[MARMAM] West Iceland Orca ID Catalogue Released

[Orca Guardians]

Dear MARMAM community,



We are pleased to announce the publication of our identification catalogue:



*Killer Whales of West Iceland. Photo-Identification Catalogue of North
Atlantic Killer Whales Recorded along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula and in
Breiðafjörður 2014 – 2017. Compiled by Marie-Thérèse Mrusczok.*



The catalogue is accessible under the following link:
http://orcaguardians.org/orca-id-catalogue/



The catalogue was published by Orca Guardians Iceland, an independent
conservation nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of orcas in
Iceland and their habitat through non-invasive research and education.



Find more information at: www.orcaguardians.org and
www.facebook.com/orcaguardians



In this publication, the first of two consecutive catalogue parts on the
occurrence of killer whales photographed in the coastal waters of West
Iceland from January 2014 to April 2017 is presented.

An overall aim of our year-round identification work both from land and sea
is to record as many individual killer whales as possible moving through
the area, with as few knowledge gaps as possible, extending fieldwork over
the longest achievable period of time. This will help identify potential
critical habitat / important feeding grounds of the Icelandic orca
population and provide crucial knowledge for conservation measures.

Furthermore, collecting data (and an average of 40,000 photographs) in the
same area throughout the year gives unique insights into migration
patterns, social structure, and feeding habits of repeatedly documented
individuals. The catalogue is thus used as a tool to aid in conservation
work, for the long-term monitoring of the population, and as a
reference document
for ongoing and future research.

Best wishes

Marie Mrusczok

President - Orca Guardians Iceland

Website: www.orcaguardians.org

E-Mail: i...@orcaguardians.org
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[MARMAM] New Publication : Brucella ceti Infection in a Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) with Associated Pathology

[Nicholas Davison]

Dear colleagues,

My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the publication of the following 
article online and ahead of print in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases:

Nicholas J. Davison, Lorraine L. Perrett, Claire Dawson, Mark P. Dagleish, Gary 
Haskins, Jakub Muchowski, and Adrian M. Whatmore 2017.

Brucella ceti Infection in a Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) 
with Associated Pathology. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. doi: 
http://dx.doi.org/10.7589/2016-08-200

Abstract: There are three major lineages of marine mammal strains of Brucella 
spp.: Brucella ceti ST23, found predominantly in porpoises; B. ceti ST26, in 
pelagic delphinids and ziphiids; and Brucella pinnipedialis ST24/25, 
predominantly in seals. The isolation of Brucella spp. in mysticetes has been 
described only in common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Norway 
and Scotland. We report a third case of Brucella infection and isolation in a 
minke whale associated with a large abscess. In contrast to the two previous 
reports that involved isolates of B. pinnipedialis ST24 or the 
porpoise-associated B. ceti complex ST23, this case was associated with the 
dolphin-associated B. ceti ST26. Thus, minke whales can be infected naturally 
with members of all the distinct major lineages of Brucella associated with 
marine mammals. This report is unique in that the B. ceti ST26 did not 
originate from a pelagic delphinid or a beaked whale.

The publication is available for  member of JWD at 
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/abs/10.7589/2016-08-200

Or PDF by email at this address 
nick.davi...@sruc.ac.uk

Kind Regards


Nick Davison


Nick Davison
Stranding Coordinator
Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme
SRUC Veterinary Services
Drummondhill
Inverness
Scotland IV2 4JZ
+00 44 (0)1463 246043
+00 44 (0)7979245893

www.strandings.org

SRUC: Leading the way in Agricultural and Rural Research, Education and 
Consultancy.



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[MARMAM] PSO / MMO Training in Boston, MA June 10-11

[abostwick]

MPSC is holding Protected Species Observer (also known as Marine Mammal
Observer) training on June 10-11 in Boston, Massachusetts. This class will meet
in downtown Boston, and will include a cruise to the Stellwagen Bank National
Marine Sanctuary, one of the top whale-watching destinations in the world!  This
will provide opportunity to gain experience identifying the animals while at
sea.  We will also practice using SLR cameras and discuss manual settings for
wildlife photography.

 

This BOEM/BSEE-compliant PSO certification course covers the regulations for
reducing seismic survey impacts to marine mammals and sea turtles, documenting
animal behavior, and how to visually locate and identify the animals. Course
comprehension is measured with examinations on regulations and animal
identification.  Successful completion of this course provides professional
Protected Species Observer Certification.  Lunch is provided and included in the
course fee (college/graduate/government discounts available), along with various
identification guides and regulatory documents (which will be yours to keep), a
whale-watching cruise to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and advice
on applying to PSO positions.

 

If you would like to see a PSO training course in your area, or are interested
in private training, please contact Angela at abostw...@psocertifications.com,
by phone at 832-523-2402, or visit the website at
http://www.protectedspeciesobservers.com/
 .

 

Thank you,

Angela Bostwick / Founder
Marine Protected Species Consulting
ProtectedSpeciesObservers.com 
https://Facebook.com/ProtectedSpeciesObservers/
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[MARMAM] New Pulication: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveying marine fauna: assessing detection probability (Amanda Hodgson)

[Amanda Hodgson]

Dear Colleagues

My co-authors and I are very excited to announce the publication of our paper 
in Ecological Applications:

Hodgson, A., D. Peel, and N. Kelly. 2017. Unmanned aerial vehicles for 
surveying marine fauna: assessing detection probability. Ecological 
Applications. DOI: 10.1002/eap.1519

This paper provides the results of our trial aerial surveys of humpback whales 
using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and considers how you can account for 
detection probability when adopting this new technology.

This is an Open Access article and can be downloaded here:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.1519/abstract

Abstract:
Aerial surveys are conducted for various fauna to assess abundance, 
distribution, and habitat use over large spatial scales. They are traditionally 
conducted using light-aircraft with observers recording sightings in real time. 
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer an alternative with many potential 
advantages, including eliminating human-risk. To be effective, this emerging 
platform needs to provide detection rates of animals comparable to traditional 
methods. UAVs can also acquire new types of information, and this new data 
requires a re-evaluation of traditional analyses used in aerial surveys; 
including estimating the probability of detecting animals. We conducted 17 
replicate UAV surveys of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) while 
simultaneously obtaining a 'census' of the population from land-based 
observations, to assess UAV detection probability. The ScanEagle UAV, carrying 
a digital SLR camera, continuously captured images (with 75% overlap) along 
transects co!
 vering the visual range of land-based observers. We also used ScanEagle to 
conduct focal follows of whale pods (n = 12, mean duration = 40 min), to assess 
a new method of estimating availability. A comparison of the whale detections 
from the UAV to the land-based census provided an estimated UAV detection 
probability of 0.33 (CV = 0.25) (incorporating both availability and perception 
biases), which was not affected by environmental covariates (Beaufort sea 
state, glare and cloud cover). According to our focal follows, the mean 
availability was 0.63 (CV = 0.37), with pods including mother/calf pairs having 
a higher availability (0.86, CV = 0.20) than those without (0.59, CV = 0.38). 
The follows also revealed (and provided a potential correction for) a downward 
bias in group size estimates from the UAV surveys, which resulted from 
asynchronous diving within whale pods, and a relatively short observation 
window of 9 s. We have shown that UAVs are an effective alternative to tr!
 aditional methods, providing a detection probability that is within the range 
of previous studies for our target species. We also describe a method of 
assessing availability bias that represents: spatial and temporal 
characteristics of a survey, from the same perspective as the survey platform; 
is benign; and provides additional data on animal behavior.

Cheers
Amanda


Dr Amanda Hodgson | Research Fellow
Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit | School of Veterinary and Life 
Sciences
Murdoch University, South St, Murdoch WA 6150, Australia | 08 9360 7215 | 041 
888 6797 | a.hodg...@murdoch.edu.au
www.mucru.org | www.facebook.com/MUCRU  





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