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Center of Expertise in Marine Mammalogy

Scientific Research Report
2015-2017

Center of Expertise in Marine Mammalogy - Scientific Research Report, 2015-2017

Center of Expertise in Marine Mammalogy - Scientific Research Report, 2015-2017 (PDF, 2.14 MB)

Table of Contents

2017: A Marine Mammal Odyssey, Eh!

Hilary Moors-Murphy
2017: A Marine Mammal Odyssey, Eh! logo

The Society for Marine Mammology’s 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals was held at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia on October 22nd -29th 2017. This international meeting is the largest marine mammal conference in the world, attracting over 1700 participants from 70 countries to enhance collaboration, share ideas, and improve the quality of research on marine mammals. The 2017 conference was co-chaired by DFO research scientist H. Moors- Murphy, and several DFO staff played important roles in conference preparation as part of the organizing and scientific program committees. More than thirty DFO personnel participated in this meeting, many presenting their research to this international audience to generate awareness and discussion of ongoing work within the Department.

The conference featured six plenary talks, over 450 oral, speed and video presentations, and more than 500 poster presentations; as well as panel discussion sessions, workshops, and networking events. Marine mammal conservation was a central focus throughout the conference, with about quarter of the presentations falling within the conservation theme. A new “Conservation Highlights Series” consisted of dedicated lunchtime discussion sessions on the plight of North Atlantic right whales, vaquita and monk seals. Habitat and distribution, and acoustics and communication were also popular themes.

A packed auditorium for the welcoming address by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Terry Beech during the conference Opening Ceremonies.

A packed auditorium for the welcoming address by Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Terry Beech during the conference Opening Ceremonies (photo: Jarrett Corke).

A recurring topic throughout the conference was science communication. An exciting new and well-received presentation format was introduced; video presentations. This presentation format allows scientists to distill information about their research through a short video summary that can also be used as an outreach tool and will be encouraged in future biennial conferences. A panel discussion on “Science Communication for Conservation” provided examples of successes and failures of communicating our science. The well-attended “Canadian Celebration” event was open to the general public and featured marine mammal scientists sharing their stories about conducting research on marine mammals in Canada. This event highlighted the interest of conference participants and the public alike on hearing about the human component of marine mammal science - understanding what is it like to conduct marine mammal research and why marine mammal scientists choose to do the work that they do can generate interest and help communicate our research to a broader audience.

Overwhelming positive feedback from the Society for Marine Mammology’s executive board and conference participants on their 2017 conference experience has been received. This conference was truly a successful odyssey, with a little Canadian flair!

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