There are times in life when you suddenly begin to rethink your choices. For children's book author Davis Garner, such a moment comes when he finds himself hiding in a pile of dirty laundry, trying to avoid his landlord. . . Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and so Davis signs on to be a technical writer on a research vessel in Antarctica. What Davis knows about marine technology would comfortably fit in a tweet, but he soon realizes that no one around him is quite who they seem--including Maureen, an ice-cold network administrator partial to hacking others' emails; a lovelorn vessel technician known by the acronym Worm; and Artaud, a charismatic scientist with dubious motives. In between waves of seasickness and self-doubt, Davis finds creative inspiration and an unlikely passion for his new job. And something more unexpected still. . .the willingness to fight for the principles he believes in and the life he still loves. Praise for the novels of Chris Kenry "Kenry's masterful use of a disarmingly forthright first-person viewpoint invites readers' trust and keeps them turning the pages right up to the surprise ending." --Booklist on Confessions of a Casanova "The great leap to more substantial literary terrain feels but a book or two away for this talented author." --Publishers Weekly on Uncle Max "Well written with bold humor and witty asides." --Library Journal on Can't Buy Me Love The Survival Methods and Mating Rituals of Men and Marine Mammals is Chris Kenry's fourth novel. Much to his surprise, two of his novels have inexplicably been translated into Polish. He currently resides and writes in Colorado.

Comprehensive manual for understanding and carrying out marine mammal rescue activities for stranded seals, manatees, dolphins, whales, or sea otters.

Interest in marine mammals has increased dramatically in the last few decades, as evidenced by the number of books, scientific papers, and conferences devoted to these animals. Nowadays, a conference on marine mammals can attract between one and two thousand scientists from around the world. This upsurge of interest has resulted in a body of knowledge which, in many cases, has identified major conservation problems facing particular species. At the same time, this knowledge and the associated activities of environmental organisations have served to introduce marine mammals to a receptive public, to the extent that they are now perceived by many as the living icons of biodiversity conservation. Much of the impetus for the current interest in marine mammal conservation comes from "Save the Whale" campaigns started in the 1960s by environmental groups around the world, in response to declining whale populations after over-exploitation by humans. This public pressure led to an international moratorium on whaling recommended in 1972 by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden, and eventually adopted by the International Whaling Commission ten years later. This moratorium largely holds sway to this day, and further protective measures have included the delimitation of extensive areas of the Indian Ocean (1979) and Southern Ocean (1994) as whale sanctuaries.

The Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, Third Edition covers the ecology, behavior, conservation, evolution, form and function of whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, manatees, dugongs, otters and polar bears. This edition provides new content on anthropogenic concerns, latest information on emerging threats such as ocean noise, and impacts of climate change. With authors and editors who are world experts, this new edition is a critical resource for all who are interested in marine mammals, especially upper level undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and managers, and is a top reference for those in related fields, from oceanographers to environmental scientists. - Significant content and topic updates, as well as the addition of new topics in such areas as anthropogenic disturbance - Visual maps of the oceans and seas mentioned in contributions, helping to place the geographical features described in the text with clear, consistent species illustrations - Written to help users learn new information or brush up on a topic quickly, with the references at the end of each entry to help guide readers into more specialist literature

Atlantic menhaden, Brevootia tyrannus, the object of a major purse-seine fishery along the U.S. east coast, are landed at plants from northern Florida to central Maine. The National Marine Fisheries Service has sampled these landings since 1955 for length, weight, and age. Together with records of landings at each plant, the samples are used to estimate numbers of fish landed at each age. This report analyzes the sampling design in terms of probability sampling theory. The design is classified as two-stage cluster sampling, the first stage consisting of purse-seine sets randomly selected from the population of all sets landed, and the second state consisting of fish randomly selected from each sample set. Implicit assumptions of this design are discussed with special attention to current sampling procedures. Methods are developed for estimating mean fish weight, numbers of fish landed, and age composition of the catch, with approximate 95% confidence intervals. Based on specific results from three ports (Port Monmouth, N.J., Reedville, Va., and Beaufort, N.C.) for the 1979 fishing season, recommendations are made for improving sampling procedures to comply more exactly with assumptions of the sampling design. These recommendations include adopting more formal methods for randomizing set and fish selection, increasing the number of sets sampled, considering the bias introduced by unequal set sizes, and developing methods to optimize the use of funds and personnel.

Our relationships with marine mammals are complex. We have used them as resources, and in some places this remains the case; viewed them as competitors and culled them (again ongoing in some localities); been so captivated and intrigued by them that we have taken them into captivity for our entertainment; and developed a lucrative eco-tourism activity focused on them in many nations. When we first envisaged this special topic, we had two overarching aims: Firstly, we hoped to generate critical evaluation of some of our relationships with these animals. Secondly, we hoped to attract knowledgeable commentators and experts who might not traditionally publish in the peer-reviewed literature. We were also asking ourselves a question about what responsibility mankind might have to marine mammals, on our rapidly changing planet? The answer to the question; can, or should, humans have responsibility for the lives of marine mammals when they are affected by our activities? - is, in our opinion, ‘yes’ – and the logical progression from this question is to direct research and effort to understand and optimise the actions, reactions and responses that mankind may be able to take. We hope that the papers in this special issue bring some illumination to a small selection of topics under this much wider topic area, and prove to be informative and stimulating.