Conference Agenda

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WEDNESDAY Wednesday, March 28, 2018
7:00am-7:50am Morning Beverages, Registration, Poster and Exhibit Setup
7:50am-8:10am Welcome from Conference Organizers
8:10am-9:00am Keynote Speaker
Jack Payne
, UF/IFAS Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources
9:00am-10:30am GENERAL SESSION: Water Quality and Indian River Lagoon
Session Chair:
Duane De Freese
, Executive Director, Indian River Lagoon Council
9:00am Duane De Freese, Indian River Lagoon Council
Water Quality Monitoring for the Indian River Lagoon - Challenges and Opportunities Ahead
View PDF
9:15am Charles Jacoby, St. Johns River Water Management District
Indian River Lagoon: Perfect Storm or New Norm
View PDF
9:30am Sam Rossman, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Historical Ecological Context Reveals Insights into the 2013 Bottlenose Dolphin Unusual Mortality Event and Legacy of Nutrient Loading
View PDF  
9:45am Spencer Fire, Florida Institute of Technology
That Tingling Sensation Means It's Working: Saxitoxin in Indian River Lagoon Dolphins
View PDF  
10:00am Megan Stolen, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Understanding the Health and Population Status of North American River Otters: The Other IRL "Marine Mammal"
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10:15am Katie Tripp, Save the Manatee Club
Next Generation Restoration of the Rose Bay Watershed
View PDF 
10:30am-10:45am Refreshments and Networking Break in Poster/Exhibit Room
10:45am-12:45pm GENERAL SESSION: Health Assessments
Session Chairs:
Martine deWit, Veterinarian, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Craig Pelton, Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor, Aquatic Animal Health Program, University of Florida
10:45am Robert Bonde, U.S. Geological Survey
Health Assessment on the Florida Manatee: What Have We Learned and Where Are We Going?
11:15am Nicole Stacy, University of Florida
Manatee Health Assessment Blood Samples: Key Information for Long-Term Monitoring and Understanding Population Health
11:30am Elizabeth Burgess, New England Aquarium
Developing Non-Invasive Biomarkers to Monitor Threats to Florida Manatees
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11:45am Randall Wells, Chicago Zoological Society
Longitudinal Bottlenose Dolphin Health Assessment and Population Monitoring in Sarasota Bay, Florida
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12noon Michael Walsh, University of Florida
Cetacean Field Imaging Enhancement for Health Assessment of Wild Small Cetaceans Utilizing a Portable Wireless Radiographic Plate, Multiuse Work Station Pad and Unique Bucky System
12:15pm Craig Pelton, University of Florida
The Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Health and Environmental Risk Assessment Project from the Southeastern USA: 2003-2015
View PDF
12:45pm-2:15pm Lunch Provided at SeaWorld
2:15pm-3:45pm GENERAL SESSION: Infectious Diseases, Toxoplasmosis and Zoonotic Diseases
Session Chairs:
Thaís C.S. Rodrigues, Postdoctoral Researcher, Wildlife and Aquatic Veterinary Diseases Laboratory, University of Florida and
Thomas Waltzek, Research Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Aquatic Animal Health Program, University of Florida
2:15pm Thaís C. S. Rodrigues, University of Florida
Characterization of a Novel Pegivirus in Indian River Lagoon Bottlenose Dolphins
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2:30pm Thaís C. S. Rodrigues, University of Florida
Characterization of Potentially Oncogenic Viruses in Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Tumor Tissues
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2:45pm Thomas Waltzek, University of Florida
Phylogenomic Diversity of Northern Hemisphere Cetacean Morbilliviruses
3:00pm Miriam Marmontel, Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development
Pathological Survey of Pulmonary Disease in Free-Ranging Brazilian River Dolphins
View PDF
3:15pm Nelmarie Landrau-Giovannetti, University of Florida
Characterization of a Novel Circovirus from a Stranded Longman's Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus)
View PDF
3:30pm Adam Schaefer, Florida Atlantic University
Temporal Evaluation of Antibiotic Resistance from Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), a Sentinel Species
View PDF  
4:00pm-5:00pm Poster Session
THURSDAY Thursday, March 29, 2018
7:00am-8:00am Morning Beverages and Registration
8:00am-9:40am GENERAL SESSION: Monitoring Health in Marine Mammals
Moderator:
Iske Larkin, Lecturer, Education Coordinator, and Interim Director,
Aquatic Animal Health Program, University of Florida
8:00am Brandon Bassett, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
External Watercraft-Related Wound Types in the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
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8:20am Nicola Erdsack, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
Nostril Temperature as Indicator for Body Temperature – Using Infrared Thermography as a Diagnostic Tool in Florida Manatees 
8:40am Jonathan Cowart, University of Florida
What is Normal? Establishing Baseline Data for Reproductive Parameters in Male Florida Manatees
9:00am Jessie Stevens, Florida Atlantic University
Novel "Tiger Stripe" Condition in Free-Ranging Bottlenose Dolphins 
9:20am Michelle Greenfield, Princeton University
Effect of Anthropogenic Injuries on the Social Associations of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Sarasota Bay, Florida 
9:40am-10:00am Refreshments and Networking Break in Poster/Exhibit Room
10:00am-11:45am GENERAL SESSION: Education
Session Chairs:
Gordon Bauer, Experimental Psychologist, New College of Florida and
Iske Larkin, Lecturer, Education Coordinator, and Interim Director, Aquatic Animal Health Program, University of Florida
10:00am Gordon Bauer, New College of Florida
Marine Mammal Education: Overcoming Cognitive Bias
View PDF
10:15am Frank Alcock, New College of Florida
Climate Change: World Views, Political Attitudes and Implications for Environmental Education
View PDF
10:30am Heidi Harley, New College of Florida
Educating the Public About Other Minds: Dolphin Cognition Research as a Window to Science and Other Animals
10:45am Teri Bolton, Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences
Pre-Departure Technology Enhanced Instruction Fosters Deep Learning During an International Study Abroad Course and Service Learning Internships at the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences, Honduras
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11:00am Heather Maness, University of Florida
Assessment of the Preparation of Aquatic Animal Health Veterinarians for Entry-Level Positions
11:30am

Iske Larkin, University of Florida
Characterizing Success of the UF Aquatic Animal Medicine Certificate 
View PDF

11:45am-1:15pm Lunch Provided at SeaWorld
1:15pm-3:35pm GENERAL SESSION: Biosurveillance and Molecular Techniques
Session Chairs:
Nancy Denslow, Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida and
Margaret Hunter, Research Geneticist, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey
1:15pm Nathan Clark, University of Pittsburgh
Ancient Convergent Losses of the Paraoxonase 1 Gene Could Render Marine Mammals Susceptible to Organophosphate Pesticides 
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1:40pm John Bowden, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) in Plasma of the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus) 
View PDF
2:05pm Maite De Maria, University of Florida
Biomarker Development for Manatee Health Assessments
View PDF
2:20pm Chelsea Acres, University of Charleston
Evaluating Skin Disease in Bottlenose Dolphins of Brunswick and Sapelo Island, Georgia 
2:35pm Julia Zaias, University of Miami
Molecular Characterization of Cetacean Skin - Laying the Foundation to Develop Cutaneous Biomarkers
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2:50pm Breanna Breaux, Texas A&M University
The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) T Cell Receptor Loci Exhibit V Segment Locus Synteny and Chain-Specific Evolution 
View PDF
3:05pm Jason Ferrante, U.S. Geological Survey
Use of Quantitative PCR Assays to Measure Immune Function Gene Expression in Cold Stressed Florida Manatees 
3:20pm Margaret Hunter, U.S. Geological Survey
Investigating Manatee Taxonomic Relationships Using High-Throughput Genotyping-by-Sequencing SNP Data  
7:30pm-9:30pm Social at Sea Life Aquarium
FRIDAY Friday, March 30, 2018
7:00am-8:00am Morning Beverages and Registration
8:00am-10:00am GENERAL SESSION: Entanglement and Rescue-Rehabilitation:
Program Techniques and Response

Session Chairs:
Claire Erlacher-Reid, Veterinarian, SeaWorld Orlando and
Michael Walsh, Clinical Coordinator and Clinical Associate Professor, Aquatic Animal Health Program, University of Florida
8:00am Wendy Noke Durden, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Evaluating Intervention Success and Survival of Free-Swimming Dolphins Along the East Central Coast of Florida (2007-2017)
8:20am Lara Croft, SeaWorld Orlando
Cetacean Rescue and Rehabilitation at SeaWorld 
8:40am Claire Erlacher-Reid, SeaWorld Orlando
Manatee Medicine in a Rehabilitation Setting at SeaWorld
9:00am Craig Pelton, University of Florida
Small Cetacean Entanglement
View PDF
9:20am Clay George, Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Large Whale Disentanglement: Saving North Atlantic Right Whales, One Entangled Whale at a Time
View PDF
9:40am Claire Erlacher-Reid, SeaWorld Orlando
Manatee Entanglement
10:00am-10:15am Refreshments and Networking Break in Poster/Exhibit Room
10:15am-12noon PRE-PANEL SHORT TOPICS: Wild Marine Mammal Intervention and Conservation – Challenges, Funding and Future Directions
10:15am Erin Fougeres, National Marine Fisheries Service
An Overview of the Marine Mammal Stranding Response Program in the Southeast U.S.
View PDF
10:30am Robert Bonde, U.S. Geological Survey
USGS - Manatee Conservation - Goals for the Future
10:45am Leslie Ward, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Manatee and Right Whale Programs
11:00am Pat Rose, Save the Manatee Club
Downlisting and Conservation Challenges
11:15am Randall Wells, Chicago Zoological Society
Long-Term Research and Conservation Programs - Value and Challenges
View PDF
11:30am Michael Walsh, University of Florida
Integration, Collaboration, Partnering and Synergy: Biologist, Field Scientist and Wildlife Veterinarians Working Toward Long-Term Conservation Programs
11:45am Jim Valade, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Managing Wild Marine Mammal Programs
12noon-1:30pm Lunch Provided at SeaWorld
1:30pm-3:15pm Interactive Panel Discussion
3:15pm-3:30pm Conference Closing Remarks
3:30pm Conference Concludes

View Speaker Presentations View Abstract Compilation View Photo Album

Upcoming Deadlines

Hotel Reservation Deadline
March 5, 2018

Regular Registration Deadline
March 26, 2018

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