[MARMAM] SMRU Consulting - Canada - job posting
Job Posting: Senior Scientist. Deadine: 1st August 2022. SMRU Consulting is a world leading marine mammal consultancy with an unrivalled reputation for providing innovative, robust, and environmentally sound solutions for clients active in the marine environment. SMRUC is owned by the University of St Andrews, with offices in Scotland, Vancouver, BC and Friday Harbor, WA (near Seattle). Our senior professionals are experienced scientists and world-class consultants working across all marine sectors from renewables, civil engineering, infrastructure to government, defence, and scientific research and development. We are looking for candidates with existing experience that can be applied to our current and future project portfolio, with a focus on the offshore wind sector and marine infrastructure projects although there will be the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of sectors and projects. Much of this activity is specifically related to the potential for impacts from underwater noise, a stimulating and growing field of marine mammal science. We are keen therefore to attract talented candidates with client-facing experience in this area. Key attributes and skills: * Marine mammal scientist with industry and/or regulatory experience * Proven ability to project manage and liaise with clients * An understanding of the relevant policy landscape as it relates to marine mammal protection * Strategic, critical thinker and strong communicator who understands the needs of our clients * Ability to multi-task and balance the needs of a variety of project deliverables We provide excellent career development opportunities, personal development time and a commitment to staff training. Employment with SMRU Consulting offers global opportunities for collaboration and travel. We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience, with associated benefits, flexible working patterns and a commitment to staff wellbeing. This successful applicant will be working in our Canada office, based in Vancouver. We maintain strong links with our US office (Friday Harbor) and UK office (located in the Scottish Oceans Institute at the University of St Andrews). We have strong links with the Sea Mammal Research Unit and the Centre for Research into Environmental and Ecological Modelling (CREEM) and regularly work together to deliver projects and services to clients and funders, irrespective of location. Please see https://www.smruconsulting.com/employment-opportunities for more details. Regards, Cormac Dr Cormac Booth Scientific Director [cid3463345404*image001.png@01D8384E.8D87C740] SMRU Consulting<http://www.smruconsulting.com/> | @SMRU_Consulting<https://twitter.com/SMRU_Consulting> SMRU Consulting, Scottish Oceans Institute, East Sands, University of St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8LB Email: c...@smruconsulting.com<mailto:c...@smruconsulting.com> Mobile: +358 (0) 403219235 Main office: +44 (0) 1334 466010 NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This message, and any attachments, are intended solely for the addressee and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy this email. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from any virus, we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. SMRU Consulting is a trading name of SMRU Limited, which is a limited company registered in Scotland, Registered Number: SC296937. Registered Office: SMRU Limited, Walter Bower House, Main Street, Guardbridge, St Andrews KY16 0US ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] Paper: The effects of low salinity exposure on bottlenose dolphins
We are proud to announce the publication of a new paper: “An Expert Elicitation of the Effects of Low Salinity Water Exposure on Bottlenose Dolphins”. The paper is open access and freely available here: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/2/1/11 Abstract: “There is increasing concern over anthropogenically driven changes in our oceans and seas, from a variety of stressors. Such stressors include the increased risk of storms and precipitation, offshore industries and increased coastal development which can affect the marine environment. For some coastal cetacean species, there is an increased exposure to low salinity waters which have been linked with a range of adverse health effects in bottlenose dolphins. Knowledge gaps persist regarding how different time–salinity exposures affect the health and survival of animals. In such data-poor instances, expert elicitation can be used to convert an expert’s qualitative knowledge into subjective probability distributions. The management implications of this stressor and the subjective nature of expert elicitation requires transparency; we have addressed this here, utilizing the Sheffield Elicitation Framework. The results are a series of time response scenarios to estimate time to death in bottlenose dolphins, for use when data are insufficient to estimate probabilistic summaries. This study improves our understanding of how low salinity exposure effects dolphins, guiding priorities for future research, while its outputs can be used to support coastal management on a global scale.” Keywords: freshwater<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=freshwater>; cetacean<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=cetacean>; Tursiops sp.<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=Tursiops%20sp.>; wildlife management<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=wildlife%20management>; marine biology<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=marine%20biology>; salinity<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=salinity>; human disturbance<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=human%20disturbance>; dose response<https://www.mdpi.com/search?q=dose%20response> The paper is open access and available here: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-1924/2/1/11 or here: https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010011 The citation is: Booth, C.; Thomas, L. An Expert Elicitation of the Effects of Low Salinity Water Exposure on Bottlenose Dolphins. Oceans 2021, 1, 179–192. https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans2010011 Kind regards, Cormac Booth & Len Thomas ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] Marine mammal job posting: St Andrews opportunities
We are pleased to announce two new job marine mammal postings: SMRU Consulting – Principal Scientist/Consultant: “SMRU Consulting are looking to attract a highly motivated, experienced person with a passion for the application of robust, evidence-based approaches to the assessment, monitoring and management of anthropogenic impacts on marine mammals. The initial focus of this role will be to support the needs of our industry and government clients in dealing with challenges of marine mammal conservation in relation to the sustainable development of renewable energy projects. SMRU Consulting’s services span the breadth of the industry – from the provision of project specific advice and technical services, to the delivery of strategic research projects, assessment and tools. We are looking for candidates with existing experience that can be applied to our current and future project portfolio, with a focus on the offshore wind sector, although there will be the opportunity to get involved in a wide variety of sectors and projects. Much of this activity is specifically related to the potential for impacts from underwater noise, a stimulating and growing field of marine mammal science. We are keen therefore to attract talented candidates with experience in this area.” For full particulars please see: http://www.smruconsulting.com/job-vacancies/ CREEM/SMRU Consulting (shared position) – Statistical Consultant (2 year post): “This is a two year fixed-term post. We are looking for a statistical consultant to support both the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) and SMRU Consulting (SMRUC). The two groups have a history of successfully collaborating on applied projects that require statistical expertise. We require additional personnel to support this collaboration and allow us to be more agile in our responses to funding opportunities with short deadlines, which are quite common in calls from NGOs, industry, and some government agencies. In particular we would like to be more responsive to the increasing number of opportunities to engage with marine renewable energy initiatives. The post holder will be expected to generate funding income, in collaboration with CREEM and SMRUC staff, by responding to proposal calls and tenders, particularly those released by government and industry.” For full particulars please see: https://www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/6839/0/271020/889/statistical-consultant-ar2369nb and http://www.smruconsulting.com/job-vacancies/ Dr Cormac Booth Principal Scientist [SMRU_Consulting_Horizontal_(rgb) (1)_smaller] SMRU Consulting | New Technology Building | North Haugh | St Andrews | Fife KY16 9SR | UK Email: c...@smruconsulting.com<mailto:c...@smruconsulting.com> |Tel: +44 (0)131 46 38 555 |Mob: +358 40 321 9235 | Main Office: +44-1334-464746 www.smruconsulting.com<http://www.smruconsulting.com/> | Twitter: @SMRU_Consulting | http://www.linkedin.com/company/smru-marine P Please consider whether you really need a hard copy of this email before printing it - thank you NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This message, and any attachments, are intended solely for the addressee and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy this email. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from any virus, we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. SMRU Consulting is a trading name of SMRU Limited, which is a limited company registered in Scotland, Registered Number: SC296937. Registered Office: 5 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 8EJ. ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] NEW PAPER: Monitoring for PCoD in marine mammals
All, We are pleased to announce the publication of our new paper available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00115/full Abstract: “Assessing the non-lethal effects of disturbance and their population-level consequences is a significant ecological and conservation challenge, because it requires extensive baseline knowledge of behavioral patterns, life-history and demography. However, for many marine mammal populations, this knowledge is currently lacking and it may take decades to fill the gaps. During this time, undetected population declines may occur. In this study we identify methods that can be used to monitor populations subject to disturbance and provide insights into the processes through which disturbance may affect them. To identify and address the knowledge gaps highlighted above, we reviewed the literature to identify suitable response variables and methods for monitoring these variables. We also used existing models of the population consequences of disturbance (PCoD) to identify demographic characteristics (e.g., the proportion of immature animals in the population, or the ratio of calves/pups to mature females) that may be strongly correlated with population status and therefore provide early warnings of future changes in abundance. These demographic characteristics can be monitored using established methods such as visual surveys combined with photogrammetry, and capture-recapture analysis. Individual health and physiological variables can also inform PCoD assessment and can be monitored using photogrammetry, remote tissue sampling, hands-on assessment and individual tracking. We then conducted a workshop to establish the relative utility and feasibility of all these approaches for different groups of marine mammal species. We describe how future marine mammal monitoring programs can be designed to inform population-level analysis.” Cited as: Booth, C. G., Sinclair, R. R., & Harwood, J. (2020). Methods for Monitoring for the Population Consequences of Disturbance in Marine Mammals: A Review. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, 115. doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00115<https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00115> If you’d like a copy, please contact me at c...@smruconsulting.com<mailto:c...@smruconsulting.com> Kind regards, Cormac Booth Dr Cormac Booth Principal Scientist [SMRU_Consulting_Horizontal_(rgb) (1)_smaller] SMRU Consulting | New Technology Building | North Haugh | St Andrews | Fife KY16 9SR | UK Email: c...@smruconsulting.com<mailto:c...@smruconsulting.com> |Tel: +44 (0)131 46 38 555 |Mob: +358 40 321 9235 | Main Office: +44-1334-464746 www.smruconsulting.com<http://www.smruconsulting.com/> | Twitter: @SMRU_Consulting | http://www.linkedin.com/company/smru-marine P Please consider whether you really need a hard copy of this email before printing it - thank you NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This message, and any attachments, are intended solely for the addressee and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy this email. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from any virus, we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. SMRU Consulting is a trading name of SMRU Limited, which is a limited company registered in Scotland, Registered Number: SC296937. Registered Office: 5 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 8EJ. ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] NEW PAPER - Food for thought: Harbor porpoise foraging behavior and diet inform vulnerability to disturbance
Dear MARMAM-Users, I am pleased to announce a new paper on how incorporating prey energy into assessments of energy balance can help improve our understanding of harbour porpoise energetics: Booth CG. Food for thought: Harbor porpoise foraging behavior and diet inform vulnerability to disturbance. Mar Mam Sci. 2019;1 – 14. https://doi.org/10./mms.12632 Abstract: “Research has shown that noise disturbance can disrupt the behavior of harbor porpoises. The significance of such disturbance is unclear. However, these animals may be vulnerable to starvation when disturbed due to their high energy requirements. Important parameters determining harbor porpoise energy balance are the size and energy content of prey, their foraging behavior and their energetic requirements for homeostasis, growth, and reproduction. Energy intake can be estimated using published data from tagged animals. Such analysis indicates a broad range of plausible levels of energy intake, in line with those from captive studies. Metabolizable energy intake estimates were most strongly affected by variations in target prey size and to a lesser extent, by the foraging intensity of porpoises. In all but the worst case scenarios, harbor porpoises are well equipped for their ecological niche due to their generalist diet, consisting of a range of moderate to high energy-density prey combined with ultra-high foraging rates and high capture success. If animals can find suitable prey, porpoises may be capable of recovering from some lost foraging opportunities. Minimizing disturbances is, however, important for their health. Further research into prey and the environment are required to fully test the assumption of vulnerability.” If you would like a copy of the paper, please contact me at cgb(at)smruconsulting.com. Kind regards, Cormac Booth Dr Cormac Booth Principal Scientist [SMRU_Consulting_Horizontal_(rgb) (1)_smaller] SMRU Consulting | New Technology Building | North Haugh | St Andrews | Fife KY16 9SR | UK Email: c...@smruconsulting.com<mailto:c...@smruconsulting.com> |Tel: +44 (0)131 46 38 555 |Mob: +358 40 321 9235 | Main Office: +44-1334-464746 www.smruconsulting.com<http://www.smruconsulting.com/> | Twitter: @SMRU_Consulting | http://www.linkedin.com/company/smru-marine P Please consider whether you really need a hard copy of this email before printing it - thank you NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: This message, and any attachments, are intended solely for the addressee and may contain privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy this email. Although we have taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are free from any virus, we advise that, in keeping with good computing practice, the recipient should ensure they are actually virus free. SMRU Consulting is a trading name of SMRU Limited, which is a limited company registered in Scotland, Registered Number: SC296937. Registered Office: 5 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 8EJ. ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] NEW PAPER: harbour porpoise habitat preferences distribution - west of Scotland
Hello, We are pleased to announce the publication of the following paper in MEPS: Booth CG, Embling C, Gordon J, Calderan SV, Hammond PS (2013) Habitat preferences and distribution of the harbour porpoisePhocoena phocoena west of Scotland. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 478:273-285 ABSTRACT: The west coast of Scotland is comprised of complex coastlines and topography, and a range of physical processes influence its coastal marine environment. The region is host to one of the highest densities of harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena in Europe. The aim of this study was to identify habitat preferences driving the distribution of harbour porpoise, to gain a better understanding of the spatial distribution of the species in the region, as well as to assess the consistency of such patterns across time and space. Visual and acoustic line-transect surveys were conducted between 2003 and 2010. Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) with Generalised Estimating Equations (GEEs) were used to robustly determine relationships between the relative density of harbour porpoises and temporally and spatially variable oceanographic covariates. Predictive models showed that depth, slope, spring tidal range and distance to land were consistently important in explaining porpoise distribution. Consistent preferences for water depths between 50 and 150 m and highly sloped regions were observed across the temporal models. Predicted distributions revealed a consistent inshore presence for the species throughout the west coast of Scotland and confirmed that predictable oceanographic features could help inform the establishment of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for the species. Please download from http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v478/p273-285/ or contact Cormac Booth on c...@smru.co.ukmailto:c...@smru.co.uk Best regard, Cormac Booth Dr Cormac Booth Principal Scientist SMRU Ltd Scottish Oceans Institute New Technology Centre North Haugh St Andrews Fife KY16 9SR Scotland email: c...@smru.co.ukmailto:c...@smru.co.uk http://www.smru.co.uk/staff/dr-cormac-booth-%28research-scientist%29.aspx Tel: +44 (0)1334 479100 Fax:+44 (0)1334 477878 www.smru.co.ukhttp://www.smru.co.uk/ ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] PhD: Harbour porpoise habitat preferences and distribution
Dear MARMAMers, Last year, the following PhD thesis was completed investigating harbour porpoises habitat preferences and distribution using six years of visual and acoustic line-transect survey data west of Scotland. Habitat preferences and distribution were assessed at a range of temporal and spatial scales. In addition the PhD looks at the prevalence and received levels of Airmar seal scarers deployed and the potential for these sounds to impact porpoises via cumulative exposures. It is now publicly available for download from: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/1701 Thesis citation: Booth, 2010. Variation in habitat preference and distribution of harbour porpoises west of Scotland. PhD Thesis. Scottish Oceans Institute. University of St Andrews. pp264. Abstract: “The waters off the west coast of Scotland have one of the highest densities of harbour porpoise (*Phocoena phocoena*) in Europe. Harbour porpoise are listed under Annex II of the EU Habitats Directive, requiring the designation of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for the species’ protection and conservation. The main aim of this thesis is to identify habitat preferences for harbour porpoise, and key regions that embody these preferences, which could therefore be suitable as SACs; and to determine how harbour porpoise use these regions over time and space. Designed visual and acoustic line-transect surveys were conducted between 2003 and 2008. GAMs with Generalised Estimating Equations (GEEs) were used to determine relationships between the relative density of harbour porpoise and temporally and spatially variable oceanographic covariates. Predictive models showed that depth, slope, distance to land and spring tidal range were all important in explaining porpoise distribution. There were also significant temporal variations in habitat use. However, whilst some variation was observed among years and months, consistent preferences for water depths between 50 and 150 m and highly sloped regions were observed across the temporal models. Predicted surfaces revealed a consistent inshore distribution for the species throughout the west coast of Scotland. Regional models revealed similar habitat preferences to the full-extent models, and indicated that the Small Isles and Sound of Jura were the most consistently important regions for harbour porpoise, and that given this consistency; these regions could be suitable as SACs. The received levels and impacts of Airmar seal scarers on distribution and habitat use of porpoises were also investigated, and there were indications that these devices have the potential to displace harbour porpoise and that the potential for auditory injury should be considered in response to cumulative exposures. These results can be considered in the assessment of sites for SAC designation, and in implementing appropriate conservation measures for harbour porpoise.” Please contact me on c...@st-andrews.ac.uk if you have any questions or would like to discuss the work in more detail. Best regards, Cormac Booth ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca https://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
[MARMAM] Odontocete tooth spacing data
Dear MARMAMers I am looking for information/data on tooth-spacings for three odontocete species: short-finned pilot whales, killer whales, and adult and young sperm whales. Specifically, I am interested in the actual inter-tooth spacings and if possible how they vary throughout the jawline. This is for a study on scarring on sperm whale flukes. If you can help with actual measurements, or can point me to relevant publications, I would be very grateful and please get in touch at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Thanks very much. Best regards, Cormac Booth ___ MARMAM mailing list MARMAM@lists.uvic.ca http://lists.uvic.ca/mailman/listinfo/marmam
