from all fields of behaviour science.

This exciting multidisciplinary meeting will be held in the Lisbon area,
close to important international research centres, between July 30th and
August 4th 2017. The venue, the Estoril Congress Centre, boasts a
privileged location on the Cascais coast, 25 km away from the Lisbon
airport, with plenty of accommodation in a relaxed environment, and it is
right next to the famous Casino with its surrounding gardens. Besides the
prestigious invited speakers and a full scientific program, participants
will be able to enjoy numerous cultural and leisure options

The call for abstracts is now open (http://behaviour2017.org/call-for-abstracts/)

Early-bird registrations for the meeting will go until February 28th.

For more information visit the website: http://behaviour2017.org/

We are looking forward to receive your submissions and hope to see many
MARMAMers in Estoril next Summer!

If you are interested in sponsorship, exhibiting or advertising, please
contact us at behaviour2017@ispa.pt

On behalf of the organising committee,

Patricia Rachinas-Lopes