Category Archives: Society News

SMM President, Jay Barlow, to attend Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 13) in December 2016

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Jay Barlow, Society for Marine Mammalogy President, has been invited to attend the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 13).

The purpose of this meeting is to set the scene and provide the necessary impetus to make progress on specific issues in conservation and to discuss challenges and opportunities. During COP 13, about ten thousand participants, including representatives of the countries parties, observer countries, international organizations and others interested will meet in Cancun to negotiate agreements and commitments that give impulse to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi goals.

Jay’s presence at the meeting will help to promote the goals of the SMM’s conservation committee in the worldwide conservation of marine mammals in being the go-to source for governments and NGOs to obtain facts and unbiased reviews. 

The meeting will take place in Cancun, Mexico on December 1-2, 2016. To find out more about the meeting, visit: https://cop13.mx/en/science-for-biodiversity-forum/

Third annual student conference for the California Student Chapter of SMM

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We are excited to announce the third annual student conference for the California Student Chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy at Moss Landing Marine Labs. All undergraduates, graduate, and recently graduated students are welcome to attend and are invited to submit an abstract.

Please register here (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/6KGQKW2) as soon as possible if you plan on attending. We are asking for $15 per registration to cover food and drinks (this will be collected later). Lunch will be provided and everyone is welcome to join us for a BBQ and drinks following the talks (5:30pm-7:30pm).

Abstracts need to be submitted here by September 15, 2016. Email us at californiastudentsmm@gmail.com if you have any questions, and check out our website for more updates.

We look forward to seeing everyone in October,

Rachel Holser and Liz McHuron
California Student Chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy

ANZ Student Chapter Meeting of the Society for Marine Mammalogy

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Dear ANZSCSMM members,

We are delighted to announce the third ANZ Student Chapter Meeting of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. The conference will take place on November 24th and 25th, 2016, starting at 9 am at Flinders University (South Australia).

Last year’s conference was a great success and students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to share their research, improve their presentation skills, and to network with fellow peers and professionals in the marine mammal field.

We would like to invite all university students (undergraduates to postdocs) from Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and Southeast Asia to join us in South Australia, and encourage attendees to give an oral presentation (15 min.) or to present a poster about their current work on marine mammals.

To facilitate logistical planning and the allocation of funds for the event, we request all students wanting to participate to express their interest by:

–        Sending an e-mail as soon as possible to anzscsmm@gmail.com<mailto:anzscsmm@gmail.com> (CC: j.patino-perez@massey.ac.nz<mailto:j.patino-perez@massey.ac.nz>) with the subject “ANZSCSMM Meeting”, your name, affiliation, the state/country you’ll be traveling from, and any dietary requirements;

–        Or, if you haven’t already done so, by completing the membership form (https://www.marinemammalscience.org/for-students/chapters/australianew-zealand-smm-student-chapter/) and returning it with the information requested above (NOTE: membership to the chapter is free!).

Participants wishing to present must also submit an abstract (max. 300 words) by October 15th, 2016. Participation in the meeting is free for all ANZSCSMM members. All meals will be covered for the two-day meeting. Additional funds are being sought for the provision of accommodation for all attendees from outside of Adelaide. Further details will be available shortly.

Looking forward to meeting you all,

ANZ Student Chapter Heads

P.S. We are looking for volunteers to assist with logistics during the conference. If interested in becoming involved, please include that in your email.

__________________________

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Kate Indeck

Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory, University of Queensland

Cecilia Passadore

Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Laboratory, Flinders University

Jessica Patío Pérez

Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation Group, Massey University

Small Grants-in-Aid of Research Program Accepting Proposals June 1-30 2016

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The Society for Marine Mammalogy would like to inform eligible members (see below) that this year’s application window opens on 1 June 2016. 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 before 1 September 2016. The awards are up to US $1,500. 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 a country with a developing economy as defined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) (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 with a developing economy

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.

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

For all other questions about the grants, please contact:

Douglas Wartzok
Chair
Committee of Scientific Advisors
Society for Marine Mammalogy
wartzok@fiu.edu

The John E Heyning Award 2016

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John E. Heyning was a marine biologist with the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County who furthered research on whales and helped build one of the world’s largest collections of marine mammals. As the museum’s deputy director and one of its curators, he was instrumental in amassing its more than 4,000 specimens. Only the Smithsonian Institution in Washington has a larger collection. John’s research focused on the natural history, anatomy, evolution and conservation of whales, dolphins and porpoises, especially delphinids and ziphiids. This grant is presented in accordance with John’s last wishes and is for the best proposal received from an established researcher to investigate any area of cetacean integrative biology that relates diverse aspects of biology within an evolutionary context. A single biennial grant of up to $5,000 will be considered.

Due Date: Applications are to be submitted by 1 July 2016 (midnight GMT). No application shall be accepted after the deadline.

Submission: via email to the Awards and Scholarships Chair, Lindsay Porter (Lindsay.jp@gmail.com) with subject line “JEH Award 2016”.

Eligibility: The award is available to established researchers only. The application will be submitted by the person conducting the research. The applicant must be a member of the Society for Marine Mammalogy

The application must include the following materials; ·

  • A proposal, not exceeding ten (10) pages in length (Times font, 12 point type, single space, 2 cm margins) in an editable file format (e.g., .doc*, .txt, etc.).
  • A list of research / other grants obtained in last five years.
  • Research permits and/or ethical approval from a relevant authority (if appropriate) or state that these may have to be obtained if grant is successful.
  • A current C.V.

Award recipients will be announced 3 October 2016

Vaquita story on 60 Minutes this Sunday at 7pm…spread the word!

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At 7 pm on Sunday, May 22, 2016, 60 Minutes will air a segment on vaquita. The crew came to San Felipe and interviewed Lorenzo Rojas-Bracho and Barbara Taylor during the 2015 vaquita survey. They also filmed the presentation of the SMM Conservation Merit Prize and interviewed Mexico’s Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources Rafael Pacchiano afterwards in San Francisco. Most importantly, they filmed vaquita themselves.

The airing follows news released last Friday that only around 60 vaquitas remain by the international recovery team for vaquita (CIRVA). Results of the acoustic monitoring between 2011-2015 showed an 80% decline over that period. Results from the acoustic monitoring prompted the emergency 2-year ban of gillnets that on May 10, 2015. Although almost no gillnets were seen on the survey between October and early December, 42 illegal totoaba gillnets were removed by the Sea Shepherd in collaboration with the Mexican Navy. 3 vaquitas died in March from gillnet entanglement.  For more information see:

Wild Lens video released May 17: English Version: vimeo.com/wildlens/vaquita & Spanish Version: https://vimeo.com/166899979

Sea Shepherd: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTkgKh07qyg

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-baja-porpoise-disappearing-20160516-snap-story.html

Vidal WWF opinion piece:  https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/16/opinions/save-the-vaquita-omar-vidal/index.html

Dr. Barbara Taylor
Chair, Society for Marine Mammalogy Conservation Committee

Welcome to the SMM Alaska Student Chapter

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We are pleased to announce the launch of the Alaska student chapter of the Society for Marine Mammalogy. This chapter will be open to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as prospective graduate students and recent graduates/postdocs in marine mammal-related studies.

Students interested in joining the Alaska student chapter are encouraged to visit the chapter’s Facebook page.

Chapter activities will vary based on membership interests, but may involve necropsies on stranded animals, an annual symposium for student research, outreach to local communities, joint collaboration on projects with Alaska natives, partnerships with the ecotourism industry, guest lectures/brown-bag seminars; and other networking opportunities. All activities will be in accordance with the SMM student chapter guidelines.

Geographical area represented: State of Alaska
Primary Contacts: Kelly Cates (SMM Member), University of Alaska-Fairbanks, UAF SFOS Fisheries Division 17101 Point Lena Loop Rd. Juneau, AK 99801, kacates@alaska.edu, (360) 620-5032
Lauren Wild (SMM Member), University of Alaska-Fairbanks, UAF SFOS Fisheries Division 17101 Point Lena Loop Rd. Juneau, AK 99801, lauren.a.wild@gmail.com, (907) 738-5315
Casey Clark (SMM Member), University of Alaska-Fairbanks, UAF SFOS Fisheries Division 905 N. Koyukuk Drive, 245 O’Neill Building PO Box 757220, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-7220, ctclark@alaska.edu, (831) 239-5483
Professional Sponsor: Shannon Atkinson (SMM Member), University of Alaska-Fairbanks, UAF SFOS Fisheries Division 17101 Point Lena Loop Rd. Juneau, AK 99801, shannon.atkinson@alaska.edu, (907) 796-5453

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/978971922192783/

Call for Proposals

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The EBS (Emily B. Shane) Award 2016

Emily
The Emily B. Shane Award (EBS) supports conservation-oriented, non-harmful field research on free-ranging Odontocetes and Sirenians. The award honours Emily B. Shane (1924-1995), a fine amateur naturalist and dedicated conservationist. Funds are awarded to projects with clear conservation priorities for an odontocete or sirenian species, population, or habitat critical to the species. Research that also impacts a local human community in terms of increased public awareness, capacity building, or education may be given special consideration. The award, given annually, will total approximately US$10,000. The award committee may opt to divide the award among two or more applicants. Although awards will be made for no more than one year at a time, applicants may apply more than once for the same project.

Due Date: Applications are to be submitted by 31 March 2016 (midnight GMT). No application shall be accepted after the deadline. Proposals must be submitted to the Awards Chair, Lindsay Porter Lindsay.jp@gmail.com and the subject line must state “EBS Award 2016”.

Evaluation Criteria
Eligibility: The award is available to students and other researchers who meet the evaluation criteria. The application should be submitted by the person conducting the research.
The application must include the following materials; ·

  • A proposal, not exceeding three pages in length (Times font, 12 point type, single space, 2 cm margins). Briefly outline the proposed research, objectives of the study, methods, role of the proposed work in conservation, the time period for the research, person(s) conducting the field research and role of each, and literature cited. ·
  • A budget, including other funding applied for, or already held, for the proposed research. Funding requests should be for direct field research expenses only. ·
  • Research permits or authorisation from appropriate authorities (or copies of application if permits not yet finalised)
  • A current C.V. of the applicant, up to three pages in length. ·
  • Three references with e-mail address, phone number, and relationship to applicant.
  • For students, the supervisor must provide a letter of support

    • Award recipient(s) will be announced by 30 May 2016

John E. Heyning Research Award 2016

Supports the best proposal for cetacean integrative biology that relate diverse aspects of biology within an evolutionary context.This grant is presented in accordance with the last wishes of John E. Heyning, (Curator of Mammals and Associate Deputy Director of Research and Collections, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, California). His research focused on the natural history, anatomy, evolution and conservation of whales, dolphins and porpoises, especially delphinids and ziphiids. It is presented for the best proposal received from an established researcher to investigate any area of cetacean integrative biology – comparative studies that relate diverse aspects of biology within an evolutionary context. The grant is open to established researchers who are members of the Society; students are not eligible. To receive research award criteria please contact the Awards Chair, Lindsay Porter Lindsay.jp@gmail.com with the subject line “JEH Award 2016”.

Please Buy a Souvenir T-Shirt + Take the Conference Survey

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Greetings delegates,

We hope you had a safe trip home and are enjoying the holidays. Now that the dust is settling after the conference, we want to know how we can make our future conferences even better.

Please fill out this survey by January 15th and we will share your responses and comments with the Society’s Board and the organizers of the 2017 22nd Biennial in Halifax.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/201BiennialSurvey

Also, we have about 100 conference souvenir t-shirts available for $20 USD. If you would like to buy a souvenir t-shirt, contact Frances Gulland (gullandf@tmmc.org).

Thank you again from all of us in San Francisco!

Ellen Hines and Frances Gulland
SMM 2015 Conference Co-Chairs

UK and Ireland Regional Student Chapter Annual Conference January 20-22, 2016

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The UK and Ireland Regional Student Chapter (UKIRSC) of the Society for Marine Mammalogy is pleased to announce its annual student conference. This will
take place between 20th and 22nd of January 2016 at the Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St. Andrews, Scotland.

Abstract submission deadline is 6th of January, 2016.

For further details and to register, please visit synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/ukrsc

UKIRSC Organising Committee

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