Public information and education on the issue of noise and marine mammals in Greensboro, NC.

The public is invited to an evening program at the XV Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals organized by the Society for Marine Mammalogy, which is being held from December 14 through December 19, 2003 at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons and the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center. The evening program will examine The Science Behind Noise and Marine Mammals: An Update and Discussion of the Issues", and is being organized by Steven L. Swartz, Ph.D., Chairman of the Committee of Scientific Advisors to the Society for Marine Mammalogy. The evening program will be held from 7:00 -- 10:00 pm on Wednesday, December 15, 2003.

Recently the membership of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) expressed an interest in, and concern for, understanding the potential effects of noise on marine mammals, and how scientists are investigating and attempting to interpret recent events that suggest current levels of man-made noise may be having detrimental effects on marine mammals. To address this interest and concern, the SMM Committee of Scientific Advisors in consultation with experts on marine acoustics and marine mammal physiology and behavior, are convening an evening program to provide a summary of the scientific information on marine acoustics and to discuss current issues relevant to marine mammals and noise. The evening program is open to conference attendees and the general public.

Part 1 of the program will be approximately 2-hours long and include four presentations (20-25min each) covering basic information on key aspects of the issues of noise in the marine environment, its potential effects on marine mammals, and how scientists are approaching understanding the effects of noise on marine mammals. The four presentations will be:

(1) John Potter, National University of Singapore, on Understanding the physics of sound in the sea, how sound behaves and is measured in the marine environment".

(2) Darlene Ketten, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, on Marine mammal auditory anatomy and susceptibility to trauma for auditory systems".

(3) Paul Nachtigall, University of Hawaii, Kailua, HI, on Measuring hearing and the effects of noise on marine mammals".

(4) Peter Tyack, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, on Behavioral responses of marine mammals to noise/sound, how scientists are measuring these effects/responses, and interpreting the biological significance of these behavior changes."

Part 2 of the program will be a facilitated panel discussion on current topics concerning noise effects on marine mammals, followed by a moderated question and answer format and discussion with the audience. Confirmed panel members include:
Steven Swartz, NOAA Fisheries, Miami, FL, Moderator
George Frisk, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA
Roger Gentry, NOAA Fisheries, Silver Spring, MD
Joel Reynolds, Natural Resource Defense Council, San Diego, CA
Jack Caldwell, Schlumberger, Houston, TX
Jim Miller, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
W. John Richardson, LGL Limited Environmental Research Associates, King City, ON, CANADA.