[MARMAM] Fw: WCS Ocean Giants Job Postings

[Marine Program]

Please note - the postings below are focused solely on Marine Mammals.  The 
opening paragraph for each description indication the focus on cetaceans.  
Please look at https://whalesofnewyork.wcs.org/ for further information on 
program.

Please if you can post these jobs as soon as possible.
Home [whalesofnewyork.wcs.org]
Whales of New York Menu Home; Near Real-time Acoustics; Meet the Whales. Fin 
Whale
whalesofnewyork.wcs.org



Marine Conservation Program
Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10460
718-741-8156

From: Marine Program
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2022 11:04 AM
To: 'marmam@lists.uvic.ca' 
Subject: WCS Ocean Giants Job Postings

WCS Ocean Giants team have several positions open at varying levels  (post 
Master’s and post Phd--both post-doc level and/or beyond).  Please see the 
links below.  It would be appreciated if you can add to the next listserv email.
Thank you.

1. Assistant Marine Conservation Scientist 
(3477BR)
2. Ocean Giants Program Research Assistant 
(3476BR)
3. Ocean Giants Program Postdoctoral Researcher and/or Associate Marine 
Conservation Scientist 
(3475BR)


Marine Conservation Program
Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Boulevard
Bronx, NY 10460
718-741-8156
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[MARMAM] Save the Date: SEAMAMMS 2023

[Seamamms 2023]

The 2023 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium (SEAMAMMS) will
take place Friday, March 17th, through Sunday, March 19th, in “The Home of
Mardi Gras,” Mobile, Alabama. The event will be hosted by the School of
Marine & Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama.
SEAMAMMS is a long-standing regional marine mammal meeting that promotes
the scientific research of students and early-career professionals. We hope
to see you in Mobile!

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

The SEAMAMMS 2023 Planning Committee
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[MARMAM] Call for a PhD position

[Natalia Fraija]

Dear colleagues, 

We are seeking a motivated candidate for a PhD position to enrol on the project 
CETABIOENA (Monitoring Cetacean Biodiversity Using Environmental DNA) funded by 
the GenT Plan Programme (Generalitat Valenciana) at the Marine Zoology Unit 
(Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of 
Valencia). 

Please see all the information at: 
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1q194qe0s4pqk1a/PhDStudent_position.pdf?dl=0 
. I 
will very much appreciate if you could spread the word or if you have someone 
in mind that could be interested, please do share the link.

With kindest regards,
Natalia

__
Natalia Fraija Fernández
Researcher - Marine Zoology Unit, University of Valencia. Phone: (9635) 43685
Scientific Associate - Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum

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[MARMAM] Call for submissions for a Special Issue: Biodiversity and Evolution of Parasites in Marine Mammals

[Natalia Fraija]

Dear Colleagues, 

A Special Issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818; IF 3.029) has been launched 
devoted to the publication of studies on the Biodiversity and Evolution of 
Parasites of Marine Mammals. I invite you to contribute to this Special Issue 
with your latest research. For further information please follow the link to 
the Special Issue website at: 
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/diversity/special_issues/33A30372L9 
.

Parasites of marine mammals have an intrinsic and instrumental value, but also 
a potential pathogenic impact on host populations. Bacteria, viruses, 
protozoans and metazoans broadly constitute the parasite diversity among marine 
mammals. The tight linkage between host and parasites makes them a suitable 
model for studying the ecology, systematics, evolution and biogeography between 
organisms. Therefore, we would like to provide with this Special Issue as a 
space for the publication of a range of studies on the diversity and evolution 
of parasites of marine mammals. We aim to revise and illustrate all levels of 
diversity and evolution of marine mammal parasites allowing a broad discussion 
in what we know and what we need to focus on in the following years. The scope 
includes, but is not limited to, the following fields: species diversity and 
distribution, genetic diversity, evolutionary history, parasites as tags for 
natural host populations, pathogenicity and disease. Studies using traditional 
and advanced diagnostic methods are welcome.

We look forward to hearing from you,

Kindest regards,
Natalia
Guest Editor
__
Natalia Fraija Fernández
Researcher - Marine Zoology Unit, University of Valencia. Phone: (9635) 43685
Scientific Associate - Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum

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[MARMAM] Marine mammal job vacancy

[Gemma Keenan]

Marine Mammal Specialist (Consultant or Senior level) at Royal HaskoningDHV
Are you looking for your next career step? Do you want the opportunity to work 
on a broad range of projects, utilising your technical knowledge in relation to 
marine mammals to help support our clients with the development of their 
project? This role will provide you with this opportunity whilst working within 
a market leading environmental consultancy team.
We specialise in delivering high quality marine mammal services across a range 
of developments from National Significant Infrastructure Projects, such as 
offshore wind farms, through to ports and other marine developments. We deliver 
marine mammal impact assessments, production of mitigation requirements, and 
have been at the forefront of the development of Site Integrity Plans for 
harbour porpoise Special Areas of Conservation.
Due to continued growth in a variety of markets we are looking to grow our 
marine mammal team.

Job Role:
Your role will involve directly working with clients, problem solving and 
representing the company in client offices, regulator and stakeholder meetings. 
It is likely that you'll support several projects simultaneously, and 
consistently delivered to the highest standards, meeting and exceeding clients' 
needs. Your marine mammal advice will support individual developments and 
assist in the smooth running and continued successful development of the 
Environment team.

This role might be right for you if you have:

* Specialist marine mammal knowledge;

  *   Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and environmental appraisal 
including habitats regulations assessment (HRA) specifically in relation to 
marine mammals, including mitigation and monitoring;
  *   Understanding of marine mammal mitigation protocols;
  *   European Protected Species Assessment;
  *   Supporting the delivery of developments and projects within the UK 
Consent and Planning system and/or Marine Licensing regime; and Marine Mammal 
surveys and underwater noise modelling data analysis and assessment.
What we can offer:
Exciting. Lively. Collaborative. Dynamic. Supportive. Friendly. That's how our 
colleagues describe our company. The supportive and collaborative environment 
that Royal HaskoningDHV promote, alongside us being an independent company is 
what sets us apart from the crowd.
You can look forward to growing your career in a dynamic workplace with 
development opportunities and support on your career path. We have flexible 
working models to ensure a balance of family and working life, including part 
time options.

Location:
Exeter, Liverpool, London, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Peterborough, Manchester

For further information and to apply please see
LinkedIN
Or
Royal HaskoningDHV vacancy 
website

This email and any attachments are intended solely for the use of the 
addressee(s); disclosure or copying by others than the intended person(s) is 
strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please treat 
this email as confidential, notify the sender and delete all copies of the 
email immediately
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[MARMAM] ONLINE COURSE – Introduction to Aquatic Acoustic Telemetry (IAAT02)

[Oliver Hooker]

I thought this m9ght be of interest to any group members who are using
aquatic acoustic telemetry in their marine mammal studies/research.

*ONLINE COURSE – Introduction to Aquatic Acoustic Telemetry (IAAT02)*

https://www.prstatistics.com/course/online-course-introduction-to-aquatic-acoustic-telemetry-iaat02/

Monday, October 3rd, 2022
COURSE DETAILS

Acoustic telemetry is a popular method for monitoring the movements and
behaviour of aquatic animals globally. Increasingly smaller tags along with
improvements in battery technology have allowed for tagging a wide
variety of species and life stages, enabling monitoring of individuals as
small as salmon smolts and as large as whale sharks for periods from 30
days to 10 years. In addition, with more and more tag sensor and
environmental monitoring options available, telemetry datasets are becoming
richer, allowing researchers to answer increasingly complex questions about
why animals move where and when they do. Receiver technology also continues
to evolve and increasingly allows for data to be collected at finer spatial
and temporal scales than ever before. New technologies such as gliders and
real-time detection systems allow broad geographic coverage and remote,
real-time access to animal movement data. Additional advancements in
built-in acoustic array diagnostics permit increasingly detailed analyses
of system performance over time, resulting in more robust interpretation of
animal movement data.

In this course you will learn about the different types of Innovasea
acoustic telemetry technologies and their applicability for use in
different study environments and in answering different research questions.
Example applications that will be discussed include: monitoring fine-scale
movements and behaviour around barriers and other structures, migration
survival studies around barriers, monitoring spawning and other seasonal
behaviours, real-time monitoring, home range and Marine Protected Area
studies, habitat selection, species interactions, and investigating causes
of mortality. This section will include a deep dive into the logistics of
fine-scale positioning studies and will provide an overview of the
different types of analyses that are commonly performed with positional
data.

A robust telemetry study design that accounts for the advantages and
limitations of different equipment options is critical to ensure a
successful study. During this course, you will learn about important study
design considerations such as appropriate hardware models and tag
programming parameters for your study objectives, tag attachment
considerations, and how to optimize your receiver placements through early
and thorough testing. We will analyze an example range test dataset and
discuss the implications of range test results on array design. We will
also review considerations when designing moorings for your particular
study environment.

To ensure successful execution of your telemetry study plan and the highest
quality data, it’s important to use telemetry best practices when preparing
for and during tagging and deployment. We will review best practices
for acoustic telemetry equipment maintenance and care, pre-deployment
testing, tips for preparing equipment and data logs, and how to test your
array once deployed in the field. We will also look at how to monitor
the performance of your telemetry array throughout the duration of your
study, reviewing what metrics are best used to determine whether the array
is operating as planned so you can have confidence in the data being
collected. Finally, because interpretation of acoustic telemetry data and
inferring animal behaviour from these data is often confounded by array
performance questions, this course will teach you techniques for assessing
system performance to aid in the correct interpretation of animal detection
data. Finally, since telemetry datasets are growing larger all of the time,
data management is becoming increasingly challenging. During this course
you will learn about data management best practices and tools to perform
basic quality assurance, basic visualizations, and basic filtering of large
datasets in preparation for statistical analyses. You will also have the
opportunity to discuss your own telemetry studies with the experts during a
QA session on the final day of the course. Bring your data and your
questions!
Please email any questions to oliverhoo...@prstatsitcis.com

-- 

Oliver Hooker PhD.
PR statistics
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[MARMAM] Share your Research with Us in Galicia (NW Spain) -- Call for abstracts now open

[Bruno Diaz Lopez]

Share your Research with Us in Galicia (NW Spain) -- Call for abstracts now open

We are delighted to announce that the Call for Abstracts for the 34th European 
Cetacean Society Conference (April 18-20 in Galicia, NW Spain) is now open!

But, there’s no need to rush – you have until 09 December 2022 (23:45 CET) to 
think through your marine mammal research project and turn your submission in!

Please find more information at: 


Abstracts are encouraged to address the meeting theme “OUR OCEANS, OUR FUTURE: 
Marine Mammal Behavioural Ecology & The Sustainable Use of Marine Resources” if 
appropriate, but doing so is not necessary. We welcome submissions on any topic 
that reports on new discoveries in marine mammal science. This also includes 
proposals that report on interdisciplinary work, address communication with a 
wide audience or explore new ways of studying marine mammals through the use of 
new technologies. Abstracts will be reviewed using criteria described in the 
submission calls.

Abstracts must be submitted through the online form 
() by 
December 9, 2022 at 23:45 CET. No late or emailed abstracts will be considered.

You have to be logged in to submit an abstract through the online form. If you 
have been an ECS member or registered for an ECS meeting in recent years, you 
should already have an ECS member account. If you have not been an ECS member 
or registered for an ECS meeting in recent years, you will need to create an 
ECS account. You do not need to pay membership dues to create an account or 
submit for the meeting. 

If you have any question, contact ecs2...@thebdri.com

We are honoured to organise a conference that will allow people to meet in 
person once again and connect in ways we could not for the last two years. We 
hope that scientists and students from all over the world will visit Galicia! 
We are currently working hard to organise multiple networking events in the 
beautiful coastal town of O Grove. 

Stay tuned for more updates!



Hasta pronto!

Bruno Díaz López Ph.D
Chief biologist and Director
The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute BDRI - www.thebdri.com
Avenida Beiramar 192, O Grove 36980, Pontevedra, Spain
Tel. 0034 684248552
he/him/his
https://orcid.org/-0002-0388-3289

This email is confidential to the intended recipient(s) and the contents may be 
legally privileged or contain proprietary and private informations. It is 
intended solely for the person to whom it is addressed. If you are not an 
intended recipient, you may not review, copy or distribute this email. If 
received in error, please notify the sender and delete the message from your 
system immediately. Please note that neither the Bottlenose Dolphin Research 
Institute BDRI nor the sender accept any responsibility for any viruses and it 
is your responsibility to scan the email and the attachments (if any). Thank 
you for your cooperation.

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[MARMAM] New publication: Fin whale movements and residency along the US West Coast

[Erin Falcone]

On behalf of my coauthors, I would like to share our recent publication in
which we use  photographic sighting histories to investigate population
structure of fin whales along the west coast of the United States.

Falcone EA, Keene EL, Keen EM, Barlow J, Stewart J, Cheeseman T, et al.
Movements and residency of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) in the
California Current System. Mamm Biol [Internet]. 2022 Sep 15; Available
from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42991-022-00298-4

Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) along the western United States are
managed as a single stock whose range overlaps with the California Current
System (CCS). We used sighting histories of 932 individual fin whales
photographed in the CCS from 1987 to 2018 to investigate movements and
residency patterns within and among latitudinal regions. While 167 whales
(18%) were sighted in multiple years, only 4 were documented in both the
Northern and Southern CCS, with a boundary at 38.5 °N. A permutation test
of annual recaptures suggested movements among latitudinal regions of the
CCS occurred significantly less than expected if whales moved freely within
current stock boundaries. Fifteen whales were sighted in 6–10 different
years on an average of 30 different days (range: 8–101 days), all in the
heavily sampled Southern California Bight (SCB). There, we used lagged
identification rates (LIRs) to assess whether the probability of
re-sighting an individual over time differed from random values for the
region overall, within and beyond 25 km of the mainland, and by season. Our
results suggest that the SCB is used seasonally by whales from the larger
CCS stock but is also home to a smaller, year-round resident subpopulation.
This latter group increasingly uses the nearshore waters of the SCB, where
they are exposed to significantly elevated levels of anthropogenic activity.

The full text of the article is available at:  https://rdcu.be/cVGsE



Erin A. Falcone, Biologist
Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research
2468 Camp McKenzie Trail NW
Seabeck, WA 98380 USA
360-789-6474 (Mobile)
206-550-9806 (Office)
www.marecotel.org
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Seasonal song ontogeny in western North Atlantic humpback whales: drawing parallels with songbirds

[Katie Kowarski]

We are pleased to announce our recent publication available online!
https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2022.2122561

  Katie Kowarski, Salvatore Cerchio, Hal Whitehead, Danielle Cholewiak &
Hilary Moors-Murphy (2022): Seasonal song ontogeny in western North
Atlantic humpback whales: drawing parallels with songbirds, Bioacoustics,
DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2022.2122561

ABSTRACT

The use of song as a reproductive display is common in the animal kingdom;
however, for many taxa, little is known of song ontogeny. Male humpback
whales produce elaborate songs on low latitude breeding grounds in winter
and begin to sing on high latitude feeding grounds in late summer, yet
songs from the two locations are rarely compared. Seasonal song ontogeny in
western North Atlantic humpback whales was explored by comparing songs
recorded in high latitude feeding grounds (Canada in spring 2016 and fall
2016 to winter 2017) with songs recorded in a low latitude breeding ground
(Dominican Republic in winter and spring 2017). High-quality song samples
were selected, and every phrase annotated. Song theme order, song duration,
and number of phrase repetitions were compared across samples. The most
variability in theme order was found between November and December in the
Canadian recordings, a phase in song ontogeny that may be important for
learning. Song duration gradually increased, via an increase in phrase
repetitions, through the breeding season, before peaking in the Dominican
Republic between January and March. A comparison to oscine bird seasonal
song ontogeny revealed many similarities, highlighting potentially similar
physiological processes between humpback whales and songbirds.
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Whiskers provide time-series of toxic and essential trace elements, Se:Hg molar ratios, and stable isotope values of an apex Antarctic predator, the leopard seal

[Charapata, Patrick]

Dear MARMAM Community,

On behalf of my colleagues and myself, I am excited to share with you all our 
new research article: “Whiskers provide time-series of toxic and essential 
trace elements, Se:Hg molar ratios, and stable isotope values of an apex 
Antarctic predator, the leopard seal”, now available in Science of the Total 
Environment. The article can be obtained Open Access by following this specific 
link
 for the next 50 days.

Charapata, P., Clark, C. T., Miller, N., Kienle, S. S., Costa, D. P., Goebel, 
M. E., Gunn, H., Sperou, E. S., Kanatous, S. B., Crocker, D. E., Borras-Chavez, 
R., & Trumble, S. J. (2023). Whiskers provide time-series of toxic and 
essential trace elements, Se:Hg molar ratios, and stable isotope values of an 
apex Antarctic predator, the leopard seal. Science of The Total Environment, 
854, 158651. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158651

Abstract

In an era of rapid environmental change and increasing human presence, 
researchers need efficient tools for tracking contaminants to monitor the 
health of Antarctic flora and fauna. Here, we examined the utility of leopard 
seal whiskers as a biomonitoring tool that reconstructs time-series of 
significant ecological and physiological biomarkers. Leopard seals (Hydrurga 
leptonyx) are a sentinel species in the Western Antarctic Peninsula due to 
their apex predator status and top-down effects on several Antarctic species. 
However, there are few data on their contaminant loads. We analyzed leopard 
seal whiskers (n = 18 individuals, n = 981 segments) collected during 2018–2019 
field seasons to acquire longitudinal profiles of non-essential (Hg, Pb, and 
Cd) and essential (Se, Cu, and Zn) trace elements, stable isotope (ẟ15N and 
ẟ13C) values and to assess Hg risk with Se:Hg molar ratios. Whiskers provided 
between 46 and 286 cumulative days of growth with a mean ~ 125 days per whisker 
(n = 18). Adult whiskers showed variability in non-essential trace elements 
over time that could partly be explained by changes in diet. Whisker Hg levels 
were insufficient (<20 ppm) to consider most seals being at “high” risk for Hg 
toxicity. Nevertheless, maximum Hg concentrations observed in this study were 
greater than that of leopard seal hair measured two decades ago. However, 
variation in the Se:Hg molar ratios over time suggest that Se may detoxify Hg 
burden in leopard seals. Overall, we provide evidence that the analysis of 
leopard seal whiskers allows for the reconstruction of time-series ecological 
and physiological data and can be valuable for opportunistically monitoring the 
health of the leopard seal population and their Antarctic ecosystem during 
climate change.

Please email me 
(patrick_charapa...@baylor.edu) with any 
questions on the paper. Additionally, I will happily send over a PDF copy if 
anyone requests it! Thank you!!

Cheers,

Patrick Charapata, PhD – Baylor University
Postdoctoral Researcher  – NWFSC/NOAA






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[MARMAM] New Publication: Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Pulsed Calls in the Eastern Canadian Arctic

[Jessica Sportelli]

Hello MARMAM community,
I am excited to share my recent publication in Arctic. Please email me at
jjsporte...@gmail.com with any questions or if you would like a pdf copy.

Sportelli, J.J., Jones, J.M., Frasier, K.E., Westdal, K.H., Ootoowak, A.J,
Higdon, J.W., Hildebrand, J.A. (2022). Killer Whale (*Orcinus orca*) Pulsed
Calls in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. *Arctic*. 75(3) 344 - 363.
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic75350

Abstract
Killer whales (*Orcinus orca*) produce a variety of acoustic signal types
used for communication: clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. Discrete pulsed
calls are highly stereotyped, repetitive, and unique to individual pods
found around the world. Discriminating amongst pod specific calls can help
determine population structure in killer whales and is used to track pod
movements around oceans. Killer whale presence in the Canadian Arctic has
increased substantially, but we have limited understanding of their
ecology, movements, and stock identity. Two autonomous passive acoustic
monitoring (PAM) hydrophones were deployed in the waters of Eclipse Sound
and Milne Inlet, in northern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada, in August and
September 2017. Eleven killer whale pulsed call types, three multiphonic
and eight monophonic, are proposed and described using manual whistle
contour extraction and feature normalization. Automated detection of
echolocation clicks between 20 and 48 kHz demonstrated little to no overlap
between killer whale calls and echolocation presumed to be narwhal, which
suggests that narwhal remain audibly inconspicuous when killer whales are
present. Describing the acoustic repertoire of killer whales seasonally
present in the Canadian Arctic will aid in understanding their acoustic
behaviour, seasonal movements, and ecological impacts. The calls described
here provide a basis for future acoustic comparisons across the North
Atlantic and aid in characterizing killer whale demographics and ecology,
particularly for pods making seasonal incursions into Arctic waters.

Cheers,
Jessica Sportelli

-- 
Jessica Sportelli
Research Associate
National Marine Mammal Foundation
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[MARMAM] New Publication: Non-linear phenomena: a common acoustic feature of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) signature whistles

[Jessica Sportelli]

Hello everyone!
My team and I are excited to share our new publication with you in
Bioacoustics:
Sportelli, J.J, Jones, B.L, Ridgway S.H. (2022). Non-linear phenomena: a
common acoustic feature of bottlenose dolphin (*Tursiops truncatus*)
signature whistles. *Bioacoustics*.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2022.2106306

*Abstract*
Biphonation, deterministic chaos, sidebands and subharmonics are four
non-linear phenomena (NLP) that have been identified as common additions in
the phonations of animals. NLP have been hypothesised to communicate
urgency, caller identification, fitness and arousal/valence states for a
variety of species but have yet to be studied in detail for bottlenose
dolphins. For this study, the signature whistles of nine bottlenose
dolphins residing at the US Navy Marine Mammal Program (MMP) were
opportunistically recorded during routine periods of separation from
conspecifics. NLP were found to be common additions onto the spectral
structure of signature whistles, occurring in 53% of recorded whistles
(340/642). Sidebands were the most common NLP type produced. Although less
frequently emitted, biphonations were characterised by a significantly
longer persistence than the other NLP types. Age had a negative correlation
with overall NLP presence, and more specifically, sideband presence.
Individual differences in NLP use existed between dolphins; however, all
dolphins were recorded producing a minimum of two NLP types. We describe
NLP prevalence in dolphin whistles in order to provide a useful baseline
for continued research to further identify changes in NLP across
behavioural and/or health conditions.

Please reach out to me at jessica.sporte...@nmmpfoundation.org with any
questions, or for a pdf copy of the manuscript.

Cheers,
Jessica Sportelli
-- 
Jessica Sportelli
Research Associate
National Marine Mammal Foundation
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[MARMAM] New publication: Large whale socio-sexual behavior in the New York Bight

[Rickard, Meghan E (DEC)]

Dear MARMAM community,

On behalf of my co-authors, I'm pleased to share our recently published paper 
"Evidence of Large Whale Socio-Sexual Behavior in the New York Bight" in 
Aquatic Mammals. 
https://aquaticmammalsjournal.org/index.php?option=com_content=article=2221:evidence-of-large-whale-socio-sexual-behavior-in-the-new-york-bight=209=326


Authors: Meghan E. Rickard, Kate S. Lomac-MacNair, Darren S. Ireland, Sarah M. 
Leiter, Mitchell D. Poster, and Ann M. Zoidis

Abstract: Large whales, including the endangered sei whale (Balaenoptera 
borealis), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), and North Atlantic right whale 
(Eubalaena glacialis), are known to occur in the New York Bight. However, 
relatively little data exist on social behavior typical of these species in the 
area. The U.S. Mid-Atlantic has tradition-ally been considered a large whale 
migratory corridor with few surveys documenting social dynamics of whale 
presence in these waters. To better understand the occurrence, distribution, 
abundance, and behavior of these species for management and conservation 
planning, monthly line-transect aerial surveys were conducted over a 3-year 
period from March 2017 to February 2020. During these surveys, three noteworthy 
socio-sexual behavior events were observed and photo-graphed within groups of 
sei whales (April 2019), sperm whales (September 2019), and right whales 
(December 2019). Events included what could be either non-reproductive sexual 
behavior (socio-sexual behavior) or sexual behavior (copulation) among 
conspecifics, including mirror pair swimming, lateral and vertical presenting, 
and belly to belly contact. During all three events, groups were highly active 
at the surface, frequently and quickly changing speed and direction, and 
animals were predominantly less than one body length apart from other 
conspecifics in the group. All species were recorded rolling onto their sides 
and/or back while at or near the surface. Open mouth display occurred in the 
North Atlantic right whale event. Though copulation is unlikely to have 
transpired during the sperm whale event and could not have occurred during the 
right whale event due to the identification of same-sex individuals, it cannot 
be ruled out as the impetus for the sei whale event. These observations begin 
to describe the relative importance of the New York Bight as more than a 
migratory corridor and suggest that additional behaviorally focused data 
collection be incorporated into future surveys.

Please feel free to reach out for a copy of the paper or with any questions: 
meghan.rick...@dec.ny.gov.

Best,
Meghan

--
Meghan Rickard
Marine Zoologist

New York Natural Heritage Program
& Division of Marine Resources

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
123 Kings Park Blvd., Kings Park, NY 11754
(p) 631-444-0446 | meghan.rick...@dec.ny.gov

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[MARMAM] Postdoc Opportunity: marine mammal spatial analysis using eDNA at the University of Washington

[Amy Van Cise]

Hello MARMAM,

We are looking for a postdoctoral scholar to join us at the University of
Washington School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences in Seattle, WA.

This position is funded to work on a new grant from the Office of Naval
Research as part of the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative
(MURI) awards. The project, entitled "MMARINeDNA: Marine Mammal Remote
detection via INnovative environmental DNA sampling," aims to improve the
use of eDNA as a tool for tracking and monitoring marine mammal
distributions at meso- and macro-scales.

The postdoctoral scholar in this position will collaboratively develop
spatial models to describe the 3D distribution of target cetacean species
using eDNA. The position will entail a combination of spatial modeling,
genetic labwork, and bioinformatics. We seek a candidate with a strong
skill set in either spatial modeling or genetics/eDNA, and will provide
peer training to complement the skills the postdoc already has.

We are a collaborative team of researchers from the University of
Washington, NOAA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and St. Andrews. The
successful candidate will work closely with multiple collaborating labs at
UW, as well as with local researchers at the NOAA Northwest Fisheries
Science Center, to generate sequence data from eDNA samples and incorporate
those data into 3D spatial distribution models.

The term is 1.5 years, renewable subject to performance and available
funding; the larger MMARINeDNA project is funded for a five-year period.
For more information and to apply, please visit the following link:
https://apply.interfolio.com/111808

Interested candidates can also reach out to me directly [avanc...@uw.edu]
with any questions.

<*)))><  <*)))><  <*)))><  <*)))><  <*)))><  <*)))><  <*)))><  <*)))><
Amy M. Van Cise, Ph.D. 
(she/her/hers)

Assistant Professor
University of Washington | School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences
1122 NE Boat St
Seattle, WA 98105
Office: SAFS 216B
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