WORKSHOPS

WORKSHOP REGISTRATION NOW CLOSED

There have been almost 1900 registration signups for the 45 WMMC’19 pre-conference workshops! Please note that there may be a few workshop seats still available through on-site registration – but if you are planning to only attend a workshop (and not the full conference) you are still required to pay a supplemental fee equal to one day of conference registration, for each workshop day of attendance. Please note that we have reached the capacity limit for the conference so that conference registration is no longer available.

There will be only a few spots for some workshops available on site. These spots will be filled on a first come first served basis.

Please Note: The deadline for workshop refunds was November 16

If you have questions about workshops at WMMC’19, contact Frank Cipriano and Juanita Zorrilla at workshops@wmmconference.org

To jump to the workshop FAQ, click here.

WMMC'19 WORKSHOPS AT-A-GLANCE

Click one of the links below to jump to a specific workshop that you are interested or scroll down to explore the full list of WMMC’19 workshops!

Some workshops are already full; however, you can still sign-up on a waiting list free of charge and will only be required to pay should a space become available.

WMMC'19 WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

SATURDAY MORNING HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

A Pan-Arctic PAM network
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Kit M Kovacs

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Norwegian Polar Institute

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: kit.kovacs@npolar.no

Name of Workshop leader (2): Heidi Ahonen

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Norwegian Polar Institute

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: Heidi.Ahonen@npolar.no

Workshop Summary: The Marine Mammal Network of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna’s (CAFF) Working Group of the Arctic Council will be hosting a workshop for ‘Arctic Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) users.’ Everyone operating a PAM device within the Arctic, and people working with data from these devices, are invited to join this event. We are hoping that metadata will be submitted to the organizers PRIOR to the workshop so that an interactive map of PAM installations (and their specs) will be available at the workshop. It is hoped that this product will facilitate research collaboration across regions to promote conservation initiatives and to broaden our understanding of cetacean distribution and ecology in this rapidly changing part of the world.

Attendee Support and Opportunities: The Svalbard Environmental Protection Fund, Wildlands, and the Ministry of the Environment of Norway have provided funding to sponsor the workshop expenses and to staff its preparation and reporting – so registration is free.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We will create a metadatabase and MAP of all PAM installations in the Arctic that will be publically accessible – with an aim to promote cross regional research and conservation collaborations.

Format: Some few talks from key Arctic acoustics scientists – but mostly small group discussion and refinement of data collation.

Alternatives to an academic career for women: Where can your degree take you?
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Michelle Bejder

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: michelle.bejder@navy.mil

Name of Workshop leader (2): Krista Graham

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: NOAA Fisheries

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: krista.graham@noaa.gov

Name of Workshop leader (3): Aude Pacini

Workshop leader (3) Affiliation: Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa

Workshop leader (3) E-mail Address: aude@hawaii.edu

Workshop Summary: Around the world, female scientists thrive in non-academic careers that challenge the misconception that professional success can only be achieved through traditional empirical scientific research or educational institutions. Beyond the academic boundaries, women scientists make substantial contributions to diverse aspects of the scientific community, private sector, and conservation management. Women scientists serve non-governmental organizations and citizen-based associations with direct conservation impacts. Female scientific managers uphold legislative mandates to protect natural resources with diligence, justice, and civic duty. In international corporations, women scientists disseminate technical advice and interpret scientific data to guide industrial developments and influence our economy. This workshop targets female scientists that are in the early stages of their marine science career and who may not be aware of all the possible career trajectories beyond academia that are available to them. Female scientists will explore, appreciate and be inspired by the professions outside academia, ultimately learning how taking the path less traveled may make all the difference in career growth, trajectory, and happiness. With representatives from commercial corporations, resource industries, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and freelance businesses, the workshop will invite a diverse panel of female scientists to discuss and share their experiences, beginning with a brief presentation about their career paths, achievements, and lessons learned. The presentations will then be followed by an open discussion between participants and panelists. Before the workshop, an online questionnaire will be made available to the marine mammal community asking about various topics such as greatest career challenges, comparisons with academia, salaries and benefits, flexibility, and work-life balance. Questionnaire results will be consolidated before the workshop to capture the current trends and patterns of all participants. Before the closing, all participants will be surveyed again for perceptions before and after the discussion, noting any changes or inspirational moments that occurred.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The organizers will transcribe/summarize the workshop discussion into a final note or report which will be publicly available.

Format: Panel of 5-7 international presenters followed by discussion and outcomes of the pre-workshop questionnaire.

Distance sampling surveys of marine mammal density and abundance: from introductory ideas to latest developments
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Len Thomas

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: University of St Andrews

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: len.thomas@st-andrews.ac.uk

Workshop Summary: The goal of this workshop is to introduce the latest developments in distance sampling methods and software of particularly relevance to marine mammal scientists. Distance sampling surveys, particularly line transects, are widely used to estimate marine mammal population density and abundance.  We will begin by introducing the basic ideas, and then describe how these have been extended to allow: spatial density surface and habitat modelling, passive acoustic density estimation, incorporation of animal movement, long dive times.  We will demonstrate the Windows software and latest R-based software packages.  At the end of the session, we will divide into groups and discuss topics suggested by workshop participants, as well as priorities for future methods and software development.  This workshop is suitable both for complete beginners interested in getting a jump-start on methods for estimating marine mammal density and abundance, as well as seasoned distance sampling practitioners wanting to hear what’s new.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Copies of all slides will be made available to workshop participants, as well as a written summary of the special topic group discussions. The workshop is also linked to a poster proposal we have submitted to the conference, where we describe the new developments in distance sampling and offer to hold consultancy sessions with anyone who is interested.

Format: Series of short invited talks introducing methods and demonstrating software; break out discussion groups; short panel discussion on future priorities.

Win More Battles for Marine Mammals!!! Science Communication for REAL Impact
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Jennifer Lewis, PhD

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: George Mason University / Que Sera Sera Films / Tropical Dolphin Research Foundation

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: jlewis33@gmu.edu, jlewis@queseraserafilms.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Mahmud Rahman

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Que Sera Sera Films

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: mrahman@queseraserafilms.com

Workshop Summary: Scientists are losing major battles with the general public. Evolution, climate change, vaccinating children, the race for space exploration in the United States. Why? Because we are trained only to communicate with our peers. In this workshop we will provide an evolutionary explanation for the most effective way to communicate (using story and visuals). Participants will learn how to use this strategy with examples related specifically to marine mammal science and get hands on learning opportunities to gain practice. Our goal is to have participants leave 1) understanding why they must add this skill to their tool belt and 2) understanding the basics for better communication. Participants will leave the workshop ready to start producing and presenting material with greater success for conservation impact to both oneís peers and to the general public.  What will participants gain? Workshop participants will receive online materials to use both during and after the conference. In addition, we will offer continued guidance and feedback once the workshop is complete. A video of the workshop will also be provided to participants to share with others who could benefit. Our objective is to do all we can to empower those that share our goals of conservation. We will therefore provide the tools so that participants can pass this training to others, increasing the reach of this workshop effort substantially. Who would benefit from this workshop? Anyone at any stage in their career could benefit from learning how to communicate more effectively. Examples of places to use skills gained from this workshop will include oral presentations, interviews with the media, meetings with peers, producing material for education (social media, written media and film), and speaking with the general public.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We will record the lecture and provide this freely to SMM members.

Format: This workshop will include lecture by the workshop leader and hands on training for participants

SATURDAY AFTERNOON HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

Name of Workshop leader (1): Patrick Lyne

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Irish Whale and Dolphin Group

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: patricklyne1@gmail.com

Workshop Summary:

The workshop will look at current developments in PAMGuard and then be followed by an open discussion on what changes users might like to see in PAMGuard and discussion of mechanisms for prioritising and funding changes.

For PAMGuard developers, the workshop will provide valuable feedback on how future developments and maintenance tasks should be prioritised. The workshop will enable users to discuss new features / annoyances and outstanding bugs directly with developers, creating an understanding on both sides of what is required, how the feature might (or might not!) work and what it might take to implement it.

Speakers:

Seiche (Lorenzo Scala) short demonstration of Pamguard techniques to analyse offline marine mammal and anthropogenic sounds using long-term spectral averaging in Viewer mode (30/40 mins)

Another talk to be decided (30/40 mins)

  1. Gillespie (30 mins) Recent and forthcoming developments.
  2. Gillespie (10 mins) Current funding, how it works and how we see the future.

Coffee break

Open floor discussion Topic: Desired changes to PAMGuard

Participants are invited to submit proposals for changes or improvements to PAMGuard in advance for discussion (2 hours in total). Short presentations may be encouraged/requested.  Submitting ideas in advance will enable the development team to discuss how they might be implemented and consider required resources. Please email ideas / requests to Doug Gillespie (PAMGuard developer) dg50@st-andrews.ac.uk and Patrick Lyne (workshop organiser) patrick.lyne@iwdg.ie  at least two weeks before the workshop.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Possible subjects for discussion

  1. Output module to be able to use Bluetooth speakers and headphones
  2. Possibility to automatically save the last configuration file so that it can be recovered in case the file being used is corrupted.
  3. An ASCII map overlay to add operations areas and other points to a map without editing.
  4. Why isn’t PAMguard able to localise using fixed point static hydrophones? With the development of windfarms using static operations this would seem to be important.
  5. Please stop Whistle and moan from default minimum and maximum frequencies to zero, preferably the default minimum would be zero but maximum should be 20 kHz say.
  6. Demo configs for various little used techniques in PAMguard.
  7. Use of bottlenose dolphin signature whistles for “captured” identity information and use this within mark-recapture and spatial capture-recapture statistical models. Develop a plugin to match whistle contours similar to beluga in ARTwarp scripts for MATLAB.

Keep On Gramping 2
Saturday, December 7 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Karin Hartman

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Nova Atlantis Foundation

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: oceanwatch@gmail.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Nicola Hodgins

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: nicola.hodgins@whales.org

Workshop Summary: Following on from our ‘Keep on Gramping’ workshop held in 2012 at the 26th ECS Conference in Galway, ‘Keep on Gramping 2’ aims to bring together Risso’s researchers from around the world (both old and new) to find out what we’ve collectively learnt over the past seven years and to ultimately help further our knowledge and understanding of this little-known and lesser-studied species. We want to share new breakthroughs, new discoveries and old allegiances, and for the workshop to be a driving force in understanding how this charismatic species are faring in a changing world. We’re looking to showcase a series of presentations focusing on different areas of Risso’s dolphin research, from their social structure and their genetic make-up, their health status and their habitat use to effective conservation and management measures. This will be followed by an interactive discussion as to how we can help each other get the most out of our study subjects with the aim to establish that we are striving to do the best we can to ensure the future conservation of Risso’s dolphins around the world. The anticipated outcome is for a ‘Special Conference Proceedings’ publication, and although the Workshop will predominantly be directed towards all scientists and conservationists, either researching or working to protect Risso’s dolphins throughout their range, we anticipate that our species-specific focus will be of interest and use to a wide diversity of people.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Dissemination will be by way of a ‘Special Conference Proceedings’ publication.

Format: A series of speakers from various corners of the world will present on their Risso’s research followed by discussion including all workshop attendees.

Advancing marine species density surface modelling with a focus on extrapolation
Saturday, December 7 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Catriona Harris

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: CREEM, University of St Andrews

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: catriona.harris@st-andrews.ac.uk

Name of Workshop leader (2): Phil Bouchet

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: CREEM, University of St Andrews

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: pjbouchet@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: Density surface models attempt to describe animal distribution as a function of spatially referenced variables. Data typically come from visual line transect surveys, though other effort-indexed methods (i.e., passive acoustics) are emerging. Outputs include modelled relationships between density and explanatory variables, maps of population density, and stratified estimates of population size with uncertainty. These are of practical use for marine spatial planning and impact assessment. Many statistical approaches are available for density surface modeling. This half-day workshop is being proposed by those involved with the LMR-funded research project, DenMod, that aims to compare the different density surface modelling approaches, identifying common ground and outstanding issues. The workshop will provide participants with progress updates on the priority research areas agreed at the workshop in Halifax 2017. In particular, this workshop will focus on extrapolation of density surface models beyond collected data (when it can be done and how to assess it). We will also present an online resource for common questions and practical problems that researchers encounter when using density surface models. The workshop will consist of a series of short presentations by the DenMod project team on key topics, with a particular focus on extrapolation.  We will allow plenty of time for open discussion following the presentations.  A report summarising the workshop will be sent to all participants as well as being posted on the project website – https://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/denmod/  The report of the workshop held in Halifax can also be found here.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: A report summarising the workshop will be sent to all participants as well as being posted on the project website – https://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/denmod/ The report of the 2017 workshop held in Halifax can also be found here.

Format: The format will consist of a series of a speakers providing updates on the DenMod project, and in particular providing an overview of progress on the topic of extrapolation. We will allow at least 1 hour at the end of the workshop for open discussion and questions.

Age and sex classification of Cuvier's beaked whales from photographs
Saturday, December 7 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Erin Falcone

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Marine Ecology & Telemetry Research

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: efalcone@marecotel.org

Workshop Summary: This workshop will convene researchers collecting individual identification photographs of Cuvier’s beaked whales at study sites around the world to work toward a consistent, objective method for assessing the age and sex of known individuals based on photographs alone. Participants with existing catalogs are encouraged to bring a brief (~ 10 min) presentation of their own data, including the number of independently-sexed whales in their catalog, the methods they currently use to age-sex whales by appearance, and any challenges they have experienced in assessing demographic rates for their population. The workshop organizers will then present a systematic method of assessing the age-sex of whales that is currently under development using catalogs from the Mediterranean Sea, California, and Mexico. This will be followed by a Q&A period about this method, and then a facilitated discussion of the feasibility, value, and interest in extending it to other study sites. The immediate goal of the workshop will be to identify other study sites willing to support additional testing and development of this method. The long-term goal is to develop a coordinated study using consistent methods to estimate vital rates from a wide range of Cuvier’s beaked whale populations, globally.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Presented materials (at the discretion of presenters) and a synopsis of the discussion will be provided to all attendees, along with a draft action plan for future collaboration.

Format: Short presentations followed by a facilitated discussion.

Using smart acoustic technology to detect, classify, localize and track marine species
Saturday, December 7 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Rose Fisher

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Marketing and PR

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: rose.fisher@oceansonics.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Jillian Duggan

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Ocean Sonics

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: desiree@oceansonics.com

Workshop Summary: Our workshop is intended to show how digital hydrophones can simplify data acquisition and improve the quality of the collected data. Using specialized software, real-time detection and classification of marine mammals has become much simpler. Our intention is to show attendees how to assemble and operate systems to detect, classify, localize and track marine mammals.  We will show attendees how the different parts of the system work, guide them through the design process so they have a system catered to their specific needs, show them how to assemble their design and how to operate the system to ensure they get the results they need.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We will follow up with each attendee to ensure they receive all workshop information important to them and their project/research. We will also provide online links to what was presented as well as provide a summary of the discussion. If it is of interest to the attendees, we will also create a private online discussion group where attendees can ask questions and participate in additional discussion.

Format: Speakers/presentation, hands on training with equipment and software to analyze sound data.

SATURDAY FULL DAY WORKSHOPS

Application of stable isotopes in studies of marine mammal ecology, biogeography, and physiology. An introduction and update on developing methodologies
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Luis A. Hückstädt

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: lahuckst@ucsc.edu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Cory Matthews

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: cory.matthews@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Name of Workshop leader (3): Seth Newsome

Workshop leader (3) Affiliation: Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, USA

Workshop leader (3) E-mail Address: newsome@unm.edu

Workshop Summary: Stable isotope analysis (SIA) continues to be an important tool in studies of marine mammal ecology, distribution, and physiology. Developing methodologies such as compound-specific stable isotope analysis (CSIA) of amino and fatty acids promise to advance the application of stable isotopes where traditional bulk tissue SIA is limited. This workshop builds on those held previously at the 2015 and 2017 SMM biennial conferences. Activities during the morning session will include an in-depth introduction to applications of stable isotopes in marine mammal studies, and will comprise lecture-style talks from invited experts geared towards beginner users of stable isotope techniques (e.g. new graduate students). Participants will be encouraged to discuss their projects with our expert panel, andwill be contacted by the workshop leaders by email and invited to submit proposals for talks and poster presentations. During the afternoon session a more focused discussion of topical issues in the field (e.g. application of CSIA), and will include informal talks, presentations of data, and group discussions of uncertainties and limitations that need to be addressed through further study. We will invite participation of researchers who are developing or using novel stable isotope applications to study any aspect of marine mammal ecology (e.g. foraging, migration), distribution, or physiology, or who have conducted validation studies that help clarify how developing SIA methods can be applied in both wild and captive settings.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We will host a poster session at the end, where students and new researchers can present their work and benefit from interacting with other SIA researchers. We are building a website to disseminate the results and main outcomes from the previous and future workshops. We are also hoping to publish an updated white paper on the use of SIA in marine mammal science in the society journal, and we are also exploring the option of a special issue dedicated to SIA in marine mammal studies

Format: The morning session will comprise lecture-style talks from invited experts geared towards beginner users of stable isotope techniques (e.g. new graduate students). Participants will be encouraged to discuss their projects with our expert panel, and will be invited to submit proposals for talks and poster presentations. The afternoon session will include informal talks, presentations of data, and group discussions of uncertainties and limitations that need to be addressed through further study.We will invite participation of researchers who are developing or using novel stable isotope applications to study any aspect of marine mammal ecology (e.g. foraging, migration), distribution, or physiology, or who have conducted validation studies that help clarify how developing SIA methods can be applied in both wild and captive settings.

Marine Mammal eDNA
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Kristina Cammen

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: University of Maine

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: kristina.cammen@maine.edu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Morten Tange Olsen

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: University of Copenhagen

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: morten.olsen@snm.ku.dk

Workshop Summary: The Marine Mammal eDNA workshop will bring together early-career and established researchers interested in applying emerging techniques in environmental DNA (eDNA) to marine mammal species. eDNA is a tool of recent interest, rapid development, and promising potential for marine conservation. This approach is built on the premise that organisms slough cells containing DNA into the water they inhabit and we can extract organismal DNA from a water sample without ever handling, or even seeing, the organism. Although increasingly used in marine and terrestrial systems, there are currently few marine mammal labs with expertise in this area, and many remaining questions regarding best practices in the field and lab. Researchers exploring these new approaches to surveying marine mammal distribution and diversity will be invited to share lessons learned from past successes and failures in a series of talks (a list of speakers will be announced shortly). All participants will then engage in small-group discussion via breakout groups on relevant topics such as challenges in eDNA field sampling, setting up an eDNA lab, eDNA beyond species detection, and others based on a pre-survey of participant interests. Throughout the workshop, we aim to broadly address both the challenges and opportunities that eDNA affords for marine mammal science. Our workshop is intended for early-career researchers, including students and post-docs, established researchers, managers, and conservationists interested in exploring the potential of eDNA for marine mammal science.

Attendee Support and Opportunities: Support from the American Genetic Association has been obtained to help reduce the cost of registration for student participants.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Following the workshop, speakers will be asked to contribute to a review paper on how eDNA approaches can be used to complement more established traditional approaches in marine mammal science and how to appropriately design eDNA studies to achieve various outcomes. To disseminate the findings from our workshop to a broader audience, we plan to submit our paper to the Journal of Heredity, or another suitable journal (e.g., Marine Mammal Science), similar to the paper resulting from the Marine Mammal Genomics workshops held in 2015 and 2017.

Format: The workshop will begin with 20-30 minute talks by the organizers and invited speakers, each followed by 10-15 minutes for questions and discussion. Our two organizers and five speakers (Owen Wangensteen – Tromsø University, Scott Baker – Oregon State University, Margaret Hunter – USGS, Kim Parsons – NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, and Kathryn Stewart – University of Amsterdam) all have active eDNA research programs or have published on eDNA research in the past three years, in systems that span cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians. To further broaden the scope of our workshop, our keynote speaker (Wangensteen) will contribute his expertise from other marine systems in which more technically advanced eDNA approaches have proven successful, with future promise for application to marine mammals. Following lunch, participants will engage in a series of breakout groups, on topics such as: challenges in eDNA field sampling; setting up an eDNA lab; eDNA beyond species detection; and others based on a pre-survey of participant interests. Breakout groups will allow for small-group discussion, and participants will be given time to cycle through multiple discussion areas. Dedicated facilitators will take notes for each small-group discussion, and then report out to the larger group following a short afternoon break.

Rare Pinniped Conservation Network (RAPCON)
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Jason Baker

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: jason.baker@noaa.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Samantha Simmons

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: US Marine Mammal Commission

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: SSimmons@mmc.gov

Workshop Summary: This workshop will launch the Rare Pinniped Conservation Network (RAPCON) in order to foster and sustain collaboration among individuals working to conserve rare pinniped populations globally. Network participation will be voluntary and often on a peer-to-peer basis, with the US Marine Mammal Commission providing leadership, organizational and administrative support. The network will consist of individuals and teams working toward conservation of the most imperiled pinniped species worldwide, as well as others who possess specialized skills and knowledge that would advance the networkís goals. Specific goals will depend upon the interests, needs, and level of participation among network members. The morning session will consist of presentations introducing the concept of RAPCON followed by several cases studies focusing on conservation interventions. The afternoon session will entail several topical workstations set up to provide an opportunity for sharing techniques and establishing collaborative connections among participants that can continue after the workshop. See a detailed description of the workshop here.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The connections forged at the workshop will be the primary outputs and these will be self-disseminating as participants collaborate, broaden connections and publish together. Additionally, the Marine Mammal Commission will create and maintain a web page describing the network structure, activities and workshop results.

Format: Morning – series of invited speaker presentations, including time for questions and discussion. Afternoon – topical workstations set up in the meeting room. Potential topics include photographic identification systems, rehabilitation and health studies, demographic analysis, and telemetry studies. Participants may shift between workstations on a regular schedule during the afternoon.

Introduction to Changing the Behaviour of People to Advance Marine Mammal Conservation Goals
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Andrew J. Wright

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Conservation Marketing and Engagement Working Group, Society for Conservation Biology

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: marinebrit@gmail.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Ashley Dayer

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Social Science Working Group, Society for Conservation Biology

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: dayer@vt.edu

Workshop Summary: Success in the conservation of marine mammals often relies upon the adoption of one or more sustainable behaviours by a specific group of people. Unfortunately, scientists and conservationists typically struggle to induce such changes due to the belief that people simply lack the knowledge and understanding required. In fact, provision of information is not enough to incite behavioural change and it may, on occasion, actually set back the wider cause. The session is being planned on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology’s Conservation Marketing and Social Science Working Groups:

https://www.consmark.org and https://conbio.org/groups/working-groups/social-science

This full-day workshop will equip participants with concepts and tools for better understanding human behaviour, leveraging behavioural insights to create effective messages, and designing impactful marketing and outreach efforts that lead to sustained change. After exploring some of the reasons why educating audiences often fails to achieve results, it will then introduce participants to the various social science and marketing tools available to connect with their desired audiences. The workshop will also review how carefully constructed social science research can help segment your audiences and understand their respective worldviews. They can also help identify perceived benefits and barriers to undertaking more pro-conservation behaviours. Social and commercial marketing tools are available to maximize benefits and minimize barriers in a way that suits your audience. It’s also important to choose the most effective messenger to deliver your message.

Marine mammals are charismatic megafauna, which means that motivating people to take action for their conservation could be easy. However, we still need to appeal to the human nature of our target audience if we are going to change their behaviours and secure a successful approach to our conservation problems.

Speakers include: Andrew Wright – “Challenges of Connecting with People and Changing Their Behavior”
(Past-President of Society for Conservation Biology’s Conservation Marketing and Engagement Working Group:
https://conbio.org/groups/working-groups/conservation-marketing-working-group/ & https://www.consmark.org/)
https://twitter.com/marinebrit?lang=en

Ashley Dayer – “Employing Conservation Social Science to Understand Your Audience & Promote Behavior Change”
(President of the Society for Conservation Biology’s Social Science Working Group: https://conbio.org/groups/working-groups/social-science & Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions, Virginia Tech: https://dayer.fishwild.vt.edu)

Brooke Tully – “Tools and Strategies for Changing Behavior”
(President of Society for Conservation Biology’s Conservation Marketing and Engagement Working Group:https://conbio.org/groups/working-groups/conservation-marketing-working-group/ & https://www.consmark.org/ & Owner of Brooke Tully https://brooketully.com/)

Dissemination of Workshop Results: This workshop is designed to introduce marine mammal scientists to existing tools that they may not be aware of to improve their ability to affect conservation. The output of the workshop is increased capacity within the marine mammal community to advance communication and apply conservation social science information.

Format: A series of speakers interspersed with small group activities, case studies,

and training sessions including understanding audiences, creating effective messages, and designing impactful human behavior change campaigns.

Managing Marine Mammal Tourism: Impacts, Regulations, Certifications, and Compliance
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Alicia Schuler

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: NOAA Fisheries

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: alicia.schuler@noaa.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Chris Parsons

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Glasgow University

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: ecm-parsons@earthlink.net

Workshop Summary: Marine mammal tourism is increasing globally. The increase in human interaction with marine mammals could potentially impact species by introducing disturbance and or habitat degradation. Some governments and organizations have been more proactive in regulating growth and mitigating potential impacts, than have others. However, impacts are often difficult to evaluate and poorly understood. Also, sometimes the best regulations on paper, do not translate into effective management in practice due to unique local conditions or difficulties with communicating regulations to whalewatching communities. Likewise, compliance with regulations and voluntary guidelines are often difficult to monitor and enforce. In this workshop, we will discuss the most recent research, innovative programs, limitations, and lessons learned that can be helpful in the management of marine mammal tourism. The morning session will include presentations from several invited speakers who will share current research on marine mammal tourism from perspectives around the world. The afternoon session will transition in to group and break-out discussions to focus on specific topics within marine mammal tourism. We will use the workshop as an opportunity to form international working groups and support networks for future work on questions and issues related to marine mammal tourism.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Workshop presentations will be summarized and discussions will be synthesized in a workshop report that will be both submitted for publication and circulated to all workshop participants and made available to others who are interested. The report will also be shared via social media (Facebook & Twitter) via the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s social media account. The report will also feature on marine conservation themed podcasts which have an international audience (Speak Up for Blue, Marine Conservation happy Hour and Marine Mammal Science podcast).

Format: A series of presentations in the morning, followed by an afternoon session with large group and break out group discussions.

Training Session to Better Manage Underwater Noise Pollution in the Mediterranean Region
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Maylis SALIVAS

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: ACCOBAMS Permanent Secretariat

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: msalivas@accobams.net

Name of Workshop leader (2): Marta SANCHEZ EGEA

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Centro TecnolÛgico Naval y del Mar

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: martasanchez@ctnaval.com

Workshop Summary: The aim of this training workshop is to support the assessment of Good Environmental Status (GES) with regards to underwater noise pollution (Descriptor 11 of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive) in the Mediterranean Region:

  • Presentation and training on the ACCOBAMS International Impulsive Noise Register for the Mediterranean Sea Region
  • Review of the GES assessment and presentation of existing approaches and solutions for the management of underwater noise pollution impacting marine biodiversity

The objective of this training workshop is:

  • To disseminate the ACCOBAMS International Impulsive Noise Register (http://80.73.144.60/CTN_Geoportal/home/), a tool for marine noise pollution management and mitigation and describe the potential of this tool for marine biodiversity conservation;
  • to raise awareness for the issue of underwater noise and in particular to the register and GES assessment (Art 9 of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive);
  • to provide technical support to competent authorities from MS to better manage noise-producing human activities;
  • to boost cooperation among EU Member-States and improve the cooperation and coordination with the Ecosystem Approach (EcAp process) of the Barcelona Convention by encouraging an active participation of non-EU representatives to the workshop.

This training workshop focuses on supporting Competent Authorities to implement the MSFD in terms of Descriptor D11 (on underwater noise) and aim to improve the cooperation with the Barcelona Convention in the framework of the EcAp process. Thus, priority will be given to Competent Authorities from both EU and non-EU Mediterranean Countries to sign out for this workshop.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Outputs of the workshop will: • Be used to finalize the Specific Guidance addressed to competent authorities to better manage noise-producing human activities; • Ensure the use of the ACCOBAMS International Impulsive Noise Register for the Mediterranean Sea Region, including a roadmap for submitting data. This training session is organized in the framework of the project QUIETMED2, funded by the EU DG Environment. Workshop results will be disseminated through the QUIETMED2 website and social networks. The report will be available on the QUIETMED 2 website as well as in the ACCOBAMS website. Outputs will be presented to all other relevant meetings (TG Noise, ACCOBAMS Scientific Committee, etc.), and will be the basis of another training session planed in 2020 in order to ensure relevant coordinated measures at Mediterranean level by providing technical support.

Format: Series of speakers followed by a training session on the use of the ACCOBAMS International Impulsive Noise Register for the Mediterranean Sea Region

The Diving Brain - Adaptations for Extreme Environments
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Stefan Huggenberger

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: University of Cologne, Department II of Anatomy, GERMANY

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: st.huggenberger@uni-koeln.de

Name of Workshop leader (2): Bruno Cozzi

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Dept. of Comparative Biomedicine & Food Science University of Padova, ITALY

Workshop Summary: During the last two centuries, anatomical and physiological studies have been the fundamental background and footing of advanced research on marine mammals. The aims of the workshop are (1st) to give an overview of actual research on the nervous system of diving mammals, its nourishment and blood supply through seminars given by leading experts; and (2nd) to stimulate the discussions between experts and graduate and PhD students.

Preliminary workshop schedule:

Morning

Introduction followed by the main session with 3-4 invited speakers (20′ each).

Coffee break

Short presentations (4 to 6, 10′ each) from participants

Round table (30í) Future directions and discussion for summarizing main scientific problems

(‘hot topics’) to encourage joint future activities.

Conclusion and future venues

Afternoon

Two parallel afternoon sessions with practical work using modern teaching equipment such as virtual microscopy and open source tools for tomography data (participants can move from one to the other)

Navigating through the brain: macro slide series and MRI scans of dolphin brains (90í)

Neuro-histology and histological slides from other organs (90 mins)

This workshop aims at promoting and supporting basic morphological and physiological research of brain function of marine mammals. This research is unquestionably international, so that we will have speakers from many countries around the world. We want to encourage long-term exchange and research activities on the structure and function of marine mammals as a solid basis for molecular disciplines. The goal and ambition of this workshop is to stimulate and coordinate future research and educational projects.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: In conclusion, we will have a round table discussion summarizing main scientific problems and to encourage joint future activities. The outcome can be presented at the end of the conference to the audience.

Format: – Series of speakers followed by discussion – practical work such as virtual microscopy, analysis of tomography data etc. (participants may bring their own computer/laptops)

Marine mammal surveys from satellite imagery: Applications, automation, and challenges
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Caroline Höschle

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: BioConsult SH

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: c.hoeschle@bioconsult-sh.de

Name of Workshop leader (2): Hannah Cubaynes

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: hannah.cubaynes@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: The use of VHR satellite imagery to directly monitor individual cetaceans as a small subset of pixels (image resolution of 31 cm/pixel) in very high-resolution images has been successfully demonstrated for several different species and regions. It is a young method with multiple challenges but it opens possibilities to improve research coverage of vast areas of ocean which remain rarely- or never-surveyed due to a variety of constraints. Studies range from manual extraction to a semi-automated detection method with promising test results. We will demonstrate what can be achieved for certain regions within realistic budgets. We also aim to build more collaborations for ground-truthing to improve the automated process to get species- or region-specific models. We will also describe the application of these methods to other marine mammal species. Topics will include: open-water satellite imagery including resolution, pricing, proofs-of-concept, high-performance computing, automatization performance including false positive rates and time, projects for validation

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Summary of the outputs will be distributed in a protocol and presented at the conference.

Format: a series of speakers and presenters and/or a panel followed by discussion.

Student Necropsy Workshop
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): WMMC Student Affairs Committee

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: WMMC Student Affairs Committee

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: Smal@marinemammalscience.org

Name of Workshop leader (2): Dr. Mariano Domingo

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Veterinary School, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: mariano.domingo@uab.cat

Workshop Summary:

The student necropsy workshop will be split into two parts, a morning session for up to 100 students, where we aim to explain the basis of some of the main pathological problems dealt with during necropsies and the sampling procedures. Talks will be short and cover a range of topics, including: How to recognize Peracute underwater entrapment (PUE), Common parasitic infections in small cetaceans at necropsy, Sampling for toxicological investigations, Criteria for diagnosis of main infectious disease of cetaceans. The second session in the afternoon will be a practical necropsy for a maximum of 25 students. These students will need to show that performing a necropsy is an essential part of their current/ near future studies and so would be beneficial (please fill in the required information as mentioned below). The main aims of this session will be how to perform a necropsy, and how to evaluate ear sense.

Confirmed speakers for the workshop include: Dr Thierry Jauniaux, Prof Antonio Fernandez, Dr Manuel Arbelo, Prof Antonio Raga, Prof Xon Borrell and Steffen De Vreese.

The second session in the afternoon will be a practical necropsy for a maximum of 25 students. Participants wishing to attend the practical session must write a brief explanation when filling out the registration form, about how attending the practical will be particularly beneficial to them, because performing a necropsy is an essential part of their current/near future studies; required information on the form includes (1) Details of how you are currently using necropsy sampling techniques in your work (or how you aim to apply necropsy sampling to work that you are planning), and (2) Details of any previous necropsy experience (e.g. workshops attended, classes, internships etc..). The main aims of this session will be how to perform a necropsy, and how to evaluate ear sense.

Venue for both sessions:Veterinary School of University Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB). Train travel necessary. We will meet at 7.15 am at Plaça Catalunya, near to the Apple Store entry. A map with the exact meeting point will be provided via email. We will travel together via S2 train to the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). Travel from Plaça Catalunya train station to the University Autònoma is expected to take 35 – 40 minutes, plus 10 minutes by walking to the Veterinarian school. To get to Plaça Catalunya from the CCIB – take the L4 Subway Line from El Maresme | Fòrum station to Urquinaona station, then 7 minute walk to Plaça Catalunya .

Click HERE for transit map.

Cost: Participants will be required to pay 5 euros on the day to the organizers to cover costs of the workshop, including tea/ coffee and light snacks. Students are responsible for buying their own tickets to go to the UAB campus. These are the same tickets that you can use on the metro throughout Barcelona (Ticket of 1 ZONE). There are different types of tickets, depending on the number of journeys that you want to buy. We recommend you to buy a “T-10 from 1 ZONE”, a multi-person travel card with 10 journeys (total price = 10.20€, each travel costs about 1€).

You can find more information about tickets in the following link: https://www.tmb.cat/en/barcelona-fares-metro-bus

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We hope that the talks from the workshop will be available for us to use as a learning resource for other students.

Format: The morning session will involve a series of speakers, with a maximum of 100 participants. The afternoon session will be a focused practical exercise for students that currently use necropsies/ pathology as part of their work, limited to a maximum of 25 currently enrolled students.

Best Practice Recommendations for Tagging of Cetaceans and Pinnipeds
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Russel D. Andrews

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Marine Ecology and Telemetry Research

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: russel.d.andrews@gmail.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Alexandre Zerbini

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries, and MarEcoTel

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: alex.zerbini@noaa.gov

Workshop Summary: Animal-borne electronic instruments (tags) are valuable tools for collecting information on marine mammal physiology, behavior and ecology, and for enhancing conservation and management policies for marine mammal populations. Tags allow researchers to track the movement patterns, habitat use, and other aspects of the behavior of animals that are otherwise difficult to observe and can even monitor the physiology of the tagged animal within its changing environment. Tags are also ideal for identifying and predicting responses to anthropogenic threats, thus facilitating the development of robust mitigation measures. With the increasing need for data best provided by tagging and the increasing availability of tags, such research is becoming more common. Tagging can, however, pose risks to the health and welfare of animals and to personnel involved in tagging operations. Therefore, best practice recommendations are needed for tag design, deployment and follow-up assessment of tagged individuals. Tagging best practice recommendations can serve as a resource to assist researchers, veterinarians, ethics committees and regulatory agency staff in the implementation of high standards of practice and to promote the training of specialists in this area. Two manuscripts on tagging best practices have recently been completed; one for cetaceans (Best practice guidelines for cetacean tagging; Andrews et al., in press, Journal of Cetacean Research and Management) and one for pinnipeds (Horning et al., in review, Animal Biotelemetry). We plan a series of talks by co-authors of the two tagging best practice documents, then a panel discussion on controversial issues that are common to the tagging of both these groups of marine mammals. The workshop will conclude with an open but facilitated discussion of the way forward to global adoption of the best practice recommendations, and the means for the tagging community to be more involved in future development and improvements to the best practice recommendations.

Attendee Support and Opportunities: Two student interns are needed to help as rapporteurs; taking notes during and drafting of the workshop report after it concludes. Potential volunteers should email the workshop leaders, and if accepted will receive free registration for the workshop.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We have established a website for the cetacean tagging best practice guidelines, and there will likely be a similar site for the pinniped version. A workshop summary report will be compiled and posted to the websites, and the feedback from workshop attendees on how to improve the best practice recommendations and how to keep them up to date in the future will be crucial to the next phase of the tagging best practices development.

Format: We plan to organize a series of talks by co-authors of each of the two tagging best practice documents, then a panel discussion on controversial issues that are common to the tagging of both these groups of marine mammals. The workshop would conclude with an open but facilitated discussion of the way forward to global adoption of the best practice recommendations, and the means for the tagging community to be more involved in future development and improvements to the best practice recommendations.

Marine mammal welfare under human care
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Sabrina Brando

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: AnimalConcepts

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: sbrando@animalconcepts.eu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Xavier Manteca Vilanova

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Universidad Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB)

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: xavier.manteca@uab.cat

Workshop Summary: Many different species of marine mammals across different taxonomic groups including cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters and polar bears, are housed under human care in zoos, aquariums, and research facilities. For some specific education, conservation and research programs and activities have been developed to inspire and be a call to action. Animal care and welfare programs in professional and contemporary facilities have seen extensive evolution in the domains of veterinary and animal training domains and other domains such as environmental enrichment, the human-animal interaction, habitat design and the development of animal welfare assessments are on the rise.
Marine mammals are also kept in (traveling) circuses, on part-time contracts between different facilities, and wild-caught in sea pens, in suboptimal conditions.

This workshop has the aim to bring together stakeholders from a wide variety of backgrounds, including ex-situ specialist such as veterinarians, care staff, researchers, animal welfare experts and in-situ researcher and NGOs. Short presentations and the use of ‘best practice case studies’ to highlight examples of promoting optimal welfare will be combined with break-out workshops on predetermined subjects and species. The goals are concluding the day with 1) suggestions for future directions of research, 2) have targeted recommendations (including policy aspects), and 3) an overview of what this group considers non-negotiables.

Prior registration and communication by the workshop organizers and dissemination of workshop materials, will allow delegates to prepare to work on specific topics on the day of the workshop.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Workshop proceedings to all participants and online downloadable.

Format: Short presentations and the use of ‘best practice case studies’ to highlight examples of promoting optimal welfare will be combined with break-out workshops on predetermined subjects and species. The goal of the workshop is to deliver suggestions for future directions of research, targeted recommendations (including policy aspects), and an overview of what this group considers non-negotiables. Prior registration and communication by the workshop organizers and dissemination of workshop materials, will allow delegates to prepare to work on specific topics on the day of the workshop.

Effects of Climate Change on Marine Mammals
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Zack Klyver

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Blue Planet Strategies

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: zackklyver@yahoo.com

Workshop Summary: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC Summary of Special Report. 2018) predicts a further rise in global temperature of 1.4° C – 5.8° C by the end of this century. Populations of arctic ice-obligate species such as narwhal, polar bears, ringed seals, bearded seals and walruses may collapse due to the loss of sea-ice habitat as a result of our climate “crisis” (Moore and Huntington 2008, Laidre et al. 2015, Carrington 2019). Scientists in all oceans are providing increased evidence of substantive ecological and energetic impacts on a wide variety of marine mammal species. Documented effects include heat stress, increased exposure to harmful algal blooms, fluctuations in prey availability, temporal changes and distribution, and calving rates (Wells 2009, Laidre 2008, Heide-Jorgensen et al. 2011, Wernberg 2012, Edwards 2013, Regehr 2016, Moore 2016, Drukenmiller 2017, Brower 2018, Derville et al. 2018, Wild et al. 2019, Record et al. 2019).

Sharing the results of marine mammal science in a way that reaches all audiences and creates conservation is critical. Predictive models and methods have been proposed for evaluating changes in species distribution and determining risk (MacLeod, 2009, Becker et al. 2018, Moore and Reeves, 2018).  More accurate data, a commitment from governments to increase funding, and expanding multidisciplinary research collaborations have been proposed for improving forecasting and management (Simmonds 2007, Laidre et al. 2015, Silber et al. 2017).

Our workshop goals include: 1) Taking inventory of the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on marine mammals 2) Identifying species most vulnerable and those that may most benefit 3) Characterize challenges and opportunities to assessment, modeling, collaboration, technology, and funding 4) Discuss resilience to habitats expected to be most negatively impacted 5) Generating conservation messaging that meets our objectives and has an enhanced global perspective.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We will produce a peer-reviewed summary report.

Format: We would like to have standard speaker presentations followed by panel Q and A and discussions aimed at answering the goals of the work shop.

For the detailed workshop agenda, click HERE.

Harmonising Global Strandings Response
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Karen Stockin

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: International Whaling Commission (IWC)

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: karen.stockin@iwc.int

Name of Workshop leader (2): Frances Gulland

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Marine Mammal Commission (MMC)

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: francesgulland@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: In 2016, an IWC multi-disciplinary expert workshop discussed how best to develop practical guidance on handling cetacean strandings. The workshop concluded that an international Strandings Initiative should be established under the auspices of the IWC. The need for a coherent international umbrella that could link up national marine mammal stranding networks was also a recommendation of the 2018 Sea Alarm workshop organised in Brest, France .. The 2019 workshop aims at synergising existing initiatives in marine mammal emergency response. Effectively, the workshop aims to unify the efforts of IWC, ACCOBAMS, ASCOBANS, NOAA, IFAW, BDMLR, PJ and other regional and national networks alongside that of the oil spill response community. The overarching aim is to assess synergies and identify what is required to coordinate, support, enhance and globalise the response to marine mammal strandings. The workshop will attempt to standardise the approach to marine mammal stranding response worldwide, which will in turn lead to improved data collection, animal welfare, and sharing of information and resources, and improved efficiencies during emergencies. This workshop will bring together international government and non-government marine mammal and environmental protection agencies, marine mammal managers and policy makers, first responders and researchers working in strandings contexts. Countries with established networks as well as countries with minimal or no current capacity for stranding response but who share interest in the development of such capacity are particularly welcome. The anticipated output of the workshop is a white paper developed from the workshop proceedings that will be circulated to specific international organisations involved in stranding and oil spill response globally (e.g. IWC, NOAA, ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS, IFAW, WCS etc).

Attendee Support and Opportunities: Potential attendees from developing nations whom are keen to attend in anticipation of establishing strandings capacity in their own countries should contact Karen Stockin on karen.stockin@iwc.int to be considered for financial assistance.

Additionally, two student rapporteurs are required to assist with the compilation of references and drafting of the post workshop report. Potential volunteers should email the workshop leaders, and if accepted will receive free registration for the workshop.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: A white paper will be developed from the workshop proceedings that will be circulated to specific international organizations involved in stranding and oil spill response globally (e.g. IWC, NOAA, ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS, IFAW, WCS etc).

Format: The workshop will commence with brief (10 min) overview presentations on the format of current strandings response from different international organizations in their respective areas/regions. This will serve as an initial icebreaker before we form breakout groups to discuss the various components needed and synergies required to establish a Global Marine Mammals Stranding Network.

Definition of a road map for the implementation of the Regional Strategy for the Monk seal in low density countries
Saturday, December 7 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Ibrahem Ben Amer

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Special Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC)

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: ibrahem.benamer@spa-rac.org

Name of Workshop leader (2): Lobna Ben Nakhla

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Special Protected Areas Regional Activity Centre (SPA/RAC)

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: lobna.bennakhla@spa-rac.org

Name of Workshop leader (3): Giulia Mo

Workshop leader (3) Affiliation: Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale

Workshop leader (3) E-mail Address: giulia.mo@isprambiente.it

Workshop Summary:

The recent assessment and update of the UNEP-MAP SPA RAC Regional Strategy for the Mediterranean monk seal has identified several issues of conservation concern. These include: an overall low attainment of the past Strategy ís objectives, a geographic imbalance of information on the species status in countries previously identified as hosting low density monk seal  numbers, an increase in sightings in countries where the species was previously believed to have disappeared or occur occasionally. The present workshop intends to gather relevant conservation stakeholders from selected monk seal low-density countries in order to define a medium term program for the implementation of the Regional Strategy objectives containing national activities planned in a specific, measurable and timely manner, developed where possible through common protocols. The activities will be discussed and developed through the contribution of participants from geographic areas of the south-western to south-eastern Mediterranean subregion. 

The workshop aims to define monitoring measures for the endangered Mediterranean monk seal in a subarea of the Mediterranean sea.

Primary Audience for the workshop includes national conservation scientists, research centers, relevant agencies, NGOs, possible funding donors The results and recommendations of the workshops will be presented for approval to the National Focal Points of SPA/RAC in each of the targeted countries/region so as to enable the start-up of possible monitoring programmes. The outcome will also be used to communicate with possible donor and grant providers to secure funds for subregional monitoring programmes.

SUNDAY MORNING HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

Predator controls. Lessons from land to sea.
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Mark Simmonds

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: University of Bristol/Humane Society International

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: mark.simmonds@sciencegyre.co.uk

Name of Workshop leader (2): Laetitia Nunny

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Wild Animal Welfare

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: laetitia.nunny@me.com

Workshop Summary: With human activities, including food and energy production, transport and tourism, all rapidly growing at sea, our workshop aims to explore the opportunities for those striving to manage conflicts with marine mammal predators to learn from those who manage analogous issues affecting large terrestrial predators (and visa versa). We will, therefore, facilitate the attendance and contributions of suitable terrestrial wildlife experts as well as those working in the marine environment.  The workshop will focus on perceived and real competition at fisheries and fish farms and consider where approaches used for terrestrial predators might be applied in the marine environment. This will include consideration of how human expectations are managed in conflict situations. Human attitudes towards predators may impact how they are managed in a practical way and may influence the methods used to manage them, including whether lethal or non-lethal methods are favoured. Wildlife conflict experts will share their insights and experience and seek to elaborate some guiding principles.

Provisional Agenda (Version 2):

Start at 08.30.

  1. Welcome and introduction to the range of issues where conflicts arise between marine and terrestrial mammals and humans. Mark Simmonds, Workshop Leader
  2. Key note presentations:
  • 2.1 Conflict with marine mammals at fish farms. (30 minutes) Andrew Trites, University of British Colombia
  • 2.2  Large carnivore damage in Europe: Analysis of prevention programs, (30 minutes) Carlos Bautista, Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences
  • 2.3 How individual specialisations of an opportunistic terrestrial species affect problem solving – a rarely applied approach. (30 minutes) Diederik van Liere, CABWIM wildlife research consultancy.
  • 2.4 Large Predator Issues – Examples from Catalonia (30 minutes) Santiago Palazon, Fauna and Flora Service, Generalitat de Catalunya.

Coffee Break (30 minutes -10.30-11.00)

  1. Panel Discussion focused around key questions (30 minutes):
  • How do you measure the effectiveness and humaneness of control methods?
  • Are there common mechanisms for control between the marine and the terrestrial environments?
  • How do human attitudes influence how predators are managed?
  • Conservation, animal welfare and animal culture: how are these elements best balanced when
  • managing conflict?
  1. Open Discussion (25 -minutes)
  2. Conclusions including discussion about a potential publication of workshop results

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The workshop outputs, including any guiding principles developed, may be brought forward for publication in an appropriate journal as a multi-authored submission or its equivalent.

Format: There will be a series of presentations describing issues for both marine and terrestrial predators; a facilitated panel discussion, which will also field questions from other participants; and, finally, a structured discussion which will identify guiding principles and conclusions.

Towards coordinated marine mammal monitoring programmes for MSFD second cycle 2020-2026
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Benjamin Guichard

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: French Agency for Biodiversity

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: benjamin.guichard@afbiodiversite.fr

Name of Workshop leader (2): Julie Belmont

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: ACCOBAMS Permanent Secretariat

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: jbelmont@accobams.net

Workshop Summary: The workshop will focus on large and collaborative surveys efforts, considered as the most appropriate approach to provide assessment of cetaceans status at large scale. The mains surveys identified for discussion are regional plane and boat surveys (SCANS, ASI, REMMOA), surveys from scientific vessels (Megascope) or ferries (FLT MedNet, ORCA) and telemetry surveys, but could also include other topics of transnational interest (Photo-ID databases, Passive Accoustic Monitoring, etc.).

This event will target participants involved or responsible for the implementation of the Marine Mammals Monitoring as part of the D1 MFSD implementation in EU countries, and the Ecosystem Approach processes in the Mediterranean and Black Seas countries (UNEP/MAP and Bucharest Convention) as well as representatives of relevant regional organizations (ACCOBAMS, ASCOBANS, UNEP/MAP/SPA-RAC, Bucharest Convention…) and coordinators of large-scale surveys.

Objectives of the event include:

  • Reviewing of existing and in development monitoring programmes. For example, a draft of the French marine mammal monitoring programme for MSFD 2nd cycle (2020-2026) will be presented,
  • Fostering collaboration and transboundary consultations,
  • Establish recommendations for ensuring synchronization of national monitoring efforts.

Attendee Support and Opportunities: ACCOBAMS may  support the registration fees of some participants from the ACCOBAMS Agreement Area. Conditions will be provided at a later stage.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: European Commission, ASCOBANS, ACCOBAMS, OSPAR, HELCOM and Barcelona conventions

Format: Series of speakers and a panel followed by discussion.

Developing the Next Generation of Marine Animal Telemetry, Expanding Global Data Availability for Marine Mammal Monitoring
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1230

Name of Workshop leader (1): Jacob Levenson

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: U.S. Department of Interior, Bureu of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: jacob.levenson@boem.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Andres Martinez

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: NASA Headquarters, Advanced Exploration Systems division

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: andres.martinez@nasa.gov

Workshop Summary:

Effective natural resource research and monitoring require an understanding of where animals go and what they do when they go to a particular place – this is accomplished through various types of telemetry. Wildlife telemetry is a critical tool both within and outside of the federal government.  However, there are limitations to today’s animal telemetry technology, including available satellites, data costs and limited spatial coverage.  Proprietary systems do not have an open standard for transmitting data, leading to limited receiving options.  To address the need across government agencies to understand animal movement, habitat usage and behavior. NASA and DOI have an interagency agreement in place to conduct a study entitled, ‘Developing the Next Generation of Animal Telemetry: A Partnership to Develop Cost Effective, Open-Source, Marine Megafaunal Tracking.’ The study itself is designed to support development of a low-cost method that would increase the capabilities of marine animal tracking on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) by leveraging space-based transceivers aboard CubeSats as well as ocean and terrestrial based transceivers to demonstrate the feasibility of tracking various marine megafauna.  This workshop is to understand the needs of the marine mammal tagging community. NASA and BOEM will provide an overview of development progress to date, including results of feasibility testing and a design challenge for an open-source, high spatiotemporal coverage SmallSat system. This includes full lifecycle tracking from animal to data user by an open standard for MEGAFUNA (Marine Ecology Global Analysis Finding Animals Utilizing Nanosatellite Applications) tracking using assets on land, water, stratosphere and/or space.   The majority of the workshop time will be focused on guided discussion around the following topics: Topic 1 – Tracking Infrastructure Architecture (water, land, stratosphere, and space) Topic 2 – Data Management (data stewardship, management, etc.) Topic 3 – Open source communication platform

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Results of this workshop will contribute towards refining scientific community needs in an improved animal telemetry network. These results will be included in the final report of this study and disseminated by BOEM and NASA.

Format: Panel of experts where each participant presents on this topic, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

Ocean Alert-Flukebook: streamlining data for marine mammal protection
Sunday, December 8 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Jacob Levenson

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Washington, DC, USA

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: Jacob.Levenson@boem.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Jason Holmberg

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: WildMe, Portland, Oregon, USA

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: jason@wildme.org

Workshop Summary: Citizen scientists, researchers, industry PSO/MMO, and managers need the integrated tools to streamline differently sourced data across national and oceanic scales to conserve marine species and make evidenced-based decisions. Fragmented citizen science programs with no singular data workflow for protected species makes it difficult, if not impossible, to use vast amounts of available data for environmental impact analysis. We have created a multi-platform system which brings together a mobile application for both effort-based and opportunistic citizen science data collection with a cloud-based tool kit for analysis of photo-identification and sightings data. In this workshop, attendees will be trained in the use of the system and be able to provide feedback on the continuously developing platforms.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: outputs are trained users

Format: a training session on use of technology

Areas of Interest (AoI) for informing the identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs)
Sunday, December 8 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Michael Tetley

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: IUCN Joint Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: immacoordinator@gmail.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Caterina Lanfredi

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Tethys Research Institute

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: caterina.lanfredi@polimi.it

Workshop Summary: Important Marine Mammal Areas or ‘IMMAs’ are a spatial conservation-planning tool developed by the IUCN Joint SSC/WCPA Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. IMMAs highlight discrete areas of importance to marine mammals, which have the potential to be delineated for the purposes of conservation and management. To date, following the first expert workshop in the Mediterranean in October 2016, IMMAs have been identified for cetaceans, sirenians and pinnipeds in portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern Ocean and adjoining seas. The process used to identify IMMAs during expert regional workshops includes a preliminary step of seeking Areas of Interest (AoI) proposals, where experts identify existing information to assess against the IMMA selection criteria. From the IMMA regional workshops undertaken so far marine mammal experts have used their direct knowledge and research, as well as the presence of other existing areas of protection or management that include these species as a feature as AoI for the basis of the candidate IMMAs. However, other existing datasets of past and present marine mammal distribution and habitat, such as historic catch records and habitat descriptions of where species are known to likely occur, could provide additional AoI ‘triggers’ to be considered useful for the systematic approach to compile AoI in advance of regional workshops. However, guidance is needed by experts in the marine mammal knowledge and conservation community to evaluate datasets and methods that may be needed to ascertain triggers for expert investigation, which may prove useful for the identification of IMMAs. Utilising short talks on topics such as historic catch records, local and indigenous knowledge, and likely habitat use indicators, this workshop will stimulate a facilitated expert discussion on the best way to develop trigger cues and possible numerical thresholds for identifying future IMMA AoI in a robust systematic process.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The results of the workshop will be included in the next updated version of the IMMA Guidance Document and will be tested in future Regional Expert IMMA Workshops, including those already planned for Australia & New Zealand and the South Eastern Temperate and Tropical Pacific Regions in 2020. Outcomes will further be included in materials to be presented by the Task Force at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2020 as well as in further communications with CMS, IWC, CBD and other international bodies, agreements and conventions.

Format: Option 1. a series of speakers and/or a panel followed by discussion [Utilising short talks on topics such as historic catch records, local and indigenous knowledge, and likely habitat use indicators, this workshop will stimulate a facilitated expert discussion on the best way to develop trigger cues and possible numerical thresholds for identifying future IMMA AoI in a robust systematic process. The activity will be preceded by a pre-workshop outreach and community consultation using online web portal (SeaSketch and Form+), social media, and main marine mammal email servers (MARMAM and ESC Talk). The proposed workshop format begins with 1 Hour of introductory presentations by selected Speakers; 2-2.5 hours of facilitated breakout ‘focus’ groups on the main varieties of potential AoI ‘triggers’ identified in advance of workshop; 30 minutes to summarize recommendations and final concluding remarks].

Acoustic monitoring of Odontocete population trends: Discussion of current issues, and introduction to the F-POD
Sunday, December 8 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Nick Tregenza

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Chelonia Ltd; Exeter University

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: nick.tregenza@chelonia.co.uk

Name of Workshop leader (2): Armando Jaramillo

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Ecologia y Cambio Climatico, Ensenada

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: ajaramil@cicese.mx

Workshop Summary: Acoustic monitoring has been able to track the awful decline of the Vaquita with useful precision, and to show that the Baltic Sea Harbor Porpoise still has a viable population. That has produced the first acoustically-based major MCZ proposal. There are still many questions surrounding this type of application of acoustics, and a new instrument the – C-POD-F – that builds on the experience of those projects.  This workshop aims to explore these topic and identify key issues for actual projects and future research.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: A report will be hosted on a website, probably by Exeter University.

Format: Primarily a discussion forum. Discussion topics, each with short introductions, and a focus on identifying what is not known and developments we might be looking for:

  • Monitoring trends in odontocete populations.
  • Spatial sampling regimes.
  • C-POD-F instrument – rationale
  • Significance of false negatives and false positives.
  • Detection functions.
  • Noise impacts on detection rates.
  • Validation versus editing of data.
  • Assessment of human analysts.
  • Moorings and costs

Marine Mammal Endocrinology
Sunday, December 8 - 1330-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Sascha Usenko

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Baylor University

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: Sascha_Usenko@baylor.edu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Kathleen Hunt

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: tweedoo@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: In light of the National Academy of Science 2017 report titled ‘Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals’, there is a growing interest in assessing stress hormones and other parts of the endocrine system in marine mammals.  This workshop represents a unique opportunity for the SMM scientific community to weigh in on this important topic as well as provide participants with the latest scientific and technological advances in the field of marine mammal endocrinology.  We plan to review existing international science and practice, exchange ideas, stimulate collaboration, identify and recommend future directions, and provide mentorship to the next generation of scientists. We expect this will increase the understanding of hormones in marine mammals, identify novel technology, and how the environment can affect the behavior and physiology of these animals as a result of cumulative effects of stress.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Workshop paper from the half-day panel of speakers to summarize where the field is now. Maybe a blog post on a website would be a faster way of disseminating rather than a paper that will quickly become outdated?

Format: Half-day panel of speakers, followed by focused networking groups (in particular for students to meet future collaborators).

SUNDAY FULL DAY WORKSHOPS

Ninth International Sirenian Symposium
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Nicole Adimey

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: adimey22@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: The purpose of the Ninth International Sirenian Symposium is to support and promote Sirenian conservation.  Scientists from around the globe are encouraged to present new science and address how their work contributes to the global conservation of the Sirenians and supports regional initiatives or pressing management challenges. Topics can include human interactions, physiology, monitoring applications, modeling, genetics, captive care and rehabilitation, management, general biology, stranding response and education and outreach.  This Symposium is intended to foster communication between researchers, managers, and environmental organization on all aspects of Sirenian research and conservation. The symposium will include presentations, a poster session, and a panel discussion on current topics surrounding Sirenian conservation and management. Sirenian items will be available for purchase to raise funds for future symposia and travel grants.  The cost of this workshop will be supplemented by outside funding sources, therefore, participants who register by October 1, 2019 will be charged a reduced registration fee of $35 USD. After October 1 2019 the standard full-day workshop fee of $110 will be charged. Those interested in presenting research should submit an abstract (300 word limit, 12pt font) to Nicole Adimey (adimey22@gmail.com) by October 1, 2019.  Preference will be given to speakers conducting research or addressing conservation issues outside the United States of America.

Attendee Support and Opportunities: Conference support from outside donors will provide a significant discount. Participants who sign up for this workshop by October 1, 2019 will pay between $30-35 USD for registration depending on the level of support received (see registration page for final cost).

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Abstracts are disseminated amongst attendees and to the wider Sirenian community from long-term established Sirenian email lists. Abstracts and contact information will also be submitted to Sirenian News for their quarterly outreach.

Format: The morning format will be a series of speakers, followed by an afternoon panel discussion, more speakers and possibly a poster session.

Genomics of Marine Mammals III
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Michael McGowen

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: mcgowenm@si.edu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Andrew Foote

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Bangor University

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: footead@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: This will be the third Marine Mammal Genomics Workshop, first held at the 20thBiennial Conference in New Zealand. The last workshop was four years ago in San Francisco and resulted in a published review by workshop presenters (https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esw044). Genomics is a dynamic field, and new genomic data, novel techniques and methods of analysis appear monthly. We would bring together researchers in this fast-moving field to discuss new developments in marine mammal genomics including phylogenomics, population genomics, conservation genomics, museomics, proteomics, and hologenomics among others. The symposium would provide a platform to present more complex and detailed results to a more specialised audience than at the main biennial conference. Researchers will present cutting edge research on marine mammals with the aim of describing and summarizing state-of-the-art techniques and methods to workshop attendees. A panel discussion will follow the talks, so attendees and speakers will able to ask questions and interact.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Results of the workshop will include a brief description of methods and analysis programmes to be disseminated to the workshop attendees. We will also facilitate panel discussion and a Q&A involving help with how to set up a genomics project.

Format: The format will be a series of speakers that will deliver 30 minute talks involving key techniques in how to analyze genomic data. This will be followed by a panel discussion in which the speakers will field questions and help participants conceive of how to implement genomics to answer their questions.

Roadmap for the right sentinel for climate change: developing an action plan to achieve the IWC-SORP southern right whale theme objectives
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Claire Charlton

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Curtin University, Western Australia

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: claire.charlton@live.com.au

Name of Workshop leader (2): Emma Carroll

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: University of Auckland

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: e.carroll@auckland.ac.nz

Workshop Summary: This workshop aims to build a strategic action plan and roadmap for achieving objectives of the over-arching research theme 6 of the International Whaling Commission Southern Ocean Research Partnership (IWC-SORP) ‘the right sentinel for climate change’. In IWC-SORP theme 6, southern right whale population dynamics and health are linked with foraging ecology and climate variates, on a global scale. The main goal is to leverage the existing long-term datasets from the primary wintering grounds with new knowledge on the species’ foraging ecology and linkages between migratory habitats, with the ultimate goal to investigate the impact of past and future climate variation on right whale recovery. The southern right whale workshop at the World Marine Mammal Science Conference in Barcelona, 2019 will bring international expert researchers together with the primary aim to identify the next steps forward to fulfil the objectives of the IWC-SORP theme. Experts will present on past, present and future southern right whale research around the theme’s objectives (http://www.marinemammals.gov.au/sorp/the-right-sentinel-for-climate-change). Technological innovations in research tools and analyses for addressing these objectives will be a particular focus. Overall, multi-disciplinary approaches and cross-institutional collaborations that will facilitate the achievement of the SORP theme will be identified. Workshop outputs will include a concrete action plan to be presented at the IWC Science Committee Southern Hemisphere (SH) Sub-Committee in 2020. The list of speakers and agenda will be distributed to registered participants closer to the workshop.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Research outputs will be disseminated by presentation to the IWC Science Committee Southern Hemisphere sub-committee in 2020, as well as circulated to the southern right whale research community and used in funding proposals.

Format: The workshop format will include a series of speakers and a group effort to draft an action plan for fulfilling over-arching goals.

Analysis of High-Resolution Movement Tag Data
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Stacy DeRuiter

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Calvin College

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: sld33@calvin.edu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Lucia Martina Martin Lopez

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: University of St Andrews

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: lmml2@st-andrews.ac.uk

Workshop Summary: Analysis of data from tags with high-resolution movement-sensors presents many challenges, motivating development of software tools to facilitate analysis and interpretation. Led by a team including Lucía Martina Martín López, Stacy DeRuiter, Mark Johnson, René Swift, Tiago Marques, Catriona Harris, and others, this workshop introduces an open-source tool kit for analysis of data from tags with high-resolution movement sensors (such as pressure, accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope; sampled multiple times per second). The tool kit includes tools to read/write, calibrate, process, visualize, and statistically analyze datasets from multiple tag types, such as DTAG, Acousonde, CATS, Wildlife Computers, OpenTag, Little Leonardo and more. Workshop topics include: 1) organizing tag data and metadata in archive-ready format; 2) calibration, including validation and frame-of-reference conversion; 3) processing, including estimating dead-reckoned tracks and posture, parameterizing locomotion and detecting foraging. 4) interactive data visualization. The workshop combines theory and practical exercises, including opportunity for hands-on analysis of provided datasets or participants’ own data. Documentation and materials from previous workshops can be found at www.animaltags.org, and materials from this workshop will also be freely available there after the event. Our goal is to enable high-quality, reproducible, sophisticated analyses of tag data, while also facilitating comparison of results between studies, tag types and computational software platforms. The tools are available for Matlab, Octave, and R platforms, and participants are expected to arrive at the workshop with a laptop that has at least one of these installed; instruction and practical work will assume basic familiarity with coding in either Matlab, Octave or R. (Please contact organizers in advance to make arrangements, if this is not feasible for you.)

Attendee Support and Opportunities: Organizers are in the process of seeking funding to support this workshop. If you would like to attend but cannot afford the registration fees, please contact the workshop leaders with a brief explanation of your situation. Requests will be considered as funding allows.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: All workshop materials (software used, documentation for the software, lecture slides, practicals, etc.) will be provided to participants but also posted online at animaltags.org, where they will remain freely available. The workshop goal is to communicate skills rather than produce a paper or project, so no publication is anticipated.

Format: The workshop will include lecturer-led presentations and demonstrations as well as hands-on practice at data analysis (using participants’ choice of provided datasets or their own data). During practical sessions, workshop leaders will be available to troubleshoot, answer questions, and offer advice on advanced topics. Participants will leave the workshop with experience implementing and editing the open-source code to suit their analysis needs.

Pinniped Entanglement Prevention and Response
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Kim Raum-Suryan

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: kim.raum-suryan@noaa.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Dave Zahniser

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: The Marine Mammal Center

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: zahniserd@tmmc.org

Workshop Summary: Entanglement in marine debris and fishing gear is increasingly recognized as a serious source of human-caused mortality for pinniped populations world-wide. Pinniped rescue specialists and researchers around the world are working to address this issue, but these efforts are often made in isolation from one another. To provide increased global collaboration and communication among scientists, non-government organizations, non-profits, and others, the Pinniped Entanglement Group (PEG) was created in 2009. The PEG collaborates to reduce pinniped entanglements in marine debris and fishing gear through education, outreach, and rescue. This workshop is intended to bring together researchers, managers, and responders interested in working toward the common goal of reducing global pinniped entanglements and interactions with fishing gear. This is an opportunity to unite those already working on pinniped entanglement prevention and response or those interested in learning more about this topic to share ideas and exchange techniques and methods. The morning session will consist of presentations including 1) pinniped entanglement prevention, 2) entanglement response best practices, 3) fishery interactions and effective deterrents, 4) tool techniques and development, and 5) outreach and education. The afternoon session will start with a panel of experts available to answer questions followed by a group discussion. The discussion period will provide an opportunity to share techniques, establish new connections, identify data gaps, and plan for next steps. This conference provides a valuable opportunity for our global community to meet face to face to improve responses to pinniped entanglement, advance mitigation to reduce marine plastic pollution and to advance the global PEG and their efforts to reduce pinniped entanglements worldwide.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: A summary report of the workshop will be shared with workshop participants and with the global Pinniped Entanglement Group (PEG). We would also like to produce a journal article based on a review of the issue and identification of priorities for mitigation.

Format: A series of speakers and an expert panel, followed by a group discussion.

Sensory Ecology of Marine Mammals
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Sherri A. Eldridge

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: seldridge@whoi.edu

Name of Workshop leader (2): Joy S. Reidenberg

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: Joy.Reidenberg@mssm.edu

Workshop Summary: The life history of marine mammals is predicated on detection of aquatically-transmitted information. Their specialized sensory organs are tuned to receive stimuli enabling diverse strategies for communication, foraging, mating, swimming, and navigating various marine habitats and conditions. This full-day workshop begins with talks and panels presenting recent discoveries in marine mammal vision, audition, chemoreception and somatosensation. Attendees will select two afternoon workgroups focusing on 1) the comparative anatomical adaptations and mechanisms of one sensory modality, and 2) the ecological significance of sensory functions unique to a marine mammal taxonomic group. We invite researchers and students interested in marine mammal sensory systems, evolution, behavior and cognition. Other objectives of the workshop are to foster interdisciplinary research partnerships, identify important knowledge gaps, and offer insights for conservation. Speakers and workshop coordinators will have the opportunity to contribute to a review article summarizing the current frontiers of marine mammal sensory ecology.

Attendee Support and Opportunities: Students: Two interns are needed to help with running the workshop, beginning at 7:30am. Volunteers should email the workshop leaders. If selected, your workshop registration fee will be reimbursed in Barcelona.

Researchers interested in leading one of the discussion sessions are also requested to email the workshop leaders.

Please continue to check back here for additional opportunities.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Presenters and workgroup coordinators will be invited to contribute to an article on the topic of Frontiers in Marine Mammal Sensory Ecology. This review article will be submitted for publication to a peer-reviewed journal, such as Marine Mammal Science, Aquatic Mammals, or Ecology and Evolution.

Format: Morning: series of talks and panel discussions on each sensory modality of marine mammals. Early afternoon: workgroup break-outs by sensory system to compare species-specific adaptations indicative of habitat use, foraging or mating strategies, navigation, and other critical behaviors. Late afternoon: workgroup break-outs by marine mammal clade to discuss sensory integration and implications for perception and cognition relative to known behaviors. All activities will encourage ideas for conservation.

Developing the next generation framework for modeling marine mammal responses to noise: a workshop to identify key elements for future models
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Saana Isojunno

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: University of St Andrews

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: si66@st-andrews.ac.uk

Name of Workshop leader (2): Catriona Harris

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: University of St Andrews

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: Catriona.Harris@st-andrews.ac.uk

Workshop Summary: This interactive workshop will discuss how marine mammal responses to noise could be modeled in the future to reduce uncertainty in dose-response, better capture biological significance and improve estimates of impact.  We will explore what context variables may be most relevant to consider versus practical to measure and may improve upon noise impact assessments that rely on acoustic exposure alone as the dose parameter. Variables include, but are not limited to: noise source features (e.g., source level, frequency, range), environmental context (e.g., prey availability) and animal context (e.g., reproductive status, group size, behavior, hearing group). We will have short invited presentations on  current, and potential future, behavior response modelling approaches, followed by group activities to share expertise and derive conceptual frameworks for ‘next generation’ response models. These frameworks could consider e.g., auditory processing, animal cognition, optimal foraging, the risk-disturbance hypothesis, and links to population-level consequences. Provisional schedule of the full-day workshop: Morning: introduction & invited presentations, which will include a review of current approaches and context variables in behaviour response modelling Breaks: mini poster session (participants invited to submit 100 word abstract for posters) Afternoon: group activities and open discussion to derive future conceptual models Outputs will inform the Double-Mocha project, which is focused on the effects of sonar on cetaceans. However, our aim is for the workshop and the resulting conceptual frameworks to be relevant to other noise sources.   A public workshop report will be sent to all participants and posted on the MOCHA website (https://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/mocha/).

Dissemination of Workshop Results: Public workshop report will be sent to all participants and posted on the MOCHA website (https://synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk/mocha/)

Format: Short talks, break-out groups and open discussion. This full day workshop also includes a poster session.

Incentivising consistent data collection and transparent reporting of marine mammal bycatch in fisheries
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Matt Gummery

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Marine Stewardship Council

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: matt.gummery@msc.org

Name of Workshop leader (2): Dr. Rohan Currey

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Marine Stewardship Council

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: rohan.currey@msc.org

Workshop Summary: The Marine Stewardship Council is a sustainability standard and market-based incentive for fisheries to improve practices and reduce environmental impact, including impacts on marine mammals. Sustainable management of human impacts on marine mammal populations requires consistent, transparent data collection that is often lacking. The MSC would like to explore how to incentivise data-sharing and reward transparency so the true extent of fisheries impacts can be understood and mitigated where necessary. The workshop would include sessions on best practice data collection, consistent data standards, risk-based approaches and behavioural incentives. Conclusions from this workshop will inform the review of the MSC Fisheries Standard, which is presently applied in more than 400 fisheries worldwide.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The MSC will produce a workshop report and aim to summarise workshop findings with collaborators and submit to a scientific journal for publication.

Format: Presentations from a series of speakers followed by general discussion and workshopping of ideas to identify common themes and generate recommendations that reflect best practice in transparent data collection.

Sociality in riverine, lagoon-living, and coastal cetaceans: A descriptive analysis
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Dipani Sutaria

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: James Cook University, Australia

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: dipani.sutaria@gmail.com

Name of Workshop leader (2): Bernd Würsig

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Texas A & M Galveston

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: wuersig@sbcglobal.net

Workshop Summary: This workshop as a continuation of Würsig 2019 In Press, will bring together studies on small cetaceans from different habitat types to compare grouping, cooperative foraging, parental care, epimeletic care, social aggression, infanticide, avoidance behaviors, and other topics suggested by participants. Cetaceans of rivers and lagoons have evolved in environments characterized by spatial limitation, fluctuating prey, often no or little predation pressure, and seasonally dynamic environments. In comparison, coastal species tend to be influenced by predator presence, year-around prey availability and a mostly stable continuous habitat. To understand if these differences influence sociality and under what circumstances, we explore up-to-date knowledge. If there is a gradual increase in complexity and communication as we move from the obligate or true river dolphins to the more facultative estuarine/brackish-water and coastal species; does the degree of social aggression, and altruistic behaviours increase too? Do these behavioral differences affect how we can better conserve them and their habitats?

Part 1: 3 hours: Series of speakers

2:30 hrs:min with 20min talk each including videos and films. Could include more than one speaker for each group.

Talk 1: Platanista

Talk 2: Lipotes

Talk 3: Inia

Talk 4: Sotalia

Talk 5: Orcaella

Talk 6: Sousa

Talk 7: Neophocaena

Talk 8: Tursiops and others…

30min Discussion with coffee/tea. Listing social and socio-sexual behaviours that are similar and different or not-observed across species.

 

Part 2 : 3 hours:   Exercise in comparing available information across species and habitats including methods (opportunistic or focal sampling)

Discussion 1 – Methods and sampling designs- needs in future studies

Discussion 2 – Linking social states to events and proximate/ultimate factors

Discussion 3 – Linking social behaviours to social structure / association index

Discussion 4 – Inter-species sociality

Discussion 5 – Sociality and interactions between humans and cetaceans

 

Part 3a: A bit less than 1 hour: Collating information and discussing conservation interventions in terms of behavior
Two presentations and discussion

Part 3b: A bit less than 1 hour: Collating information and discussing the evolution of social complexity and aggression.
Two presentations and discussion

Final wrap-up with available time, but a minimum of 20 min.:  Summary by the conveners, and discussion of how this workshop can be made more universally useful, perhaps by a dedicated journal submission on the topic, or an edited book.

Participation: We have 15 confirmed potential speakers (by our count, and pending our final decisions) by 30 May, 2019, and therefore are assured that this workshop will be a success.  A total of 22 researchers have so far contacted us with highly positive comments to be involved but are dependent on funding availability. We expect there to be many more by our suggested deadline of 15 June.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: We will prepare a report on the workshop, and work towards producing a collaborative paper or set of papers, depending on participant interest.

Format: Part 1: Series of speakers Part 2: Drafting-Exercise in comparing available information across species and habitats. Part 3a: Drafting- Collating information and discussing conservation interventions in terms of behavior; Part 3b: Drafting – Collating information and discussing the evolution of social complexity and aggression.

"Arts" as a tool for communicating marine mammal science
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Volker Smit

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: MSc Biology, Teacher, Vice-president ngo M.E.E.R., Berlin, Germany

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: smit@m-e-e-r.de

Name of Workshop leader (2): Dr. Luigi Alessandro Bundone

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Archipelagos – ambiente e sviluppo, Italia

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: luigibundone@tiscali.it

Workshop Summary: In this seventh successive workshop in the area of communication we want to continue to share educational and outreaching experiences of communicating marine mammal science to the general public and within the scientific community. These experiences can be educational programs that support school or university curricula, pedagogical outreach materials such as books, videos, audios, kits, photographs, paintings, drawings, activities and exhibitions or any combination of the above mentioned. This year’s sub-theme will be centred on ‘Arts as a tool for communication’. With ‘Arts’ we include all forms of expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, including the various branches of creativity such as painting, music, technology, literature and dance.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: After the workshop there will be a follow-up communication disseminating results via mailing list, cloud and other. A report of the workshop including the abstracts of the different contributions will be made available.

Format: The workshop will be divided in two parts. In the morning session, several invited speakers will shed light on some aspects of the topic. The afternoon session will depend very much on the input of the participants/ presenters in sharing their experiences as well as addressing challenges they are currently facing. A more detailed programme e.g. with abstracts will soon be published and send to you on request. The afternoon session will include practical experiences, expositions and performances related to the main message of the workshop in order to interact with the audience.

Click HERE for a PDF of the detailed workshop description.

Rise of the machines - Application of automated systems for matching dolphin dorsal fins: current status and future directions
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Reny Tyson Moore

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: rtysonmoore@mote.org

Name of Workshop leader (2): Kim Urian

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Duke University Marine Laboratory

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: kim.urian@gmail.com

Workshop Summary: Photographic-identification is an important tool used by many researchers to study cetaceans over a wide variety of temporal and spatial scales. Recently, several automated algorithms have been developed to identify cetacean dorsal fins and improve the efficiency of the matching process. However, there has been little discussion amongst users regarding the efficacy or accuracy of these systems. This workshop will bring together photo-ID researchers and algorithm developers to identify strengths and weaknesses of several automated fin-matching systems; evaluate their success in matching dorsal fins; and assess their application in photo-ID workflows. Prior to the workshop, a survey will be distributed to researchers who are using automated fin-matching systems, asking them to describe the performance of the systems they use. We will circulate a test data set of common bottlenose dolphin dorsal fin images to these labs to allow a direct comparison of performance among systems. At the workshop, we will provide a short presentation summarizing the results of the survey and matching tests. Invited experts will provide presentations on key topics that build from these results, and group discussions will focus on building consensus on best practices for use of these systems. Workshop participants will contribute their experience with relevant species: bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, killer whales, spinner dolphins, Hector’s dolphins, pilot whales, and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. Experts in machine learning and development of Artificial Intelligence matching systems will be invited to provide insight and feedback in response to needs identified by the photo-ID researchers. Workshop goals include the development of a manuscript that describes best practices for using fin recognition technology, and assessing whether a single ‘standard’ system can be developed for automated dorsal fin photo-ID.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The workshop organizers and invited experts will author a manuscript outlining the results of the survey and matching test that were distributed prior to the workshop, and summarize the discussions regarding best practices and standards following Urian et al. (2015), which arose from the ‘Using photo-identification data to estimate abundance for populations of cetaceans with capture-recapture techniques’ held at the XIXth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. The manuscript will be submitted to Marine Mammal Science for peer-review so that it is accessible to all Society members.

Urian, K., Gorgone, A., Read, A., Balmer, B., Wells, R. S., Berggren, P., Durban, P., Eguchi, T., Rayment, W. and Hammond, P. S. (2015). Recommendations for photo-identification methods used in capture-recapture models with cetaceans. Marine Mammal Science, 31(1), 298-321.

Format: The workshop organizers will give a short presentation summarizing the results of the survey and test dataset. We will identify key topics identified from these results and invite experts on those topics to provide a short presentation, then lead a group discussion to attempt to reach consensus on the best practice for each topic. Workshop participants will contribute their experience with species that have been the focus of dorsal fin photo-id studies: bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, killer whales, spinner dolphins, Hector’s dolphins, pilot whales, and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins. Experts in machine learning and developing Artificial Intelligence matching systems will be invited to provide insight and feedback in response to the needs identified by the photo-ID researchers.

Management of Marine Mammal Morbidity and Mortality Events - Emergency Response and Preparedness
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Mendy Garron

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: mendy.garron@noaa.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Robert DiGiovanni Jr.

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Atlantic Marine Conservation Society

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: rdigiovanni@amseas.org

Workshop Summary: Increasing climate and environmental variability may lead to unusual and elevated marine mammal stranding events. The increase in frequency of unusual stranding events has taxed the resources of established stranding responders as well as local, state, and federal agencies. The need to identify ways to rapidly locate and deploy resources is critical to addressing these emerging events.  At the start of 2019, nine federally declared Unusual Mortality Events (UME) were open in the United States, with seven events actively responding to elevated stranding rates of marine mammal taxa from whales to pinnipeds. These mortality events increased the demands placed on the national stranding response network and required a significant amount of resources to manage.  Over the course of the last decade, stranding responders have adapted local, state, and federal government emergency response frameworks to respond to large scale marine mammal morbidity and mortality events. Case studies of large mortality events, high profile stranding cases, and complex incidents will be presented in this workshop, along with lessons learned obtained through extensive after-action review processes with stranding network professionals.  Details of recommendations developed by stranding responders and government agencies will be provided and interactive training sessions for marine mammal field responders will be integrated into the workshop. Unusual stranding events considered in this workshop will include mass strandings, elevated stranding rates over an extended time period, oil spill related events, out-of-habitat situations, carcass disposal and general response that taxes the local resources during an emergency response.  Intended audience includes existing, as well as newly formed, stranding response organizations, non-governmental, academic, local, state and federal response entities.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: A Workshop Report will be developed and disseminated to the Workshop participants. Workshop discussion and input will be incorporated into a peer- reviewed paper that is currently in development.

Format: Format will consist of a series of speakers, panel discussions, and small group break out and advisory sessions.

Cachalote Consortium 2019: Behavior, ecology and the structure of sperm whale societies - implications for the conservation of ocean nomads
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Sarah Mesnick

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: sarah.mesnick@Noaa.gov

Name of Workshop leader (2): Shane Gero

Workshop leader (2) Affiliation: Marine Bioacoustics Lab, Aarhus University & The Dominica Sperm Whale Project

Workshop leader (2) E-mail Address: shane.gero@biology.au.dk

Workshop Summary: The Cachalote Consortium was created in 2005 with the goal of bringing sperm whale researchers from multiple disciplines together to promote understanding of global patterns of sperm whale biology, ecology and conservation.  The gatherings provide a forum for presenting progress, trading ideas, exchanging and standardizing methodologies, identifying knowledge gaps, inspiring new collaborations and fostering the next generation of sperm whale scientists. In parallel with the goals of the World Marine Mammal Conference, we seek contributions that promote interdisciplinary dialogue on the science and conservation of sperm whale societies and that discuss techniques (traditional and novel) that promote understanding at multiple scales: social, regional and global. This year we extend invitations to sperm whale scientists and to policy makers, providing a special opportunity to explore these topics as they relate to conserving nomadic ocean species. The program will involve a series of short presentations, with much opportunity for discussion.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The outputs of this workshop will primarily be disseminated through the hearts and minds of the people that attend, the inspiration of new ideas and the support of new collaborations. No formal written output is intended. We do value the networking and an updated sperm whale research mailing list.

Format: The workshop will be divided into ca. 4-5 short sessions around specific topics. In each of the sessions, we have brief talks and then open table discussion.

TursioMed: an international collaborative project to assess the ecology and conservation status of the bottlenose dolphin in the Mediterranean
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Guido Gnone

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Fondazione Acquario di Genova

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: ggnone@costaedutainment.it

Workshop Summary: TursioMed is an international research project to study the ecology of Tursiops truncatus and to assess the conservation status of this species in the Mediterranean Sea. The project is financed by Blu Planet Virginia Böger Stiftung X.X. Foundation, in collaboration with WWF Switzerland and has the patronage of ACCOBAMS. 30 research institutions from 8 Mediterranean countries have joined the project and uploaded their data on a web-GIS platform for data sharing and aggregation (Intercet). The workshop is intended to present and discuss the results of this extensive collaboration project and to finalize a technical-scientific report on the ecology and conservation status of the bottlenose dolphin in the Mediterranean basin. All the researchers studying the bottlenose dolphin (in the Mediterranean context or wherever) are invited to subscribe for the workshop. We will have the opportunity to discuss about the results of the TursioMed project in relation to the ecology of the bottlenose dolphin and its conservation status on a Mediterranean level. The results of the workshop will be useful to improve our knowledges on this species and to plane more consistent and effective management and conservation plans. Finally we will present the second phase of the TursioMed project which is supposed to start in 2020.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: A technical report will be produced, based on the results of the TursioMed project and related workshop

Format: The participants will present and discuss the results of the TursioMed project and will give their contribution and critical review to the technical-scientific report assessing the conservation status of the bottlenose dolphin in the Mediterranean context.

III Edition: “What is new in cetacean pathology”
Sunday, December 8 - 0830-1730

Name of Workshop leader (1): Antonio Fernández

Workshop leader (1) Affiliation: Atlantic Cetacean Research Center, Institute of Animal Health, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Workshop leader (1) E-mail Address: antonio.fernandez@ulpgc.es

Name of Workshop leader (2): Yara Bernaldo de Quirós Miranda

Workshop Summary: The workshop is aimed at using pathology as a tool for cetacean health and conservation. Advances in cetacean pathology including field, laboratory diagnosis, new methodologies, and tools will be presented and discussed. We have organized this workshop at two previous ECS meetings: 2016, in Madeira (Portugal), and 2018, in La Spezia (Italy). Both years the workshops were very successful with full occupancy (40 and 50 participants respectively). Given the great welcoming, interest, and good feedback from the last editions, we would like to organize the third edition at the world marine mammal conference. The workshop will consist of invited speakers and case report discussion and presentations. We are looking for an interactive and dynamic atmosphere for exchanging knowledge. The expected outcome of the workshop is the  in situ exchange of knowledge, continuing education in marine mammals pathology, and to strengthen collaboration and networking among marine mammal pathologists.

Dissemination of Workshop Results: The expected outcome of the workshop is the  in situ exchange of knowledge, continuing education in marine mammals pathology, and to strengthen collaboration and networking among marine mammal pathologists.

Format: Invited speakers and case report discussion and presentations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What and When are the WMMC Workshops?

World Marine Mammal Conference-affiliated workshops are half-day, full day, or two day events proposed by individual researchers (the “workshop leaders”) and coordinated by them if their proposal is accepted by the WMMC conference committee. Workshops are typically a meeting at which a group of people engage in intensive discussion and activity on a particular subject or project. The format of such events varies widely and includes: a series of speakers and/or a panel followed by discussion, a training session on use of technology or data analysis; a small group effort to analyse data or draft an action plan, etc. WMMC-affiliated workshops are open to all conference registrants, and to those not attending the conference for an additional fee. The workshops will be held pre-conference on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December, 2019.

 

What time are the workshops?

The majority of the workshops are either a half-day (8:30 AM – 12:30 PM and 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM) or a full day  (8:30 AM – 5:30 PM). Workshops of two day duration may also be offered.

 

What time will rooms be available for set-up on the day of workshops?

Please note that rooms will be available as of 8AM, but workshops will start as of 8:30AM.

 

Where are the workshops being held?

Workshops are being held at the conference venue, the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona.

 

Will you feed us during the workshops?

All workshops will include coffee breaks, but in order to keep workshop costs down, lunch options are not available. We are recommending that full-day workshops allow at least 1.5 hours for lunch to allow time for participants to forage off-site and will provide you with a list of nearby places to eat.

 

How many people can attend each workshop?

Most of the workshop rooms available are limited in size, so be sure to sign up early! Available rooms are a variety of sizes to accommodate 35-150 participants in classroom-style seating – there are fewer larger rooms.

 

How much do workshops cost?

Most workshops cost $70 USD for a half-day workshop and $110 USD for a full day workshop. If you are not registered for the conference,you will have to pay an additional one-day registration fee.

 

Some workshops will likely receive financial support to lower the cost to participants, and that reduced cost is shown on the workshop registration page.

Unless a proponent has specialized audiovisual equipment requirements, there are no additional fees to host a workshop as we assume that costs will be covered by the workshop participant fees, listed above.

Do I have to be registered for the conference to attend workshops?

In exceptional cases, individual workshop organizers can authorize attendance by non-registered individuals (e.g. an invited speaker who comes only to give a presentation, not to participate in the complete workshop). But preference will be given to those registered for the conference and non-conference registrants will have to pay a non-registrant participant surcharge (see above).

If you are not registered for the conference, you can still register for a workshop, but will have to pay for a one or two-day registration fee.

One-day registration fees for those not otherwise registering for the conference:

  • Member: $100 USD
  • Non-member: $140 USD
  • Student member: $40 USD
  • Student non-member: $60
  • Developing Country Member*: $60 USD
  • Developing Country non-member: $80 USD

WMMC workshop leaders(those who submit the proposal and organise a workshop) must be a member of one of the two sponsoring societies (ECS or SMM). In appreciation of their contribution in organising a workshop, up to two workshop leaders are not expected to pay the registration fee for the workshop they organise (but will pay if they attend another workshop).

Presenters at workshops (those who give a talk or take part in a panel discussion in addition to participating in the workshop) are required to pay the workshop registration fee. In exceptional cases, workshop leaders can request attendance by non-registered individuals (e.g. an invited speaker who comes only to give a presentation, not to participate in the complete workshop).

* Applying criteria for developing countries, in 2019 investigators from all countries EXCEPT the following can apply: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and United States.

 

How do I sign up for a workshop?

When available, you can sign up for workshops on the conference registration page. There you will see a list of the workshops being offered on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December, 2019. You will only be able to sign up for one workshop per day (or two half-day workshops).

Be sure to register for workshops early as space is limited. Once a workshop is sold out, a wait list option will appear in case space opens up.  Those on the waiting list will not have to pay in advance, but will be contacted by email if a spot in their preferred workshop opens up and then they will be able to pay and complete their registration for the workshop.

 

Help! I’m having trouble signing in and I want to register for a workshop!

This is probably a “cookies” or caching problem in your browsing software. Empty the cache/cookies in your web browsing software.

Another possibility is that one of the extra toolbars or browser add-ons is causing an unexpected problem. You might try registering using another browser.

  1. Open a new browser
  2. Click here and select your option for signing in through SMM / ECS.
  3. Once you are signed in, select the workshop proposal submission option.

Still having problems? Contact workshops@wmmconference.org

 

What if I sign up and a workshop is cancelled, or I have to withdraw?

Note that workshops may have to be cancelled if the organizers/presenters have scheduling difficulties or the workshop does not reach a minimum number of signups. If a workshop is cancelled those who have signed up will be notified by email, and registered participants will be given an option to switch to a different workshop or be reimbursed. If a workshop participant withdraws within three weeks of the workshop dates (by November 16, 2019), a refund* is possible – after that date no refund is possible. 

* Please note that due to changes made to the PayPal User Agreement and Refund Policy, we will not charge a fee to process refunds, but an administrative fee of $10 USD from the original transaction will not be returned. This policy change will take effect beginning on October 11, 2019.

More general workshop questions should be directed to our workshop coordinators for the WMMC 2019 conference at workshops@wmmconference.org