The theme of the conference is: 'CETACEANS IN THE ECOSYSTEM: DEFINING CRITICAL HABITAT' although, as usual, papers on all aspects of the biology of cetaceans and other marine mammals will be included in the programme.

The theme is timely for a number of reasons, including:

1. its conservation implications - there are many examples of proposals for protected areas/sanctuaries etc that require scientific evaluation - determining which habitat variables are critical to cetaceans is an essential part of this;
2. it allows for both a taxa-led and a habitat-led approach;
3. it is an area where new research tools can play an important role e.g. TDR telemetry, GIS software, etc;
4. it requires a multi-disciplinary approach;
5. it requires innovative new theory and modelling to integrate a variety of datasets into a practical framework. Much relevant work on the question of critical habitats is underway in pinniped research and contributions in this regard will be welcomed.

For more information about this conference please e-mail e.rogan@ucc.ie

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