[MARMAM] Call for applications - consultancy on shipping and cetaceans

[Gianna Minton]

WWF Canada is issuing a call for applications for a consultant to review
the impacts of shipping on cetaceans, with a focus on the risk of ship
strikes and shipping-related underwater noise.

The Terms of Reference are pasted here below: Please send your application
to Aurelie Cosandey-Godin (acosandeygo...@wwfcanada.org) by or before April
5th, 2019. A candidate will be selected by April 12th, 2019.




*Review of monitoring tools and methods used to reduce ship strike and
underwater noise impacts on cetaceans*

*Terms of Reference*



*Time frame of contract: *April 2019- July 2019

*Reports to*: WWF-Canada and WWF Cetacean Initiative (work will also be
reviewed by external partners)

*Global Context and background*

Maritime transport plays a major role in roughly 90% of all world trade,
including 60% of movement of the world’s hydrocarbon products. The volume
of shipping traffic worldwide increased 300% between 1992 and 2013, a trend
that has continued in more recent years.  Furthermore, the speed and size
of the largest vessels have increased, and marine vessel-based travel has
also escalated, with high-speed passenger ferries increasingly used in
coastal and other areas. Some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes overlap
directly with important whale habitat, resulting in a high risk – or actual
incidence – of injury and mortality to whales that are often unable to
effectively avoid vessels’ paths due to high speeds or an inability to
adequately take evasive action.

Furthermore, collectively the global merchant fleet is the biggest
contributor to the doubling in background noise levels underwater in every
decade over the last fifty years.  Underwater noise created by shipping has
the potential to disrupt echolocation used by cetaceans in normal
navigation and feeding activities, mask important communication between
individuals in cetacean groups, cause short- or long-term displacement from
areas, and, in extreme cases cause physical damage and/or (temporary)
hearing impairment.

For these reasons, mitigation of the impacts of shipping has been chosen as
one of the three core pillars of WWF’s new Global Cetacean Initiative.
Under this initiative, WWF plans to provide conservation stakeholders, as
well as the shipping industry and regulatory bodies with the evidence and
tools they need to help reduce and mitigate the risk of ship strikes and
the impact of shipping-related underwater sound on cetaceans.  This
consultancy represents one of the first steps in that process.

*Canadian context*

Canada is home to 42 different whale populations or communities, 18 of
which are considered to be at risk under the Species at Risk Act. Proposed
industrial developments on Canada’s three coasts – Atlantic, Arctic and
Pacific – are set to significantly increase shipping traffic in regions
with large aggregations of whales.  This is particularly related to the
Arctic, where climate change is leading to reduced ice cover and opening
new shipping routes. WWF-Canada is working across the country to establish
new and refine existing measures to better protect whales at risk. Our
current conservation effort focuses on mitigating threats from shipping –
ship strikes and underwater noise.  WWF-Canada is also supporting research
and innovation in the development of new technologies for real-time
tracking and monitoring. In order to support our initiatives and partners,
WWF-Canada is developing national guidelines with recommendations on best
practices in relation to mitigating the impacts of shipping on cetaceans.
Results from this consultancy will be included in WWF-Canada’s guidelines
and support our future work.


*Terms of Reference*

The work envisaged under this consultancy will result in *two separate
products*: one review with a worldwide focus with recommendations for a
global audience of relevant stakeholders, and another which draws from
international case studies and experience to offer specific recommendations
for mitigation measures to be implemented in Canadian waters.  However, the
consultant may present the elements required for both of these final
products in one comprehensive report.

As such, to meet the objectives of both the Global Cetacean Initiative and
WWF-Canada, the outcome of this consultancy should be a report including
the following elements:

-   A comprehensive and global literature review of monitoring
methods and management measures/mitigation tools to reduce ship strike and
underwater noise on cetaceans;

-   A synthesis of more detailed information from specific case
studies, grouped according to their mitigation category (e.g. slow
steaming, traffic separation schemes, real-time Apps to alert ships of
whale presence, hull/motor modifications to reduce cavitation/noise, etc.),
including an evaluation of their cost-effectiveness;

-   A summary of ongoing management measures/tools used, and
lessons learned from high risk areas by ocean basin building on work
conduct

[MARMAM] Introduction to GIS and spatial analysis with R (GISR01)

[Oliver Hooker]

Introduction to GIS and spatial analysis with R (GISR01)
This course will interest anyone working with marine mammal spatial data.

https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-gis-and-spatial-analysis-with-r-gisr01/

This course will be delivered by Luca Nelli from the 22nd - 26th of April
in Glasgow City Centre

Course overview:
This course aims at providing audience with the essential tools for working
with spatially explicit data within the statistical environment R, with
particular reference to ecological applications (e.g. species distribution
models, resources and habitat selection, home range analyses…).
Practical sessions will primarily use the free statistical software, R –
prior experience (even if some practice before you come) will be useful.
Example data will be provided but participants may also bring their own
data.


Course program

Monday 22nd – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Introduction to GIS: overview of main softwares.
File formats.
Coordinate reference systems.
Types and structure of spatial objects in R
Generating and manipulating spatial objects, projections and
transformations.
Overview of main libraries for spatial objects: sp, sf, rgeos, rgdal,
leaflet, mapview, raster.

Tuesday 23rd – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Introduction to raster data.
Plot and visualisation of raster.
Informative and non-informative rasters.
Terrain tools.
RasterStack.
Operations with raster.

Wednesday 24th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Vector data: from simple points to SpatialPointsDataFrame (and
SpatialLinesDataFrame and SpatialPolygonsDataFrame).
How to import and manipulate vector data.
Plot and visualisation of vectors.
Geoprocessing tools.
Overlay, clip, intersection, union, difference.
Proximity analyses.
Conversion tools (vector to raster and viceversa).

Thursday 25th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
More advanced GIS analyses in R: How to interact vector and raster.
Cropping and masking spatial objects.
Zonal statistics and landscape metrics.
Extracting covariate data and other simple GIS operations in R.

Friday 26th – Classes from 09:30 to 16:00
Combining QGIS and R.
Plotting interactive maps with leaflet and mapview.


Email oliverhoo...@prstatistics.com

Check out our sister sites,
www.PRstatistics.com  (Ecology and Life
Sciences)
www.PRinformatics.com  (Bioinformatics and
data science)
www.PSstatistics.com  (Behaviour and
cognition)


1. March 25th – 29th 2019
LANDSCAPE GENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R (LNDG03)
Glasgow, Scotland, Prof. Rodney Dyer
http://www.prstatistics.com/course/landscape-genetic-data-analysis-using-r-lndg03/

2. April 1st – 5th 2019
INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL MODELLING FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS USING R (IPSY01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Dale Barr, Dr Luc Bussierre
http://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-statistics-using-r-for-psychologists-ipsy02/

3. April 1st – 5th 2019
INDIVIDUAL BASED MODELS FOR ECOLOGSITS (IBME01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas

https://www.prstatistics.com/course/individual-based-models-using-r-and-netlogo-ibms01/

4. April 8th – 12th 2019
MACHINE LEARNING (MLUR01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/machine-learning-using-r-mlur01/

5. April 15th – 19th 2019
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON FOR BIOLOGISTS (IPYB06)
Athens, GREECE,, Dr. Martin Jones
http://www.prinformatics.com/course/introduction-to-python-for-biologists-ipyb07/

6. April 22nd – 26th 2019
GIS USING R (GISR)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Luca Nelli
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/gis-using-r-gisr01/

7. April 29th – May 3rd 2019
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES IN R WITH THE VEGAN PACKAGE
(VGNR02)
Orford Musique, Quebec, Canada, Dr. Guillaume Blanchet
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/multivariate-analysis-of-ecological-communities-in-r-with-the-vegan-package-vgnr02/

8. May 6th – 10th 2019
AN EXPLORATION OF R FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS: FROM DATA HANDLING TO MULTILEVEL
MODELLING (XPLR01)
Myuna Bay, AUSTRALIA, Dr. Sean Murphy
https://www.psstatistics.com/course/an-exploration-of-r-for-psychologists-from-data-handling-to-multilevel-modelling-xplr01/

9. May 20th – 24th 2019
MODEL BASE MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ABUNDANCE DATA USING R (MBMV03)
Myuna Bay, AUSTRALIA, Prof. David Warton
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/model-based-multivariate-analysis-of-abundance-data-using-r-mbmv03/

10. May 20th – 24th 2019
MACHINE LEARNING (MLUR02)
Myuna Bay, AUSTRALIA, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/machine-learning-using-r-mlur02/

11. June 10th – 14th 2019
STABLE ISOTOPE MIXING MODELS USING SIAR, SIBER AND MIXSIAR (SIMM04)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Andrew Parnell, Dr. Andrew Jackson
www.prstatistics.com/course/stable-isotope-mixing-models-using-r-simm04/

12. June 17th – 21st 2019
SPATIAL MODELLING AND ANALYSIS OF ADAPTIVE GENOMIC VARIATION (SPGN01)
Glasgow, Dr. Matt Fitzpatrick
https://www.prstatistics.com/cour

[MARMAM] REMOTE ACOUSTIC MONITORING IN THE NORTHWESTERN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS – CALL FOR PRE-PROPOSALS

[Shoemaker, Mandy L CIV USN NFEXWC PHE CA (USA)]

NOAA and the U.S. Navy are working to better understand underwater sound within 
the National Marine Sanctuary System. Humpback whales are known to occur 
throughout the main Hawaiian Islands and certain parts of the Papahānaumokuākea 
Marine National Monument (PMNM) in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.  However, 
their presence in most parts of the PMNM is still poorly documented and 
understood.  Remoteness and adverse winter ocean conditions make studying 
whales in this part of the archipelago challenging using conventional 
vessel-based survey methods. Autonomous gliders offer an opportunity to 
overcome traditional limitations by surveying areas of interest acoustically 
for the occurrence of song produced by male humpback whales during the winter 
breeding season.  The Navy seeks proposals that employ glider technology 
coupled with acoustic monitoring capabilities to survey areas of interest in 
the PMNM.  Proposals should offer the technology and logistical resources 
necessary to conduct acoustic glider surveys in the areas of interest and 
deliver the resulting acoustic data to the Navy. The Offeror may include a 
separate optional task to post-process and report on the data.

 

The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, is leading 
the solicitation process and is requesting pre-proposals for this topic. 
Details regarding the need topic can be viewed within Broad Agency Announcement 
(BAA) Solicitation # N3943019S2133 at https://www.neco.navy.mil/ or 
https://www.fbo.gov/. There is no specific format required for the 
pre-proposal, however, the information required in the pre-proposal is outlined 
in Appendix A of the announcement. The pre-proposal should be consolidated into 
one single file (pdf format) and the main text of the pre-proposal (excluding 
CVs) should not exceed 5 pages in length. All pre-proposals should be submitted 
via email to mandy.shoema...@navy.mil. Pre-proposals for this topic will be 
accepted until 11:59 PM PDT on 30 April 2019. If invited, Offerors will be 
asked to submit a full proposal. 

 

Mandy Shoemaker

Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center



smime.p7s
Description: S/MIME cryptographic signature
___
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam

[MARMAM] Update to SOCPROG

[Hal Whitehead]

A new and updated version of SOCPROG, SOCPROG2.9 (both compiled and uncompiled 
downloads) is available at:
 
http://whitelab.biology.dal.ca/SOCPROG/social.htm

SOCPROG is a MATLAB-based package of programs for the analysis of animal social 
structures, movements and populations.  The compiled version does not need 
MATLAB itself.
 
 This version is compatible with MATLAB2018b (although it will likely work well 
on recent and soon-to-be-released versions of MATLAB). It fixes a few bugs and 
adds functionality compared to previous versions (especially association 
complexity). 
 
 Thanks
 
 Hal Whitehead, Dalhousie University, Canada


___
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam

[MARMAM] New pubblication: Dynamics of blood circulation during diving in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): the role of the retia mirabilia

[cinzia centelleghe]

Dear colleagues, My co-authors and I are pleased to announce the following
publication:

Dynamics of blood circulation during diving in the bottlenose dolphin
(*Tursiops
truncatus*): the role of the retia mirabilia.
Marco Bonato, Paola Bagnoli, Cinzia Centelleghe, Mike Maric, Ginevra Brocca,
Sandro Mazzariol, Bruno Cozzi.

Abstract: The retia mirabilia are vascular nets composed of small vessels
dispersed among numerous veins, allowing blood storage, regulation of flow
and pressure damping effects. Here, we investigated their potential role
during the diving phase of the bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*).
To this effect, the whole vertebral retia mirabilia of a series of dolphins
were removed during post-mortem analysis and examined to assess vessel
diameters, and estimate vascular volume and flow rate. We formulated a new
hemodynamic model to help clarify vascular dynamics throughout the diving
phase, based on the total blood volume of a bottlenose dolphin, and using
data available about the perfusion of the main organs and body systems. We
computed the minimum blood perfusion necessary to the internal organs, and
the stroke volume and cardiac output during the surface state. We then
simulated breath-holding conditions and perfusion of the internal organs
under the diving-induced bradycardia and reduction of stroke volume and
cardiac output, using 10 beats min-1 as the limit for the heart rate for an
extended dive of over 3 min. Within these simulated conditions, the retia
mirabilia play a vital role as reservoirs of oxygenated blood that permit
functional performances and survival of the heart and brain. Our
theoretical model, based on the actual blood capacity of the retia
mirabilia and available data on organ perfusion, considers the dynamic
trend of vasoconstriction during the diving phase and may represent a
baseline for future studies on the diving physiology of dolphins and
especially for the blood supply to their brain.

The paper is available online on
http://jeb.biologists.org/content/222/5/jeb198457.long

Kind Regards

Cinzia Centelleghe
-- 
Cinzia Centelleghe, DVM, PhD

Dipartimento di Biomedicina Comparata e Alimentazione (BCA)
Università degli Studi di Padova
Cetaceans strandings Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Banca per i Tessuti dei Mammiferi Marini del Mediterraneo (BTMMM)

AGRIPOLIS - Ed. Prima Stecca
Viale dell'Università 16
35020 - Legnaro (PD)
049.8272572

cinzia.centelle...@gmail.com 
cinzia.centelle...@unipd.it
___
MARMAM mailing list
MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca
https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam