ANZSCSMM Chapter Heads
- Jun 13, 2023
- 1 min
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The Conference
The Conference
Connect with your peers, present, and network
14-16 April 2023
The 6th meeting of the SMM Australia/New Zealand Student Chapter was held at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Hobart, Tasmania. In April 2023, we had 28 students come together for an exciting and much needed in-person event. The conference included a guest speaker and networking event and one in-depth workshop. The workshop was held in collaboration with the IMAS Marine Predator (MPred) lab with the theme: “The theory and practise of establishing linkages between marine predators and their prey in a changing ecosystem.”
The whole event was designed to showcase the scientific departments that are located in Tasmania, including local government agencies and science faculties. The guest speaker event achieved this by showcasing a diverse selection of researchers who all have studied marine mammals at some point in their careers.
The conference included plenty of social get-togethers and we also allocated time for all students to give a speed talk on their research. It was very special to have the opportunity to get together in person for this event. By much of the grateful praise to the committee, we all walked away inspired from learning about each other’s projects and cannot wait to progress further in the marine mammal space.
Speakers
Guest Speaker Event
We filled Aurora Lecture Theatre (80 tickets sold) and had a few online attendees via zoom (15 links accessed).We received an excellent talk by Dr Brian Miller on combining acoustic methods with machine learning to detect and model whale abundance in the Southern Ocean. Prof Mary-Anne Lea gave an interesting talk on her professional career background and recent research that she is coordinating within the Marine Predator (MPred) Lab. Dr Karen Evans presented an insight into the importance of combining marine science with policy and Dr David Hocking talked about his role at TMAG and gave background on the new technologies used to study marine mammals from museum collections. The evening concluded with a casual networking function in the IMAS Galley, to connect students with the other researchers and guest speakers in attendance.
Dr Brian Miller (AAD)
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Brian is a marine mammal acoustician, who develops and uses specialised underwater listening devices and software to detect and locate sounds produced by marine mammals. For his PhD at Otago University, he conducted 3D acoustic tracking of sperm whales in Kaikoura, New Zealand, and developed passive acoustic software for measuring individual growth in sperm whales. Since 2011 he has been working at the Australian Antarctic Division as part of the Australian Marine Mammal Centre. His work is focused on understanding the role and recovery of large whales throughout the Southern Ocean. In addition to Antarctic research, he also provides scientific advice on the effects of man-made underwater noise on marine mammals around Australia and Antarctica.
Prof Mary-Anne Lea (UTAS - IMAS)
Dr Mary-Anne Lea is a Professor at the Ecology and Biodiversity Centre at the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania.
She is interested in the way in which the environment and climate change affect the behaviour, distribution and life history of marine and polar vertebrates. She studies the behavioural ecology of many species of seals and seabirds in temperate, Southern Ocean and Alaskan waters and has participated in over 25 expeditions and voyages.
Her research focuses on the way in which marine predators, especially migratory animals, interact with their environment at different temporal and spatial scales, and the fine-scale relationships between animal behaviour and prey dynamics. Much of her and the Marine Predator Lab group’s research focuses on the use of emergent technologies to study the influence of climate change and variability within the marine environment on top predator behaviour and distributions in the Southern Ocean and globally.
Dr Karen Evans (CSIRO)
Dr Karen Evans is a Team Leader and principal research scientist with CSIRO and an adjunct fellow with the Centre of Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania based in Hobart, Tasmania. She leads and contributes to research focused on progressing scientific understanding and developing options to improve marine resource management, particularly in relation to national and international fisheries and threatened, endangered and protected species. Her projects deliver strategic research to national agencies, regional programmes in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and international agencies, including the United Nations.
Dr David Hocking (TMAG)
Dr David Hocking is the Senior Curator of Vertebrate Zoology and Palaeontology at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). David is a leading expert on the evolution of Australian and Southern Ocean marine mammals. His work combines traditional palaeontology and natural history with cutting-edge technology to better understand how animals work and why they behave like they do. Prior to joining TMAG, David worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Monash University, and he has also worked closely with Museums Victoria as a research associate, fossil preparator and exhibition curator. He is also a former ANZSCSMM member from his days as a PhD student!
Workshops
Workshop
In collaboration with MPred Lab
The theory and practise of establishing linkages between marine predators and their prey.
The IMAS Marine Predator (MPred) Lab study Southern Ocean and other marine predators to improve understanding of ecological interactions, trophic systems and help inform conservation and management decision-making.
This half-day workshop will introduce ideas and present a multitude of approaches to quantifying interactions between predators and prey.
Conference Schedule
Day 1
FRIDAY 14 April - Networking Events
We will invite guest speakers to present relevant research in their field and have students give speed talks on their current research to facilitate networking and scientific discussions with the professional guests in attendance.
Our goal is to engage local researchers from different organisations and departments. Discussions are intended to focus on marine mammals that visit the Southern Ocean (whales, dolphins, seals) and their prey. However, the event itself aims to be interdisciplinary and flexible to be open for students from other fields or study species to attend and participate.
The afternoon will conclude with an informal networking event.
Confirmed organisations
Day 2
SATURDAY 15 April - Workshop
The theory and practise of establishing linkages between marine predators and their prey.
Hosted by: Dr David Green in collaboration with IMAS MPred Lab
This half-day workshop introduced ideas and present a multitude of approaches to quantifying interactions between predators and prey. We hope to make this an interactive event, featuring short talks and group sessions as well as a plenary round table.
Topics of discussion may include but are not limited to:
Diet Analysis
How to identify prey sources of marine predators? Including stable isotopes, DNA metabarcoding, microscopy of gut contents, etc.
Species Distribution Modelling & Biologging
Tracking, tagging and monitoring at-sea behaviour of marine mammals.
Food Web Dynamics
Modelling adaptation and studying alternative energy pathways of the Southern Ocean ecosystem.
Future Projections
Assess and predict potential changes in predator population trends over time to inform management and policy decisions.
Past Events
Day 3
SUNDAY 16 April - Social
We explored Hobart and Tasmania's South East coastline.
Registration
Past Events
Registration
Registration has now closed. For local UTAS student participation, please contact us via email: anzscsmm [at] gmail.com
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