The annual AMSA (Australian Marine Science Association) conference will be held in Adelaide next year (5-9th July 2009) with the theme "Marine Connectivity".
We are organising a symposium within the AMSA-2009 conference on 'high trophic level predators'. Please pass this onto colleagues and anyone else who may be interested, especially anyone working on turtles as we seem to have only a few on the list!
Information about the AMSA-2009 conference and a downloadable flyer can be found at
http://www.amsaconference.com.au/ See below for a description of our specific symposium within the conference.
We hope to have 20-30 presentations within this symposium, but as this conference is likely to have 4 concurrent sessions over 4 days, there is scope for the symposium to be larger. If you are interested in submitting an abstract, please note that these need to be submitted by 30th January 2009 (see above website for submission details). If you have any questions regarding this symposium on high trophic level marine predators, please feel free to contact me. If you intend to present within this symposium, also please flick us an email to give us an indication of numbers and interest. Other symposia will also be advertised on the AMSA conference website shortly.
We hope you consider attending and/or presenting at the conference and that this symposium will provide a valuable opportunity to share the exciting research in this field.
Regards,
Annelise Wiebkin
Threatened, Endangered and Protected Species (TEPS)
SA Research & Development Institute (SARDI)
Aquatic Sciences
2 Hamra Ave
West Beach, SA 5024
Ph: 08 82075309
Fax: 08 82075481
AMSA 2009 - Symposium Proposal
Marine connectivity and high trophic level predators
Symposium organisers:
A/Prof Simon Goldsworthy
Principal Scientist-Marine Mammal Ecologist
Threatened, Endangered & Protected Species (TEPS)
South Australian Research & Development Institute (SARDI) - Aquatic Sciences
Annelise Wiebkin
Seabird Ecologist
Threatened, Endangered & Protected Species (TEPS)
South Australian Research & Development Institute (SARDI) - Aquatic Sciences
Description of the symposium
High trophic level predator species (marine mammals, seabirds, reptiles, sharks and fish) often range over broad areas or are migratory and therefore have the potential to interact with many different types of marine ecosystems (coastal, shelf, oceanic). Their distribution, abundance and foraging behaviour is often tightly associated with proximity to oceanographic hot-spots such as upwelling regions and frontal zones. Advances in tracking technology are increasing our understanding of the foraging behaviour and habitats of these predator species. In addition, increased knowledge of the diets of these species has also improved our understanding of their functional role in marine ecosystems and the top-down affects they may have on lower trophic levels. The broad distribution of many of these predator species mean they often occur over multiple jurisdictions, can be impacted by a range of human activities; predisposing them to cumulative impacts. Collectively, these factors pose significant challenges for scientists and protected species managers. This symposium aims to bring together marine scientists who share similar challenges with marine connectivity and high trophic level predators, particularly in the areas of foraging behaviour, trophodynamics and conservation and management.
