SDRP participation in international scientific conferences in 2009
By Randall Wells, PhD

      Our program was highlighted through invited presentations at several international venues this year. In early March, Randall Wells made a keynote presentation to the European Cetacean Society during their annual meeting, held in Istanbul, Turkey. In October, Wells made a keynote presentation at the ColacMarCuba conference in Havana, attended by more than 1,200 marine scientists from 29 countries. In both cases, Wells described potential climate change impacts on inshore dolphins in non-polar regions.

     SDRP staff and students were among the 1,700 professionals and students participating in the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, held in Quebec City during 11-16 October 2009. This is the largest gathering in the world of marine mammal scientists. Twelve abstracts involving SDRP programs and projects were selected for spoken or poster presentations, comprising 3% of the total oral presentations for the conference. The titles of these presentations are listed in the “Professional Activity Summary” section of this newsletter. Staff also had the opportunity to study conference operations first-hand, which will facilitate their involvement in the SMM’s 2011 biennial conference in Tampa, when Randall Wells will be President of the Society.